Why did you laugh?

Thanks Ann. My feeble memory is probably playing tricks on me. Could have sworn it was the whole family sat down (don't remember Sami) and a somewhat equivocal (at best) response to Wael having gained control of Bristol Rovers. My point being - it was all about Wael. Hence the rest of the family only care about getting their money back.
If anyone can find any examples of Hani/Sami/Senior waxing lyrical about the Gas - I'm all ears.   
As a business venture for the Al-Qadi family it's a disaster. 
For the umpteenth time - I would love to be proved wrong.

What commercial confidentiality is there in admitting the ALQ's have instructed agents to sell the club? I can't see MS was so unlucky that the only questions GT asked he couldn't answer, what questions was he expecting GT to ask, how the pitch is looking at the Mem at the moment, or what beers they are presently selling in the club bars? 

BBC Inside Out (West)

Reporter: Andy Howard

AH: As the youngest of three brothers, he had to fight hard to persuade the family to back his plans.

Hani: I said you must be out of your mind. Haha!

(Waël’s father) Abdulkader Al-Qadi: (smiling)…I was a little bit disappointed, as I wanted him to concentrate on our business.

AH: Even among your own family, you’ve had to persuade a lot of people that this would be a good idea.

WAQ: Yes! It was a journey that I started on my own. I just had to bring people along the way.

AH: Did they say no to begin with?

WAQ: Several times. Eventually, with persuasion, we got there.

(Waël’s wife) Tamara Al-Qadi: He was restless; he was travelling. He didn’t know what to do. He was, like, hunting for something. I remember sitting with one of my daughters and we told him it’s about time you have to do something that has to do with football. I have to say that I haven’t seen him smiling [so much] since I had my first baby…maybe on my wedding day, I have to say that!

AH: The whole family have attended matches since the takeover. Middle brother, Samer, was in the thick of the action on the final day of the season.

SAQ: The first half finished, so I decided to go down to the Blackthorn. No seating! You have to stand there!! So I was bombarded by fans. Every time a shot came towards the goal, we went crazy! Fans were screaming, shouting, chanting, Goodnight Irene, it was crazy! And when the goal came, hell broke loose! I get goosebumps when I remember the feeling I had then. It was awesome!

WAQ: He told me it was the best moment in his life.

SAQ: Yes, it was crazy, I can tell you.

HAQ: We combine passion with a little bit of business, so there was a little bit of everything for each one of us in this adventure.

AAQ: This brought the family closer.

WAQ: This is not just a toy, or an expensive car that you want to ride and after a while get bored of it. No! The passion is about building a club that is sustainable that will compete for the long term. I’ll be there for as long as the fans want me to stay (laugh) and hopefully that’s a very, very long time.

AH: When Rovers got promotion, did that in some way convince the rest of your family that this was right?

WAQ: I looked into their eyes and they were looking at me, like, mmm (nodding) - I guess you were right! So, no words needed to be spoken. They now are confident and more comfortable with it. They are even asking me footballing questions, so they are very interested and into it.

There follows a sequence at the Amman FC Academy.

AH: Take us back to square one. When did you realise that you wanted to buy a football club?

WAQ: August 2014. I looked into Belgium and Spain, but it just felt right to find a club in UK. The Football League is well established, the football culture is much stronger than anywhere else.


AH: What was the first time you remember Bristol Rovers being part of any discussion.

WAQ: I remember it clearly! (Laughs). I was with my son’s academy team, they were touring Spain. We were in Valencia at the time. It was September 26th 2015. I got a phone call that Rovers might be an option. I just - quickly - of course - Rovers, you know! Well known club. Well known when I was growing up. Always I remember that they had a great following. So, September 27th I had a meeting in Bristol. It’s been an amazing journey. The people that work in the club, the manager, everybody has been very welcoming. The reception from the fans and, at the end of it, the team fighting for a promotion place come the last game of the season…you were there, you saw what happened!

AH: How does that day rank among days on earth?

WAQ: One of the best days, ever. It was heavenly. That sound, that feeling, that emotion; I don’t think that it will be repeated ever again. It was so epic.

AH: This is coming from someone who has had four children!

WAQ: Well, this is a different kind of epic - footballing epic! (Laughs)

AH: So when did the decision come to go with the fans onto the Gloucester Road?

WAQ: Well, I wanted to celebrate! Let’s go down to Gloucester Road! These four guys just came over and lifted me up. They just started marching onwards. We just walked into that sea of people, all singing in celebration. Champagne, beer, vodka! Thrown everywhere! It was really memorable!

AH: You don’t see many football owners reacting like that?

WAQ: Well, I speak for myself. I consider myself a fan. A fan has to celebrate and rejoice once this happens to his football team. You can’t just sit there - “oh wow, we won” - you have to go and enjoy.

AH: Can you compete financially? Reporters have called you all billionaires.

WAQ: It’s news to me! Thank you for that! No, it’s not accurate. It’s an unfair tag. I don’t know why it was tagged like that, but it was not true, I can say it again and again and again!

AH: But we’re talking multi, multi milliions, are we?

WAQ: There’s no number. It’s just that all my attention will be poured into Rovers. I don’t have to have a pound sign or a number on it, it’s what my ambition is for the club, what I want to do with it. We want to go places and we want to win football matches. So that’s what we are going to concentrate on. Other individuals, or other clubs, or other comparisons don’t really mean anything as we have to focus on Rovers.

AH: Good answer, well done!

WAQ: Thanks!

AH: I still haven’t got a figure out of you, have I? (Laughs)

There follows a sequence of dinner at Waël’s house

WAQ: I intend to make the club grow and succeed.

But I didn’t say anything other than give the link. I think it’s very difficult to gauge when you don’t see body language or eye contact. 
I do think he told a whopper about the agent being employed, to sell the club and Geoff did give him 2 chances to put that right. 

We need the 'doffing hat' smiley back for that post. Not many would take that much trouble to share. Good stuff GasMacc1. Even if only to demonstrate how bad my memory is these days

That was the bit that I picked up on most too. There was nothing there about “he really wanted to build a stadium and leave a legacy” or “he wanted to make Bristol Rovers great again”- both being typical reasons why Gasheads have convinced themselves that Wael bought in.

No, he wanted to do something in football so his wife encouraged him to own a football club, any old football club his family could afford. Certainly fits in with the narrative of why he rocked up at Gillingham first before coming to us.