Last night, Derby County’s preferred bidder Chris Kirchner took to Twitter to answer questions from fans. This came following an article from the Daily Mail (here) which claimed he couldn’t show proof of funds when trying to purchase Preston.
In response to the article Kirchner responded with –
“There’s a lot of false information appearing… in the US it’s easier to keep private wealth… private. Valuations on my company are wrong (in both directions) and most of that is illliquid. The money for the team came from private investments and early investments in crypto.”
“I’ve had to show this to Preston (despite the blatant lie in the Mail) Quantuma, and the EFL have seen it when we previously engaged in Derby. It’s also been shared with one other club we looked at as things got more serious.”
“Unless something comes directly from me or my team, be careful what you believe. Given the truths that have been proven from my comments in December about this deal, my promise on candor is true.”
When asked about a -15 deduction next season the answer was
“This is still to be decided. We have to discuss things with the league and see where we sit. We will share when we know, but right now we don’t know.”
Questions arose about his net worth only being around the £5 million mark. His response was,
“Well I paid cash for my plane and it’s worth about £22m.” He also confirmed that he does not need to put down a £5m deposit as Quantuma have enough funds until the end of the season, but once that runs out he will fund the club.
On the stadium issue and the possibility of the council buying it and leasing it to the club Kirchner said
“Yes… the Derby City Council have been instrumental in me coming back. They are great representatives for the people of Derby and will be a great ally for us as we rebuild the club.”
When asked about why he pulled out of purchasing Preston North End he said
“Let’s do a hypothetical here… Ever buy a car? If someone raises the price halfway through the deal by 10% over what you agreed then wants to force you to buy options and packages you don’t want/need with the car, would you buy it?”
“We started comparing every other club to Derby in terms of infrastructure. The other clubs we looked at needed significant improvements to produce players through the academy at the level we want long term.”
When asked if he was the sole financial backer or are there other investors in the mix, if so, are you able to advise who?
“It’s me… but I may bring in some partners for small stakes down the road for strategic reasons. Such as experience in media, experience in retail, or other things that are important to the business we are building. Or I might have some friends buy small pieces to be a part of it – But the deal is solely me at this point from a financial perspective and not dependent on anyone else.”
If successful with the Derby purchase, is your plan to stay long term or to flip the club and move on?
“No plans to sell something before I buy it… I’m 34, so I have some time to be the custodian before giving someone else a run”
Will you be continuing/backing RamsTV as it is now?
“Love Rams TV… we are going to do a lot more on the access/media front”
Do you and Rooney have already a rough idea how you will go about transfers this summer?
“He does… we haven’t had a chance to go through it together as this happened quickly. Going to discuss this and start moving on it in the coming weeks.”
Will the EFL allow you to buy players next season? Or will the club be restricted to free agents and loans?
“Haven’t met with EFL yet, so can’t comment on the outstanding issues with them. I will say they’ve been supportive, reasonable and amicable in previous conversations, so I think we will be treated fairly and the restrictions removed.”
Will Wayne Rooney remain as manager?
“He will be. He’s a big reason I came back. I think Wayne is the best young manager in the game.”
On offering current players new deals and recruitment in to the squad Kirchner replied –
“I’m sure we will… but I’ll default to Wayne and the team internally. He knows the squad he wants, my job is to give him the resources to assemble that squad.
“Hiring a recruitment team will be up to Garry and Wayne. I’ll trust their judgement.”
Kirchner gave confirmation that former Manchester City CEO Garry Cook will be the Chief exec. of Derby County.
Finally on the city of Derby and the future of the club Kirchner had this to say.
“It reminds me of my hometown. Everything revolves around Kentucky athletics. The passion is exciting and the people are nuts. Sometimes a little too much, but the supporters of Derby are a key reason I’m here. Derby is a big club and is going to get even bigger.”
“Let’s be realistic… we are going to build something sustainable and stable so the people of Derby and the supporters never go through something like this again. Goal 1 will be to rebuild the organization. Goal 2 will be to win League 1 next year.”
“A lot to be done, but I believe it will or I wouldn’t be spending my time or money on it. Despite people thinking I’m kicking tires, I’ve spent about £500,000 in diligence trying to find the right club. This isn’t a hobby… we’re here to build something special.”
The Rams Writer 