The people of West Bromwich have their say on the sale of West Bromwich Albion.
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00:00 Tell me how you felt when you found out the club had been sold?
00:03 I was surprised.
00:06 What was the sort of level of surprise? You didn't expect it to come?
00:09 No, not this quick.
00:11 But now it's actually been done. Do you know much about the new owners first of all?
00:16 None at all, no.
00:17 Have you had the chance to read about them, find out about them?
00:19 No.
00:20 From what I've read, they've got about £60 million or billion pounds.
00:24 I don't know what it is, but they've got quite a lot of money behind them.
00:27 I heard that as well.
00:28 So having heard that and heard about them, do you think, well first of all, it's a step up right now, isn't it?
00:33 The money's there to buy the players.
00:36 That's what they need, isn't it? That's what they need, I think. Push.
00:39 The club's been in not exactly a bad state, but it could do with a lift, couldn't it?
00:44 Yeah, like the Wolves have, do a lift. Yeah, it could do, yeah.
00:48 And if it works out and West Brom go back up to the Premier League, what could it do for the club and the town?
00:54 Massive boost, I think it would be. It'd be a boost, wouldn't it? It would.
00:58 He'd put the club back on the map, wouldn't he? That would. Absolutely.
01:02 And the town, wouldn't he? He would.
01:05 So tell me what you felt when you first heard that the club had been sold.
01:09 Well, it's been going on for a while now, hasn't it? So they've finally got through.
01:14 But to me, all the youngsters do, or anybody foreigners do, they just buy for an offshoot for a tax reason.
01:22 Other than that, they are really interested. Look at the Glazers. Are they interested in Man United? No.
01:30 I suppose that's the thought. It could be that the club's not necessarily going to benefit.
01:34 But the thing is, if they do invest in it, they do want to improve the club.
01:37 What do you think the benefits could be to West Brom and the town?
01:41 Well, I'm a Wolves supporter, but good luck to the Albion.
01:45 Fair enough. But it's always good to see, I suppose, it's good to see your local rivals getting better and improving, isn't it?
01:50 Oh, well, great. Let's hope they make a job of it.
01:57 Usually, as they say, we haven't got enough money to buy football clubs now, have we?
02:06 Unless you're a Jack Eyewood or the... Them days are gone. They're all youngsters and foreigners now.
02:12 Not very good news, really. I think it should stay where we're at now.
02:17 Every club that they sell, they seem to go into the money... Foreign companies.
02:22 Foreign companies, like the foreigners. We're losing our land.
02:25 The Americans are buying us, the Japanese are buying us, the Chinese people.
02:28 And then they do a bunk and where's all the money going? Exactly.
02:31 Do you find that the club being sold right now, it could be a benefit for the club if it turns out to be a good investment for them?
02:38 I don't know when it will be. I don't know.
02:42 From what I've heard, it's an Indian company. They've obviously paid about 80 million for it.
02:51 So they've obviously put a lot of investment into the club.
02:54 Assuming that it's all good, do you think that it could benefit West Brom, not just the club, but also the town going forward?
03:00 Possibly, because they're quite rich, aren't they? Rich people, aren't they?
03:04 So it could be, yeah. Like Birmingham City, we've got Americans that own us now and they're doing us really good.
03:09 They've done a lot for the club and hopefully we're going to go further.
03:13 So tell me your thoughts when you found out the club had been bought.
03:15 I think it was great. One of the best things that could have happened to the hobby, because that person, the Chinese man, didn't want to know at all.
03:22 And he was useless.
03:24 This is it, I mean, assuming that everything goes well, the sale's going to take over, what do you think the immediate benefits are going to be for the club?
03:32 Well, I think it might put some money into it, which we need desperately.
03:37 And that could be only good for them.
03:40 It's obviously looking at the investment within the playing squad, but also within the structure of the club as well.
03:44 Yeah, that's true. Playing club, we need new players and everything.
03:48 And with this gentleman, we could get them.
03:51 And do you think it could be a benefit to the town as well?
03:53 Yes, definitely.
03:55 In what ways do you think it could be?
03:57 Well, bring more people in and more supporters and everything.
04:01 I've referenced to a few people about Rob McElhaney and Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham.
04:07 Do you think they could have the same effect as well?
04:08 Yeah, yeah, definitely the same effect.