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13 January, 2017

John Jay Moores takeover collapses

On this day in 2017 Forest confirm the collapse of John Jay Moores’s proposed takeover.

Club milestones

Major administrative or ownership milestone
John Jay Moores, pictured between 1991 and 1994.
John Jay Moores, pictured between 1991 and 1994. Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries, via Wikimedia Commons

Forest’s proposed takeover by a US consortium led by John Jay Moores collapsed at a point when many supporters had been waiting for change.

The deal had been discussed for months and was expected to bring major change to Fawaz Al Hasawi’s ownership. Moores, the former owner of baseball’s San Diego Padres, had been leading a consortium in advanced talks to buy an 80 per cent stake in the club, with Al Hasawi set to retain a minority holding.

John Jay Moores, pictured between 1991 and 1994.
John Jay Moores, pictured between 1991 and 1994. Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries, via Wikimedia Commons

Instead, Forest confirmed that talks had broken down. Al Hasawi said the deal, as it stood, was not in the long-term interests of the club, leaving supporters with frustration rather than closure.

The collapse mattered because it was not just a boardroom story. Forest were struggling in the Championship, and the uncertainty around ownership fed into a wider sense of drift.

Change eventually came later in 2017, when Evangelos Marinakis completed his takeover of the club. In January, though, the mood was very different: another expected turning point had disappeared, and Forest were left waiting again.

Sources

Sky Sports; The Guardian; The Telegraph

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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On this day in …
2017
John Jay Moores takeover collapses

Forest’s proposed takeover by a US consortium led by John Jay Moores collapsed at a point when many supporters had been waiting for change.…

Club milestones