Peterborough Utd MacAnthony owner Darragh MacAnthony details beer fuelled transfer negotiations with Coventry City’s Doug King who ‘likes a few’ more of Posh’s players.
Darragh MacAnthony, the owner of Peterborough United, has revealed details of the on-and-off agreement to sell Ephron Mason-Clark to Coventry City on the day of the transfer deadline.
After “seven beers,” the Posh chairman claimed to have exchanged numerous emails back and forth, including a long phone call with Sky Blues owner Doug King, whom he referred to as “relentless” in his pursuit of the 24-year-old winger. Eventually, at the eleventh hour, the two agreed to a “Plan B” deal, which would see City pay £750,000 less than the asking price—which was understood to be £5 million—and not pay a penny until the summer.
According to MacAnthony, King also requested a summer option on a different Peterborough player, citing Coventry as someone who “quite like a few of our players.” The Posh CEO also said that, monetarily speaking, he believes turning down the larger sum was the wrong decision, with his father telling him he was “effin’ mad.”
“I had offers from Coventry in my inbox which had been sent at ten in the morning when I took off from the States, and there were deadlines in it and everything else, and they were blown because I didn’t get any emails because there was no Wi-Fi on the flight, even though I had upgraded to first class,” MacAnthony said in detail about the timeline and build-up to the deadline deal on his podcast, The Hard Truth.
Coventry had already gotten in touch with us a few weeks prior. Their owner, Doug, invited Barry Fry, the director of football, down for coffee so that Baz could get to know him better and establish a relationship. Dean Austin handles the deals for Coventry. Barry called me and wanted advice, so I advised him to go since it was obviously regarding one of our guys. Having excellent relationships with reputable clubs is beneficial.
“Coventry is a young team that will someday play in the Premier League. Respectfully, they are a larger club than we are, so when they eventually return to the Premier League—which I believe they will under this owner—it will be wonderful to have that link. That also applies to Brentford and Luton.
“I told Baz to go get some coffee, and on the way back, he called to let me know that they really wanted Ephron and that they also liked a few of our other players.” I stated that neither Ephron nor any of our front four should be sold. I was afraid that my manager would murder me and that he would go away if I told him that I was selling one of my front four. But Ferguson’s (Darren) always recognized the circumstances.
Anyway, Doug led Coventry in making an offer, so I went back to them and said, “Look guys, we are so appreciative of the offer and I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but A, we have to decline that offer and B, if you do want to buy him, you have to return the loan because we won’t be losing him.” Furthermore, the figures would be absurd if we were to sell him without expecting a debt repayment. However, we’ll need to find a substitute.
They therefore placed a few additional offers before it. With Doug, I communicated back and forth, dealt with him directly via emails, etc., and provided him with scenarios A and B. I didn’t want Scenario A, even though it was a greater number that they had taken. We thus get him back in scenario B because the number was smaller.
“The day before the deadline, Darren asked me what I thought would happen. I told him not to worry, there was still one day left, and we weren’t going to do anything with Ephron. We had considered two options, but it was too late to get them. I boarded my airplane without giving it a second thought.
But when I got off the plane, Coventry had made me another offer. It had been four weeks since I had seen my wife and children, so my driver drove me home. It was eleven o’clock in the UK and six o’clock in the US. I spoke with Baz and instructed him to return to Coventry and inform them about the offer. There was still one day left. It was late in the day. This will not take place.
“My pitch to them was ‘take it, do a deal,'” he continued. I want him back on loan; you can pay me back in the summer. I don’t want any money right now. That takes precedence above the money. Since I wanted the player, it was actually three quarters of a million less than what I was recommending. I responded, “You’re getting a player at today’s price, and I want more money for him in the summer.” They had some opposition to that.
“Thereafter, I received a message on my phone from the owner of Coventry, who I presume was personally traveling to Antarctica via South America, asking whether it would be alright for him to give me a call. I had only ever corresponded with him via email. Since I hadn’t seen my misses and hadn’t had any alcohol for a month, I had already had seven beers at this point.
“I am going to warn you, I have had quite a few drinks,” I wrote in a message to him. Anyway, he called me, and for approximately forty-two minutes, we had a great conversation. We discussed the transaction, Ephron, and what it would take to close it. We also talked about football and what happened to them in the playoffs last year.
“Look, Doug, it’s late in the day, and I don’t want to let him leave the building,” I remarked. He was also unrelenting. My recommendation was to buy him and lend him back to us, but I said let’s just leave it. One of the top players outside of the Premier League, they sign him in the summer. I’m going to demand more money from him since I know he will score ten more goals and win League One player of the year.
“We do this at Peterborough, but he couldn’t believe what I was asking for already. The player and his agent are well aware of it and naturally wish to attend. It’s a life-altering large salary cheque for him. Although it’s a significant step, Ephron was excellent in that he avoided creating a scene.
“He chose not to follow in the footsteps of other players by declaring he was going on strike rather than playing. Nevertheless, at 1:30 a.m. my time, I received another message from Doug, saying, “This, this, this, and this,” and I thought, “This is crazy.” I turned back to him and said, “This is option A, but only if we can find a substitute.” Furthermore, I am kind of out of time. I’m going to wake up at six in the morning (that’s eleven in the UK). I sent Barry an email in the interim telling him to look for substitutes.
“We’ll let him leave if we can find a suitable replacement. If it’s not possible, I’ll refuse and keep him within the structure. After only three hours of sleep, I called Barry to see how he was doing with replacements, and he told me there was no chance since the club was asking for too much money.
After I informed Coventry, they were plainly furious with me, but they made every effort to secure his permanent removal. At this point, the player said, “I want to go.” When I called Darren, he asked me what I was going to do because the money was so large. £3m/£.3.5m was being quoted. However, there’s more.
I informed Darren that I would not allow him to go. That is not what any League One member would have done. What we turned down, no one would have turned down. And the reason I did it was because I didn’t want to quit the league. I simply felt like there was something amazing going on, and I didn’t want that to leave the building, even though we are trying to pay the bills.
“The Coventry owner messaged me again later in the day, and I just apologized and informed them that I wouldn’t be able to acquire a replacement. However, I returned to choice B once more. You don’t have to pay me till the summer or later, I responded; it’s less money. I just want the player back, I don’t care.
“After they said “no,” I have the same Championship team begin bidding for Ronnie Edwards in the summer. This is on deadline day, which is at 5 p.m. I have two phones—my English phone and my American phone—and I’m sitting in my diary room. Barry calls me and informs me that Coventry has approved Plan B. Five o’clock is now. Ten minutes later, he calls me and tells me it’s not on.
“We are currently attempting to acquire a right-back. At eight o’clock, Barry called and said, “Coventry wants to do Plan B,” so I responded, “Okay.” However, in addition to the paperwork and the player’s requirement for a medical examination, the most crucial aspect was that I wasn’t signing anything until I saw the loan signing documents. Not because I don’t trust them, but if the loan documentation goes lost and I lose the player for less money, that gets lost with the EFL. It’s a race against time and I’m not taking any more money right now.
How I avoided a heart attack despite drinking 22 coffees and dealing with everything at once. I had like 188 phone calls in seven hours, I swear to you. It was simply insane. However, we most likely received more bids for our players than any other football league club.
“After the sale was done, I thought we did a fantastic job by the player, even though it was for a lower price. The player made his move, we were able to get him back, and we played well by Coventry. I believe he will thrive there with Mark Robins.
Doug requested for an option on one of my other guys as well, because they like quite a few of our players, MacAnthony revealed, indicating City’s interest in additional players. Thus, I thought we ultimately did them a favor. They still have a strong team and I still think they can finish in the top six even though they didn’t receive their player.Financially speaking, it was definitely the wrong decision, but overall, it was the correct one. the wider view. Despite saying, “you’re effin’ mad,” about the offers, my dad thought the bargain was fantastic. On top of that, there are a lot of things in the future.
“So yeah, it was mad, it was fun, it was a rollercoaster but I looked at my wife when it all closed and had a drink, again, and I was like, ‘have I made a mistake here. Had I chosen Plan A instead? “No, you have to follow your heart,” she said.
We are a company that specializes in turning around players who were purchased by Barnet for £130,000 eighteen months ago for millions and millions of pounds. That’s not for a striker, by the way. For a winger, that is. That is our identity and our manner of operating. Furthermore, I’m overjoyed for Ephron and his family. His family is young, and Coventry is gaining a fantastic player.
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