If you are a Tranmere fan, who has Twitter and other social media platforms, you may have come across an Indonesian man named Simon. His pictures range from ones of beautiful Asian sunsets and of the place in which he lives in where there seems to be a lot of luxury. Thinking about it, he deserves it all given that Tranmere’s future may have been kickstarted by his contacts .. friends in high places. He is just like you and me, a football fan. Thus, just exactly, what has he done? I spoke to him to find that out.
‘Hello Ethan. I’m just an ordinary football fan, like you are. I enjoy travelling which has meant I have been to Liverpool a couple of times and on one occasion I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Palios by chance. To put this long story short, we became good friends over many discussions about business related subjects and the great sport of football. He told me that he was the owner of a local club called Tranmere Rovers, a club which I would soon mention to my friends in Jakarta. The friends that I had the pleasure of introducing Tranmere to are the owners of the Santini Group. Thus, as many people know, this started a business move as they became more and more interested and they soon invested’.
The Santini Group, using a description of them that can be seen on the company’s website is ‘a renewed incarnation of Gemala Group, an established holding company that successfully brought together the management skills of a remarkable Indonesian family’. Their business spans industries, including automotive parts, infrastructure, natural resources, property development and services. Their involvement with Tranmere Rovers started in September 2019.
Simon, after introducing his friends to the club took a step back to simply just be a fan. He has no complaints doing this as he loves the stadium, the fans and certainly a good drink in the tent.
‘I’m back as a fan now, I still have the great bonus of keeping in contact with the Palios’. I love being at Prenton Park, I love being in the tent outside the stadium. Thus, I certainly enjoy a drink of Gamma Ray. All the fans that I have met there are friendly to me, really welcoming’
To conclude our conversation, I asked him what he believed could be achieved in the future to see whether or not the Rovers faithful should be excited.
‘I suppose the long term goal is to get the club promoted but to not stop there, I would love to see Tranmere play in the championship perhaps or maybe even higher. I know that the Santini Group and Mr Palios will do all they can to achieve this as they always discuss the vital topics. The Rovers faithful should be optimistic for a successful future’.
- Simon’s discussions with Mark Palios may have left Tranmere with a great base as the club aims to have a successful and fruitful future.
Interesting piece Ethan. It was always a bit of a mystery who Simon was when he first appeared on the scene. As time progressed and his role as a middle man became apparent, I think we all wondered who the Santini Group were and what their motives were. Still a bit of a mystery about their motives. Were Mark and Nicola looking at the group as part of their long term exit plan ? To what extent are the group looking to invest long term ? I guess we’re not party to that information and understandably so. Reassuring to know that we have got people interested in the longevity of TRFC though. Short term fixes never seem to work out too well.
Thank you very much for reading, some things are best kept away from the public eye but I think we all have full trust in Mark and Nicola Palios so whatever business plans the club is involved in are only ones that will leave the club in a great position moving forwards.