STEP BACK IN SPORTING TIME... 2002 - When 'Fash The Bash' and Saddam’s pal tried to buy Cobblers!

Bottom of Nationwide League Division Two and under a transfer embargo, the board were trying to sell the club to ensure a much-needed injection of finance.

Little did they know what a can of worms they were opening up by putting the club up for sale... namely a ‘battle for control’ between a charismatic former England striker, and a lawyer who was pals with a certain Saddam Hussein!

We hit the Chron archive to look back and chart exactly what happened...

Stories from 2002 by Daniel Owens, Paul Jeeves and Jeremy Casey.

It was December 15, 2001, and the Cobblers had just kicked off their crucial Nationwide League Division Two clash with fellow strugglers Bournemouth at Sixfields.

But the attention of those in the west stand was not on the pitch, but on the imposing figure was making his way to his seat in the the directors box - former Wimbledon and England centre forward John Fashanu.

‘Fash the Bash’ was a a guest of the club - a club he had shown serious interest in buying, and it was a day that really kick-started six months of stories, rumours and excitement around the Cobblers, a club in a perilous financial position.

Chairman Barry Stonhill and the board were keen to sell, with the cash-stricken Cobblers under a transfer embargo due to £80,000 owed to the Professional Footballers’ Association.

By the end of March, 2002, the financial outlook was even more bleak with the collapse of ITV Digital, meaning a serious loss of promised revenue for the Cobblers, and every other Football League club.

Step forward Fashanu and the ‘Winners World Wide’ consortium, and in early January it looked as though a deal for the former Crazy Gang leader to take over was close. But it wasn’t.

As things dragged on, there was interest from other parties, including a certain Giovanni di Stefano, an ‘international lawyer’ who was reportedly a friend of Saddam Hussein!

It was a story that would run and run, while the team successfully avoided relegation on the pitch, and here is how it all panned out.

JANUARY 5, 2002

WINNERS World Wide front man John Fashanu has reassured supporters that there is no hidden agenda behind the consortium’s bid to take control of the Cobblers.

Despite the WWW takeover receiving the full backing of the vast majority of Town fans, some supporters have voiced their concerns over the real reason behind the consortium’s bid to buy the club and Sixfields Stadium.

There are fears that Fashanu and WWW don’t have the welfare of the club at heart, but the former Wimbledon, Aston Villa and England striker says people with such worries are way off the mark.

“The alarmists in the town and people who think we would not keep the club as part of the community needn’t worry, we are community people,” said the former Gladiators TV presenter, who insists that he wants to enhance the club’s community feel.

“I believe in the youth policy at a football club and the youth policy at Northampton is something we would work on very, very hard,” said Fashanu.

“We will not be losing the identity of Northampton Town Football Club, we will add to the identity of it if anything because we might add boxing and concerts, things for the community and put Northampton Town on the map.

“We are not going to fill the stadium with foreign players, that is not the case at all, but when a football club can take 41,000 to Wembley a couple of years ago (the 1998 play-off final) I would like to see what the youth development is.

“If they have got a catchment area like that I would like to see at least four or five of the players being developed through the club’s youth policy.

“That is how I believe the best players come through. Northampton is a local community club, and we want to work with the community.”

JANUARY 10, 2002

Cobblers chairman Barry Stonhill has stated many times that he will only sell the club to people he believes have the interests of Northampton Town at heart, and he clearly thinks John Fashanu and WWW are good for the club.

“There has been other interest in the football club, but we feel the best way forward for Northampton is to do something with Winners World Wide and that’s the route we are going try and progress down.

“This is the right thing for Northampton in our opinion, not just Northampton Town Football Club. We have always said if we were to do something with the club that the first priority is to make Northampton Town Football Club a viable proposition. But I think the plans are right for Northampton as a town.”

But Stonhill did warn supporters not to get too carried away by developments.

“There are obviously lots of obstacles to overcome and it is hard to put time limits on these things, but in my opinion we are looking at at least two or three months,” said the Cobblers supremo.

“In the meantime, we will all work together to try to shorten that length of time, but as with all deals if something comes along that is completely unacceptable to one of the parties then it will fall out of bed.

“So it’s not time to start popping the champagne corks just yet, but there is a willingness to move the thing forward and that is important.”

JANUARY 10, 2002

THE transfer embargo which has stifled the Cobblers’ season could be lifted within the next fortnight.

Chairman Barry Stonhill revealed last night that the takeover bid by Winners World was ‘ 90 per cent’ done as far as the sale of the club was concerned, although a deal on the consortium acquiring Sixfields Stadium is still some time away.

But Stonhill did say he had approached WWW chief executive John Fashanu prior to yesterday’s meeting with the Borough Council about helping to clear the club’s £80,000 debt to the Professional Footballers’ Association.

And he added that those funds could be forthcoming in the near future, providing WWW receive assurances from the council about a deal for Sixfields going through.

“We are working diligently to try and get the transfer embargo lifted as soon as possible, but it’s not easy,” said Stonhill.

“We’ve put a proposition to Winners World Wide linked to the eventual ownership of the club which I think they will give serious consideration to.

“And I would think if they give that proposition serous consideration then something could happen in the next seven or 10 days.”

Fashanu admitted that WWW would love to help the Cobblers immediately.

The team is rock-bottom in Nationwide League Division Two and favourites for relegation, and Fashanu said: “We would like to put funds into the club but you don’t pay for a Rolls Royce before you can actually take it out of the showroom and start driving it.

“We are not at the moment going to start paying for the rear wing of that Rolls Royce so it can be just left there and somebody else can drive it.

“We just need that little bit of extra confirmation and the council have made it very clear they want to push it forward the right way.

“We are in a Catch 22 situation. We have another three or four months until the end of the season and Northampton Town are in a dire position.

“The council want to get things done as quickly as we do, but unfortunately there are rules and laws as there are in any country and the council are responsible to the taxpayers and theY want to do it the right way.

"But we are hoping that manna is going to fall from heaven, and that someone somewhere is going to say ‘ come on guys, let’s move this ahead’.

“Because the quicker we do that then the quicker we can start writing out cheques to bring in players, if that is necessary.”

JANUARY 14, 2002

TODAY is deadline day for the trio of bidders interested in buying the Cobblers – but chairman Barry Stonhill says the club has still to receive a formal bid from any party.

The Town board meets tonight, and Stonhill says that if the bids don’t materialise then he and his fellow directors will put selling the club on the backburner and concentrate on securing the club’s future themselves.

Stonhill admitted that the club has been ‘limping from month to month’ as it tries to survive this season, and that the priority is to ensure nothing detracts from making sure Northampton Town FC stays in business.

“The situation is that there have been three interested parties for some time, but still nobody has actually made a formal proposal to the football club,” said Stonhill.

“It has been frustrating but not surprising, because football attracts people who talk a lot.

“The fact is if somebody wants to buy something they should start making formal proposals, not flapping around for ever and a day.”

The Cobblers have been waiting on an offer from John Fashanu’s Winners World Wide organisation since the beginning of December, while the two other undisclosed parties have been in contact with the club for the past month.

And Stonhill said: “We have bared our souls to these people and although we are not saying we are the best buy in the world, if they are interested then somebody should make a proposal.”

JANUARY 22, 2002

CHAIRMAN Barry Stonhill believes that it will be at least next month before the Winners World Wide Sports team will be able to commit themselves to buying the Cobblers.

The deal hinges on the Borough Council’s evaluation of Sixfields Stadium, and Stonhill feels the results of that process are not going to be forthcoming for at least another 10 days or so.

Stonhill stated last week that he hoped some sort of deal could be sorted out in ‘seven to 10 days’, but he has now been forced to reassess that initial statement.

WWW, fronted by John Fashanu, will not buy the club until they have guarantees they can take out a 125-year leasehold on Sixfields, and they are waiting to find out exactly what that is going to cost them.

“It’s my understanding that it is going to be the early part of February before there’s a figure (on the Sixfields Stadium) from the council,” said Stonhill. “In the meantime, I think Mr Fashanu is in Nigeria and there doesn’t seem to be a great deal happening.

“These things take time, and I would think it will be early February before there is any evaluation on the stadium.”

The news is a blow to Cobblers fans who had been hoping that WWW would be able to pump much needed cash into the club in the short term to clear the debt owed to the Professional Footballers Association and lift the transfer embargo on the club.

JANUARY 30, 2002

CHIEF executive Gary Hodder is expecting a formal written offer for the Cobblers from John Fashanu’s Winners World Wide team by the end of this week.

Hodder was contacted by solicitors representing WWW during last night’s win at Notts County, and was told that the offer will be with him in the next few days.

It’s positive news for Hodder and the Cobblers’ board of directors after what has seemed a frustrating couple of weeks of inactivity, but the chief executive revealed that there has been plenty going on behind the scenes.

“John Fashanu is in Nigeria for the next week, and he has been there for the past two weeks, and we are still waiting for a formal structured offer from his organisation,” said Hodder.

“We have spoken about it, we have inferred about it, but what I want to try to do is bring that deal to the table for at least the board of directors to consider, and that should be with us by the end of the week.”

FEBRUARY 19, 2002

THE COBBLERS have extended the deadline for receiving takeover bids until the middle of next week.

Chief executive Gary Hodder had originally issued a deadline of last night to the three parties interested in buying out the club. But that deadline has now been put back as the club has still to receive the evaluation on Sixfields Stadium from the Borough Council.

That evaluation on the 125-year lease for the stadium is expected to be with the club by next Tuesday, and then it is hoped all three potential buyers, including John Fashanu’s Winners World Wide team, will formally make their offers for the club.

“All interested parties have delayed submitting bids until the evaluation of the stadium is released to us next Tuesday,” said Hodder, who admits he has been frustrated by the time it has taken the council to come up with a figure.

And he added: “ The indications are that a proposition will be forthcoming to consider, subject to seeing the receipt of the evaluation.”

APRIL 30, 2002

AND THEN there were two... Cobblers chief executive Gary Hodder has revealed that he hopes the takeover of the club can be sorted out by the beginning of June, and that there are now only two serious bidders.

One of the two is believed to be longtime pursuer John Fashanu and the Winners World Wide group, while mystery still surrounds the other bidder.

For the past three months the club has been in talks with four different parties over buying the club and the Sixfields site, but attention is now being focused on the two bidders who want the club and the ground only, not the surrounding land.

“We have put timescales on two of the four runners,” said Hodder.

“An independent valuation is taking place this week on the Sixfields Stadium, because that is the core of the business.

“The other issues everybody accepts will take time and they can all be discussed in the process of time.”

MAY 20, 2002

AN INTERNATIONAL lawyer who is reported to be a friend of Saddam Hussein with links to Colonel Gadaffi’s family has made a bid to buy the Cobblers.

The move has put him head-to-head with former England football star John Fashanu who is leading the only other major move to take over the club.

Giovanni Di Stefano has been in negotiations with the cashstrapped club which has been looking for a buyer for more than seven months.

The wealthy businessman is a high profile lawyer, but he has also been publicised as having links with the former Serbian paramilitary leader Arkan, who he is reported to havE represented, and is also reported to have claimed to be ‘ friends’ with the Iraqi dictator Hussein and a friend of one of Colonel Gadaffi’s sons.

Revelations of the offer comes after months of negotiations with John Fashanu who heads a consortium which was favourite to become the new owner.

The latest twist comes as the division two club battles increasing financial troubles.

The Cobblers have refused to confirm the revelations.

Northampton Town chairman Barry Stonhill said: “There are two parties involved in negotiations.

“One is the consortium led by John Fashanu, but I cannot confirm the identity of the other party.”

But the Chronicle & Echo has discovered that Mr Di Stefano, who is believed to have family connections with Northamptonshire, is the other main bidder.

MAY 24, 2002

THE fight to take control of the Cobblers will intensify this week when former England football star John Fashanu meets the club’s directors.

While lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano has pledged to seal a deal for the ownership of Northampton Town by the end of the week, Mr Fashanu will travel to Sixfields tomorrow to continue with his own negotiations.

Mr Di Stefano emerged last week as the only other serious contender to snatch the takeover bid away from Mr Fashanu’s World Wide Winners (WWW) consortium.

And the outspoken lawyer, who is representing Slobodan Milosevic and has met Osama bin Laden, said: “ I will complete this deal by the end of the week.

“It is all very simple, it comes down to money. Northampton Town is a very good option, and it is a club with relatively small debts. I am waiting to hear back from the bank, and I will then put my proposals to the directors.”

Mr Fashanu is due to head to the home of the Cobblers tomorrow with a financial expert to establish his own independent evaluation of Sixfields Stadium.

Gary Hodder, the Cobblers’ chief executive, told the Chronicle & Echo that the club was still treating the WWW bid seriously, despite Mr Fashanu announcing his plans for the takeover at the end of last year.

JUNE 12, 2002

FORMER football international John Fashanu has insisted his plans to buy the Cobblers are still alive despite an apparent stalemate between the two parties.

One-time England star Fashanu, who has been involved in discussions with the Cobblers since the club was put up for sale last year, has been overtaken in the takeover race for Sixfields by lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano.

Cobblers chairman Barry Stonhill confirmed yesterday that talks with Mr Di Stefano are at an advanced stage.

But Fashanu denied claims that a deal with his Winners World Wide consortium is dead in the water, and insisted he was still monitoring the situation with a view to completing a deal.

The former Wimbledon striker, speaking exclusively to the Chronicle & Echo, said: “ The ITV Digital situation has had a massive effect on Nationwide League clubs and a number are pleading poverty.

“Eight clubs, including one from the first division, have been in contact with us to make enquiries. It does not inspire confidence. But we remain interested in Northampton Town. I have been extremely impressed with the whole setup.”

“I am awaiting financial advice from my chairman before deciding what to do.

“We have to be 100 per cent certain before we can make a final decision but from our point of view the deal is still very much on.”

AUGUST 28, 2002

CHAIRMAN Barry Stonhill has promised Cobblers fans the club will not go under despite the breakdown in talks with prospective buyer Giovanni di Stefano.

Directors turned down his reduced offer for the cashstrapped club after they flew to Monaco for talks with the top criminal lawyer during the bank holiday weekend.

Mr di Stefano said he was no longer willing to inject £600,000 into club funds, claiming he had only recently learned the full extent of the club’s financial problems, reducing his offer to just £50,000 instead.

However, he said he was still willing to cough up more than £1million over the next five years to clear all the club’s debts including a £250,000 bank overdraft, and pay back money owed to directors.

But with the club facing an immediate £500,000 shortfall due to the collapse of the ITV Digital deal, the £50,000 offered up front was branded ‘an insult’ by Mr Stonhill, who insisted no deal would now take place with the legal expert.

He said: “Mr di Stefano did not just move the goal posts, he moved the entire pitch.

“It is absolute nonsense to say he only recently heard of our insolvency. Our finances have not changed since we entered negotiations with him several months ago.

“It’s time to close this chapter and move on. Things have reached a termination point and this is now the end of the matter.

“We are back to square one but I am confident we will survive.”

Mr di Stefano stepped in to negotiations earlier in the year at a time when former soccer star John Fashanu had expressed an interest in buying the club and its facilities.

Those talks also collapsed.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?...

DESPITE more than eight months of talks, meetings, speculation, claims and counter-claims, nobody bought the Cobblers.

The ‘bids’ from John Fashanu’s Winners World Wide group and Giovanni di Stefano proved to be little more than pie in the sky, meaning chairman Barry Stonhill and the Town board had to turn their attentions elsewhere.

As far as the Cobblers were concerned, they only had to wait a few more months for new owners to take control at Sixfields, with a consortium led by Andrew Ellis, and funded by his then brother-in-law David Cardoza and his father Tony, bought the club in December, 2002.

But what about Fashanu and di Stefano? What happened to them?

John Fashanu: A year after his interest in taking control at the Cobblers ended, Fashanu became the chairman of Welsh outfit Barry Town - but he had left the club within a year.

He has also been involved with the Nigerian Football Association.

Last year, the former Gladiator presenter, who is now 57, was back on TV, starring in the Channel 4 reality TV series SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Giovanni di Stefano: After his fruitless flirtation with the Cobblers, di Stefano did eventually end up in football as he became a director at Scottish club Dundee in 2004, but his stay was short-lived.

His ‘legal career’ continued, but the man dubbed the ‘Devil’s Advocate’ for his associations with the likes of Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milošević, was jailed for 14 years in 2013.

He pleaded guilty to 27 charges including deception, fraud and money laundering between 2001 and 2011, related to ‘tricking people into thinking he was a bona fide legal professional’.