Simon Jordan
Encyclopedia
Simon Jordan is an English
businessman who made his fortune in the mobile phone
industry. In 2000 he purchased Crystal Palace Football Club
and remained chairman of the club until they entered administration
in early 2010.
on schoolboy forms, but his career never took off, and Chelsea released him when he was sixteen. He has described himself as being "good enough to be a professional, but mentally I wasn't interested. You often get players who have bags of talent, but not the required application. I was one of them.". All this happened whilst he was at Purley High School for Boys
in Old Coulsdon. His father Peter Jordan used to play for Crystal Palace F.C.
, although never appeared for the first team.
In the late 1980s or early 1990s he was invited by a friend, James Wright, to join him in his business, Wright Connections, selling mobiles via adverts placed in the Loot and Exchange and Mart. Jordan and Wright rented an office from Delta 5, another mobile phone dealer, and the business lasted for a short time before changing its name to Corporate Cellular Ltd (CCL). This business was not considered to be a great success either and Jordan left in the early 1990s, presumably to work for the Carphone Warehouse.
In 1994, Jordan and Andrew Briggs set up their own mobile phone retail company called the Pocket Phone Shop. They started with £30,000 and a 3500 sq ft (325.2 m²) unit in Slough
, and after forming an agreement with service provider Astec, the business flourished.
By 2000, the Pocket Phone Shop had 167 outlets nationwide, employed 660 staff and was forecasting a turnover of £52m for the 1999/00 financial year. Pocket Phone Shop was seen as one of the main rivals in its sector to leader The Carphone Warehouse
- the organisation that Jordan and Briggs both worked for before launching their own venture.
At its peak the Pocket Phone Shop enlisted the services of Ulrika Jonsson
to promote its new store openings, but the relationship turned sour when Jordan sued Jonsson claiming she had not fulfilled her promotional activities. It is unknown what the outcome of this action was. Despite the Pocket Phone Shop venture being successful, Jordan's first forays into the mobile phone business were not.
for £73m. That year, Singapore financier Jerry Lim bought Crystal Palace Football Club, a club that had been hours from extinction, from the administrators
, and immediately sold the club to Jordan, aged 32. Jordan immediately appointed himself chairman, making him the youngest chairman of a Football League
club. Having been born "100 yards from the ground" Jordan had been a lifelong fan, and he noted "I have achieved exactly what I set out to do, and that is to be Chairman of Crystal Palace. I have been prepared to put my money into something I truly believe in, and my first job is to turn the fortunes of this club around." Jordan also vowed that the club would be promoted to the Premiership
, within five years. However, despite owning the club, Jordan did not own the ground. That belonged to Ron Noades
, who had been chairman until 1998. It was the sale of the club from Noades to Mark Goldberg
that eventually led to the club going into administration, and therefore it was natural that Jordan appeared not to have much time for Noades.
During his time as Palace chairman, Jordan also helped to set up a USA Academy, which is known as Crystal Palace Baltimore, and has supported former Palace captain Geoff Thomas
in his work to raise money for first Leukaemia Research
and then his own charity, "The Geoff Thomas Foundation". Jordan appeared for a "Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI" in the first ever match at the new Wembley Stadium
, against a team of celebrities, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win after Mark Bright
had opened the scoring.
Jordan caused a storm in July 2008 by announcing his plans to sell the club and move away from football altogether, stating he had "been disillusioned with football for a long time". This occurred after Palace had found centre-stage once again following a Football Association
tribunal's decision on the John Bostock
transfer to Tottenham Hotspur
left Jordan to declare "It's a panel of halfwits". Palace were awarded only £700k, having valued Bostock at £5m.
No potential buyers came forward to make a bid for Palace, and the club have become embroiled in deep financial trouble. Rumours persist of personal financial difficulties as Jordan faced "cashflow" problems relating to wage payments at the club in November and December 2009. On 26 January 2010 Crystal Palace went into administration and Jordan's ownership came to an end.
(August 2000), Alan Smith
(April 2001), Steve Bruce
(November 2001), Trevor Francis
(April 2003), and Steve Kember
(November 2003). Of these, only Coppell and Bruce left of their own accord, with Coppell's departure brought about by a personality clash and Bruce's resignation leading to a high court case.
Iain Dowie
was appointed in December 2003 and the club bounded up the table from the relegation zone to win promotion in May 2004, beating West Ham United
at Cardiff
's Millennium Stadium
in the play-off final, fulfilling Jordan's promise of promotion within five years. However, the club remained in the Premier League for just one season before being narrowly relegated in 2005. In May 2006, having accepted Dowie and Jordan had differences but the same goal, Dowie left the club by mutual consent. However, towards the end of the month Dowie joined Charlton Athletic
as their new manager, prompting Jordan to issue a legal writ
against him, claiming Dowie had lied about his reasons for departure.
Peter Taylor, an ex-Palace player was installed on 13 June 2006. However, his reign would last just 16 months, ending on 8 October 2007 with the sack. Jordan stated he wanted Taylor to be remembered as a good player for Palace rather than a bad manager. On 11 October at a press conference he unveiled Neil Warnock
as the new manager, which failed to surprise many as the two were reported to be good friends. Jordan's choice appeared to have been a good one, since the club embarked on a superb run of form that saw them move from the relegation places into the 2007–08 season play-offs, but the relationship between the pair ended in a dispute after Warnock left the club to join Queens Park Rangers
following the Eagles' entering administration.
battle against Dowie, with The Hon. Mr Justice Tugendhat ruling that Dowie had lied when negotiating his way out of his contract at Palace. Dowie won the right to appeal against that decision, leading to it being heard in the Court of Appeal. In April 2008, Crystal Palace F.C settled out of court with Iain Dowie, and issued the following statement.
from Ron Noades for £12m, using an investment mechanism that kept his identity secret. He claimed the obfuscation had been necessary due to the "very, very difficult" relationship he has with Noades. Palace are now seen to be safe for the future. It later transpired that the freehold had been bought by the company Selhurst Park Limited, which was owned by another company. A maze of ownership finally showed the legal ownership being 60% Paul Kemsley and 40% a venture capital company owned by HBOS. Simon Jordan has since offered the freehold for sale with the intention of taking back a long lease on the property. Simon Jordan's exact position on the freehold was unknown, although Jordan later agreed a 25 year lease for Selhurst Park. Selhurst Park Limited later went into administration (separate from Crystal Palace Football Club's own administration), leading to the stadium being purchased by the CPFC 2010 consortium, led by Steve Parish at the same time as the consortium buying Crystal Palace F.C.
newspaper. A particular column, written by Jordan, led to him being charged by the Football Association
with bringing the game into disrepute. The case was heard on 7 December 2005 with a charge of improper conduct proven. Jordan was given a suspended fine of £10,000. But, backed by other journalists and by media advisor Max Clifford
, Jordan indicated his intention to appeal, stating "I didn't start this fight, but it's not something I'm going to walk away from." His appeal was heard on 10 April, and was rejected by the three member panel, two votes to one. Jordan commented in his 16 March column in The Observer that he and his advisors were "now considering taking this through the courts. Any legal action I take won't be about wasting time or resources on a petty point of principle - it'd be an attempt to see the whole thing unravel."
Jordan also used the column to highlight the inconsistencies in the F.A. disciplinary panel. The same panel decided no disciplinary action would be taken against Paul Jewell
, manager of Wigan
, who had been charged on the basis of making comments similar to Jordan's. Jordan described the compliance process as being "based on mood", noting: "There's no frame of reference, no consistency - and, yes, it's personal. It amounts to me not being able to say a referee is incompetent while others can, using the same language."
Whilst awaiting the outcome of the appeal, it appeared as though the events were having an effect upon him, as on 26 February 2006 it was reported by The News of the World
newspaper that Jordan was tired of being chairman, and wanted to go back to being a regular fan. He has since reported in his 5 March 2006 Observer column that he was misquoted and that he had simply restated what he had said eight months before, that "I don't plan to stay at Palace or in football all my life. I'd like to return to the stands 'as quickly as possible', but I won't sell until I've secured a sound legacy - Premiership football and a new ground"
Jordan did not continue writing for the Observer in the 2006–07 season
.
for ITV
along with fellow millionaires the Ann Summers
managing director Jacqueline Gold
(daughter of West Ham
chairman David Gold, a personal enemy of Jordan's); entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne
; MOBO Awards
founder Kanya King
; and former Conservative
Member of Parliament-turned-novelist Jeffrey Archer.
based the play about the life of record producer, Joe Meek
.
, Spain
, regularly flying back to the UK.
It was reported by The Mirror
newspaper's website in January 2006 that Jordan had bought girlfriend Meg Matthews (former wife of Oasis
guitarist Noel Gallagher
) a Porsche
worth £100,000 for Christmas
, along with a personalised number plate
, and that the couple had been together since July 2005. However Jordan gave details of the ending of this relationship in March 2006, admitting that it had been Matthews who had ended the relationship, while attacking The News of the World
newspaper, which had reported that Jordan had 'ditched Matthews' the week before. Jordan wrote of the matter in his Observer column, "the piece belittled someone who has been very important to me over the last nine months."
In June 2006 it was reported that Jordan's ex-girlfriend Tara Stout, 36, posed in a Union Jack bikini
and high heels, then put on tiny shorts and a revealing top to face Bow Street Magistrates Court in Central London
over a case re Jordan. The pair also faced each other in court in October of that year, when Stout was found guilty of harassing Jordan.
It was reported in the Sunday Mirror
s showbiz section "Radar" in September 2006 that model Sophie Anderton
was dating Jordan In a bizarre twist of fate, Jordan used to go out with Sarah Bosnich, the ex-wife of Sophie's former flame Mark Bosnich
.
In June 2007, it was announced that Suzi Walker, the estranged Page Three wife of Bolton Wanderers
goalkeeper Ian Walker, was pregnant with Jordan's child. The pregnancy
was unplanned, but the couple having dated for eight months were delighted. The baby, a girl called Cameron, was born in January 2008.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
businessman who made his fortune in the mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
industry. In 2000 he purchased Crystal Palace Football Club
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
and remained chairman of the club until they entered administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
in early 2010.
Early life
At 16, Jordan joined Palace and then ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
on schoolboy forms, but his career never took off, and Chelsea released him when he was sixteen. He has described himself as being "good enough to be a professional, but mentally I wasn't interested. You often get players who have bags of talent, but not the required application. I was one of them.". All this happened whilst he was at Purley High School for Boys
Purley High School for Boys
Purley High School for Boys existed from 1914 to 1988. It was located in Placehouse Lane, Old Coulsdon, London Borough of Croydon. The school was Purley County Grammar School from 1914 to 1969, becoming Purley High School for Boys after the abolition of the Grammar School system and the...
in Old Coulsdon. His father Peter Jordan used to play for Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
, although never appeared for the first team.
In the late 1980s or early 1990s he was invited by a friend, James Wright, to join him in his business, Wright Connections, selling mobiles via adverts placed in the Loot and Exchange and Mart. Jordan and Wright rented an office from Delta 5, another mobile phone dealer, and the business lasted for a short time before changing its name to Corporate Cellular Ltd (CCL). This business was not considered to be a great success either and Jordan left in the early 1990s, presumably to work for the Carphone Warehouse.
In 1994, Jordan and Andrew Briggs set up their own mobile phone retail company called the Pocket Phone Shop. They started with £30,000 and a 3500 sq ft (325.2 m²) unit in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, and after forming an agreement with service provider Astec, the business flourished.
By 2000, the Pocket Phone Shop had 167 outlets nationwide, employed 660 staff and was forecasting a turnover of £52m for the 1999/00 financial year. Pocket Phone Shop was seen as one of the main rivals in its sector to leader The Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse Group PLC , known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a 50% subsidiary of Best Buy...
- the organisation that Jordan and Briggs both worked for before launching their own venture.
At its peak the Pocket Phone Shop enlisted the services of Ulrika Jonsson
Ulrika Jonsson
Eva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
to promote its new store openings, but the relationship turned sour when Jordan sued Jonsson claiming she had not fulfilled her promotional activities. It is unknown what the outcome of this action was. Despite the Pocket Phone Shop venture being successful, Jordan's first forays into the mobile phone business were not.
Crystal Palace
Jordan and Briggs left Pocket Phone Shop in 2000 after selling the company to One2OneT-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
for £73m. That year, Singapore financier Jerry Lim bought Crystal Palace Football Club, a club that had been hours from extinction, from the administrators
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
, and immediately sold the club to Jordan, aged 32. Jordan immediately appointed himself chairman, making him the youngest chairman of a Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
club. Having been born "100 yards from the ground" Jordan had been a lifelong fan, and he noted "I have achieved exactly what I set out to do, and that is to be Chairman of Crystal Palace. I have been prepared to put my money into something I truly believe in, and my first job is to turn the fortunes of this club around." Jordan also vowed that the club would be promoted to the Premiership
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
, within five years. However, despite owning the club, Jordan did not own the ground. That belonged to Ron Noades
Ron Noades
Ron Noades is an English businessman who has a strong connection with investments in football clubs. In his time, he has been chairman of Southall, Wimbledon, Crystal Palace and Brentford between 1981 and 1998.-Crystal Palace:...
, who had been chairman until 1998. It was the sale of the club from Noades to Mark Goldberg
Mark Goldberg
Mark Goldberg is an English football club chairman and manager, who is currently in his third spell with Bromley F.C.-Business:Goldberg originally made his fortune in the IT recruitment industry, becoming a multi millionaire...
that eventually led to the club going into administration, and therefore it was natural that Jordan appeared not to have much time for Noades.
During his time as Palace chairman, Jordan also helped to set up a USA Academy, which is known as Crystal Palace Baltimore, and has supported former Palace captain Geoff Thomas
Geoff Thomas
Geoff Thomas born Manchester, England is a former English footballer, who won nine caps for the full England team and captained Crystal Palace to the FA Cup final in 1990...
in his work to raise money for first Leukaemia Research
Leukaemia Research
Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is a British charitable organisation, established in 1960by the Eastwood family from Middlesbrough who started raising money, following the death of their 6-year-old daughter Susan....
and then his own charity, "The Geoff Thomas Foundation". Jordan appeared for a "Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI" in the first ever match at the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, against a team of celebrities, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win after Mark Bright
Mark Bright
Mark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....
had opened the scoring.
Jordan caused a storm in July 2008 by announcing his plans to sell the club and move away from football altogether, stating he had "been disillusioned with football for a long time". This occurred after Palace had found centre-stage once again following a Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
tribunal's decision on the John Bostock
John Bostock
John Joseph Bostock is an English footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur.-Crystal Palace:...
transfer to Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
left Jordan to declare "It's a panel of halfwits". Palace were awarded only £700k, having valued Bostock at £5m.
No potential buyers came forward to make a bid for Palace, and the club have become embroiled in deep financial trouble. Rumours persist of personal financial difficulties as Jordan faced "cashflow" problems relating to wage payments at the club in November and December 2009. On 26 January 2010 Crystal Palace went into administration and Jordan's ownership came to an end.
Managers
Jordan gained a reputation as a manager-killer early in his Palace reign, although this would prove to be unfounded as his reign progressed. Between 2000 and 2003 no fewer than the following five managers departed the manager's post: Steve CoppellSteve Coppell
Stephen James "Steve" Coppell is an English former footballer and manager, currently without a club.As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and represented England at the World Cup...
(August 2000), Alan Smith
Alan Smith (manager)
Alan Smith is an English former football manager who began his coaching career as Steve Coppell's assistant at Crystal Palace. When Palace suffered relegation from the Premiership in 1993, Coppell resigned and Smith moved up to the manager's seat...
(April 2001), Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
(November 2001), Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
(April 2003), and Steve Kember
Steve Kember
Stephen Dennis "Steve" Kember is a former footballer who played in the centre of midfield during his career, before going into management...
(November 2003). Of these, only Coppell and Bruce left of their own accord, with Coppell's departure brought about by a personality clash and Bruce's resignation leading to a high court case.
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie is a former footballer and manager. He is currently without a club. He has previously managed Hull City and Queens Park Rangers and was assistant manager of Newcastle United...
was appointed in December 2003 and the club bounded up the table from the relegation zone to win promotion in May 2004, beating West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
at Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
's Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in the play-off final, fulfilling Jordan's promise of promotion within five years. However, the club remained in the Premier League for just one season before being narrowly relegated in 2005. In May 2006, having accepted Dowie and Jordan had differences but the same goal, Dowie left the club by mutual consent. However, towards the end of the month Dowie joined Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
as their new manager, prompting Jordan to issue a legal writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
against him, claiming Dowie had lied about his reasons for departure.
Peter Taylor, an ex-Palace player was installed on 13 June 2006. However, his reign would last just 16 months, ending on 8 October 2007 with the sack. Jordan stated he wanted Taylor to be remembered as a good player for Palace rather than a bad manager. On 11 October at a press conference he unveiled Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
as the new manager, which failed to surprise many as the two were reported to be good friends. Jordan's choice appeared to have been a good one, since the club embarked on a superb run of form that saw them move from the relegation places into the 2007–08 season play-offs, but the relationship between the pair ended in a dispute after Warnock left the club to join Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
following the Eagles' entering administration.
Dowie Court Case
Jordan succeeded in his High CourtHigh Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
battle against Dowie, with The Hon. Mr Justice Tugendhat ruling that Dowie had lied when negotiating his way out of his contract at Palace. Dowie won the right to appeal against that decision, leading to it being heard in the Court of Appeal. In April 2008, Crystal Palace F.C settled out of court with Iain Dowie, and issued the following statement.
"Prior to appeal being heard a mutually satisfactory settlement of all matters has now been reached on terms acceptable to Crystal Palace Football Club"
Selhurst Park
In October 2006, Jordan gave supporters an announcement that had been eagerly awaited since he took over, that on 6 October, he had purchased the freehold to Selhurst ParkSelhurst Park
Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...
from Ron Noades for £12m, using an investment mechanism that kept his identity secret. He claimed the obfuscation had been necessary due to the "very, very difficult" relationship he has with Noades. Palace are now seen to be safe for the future. It later transpired that the freehold had been bought by the company Selhurst Park Limited, which was owned by another company. A maze of ownership finally showed the legal ownership being 60% Paul Kemsley and 40% a venture capital company owned by HBOS. Simon Jordan has since offered the freehold for sale with the intention of taking back a long lease on the property. Simon Jordan's exact position on the freehold was unknown, although Jordan later agreed a 25 year lease for Selhurst Park. Selhurst Park Limited later went into administration (separate from Crystal Palace Football Club's own administration), leading to the stadium being purchased by the CPFC 2010 consortium, led by Steve Parish at the same time as the consortium buying Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
Career as a columnist
As of the 2005-06 season, Jordan wrote a fortnightly column for The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper. A particular column, written by Jordan, led to him being charged by the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
with bringing the game into disrepute. The case was heard on 7 December 2005 with a charge of improper conduct proven. Jordan was given a suspended fine of £10,000. But, backed by other journalists and by media advisor Max Clifford
Max Clifford
Maxwell Frank Clifford is an English publicist, considered the highest-profile and best-known publicist in the United Kingdom...
, Jordan indicated his intention to appeal, stating "I didn't start this fight, but it's not something I'm going to walk away from." His appeal was heard on 10 April, and was rejected by the three member panel, two votes to one. Jordan commented in his 16 March column in The Observer that he and his advisors were "now considering taking this through the courts. Any legal action I take won't be about wasting time or resources on a petty point of principle - it'd be an attempt to see the whole thing unravel."
Jordan also used the column to highlight the inconsistencies in the F.A. disciplinary panel. The same panel decided no disciplinary action would be taken against Paul Jewell
Paul Jewell
Paul Steven Jewell is a former English footballer who is currently the manager of Ipswich Town.His playing career started with Liverpool before moving to Wigan Athletic and then a ten-year spell with Bradford City...
, manager of Wigan
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
, who had been charged on the basis of making comments similar to Jordan's. Jordan described the compliance process as being "based on mood", noting: "There's no frame of reference, no consistency - and, yes, it's personal. It amounts to me not being able to say a referee is incompetent while others can, using the same language."
Whilst awaiting the outcome of the appeal, it appeared as though the events were having an effect upon him, as on 26 February 2006 it was reported by The News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
newspaper that Jordan was tired of being chairman, and wanted to go back to being a regular fan. He has since reported in his 5 March 2006 Observer column that he was misquoted and that he had simply restated what he had said eight months before, that "I don't plan to stay at Palace or in football all my life. I'd like to return to the stands 'as quickly as possible', but I won't sell until I've secured a sound legacy - Premiership football and a new ground"
Jordan did not continue writing for the Observer in the 2006–07 season
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
.
Television work
Aside from appearances in football-related programmes, Jordan's first major TV appearance was in early 2007, appearing in Fortune: Million Pound GiveawayFortune: Million Pound Giveaway
Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway was a British television show hosted by Richard Madeley which first aired on ITV on Tuesday 2 January 2007. Over seven weeks, various members of the public appeared, several per show, and appealed before a panel of judges for money to fulfil ambitions or dreams...
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
along with fellow millionaires the Ann Summers
Ann Summers
Ann Summers is a United Kingdom-based retailer specialising in sex toys and lingerie, with over 140 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and Spain. In 2000, Ann Summers acquired the Knickerbox brand, a label with an emphasis on more comfortable and feminine underwear, while...
managing director Jacqueline Gold
Jacqueline Gold
Jacqueline Gold is a British business woman, and is currently Chief Executive of the Gold Group International companies Ann Summers and Knickerbox. She is the 16th richest woman in Britain.-Early life:...
(daughter of West Ham
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
chairman David Gold, a personal enemy of Jordan's); entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne
Duncan Bannatyne
Duncan Walker Bannatyne, OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, stage schools, property and transport. He is most famous for his appearance as a business angel on the BBC programme Dragons' Den...
; MOBO Awards
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
founder Kanya King
Kanya king
Kanya King MBE is the founder of the MOBO Awards.-Achievements:King is a consultant to a number of Government initiatives for disadvantaged youth including the Home Office Task Force to reduce gun violence...
; and former Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament-turned-novelist Jeffrey Archer.
Film production
In 2008, Simon Jordan produced the film TelstarTelstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites, including the first such satellite to relay television signals.The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 was launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962...
based the play about the life of record producer, Joe Meek
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
.
Personal life
Jordan currently resides in MarbellaMarbella
Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, regularly flying back to the UK.
It was reported by The Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
newspaper's website in January 2006 that Jordan had bought girlfriend Meg Matthews (former wife of Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
guitarist Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
) a Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
worth £100,000 for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, along with a personalised number plate
Vanity plate
A vanity plate or personalized plate , prestige plate, private number plate, or personalised registration or custom plate or personalised plate is a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle...
, and that the couple had been together since July 2005. However Jordan gave details of the ending of this relationship in March 2006, admitting that it had been Matthews who had ended the relationship, while attacking The News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
newspaper, which had reported that Jordan had 'ditched Matthews' the week before. Jordan wrote of the matter in his Observer column, "the piece belittled someone who has been very important to me over the last nine months."
In June 2006 it was reported that Jordan's ex-girlfriend Tara Stout, 36, posed in a Union Jack bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
and high heels, then put on tiny shorts and a revealing top to face Bow Street Magistrates Court in Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
over a case re Jordan. The pair also faced each other in court in October of that year, when Stout was found guilty of harassing Jordan.
It was reported in the Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
s showbiz section "Radar" in September 2006 that model Sophie Anderton
Sophie Anderton
Sophie Anderton is an English model and reality television personality.-Early life:Anderton attended Redland High School for Girls in Bristol between 1988 and 1993...
was dating Jordan In a bizarre twist of fate, Jordan used to go out with Sarah Bosnich, the ex-wife of Sophie's former flame Mark Bosnich
Mark Bosnich
Mark Bosnich is a retired Australian football player and football pundit. He represented Australia 17 times and played for English Premier League clubs Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea.-Manchester United :...
.
In June 2007, it was announced that Suzi Walker, the estranged Page Three wife of Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
goalkeeper Ian Walker, was pregnant with Jordan's child. The pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
was unplanned, but the couple having dated for eight months were delighted. The baby, a girl called Cameron, was born in January 2008.