At that point i dont think there was any intention of not being in charge for 2027
Quite the opposite - I believe deals were already agreed to the point that without such a dramatic unexpected shift we could have been hearing Cooper Rushen announced for a different East Anglian team today for example.....
I think the original threat/refusal to be part of a 5 team league was meant more as a bluff with the hope to push towards either a club moving up or pushing for a talks towards a joining into one
There mustve been quite an unexpected response to the move to cause Chris to feel his only option was to sell