Great post but the smart recruitment bit is clearly a problem while Mladen is involved, accepting mistakes and being smarter and leaner would be a good starting point for slowing down our decline.
I wonder how much the improvements to the academy pitch would have cost compared to the money pissed up the wall on Lewis, Rodriguez, Lembikisa and Gauci. None of which were needed
I did think similarly about this. I suspect JAQ was a dissenting voice on the Board and I wonder if it will impact her desire to continue to invest in the club, or whether Neerav will now absorb a greater proportion of any future share issues, which will be an inevitability at some point.
Neerav has been increasing his share every issue. I hinted at something a while back that I had an inkling why losses may be running to such a sizeable level. My gut feeling for a while is he wants overall controlling interest. Why, I’ve no idea, but the trend is from incurring sizeable losses he has squeezed other shareholders positions to take him from a minority to majority position. It could well be he’s forced the closure of the women’s team to dilute or dissolve JAQs interest and tip him closer to 80%.
I’d love to know what Neerav expected when he took over. Was he unaware that football clubs lose money? Did he know what he was getting into, but expected to turn it around very quickly? He’s making noises like he’s the only one keeping things together. Is that a cry for help, or apportioning responsibility? If so, to whom? Fans? Fellow investors? Potential investors? I want BFC to succeed. I don’t want the club to be owing millions to a foreign owner, or any owner. If you’re reading Neerav. You’re responsible for making it a success. It’s your business, and it’s your business to know where and why it’s going wrong. No amount of safe standing or variety of lagers in the fan zone is going to get fans flocking to oakwell when it’s become a bogey ground for teams in red. Time to stop belly aching about buying a football club and losing money, as if it’s a new thing, and do something about it, or let someone else have a go at it.
His main problem is he doesn't spend that fraction more that he needs to in order to succeed. Hence he's constantly fire fighting situations brought about by himself and his inept staff.
It's not a fraction though is it? And there's no guarantee that spending more money equates to success, given so many others are willing to play casino. My biggest issue is grip. If you own it, you sink investment into it, it's your responsibility to make it work. Not employ people at significant cost and abdicate responsibility but helicopter in to whine now and then. He's not a mega wealthy individual. He's effectively an investment manager for a part of his Dad's wealth. Given how he's effectively lost about £20m on us so far while taking us backwards, I'd imagine he may well have gotten his pocket money cut.
On the club owning money, I thought that the money was being put in by new shares not owner loans? It’s not great that we’re having to be subsidised to such an amount but I don’t think we’re ’technically’ in debt to him. Happy to be corrected
Where the Heart is was a romance comedy. whos title could be applied to Grove street, it could certainly be asked and leveled in some quater's, and sums up the situation down at Oakwell, in my opinion. From what I saw, one part of the bio was certainly missing, and certainly whilst the other gathered speed towards the said announcement Lip service at its best I Feel sorry for the ladies of the team, and town, saddened by the out come. To Quote a former managers words....''Theres better run conference clubs.'' Guess nothings changed
You are correct, Cash injections have been for equity and not loans, so whilst we operate at a loss v turnover each season the equity means we don't technically have any debt in the form of loans to Neerav
He says he can’t keep funding the club indefinitely, and that we’re losing money every season. Whether it’s his money or some shareholders, it doesn’t make it any less scary, and the notion that we lose money but don’t owe anyone anything is a bit short sighted. There’s no free money. That wasn’t my main point though, which was that it’s his project. It’s up to him how well or badly we do, just like the owners of any other business.
The losing money bit worries me. I don’t take any comfort in it not being a loan. The very fact that we are supposedly losing so much whilst being so mediocre is very concerning. Losing money/owing money might be slightly different, but neither are good without anything to show for it.
Thing is with football these kind of debts apply to literally every team in the league.Its how you service the debt thats the main thing.