It's called the Football pyramid. How dare we spend money at Championship level when Penistone Church are struggling in non league. It's how it's always been. Some clubs are richer and/or more successful than others. If the club isn't lumbered with the debt because the owner is willing to write it all off I don't see the problem apart from we don't have a owner that's likeable like the Stoke fans think of their owners.
I get that, of course. But the key issue here is that football clubs are spending beyond their means because the wages paid to players is often a significant part of, or even exceeding annual turnover. I think we can all agree that this is not sustainable, rather large cracks are appearing. At some point, this will change and there will be a correction. How and when this eventually happens we don't know, but I think we can all agree it is more than likely going to come. As I don't think clubs will dramatically be able to increase their revenue further, I believe that they will have to revise player salaries downwards. Those are the figures I believe would be fair value should a correction come about.
Eh???? If Penistone Church shifted 10k season tickets then you might have an argument. I honestly dont understand why you think it is possibly ok! I don't have a problem with the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd being bigger, providing that any funds they receive are above board. Likening a Championship club to non league is mental.
So you’d be ok if we went bust because no one wanted to spend money on us to compete with rich people . Clubs like Bournemouth with a false following thriving whilst we’re laying staff off ? PS. I can understand fans from these clubs that are benefiting from this but to suggest it from a fan from our club that could go to the wall or at the best go semi professional is a bit galling tbh .
Here's the first couple of paragraphs which tells us everything we need to know Stoke City’s owners, bet365 Group, have underlined their continuing long-term commitment to the Club and its funding by reducing the debts of the Club’s holding company by £160million. The Club’s owners have converted £40million of shareholder loans into equity in Stoke City Holdings Limited and have also waived £120million of shareholder loans.
Sorry, I also completely missed my own point. The 'worth' would revert back to paying players within the financial parameters of individual clubs based on gate receipts and tv money (primarily). You could argue that this is also a fairer reflection of the actual output the players are producing.
Stoke City are solvent due to the generosity and highly-committed outlook of their English owners. I can't see what is wrong with that. I wish we had those owners.
All this doesn’t negate FFP though does it, which is simply based on profit and loss? Or am I missing something?
You'd prefer an ownership model that regularly writes off hundreds of millions of pounds just to keep the club afloat? As an aside, I don't know what relevance Stoke's owners nationality has either?
This is my explanation. What happens when the bet365 Group decide they want to stop wasting hundreds of millions on a mid table Championship club? Also, just as an aside, not sure I’d want owners who advocate a betting company.
Why not, if they are genuinely committed Stoke fans from birth? Would we have complained if Patrick Cryne had been in that league? I mention their nationality purely by reference to the fact that they are not buying into the club from overseas for more nefarious reasons (see Chelsea).
I may be mistaking you for someone else here, but didn’t you stop going because of Mr Cryne’s ownership? Would you have changed your mind was he a wealthier man and willing to throw money into a black hole. This is exactly what the Coates family are doing.
Not at all. I didn't agree with everything PC did, but I didn't stop going because of him. The Coates are putting money Stokes' way because of their attachment to the club. The difference between them and Patrick Cryne lies only in the depth of their pockets. SCFC are not going to be in a black hole because the wealth of the Coates is way beyond the amount they might choose to put into the club. The debt written off is small change. Why would they not be able to spend their money that way? It is light years away from where chancer owners saddle a club with debt to pursue their unrealistic ambitions.
If you are happy with this state of affairs then I really do despair. Absolutely one of the worst takes I have ever read.
What is it you say that they have done wrong? The club is not saddled with debt. They are just lucky to have such owners. As in 'life is unfair'.
But in the long term, its not sustainable, whether they're Stoke fans or not. There comes a point where they simply can't write off any more money, and then what happens to the club? Patrick Cryne regularly dipped his hand in his pocket in order to keep the club going, and the thought of it terrified me. I often wondered where we would be if he ran out of money. An overseas investor doesn't necessarily have to be purchasing for nefarious reasons though either. Similarly, a British based investor might not have the clubs best interests at heart. Karl Oyston for example.