Thoroughly enjoyed the frank answers given by the panel and it gives an insight into how the club is being run(very well imo) The board should be applauded for what they are doing under the constraints they are working under and without their efforts we might not have a club to support. Do I agree with everything they have done ? No but we would be in a lot worse position without them. There is no magic wand at the minute but let's all support them ,our club,our town our heritage and be careful what we wish for. COYR
Ohh here we go again, with another Bfc pop-Quiz night!. I'm going to read up on this a bit more in the morning, because it might just be interesting actually.
What makes you think the club is being run very well? I can point you to a thread back in May I posted to suggest that it is a complete shambles. The board have got most of you lot where they want you. You don’t have to listen to them to get a view. Just look at the decisions over the past two years they’ve made. I’m yet to watch it back but did anyone ask about why Collins was sacked two weeks from a playoff semi final or what a complete mess they made of Thalhammer. They cost us the whole of last season and will cost us this season…….but it’s “ok” because they are nice people who put money in every year. I know…..we will give the fans a “fans forum” where we make them all feel sorry for us within the first 5 minutes. I’m telling you this now……If they keep this trajectory going downhill (that most of you don’t seem to realise atm) you will be feeling pretty similar at the end of this season/beginning of next. There’s only so many excuses you can give before the majority turn. Personally……I don’t believe them. They don’t run the club well, they make awful decisions and I really really hope they can turn it round.
He seems a great guy and I am very thankful for what he and the other owners do for the club in that regard. I have supported the club since I was a boy and I’m not even sure if I would do it tbh it’s insane that people call them to leave the club etc. the numbers are all a matter of public record and have been for years. It’s leaking cash and they’re the ones fixing those leaks. Those leaks are not caused by them - football has eaten itself due to sky TV which leaves the owners of pretty much all clubs in an invidious position. Have they made mistakes ? Yep, loads. However without them , we are insolvent. Be thankful for what we’ve got imho.
All of those clubs have two things in common the first being they are constantly being funded by the owners and secondly they started with a lower cost, meaning they weren’t carrying a huge deficit from day one. It’s easier to gradually grow when you don’t start with a big debt to fund first.
Sure Patrick once said he was subsidising the Academy a million a year or something along those lines.
Interesting to listen to. The only point I want to raise in response is that they've had to put in 8 million of their own money chiefly due to their own decision making. Sacking and hiring managers and their high numbers of staff. Player sales and scattergun purchases. Lack of fan initiatives to bring in the new but also to retain the jaded (that's me basically). Club shop/Fanatics shambles. Kiosk shambles. FA Cup shambles. All of these decisions - their decisions, has cost them money. Obviously not to the tune of 8 million, but I would suggest it's a fair chunk.
Never heard Patrick say he had had to fund it by anywhere near those figures. It’s decision making pal. Sack managers…..pay them off Who hires them? Obviously it’s more than just managers. There’s other things like sacking or getting rid of internal staff. Sponsorship deals like Hex. Getting thrown out of FA Cups. Bad recruitment. I posted back in may a big list of what went wrong since they took over from Conway. It starts or started at the top. You can’t keep getting it wrong and blaming managers all the time. Questions need to be asked a bit higher up than managers. Some on here can’t see nothing wrong with how we are run. That’s their view or perspective. It’s not mine
It would have been quicker to say 'we've spunked it on poor players, a bloated backroom staff and paying people off without justification'
I think first I have to acknowledge it's not the norm for a basket case club to come out and actually admit it's a basket case. I respect their honesty in openly stating they are making an extraordinary hash of things and haemorrhaging money like you wouldn't believe. Your income being half your outgoings is incredible. And the hard decisions they seem to have made, from the outside don't seem that hard at all. Penny pinching on non player salaries that pushes them out of the door is not a hard decision. Not doing things that aid fan experience and can be done for free or extremely cheaply and can drive income, it's incredibly short sighted to say they are putting all money into the playing side at the expense of all else. And it's most definitely not a hard decision when you look at the swelling of our coaching and executive ranks. It would be interesting to understand if directors have taken pay cuts. Obviously James has been eased out, which I had wondered with a markedly different transfer policy which is welcome in some ways and ridiculous in others. While they are willing to subsidise their mistakes (which also strengthens their ownership and waters down the PMG/Lee aspect further) you could say it's all fine. But is it? We've seen before clubs making big unsustainable losses and unforeseen circumstances putting the club into existential peril. Bolton seems the obvious example when their bankroller died. We have to get this under control and sadly, it actually seems the hard decisions are obvious and just not being taken. Job one. You either close the academy, or you stop paying transfer fees. Job two. Cut and balance the squad. Stop loans which incur loan fees, agents fees and contribution to high wages. Utilise free agents better. Be braver blooding kids. Job three. Take fees for players running their contracts down who aren't going to re-sign. Job four. Review the level of executive pay being paid to people with zero experience of the role they are being brought in to do. There are plenty of other things they could do and one of the things that constantly surprises me is how little local businesses and business owners are involved. I'm sure there would be plenty of people with local business acumen who would operate as an unpaid NED. We have players making silly mistakes on the field and it costs us points. We have executives in the stands making silly mistakes and it costs us pounds. We can be thankful they are willing to pump in millions every season. But that is finite. It's not healthy. They need to get a grip and swiftly and make this business (because thats what it is) something that can operate on a going concern basis. Personally, I don't care what league we play in. But i do care that the future of the club is protected and that means running it properly. I don't envy them at all, football is crazy and frankly, the whole thing needs to collapse and be remade. But we're in a position that we aren't spending enough to break free of this division and we're spending too much to be sustainable. Something has to give.
Please tell me how our backroom staff is bloated. Its relentless how people keep banging on about this ? Its completely normal, even to have plenty more coaches. Its only ever been an issue since Hourihane came in and dont get it
Are they billionaires.? I see nothing re their net wealth. Only speculation. The only apparent billionaire was lee. And not sure if that was even correct. Parekh is very difficult to pin down. Lots of speculation but no proof as far as I can tell. JAQ and James certainly aren't. From what I can gather. I've seen a lot of positives. But some speculative negatives on the forum. Lee and Conway were the main culprits as to why where we are. Relegation and the aftermath of huge wages for players that couldn't hold down places in the side. I do think we are held back a little by the strategy. The Humphries deal being possibly a knee jerk signing that went against it. And possibly one of the best signings of the summer. So need to look at those other avenues to build success. But get in first. Transfer windows are a nightmare for any club tbf. As the players hold most of the cards. Going to the highest bidder in the end.
Mate, just because other clubs, as we keep being told, ..... "have a load of backroom staff and it is the norm" ........... doesn't necessarily mean we have to follow suit. To me all I see is instability. Whitehead: in then out; GK coaches, in then out. New gaffer inevitability; wholesale changes. I fully believe it is bloated but I respect the fact I am not there every day to see how they function and what value they bring.
I'd like to place on record I like Neerav. Always rated him; always liked the cut of his jib. My only wish is that he was a bit more hands-on, because I get the feeling he has misguided confidence that those he places his day-to-day trust in are using his funds to good effect. And I'm not convinced they are.
Patrick said he was having to put in £1m pm. At one stage. I Can't remember the yr. Probably one of the seasons after we got relegated. Again having to stump up players wages. Based on championship football. Exactly the same as this lot having to cope with Oulare, Iseka etc Wages. Oulare apparently £500kpa.
