Parky

It wasn't quite the point of the example tho was it Baggy?

You say this cause you don't understand the special position of this club. The people of the Midlands with all due respect are passive muppets who will put up with anything. If any owner or consortium wants a war we're perfectly capable of giving them one. Without the best wishes of the fans this club would disintegrate.

True.

Mmmm might be worth a tenner.

To me, the whole issue with Shephard et al comes down to the sacking of SBR. Thinking back to the time that SBR was last in charge there was alot of (unfair) discontent towards SBR and the team I'd imagine that as a result the renewal of season ticket sales werent as rapid as usual and therefore Shephard et al hands were being forced into action in order to stir up interest, which meant the sacking of SBR and also the bid for Rooney, (not sure if the sale of Woodgate is linked). This to me made the job untenable and hence the only man who would take the jobwas soon to be sacked - Souness who jumped ship, again not inspiring many people our hand was forced again with the lavish spending, which includedexpensive high wage acqusitions of Luque, Owen and Boumsong, the circle begins. The thing is that this whole situation could of been saved with a decent appointment, for a man who has been involved with football for 15 years or so, his and the borads footballing judgement was terrible. I would in all honesty put a lot of our current challenges at the feet of GS. It will take another 2/3 seasons to recover from that.

How much was the original loan? I'm sure it wasn't much different to £45 million. never mind mick. The top 4 who win all the trophies have debts of 1.5bn quid between them. I'm pleased you think we are in better shape than those 4 clubs and didn't waste any money in the transfer window mackems.gif How long have they been in debt to such an extent that they are now? Typically stupid argument. I've tried to explain the mess the club was in before they completely transformed it but you don't want to listen. Your loss. Was talking about the top 4. The stats that were released earlier show a business which categorically wasnt being run properly. This statement has nothing to do with thier ambition or transfer funds but the fact that they didnt stick to a sustainable business plan which is the norm for other clubs, including the 87 or so who haven't qualified for europe as often as we did ? They have better "business plans" then You're missing the point though, we havent always operated this way, in fact we were more successful when we operated the normal way. Its apretty silly comparison to be honest. It seems to me that Shephard et al were forced to open up the threshold on wages and transfers after the sacking of Bobby in orde to stir up interest for season ticket sales. To me, the whole plan was akin to a person using one credit card to clear the debts off another credit card. Only if the credit card you borrow from gets topped up by 52,000 + people every year.

We have been spending a little too much on wages recently around 70%, that needs looking at by all means. But football is a speculation driven business and ultimately all clubs take risks. Yes?

you're happy with this relegation fight and the possibility of ending up where the Halls and the fat b****** found us as soon as they have left then ? we have a debt and make a loss. the top 4 (abramovic apart) have debts and make profits...can you spot the difference ? Who the fuck are you Einstein?

I could but my old Mac refused.

Also, Geordies don't have loyalty to tesco - if sainsburys sold cheaper milk they'd probably go there instead, not keep going to tesco in the hope that one day milk would drop to the cheapest price in the country. Tescos on my doorstep and if im going there i will get the milk Don't think they do mans milk mate.

Yes. People need to grasp the fact that the club wasn't on the brink of some great calamity. I'd disagree with that. Fatso had already spent up all the sponsorship money from the Rock and Adidas for the rest of those sponsorship contracts. An £8 mill loan on future broadcasting income had been taken out. Cash flow wise, the club was stuffed until Ashley came along. Cash flow was the least of our worries, that refers to flows of money into the club which of course were fine, as that is driven by fundamentals like ticket sales and tv money. 8 mill loan on a yearly revenue stream of 30 mill is nowt, think about a mortgage where the rules are even tighter and you take out multiples of the yearly income not proportions. Fuck me.

You haven't thought about what I said. If Geordies stop buying milk from Tesco then Tesco continues. On the other hand....If Geordies stop buying football then the club folds.

The supporters.

Yes. People need to grasp the fact that the club wasn't on the brink of some great calamity.

Chelsea's debt is about £500 million if that helps. The key difference with Chelsea compared to the others is that virtually all of their debt is owed to the owner of the club, whereas the others have external debt. Only because Roman has ok'd that, I think in another scenario this could still be precarious for the club.

The thing about this thread is that seen within the context of the recent club history, the financial management of the club is better, but generally the football on the pitch has gone downhill. Basically the two are connected. Yes?

Da da dah!!

Because he was a great motivator, and almost a really good tactician, over 10 years ago. Do you think he still has it NM?

I would get him on for the last 20 in the upcoming games...Agree to an extent.

I can't believe they are still talking in terms of "getting fitter"...The season is nearly over ffs!!

Thread title should be: More crap players linked.

We might not have had the debts now if we'd invested more when we were on our way up rather than waiting until we were going in the other direction again. Money buys you better players when you have more to offer than a high salary. What can we offer ambitious players now other than money? How do we get a player to come here rather than a team playing in Europe? The first step to attracting better players is getting a top tier manager who players can believe in.

Didn't we get any telly money?