Adver News: SWINDON TOWN: Patey wants a bidding war

[OOH! SHAUN TAYLOR]

Thats a shit name for a law firm, to be fair...

[GoSWINDON]

From a post I read on Twitter the other day Black with other investors is now starting some sort of law firm. Fingers in pies

strange name , it's probably all pie in the sky anyway. I hope he get's his just(ice) desserts

[fatbasher]

Quote from: OOH!  SHAUN TAYLOR on Today at 08:12:41
Stupid question time - Why exactly did Andrew Black buy the club in the first place? Don't get me wrong, I am truly, truly thankful he did, but what was ever in it for him? And what will he actually get out of it?

I'm sorry, but I can't quite grasp this.

I explained in an earlier post....men with money are like kids in a sweet shop at time.

Bit like buying those Haeibo,look nice and tasty but after a while they start to make you feel sick.

He probably realised that football wasn't quite as fun as he would have hoped.

If you go back to the dying embers of Diamond Mikes strangle hold on the Wills family, the consortium/investors call them what you like had a 3 year plan to get us up to the championship. Danny Wilson screwed up the season after Millwall, back to square one.

The season we got relegated should have been a promotion season, instead we have in effect been put back to a 5/6 year plan from the start if you like. Paolo has come in on a basis of another 3 year plan, hence 5-6 years however you look at it. The bottom line is this, had everything gone to plan we'd be in the championship but we're not.

Black has probably been honest in his reasons up to a point. The underlying fact is that he and the rest of them saw a money making opportunity with Wilson leading the charge, a quick return on investment and offski. Afterall these money men are exactly that money men, money makes money, simple as.

So Paolo has to start over again only the costings to their original business plan have been shredded by PDC and Big Phil. Remember Fitton would not or did not like or pay agents suddenly we have had to do a 180 here and it's costing us. As did not being on TV v Villa, going out of the QD Paint Trophy early and the FA Cup in the first round. Though as has come to light AB tried to sell the club in the summer so in the grand scheme those little financial set backs are more irritating.

If you thought the consortium/investors were here for the long run the you have been living in a false universe. Wise up folks, the next lot will not be any different.

As long as the club has sustainable finances and we go up the all should be rosy in the garden. It won't be i'll bet you it wob't be.

Earlier in the season I posted about ST costs next season and my worry about how we would finance ourselves playing amongst the big boys, you know what? Some of you laughed at me to the point of nearly taking the piss. AB has seen what I alluded to. Fair play to him and them for bailing us out and bank rolling the club so far. In short he can see what's coming over the horizon if he gives paolo enough to get us up and that my friends is a trip to the bank to far.

[Peter Venkman]

One more thing - why has Black suddenly decided NOW is the time he wants out? Ok he's apparently been trying since the summer but we've still been spending money until the last week or so. Why sanction the signings of Ward, Hollands and Martin and then threaten to pull the plug completely. Just makes no sense to me.

I think Paolo going public asking for more funds to get out of the 'Mbongo was the straw that broke the camels back with Black.

I heard privately back a few months ago that Black was disenchanted with life as owner and was trying to get in more investors to cover his rising costs and then he would ease out of the club passing control over to the new major investor.

Then Paolo coming out and saying he would personally fund any new signings was a kick in the teeth for Black, almost saying to him....you wont help the promotion push so I will help. In saying that Paolo is basically stating that the board are not 100% backing him so Black has come out and said he is not backing him because he is pulling out.

I also think that many of us guessed at the time that SWP was brought in for the job of using his contacts in the Middle East to find us new investment, this may have worked it may not have worked, only time will tell but either way the club have reigned in Paolos spending for the short term to try and stop the club losing more money in the transfer market before what Black thinks that it is getting out of hand.

Lets hope that whoever does come in is in it for the long run and not a flash in the pan and only in it to make money from the club relocating to new premises, like the last few (previous to Black) boards have been.

[Fred Elliot]

If you thought the consortium/investors were here for the long run the you have been living in a false universe.

And if you thought they were here under the illusion they would make money off the back of a league 1 or 2 club then so are you

[Ginginho]

The way he's expressed that "there are a bunch of people who want to buy the club" as opposed to "we're looking for investors who may be interested" seems encouraging to me.

Hopefully it gets resolved quickly.

[kerry red]

Bit of amateur financial thinking

Our income monthly must be approx £400k from gate receipts on its own - haven't got a clue about other income streams.

Wage bill reported as £250k monthly.

The difference must be anough to cover other costs as we have no bank loans or overdrafts.

So surely the only money AB must be putting in is for any signings. The club isn't dependant on him to keep it afloat month by month.

Or am I missing something here?

[fatbasher]

And if you thought they were here under the illusion they would make money off the back of a league 1 or 2 club then so are you

Never crossed my mind and I don't believe I alluded to that in my well thought out post. Try to do better than picking holes please. If you read it again you'll see that the promised land of the championship is the backbone of my post along with redevelopment,

[Arriba]

A bidding war? Yeah right. The winner gets to fork out millions then has to keep forking out cash to see the club progress.

[Fred Elliot]

Never crossed my mind and I don't believe I alluded to that in my well thought out post. Try to do better than picking holes please. If you read it again you'll see that the promised land of the championship is the backbone of my post along with redevelopment,

Stop blowing smoke up your own arse. It never read like that at all.

Name me one club in the Championship which turns a profit for the investors. Any investment in a football club, bar the top 5 in the prem is like pouring sand through a colander

[Batch]

And if you thought they were here under the illusion they would make money off the back of a league 1 or 2 club then so are you

Indeed. Fitton himself thought it may be possible to run at not-quite breakeven with a strategy of home grown keep 1 sell 1 youngsters. I think he conceded it actually might not be later on.

In fact Walsall are probably one of the few clubs that achieve near break even most seasons. Credit to them for maintaining league status while doing so.

edit: Just seen FBs follow up. It didn't read like that to me much either to be fair.

[fatbasher]

Stop blowing smoke up your own arse. It never read like that at all.

Name me one club in the Championship which turns a profit for the investors. Any investment in a football club, bar the top 5 in the prem is like pouring sand through a colander

Instead of picking holes mate you put some thought into a post about our current situation. Their primary objective was to take a fucking basket case club turn it around with development and preferably promtion to the championship and fuck off as fast as possible after making some money, as indeed the next owners will try to do. I'm pretty much like every other STFC supporter and don't give a monkey's about other clubs debt problems and wether their owners have made money.

Quote: Name me one club in the Championship which turns a profit for the investors. Any investment in a football club, bar the top 5 in the prem is like pouring sand through a colander.

I can't because I do not have access to individual clubs financial accounts and the personal financial details of the owners thereof. So, I'll ask you something. Why do you think these people invest in clubs in the first place? As you know, in accountancy you can make money out of a loss and a loss out of a profit. You do not have to show a profit on the balance sheet to make money and that is why it is a lucrative industry and hence why these bods show up from nowhere with a scraf held up high proclaiming to be the clubs saviour. Put your money into savings and you'll be lucky to get 3% put it into a club and charge whatever interest rate you like on the loans to it, mortgage the season ticket sales to the bank and pocket the cash are just two ways money men make money out of clubs. Also another good wheeze is a cut of of transfer profits like Redknapp does and so on. Going back to your original question to me, none of them do on the face of it but you know that they do behind the scenes, so in essence all of them. I am happy for you to disagree so I'll leave it up to you to provide me with all the relevent financial details to carry this conversation on if you so wish. Enjoy todays game. 

[Flashheart]

Some clubs do make a profit/break even.

The money people will do their homework and will know more about running a football club than the rest of us out together. Of course everything has to go right, and that didn't happen for Black et al. WE made a profit one season with the current lot on board but relegation right royally fucked everything up.

[Flashheart]

Barnsley profit/break even. Google is your friend

Can't be bothered to search through the rest but Barnsley was the first on the list (alphabetical)

[Fred Elliot]

Their primary objective was to take a fucking basket case club turn it around with development and preferably promtion to the championship and fuck off as fast as possible after making some money, as indeed the next owners will try to do.

Complete bollocks

I bet, like me, you have been hailing them as our saviours for the last few years. And rightly so because that's exactly what they have been.

I understand that you are obviously very upset at Black's withdraw and I think this has jaundiced your views a little

Anyone expecting to "make a quick buck" out of STFC is quite frankly deluded, and not the astute business men that the consortium were, and indeed still are