That sounds all very laudable, successfully keeping a small team going on a small budget. But I presume they have no grand ambitions to scale the professional leagues the way the Man U consortia do. They're 2 totally different business models.
When McInnes turned us down last year it was all about the new financial clout that the Aberdeen owner had - he'd sold his company (IIRC) If he wanted to keep hold of the striker then match the terms and get on with it rather than winging like a child to the media
Remember the National League has a canny TV deal with BT Sport, the SPL doesn’t. It’s not unrealistic that they simply have more money than Aberdeen, National League maybe get more money than League 2 in same basis.
As I understand it, the footballing side of the organisation is extremely well-run and ambitious. But, yes, they are two totally different business models because the success that this club has had is on the back of talent and hard work alone. Whereas the undoubted hard work and talent at Salford is facilitated by pots of money. If Salford are getting where they are on a comparable budget to the teams around them then I'd be impressed. But it appears that's not the case.
That sounds a little like your finding fault with them because they have a larger bank account. Its not a level playing field Norton. They're buying their way to success. Just in a different way to the ways that Man City and Chelsea do.
That's entirely what I'm doing, yes. On one level, pumping loads of money into a club to gain success is exciting and intriguing. But there are a variety of ramifications to doing that. One is that it puts a club into a false position which can have devastating effects when the money is withdrawn (e.g. Gretna). Another is that, while success in professional sport has always been achieved on the back of investment, the way that money circulates in football now means that it often pools in those clubs that have the richest investors/owners. While that might look good from a business point of view, it doesn't from a sporting point view. For example, we'll never see Nottingham Forest, Malmo, or Steaua Bucharest in e European Cup Final again (unless they get a billionaire sugar daddy).
We're just going to have to disagree mate. I can't knock a group of rich blokes wanting to take a small club and make it a big one. And sport is all about business now and one reason why we've ended up where we are, because our club was so incompetently run as a business. As for the likes of Forest and Malmo, those days are long gone mate.
I used to think maybe a salary cap was a good idea. Moved down under and realise how awful the sport is. I'd far rather let people pump money into the sport as and when they choose. Why the **** not?
It's the knock on effect that bothers me, I couldn't give a **** about Salford or who they sign! But what if another one of their players now wants 4 grand a week (just like Sterling wants 250 grand because that's what De Bruyne gets)?? Do they give in to player demands & give him it too?? They get promoted and then some other Lge 2 team are trying to sign a player who also wants silly money because Salford are paying their Lge 2 players x-amount per week. Before you know it 4 grand a week will be the going rate and will push wages up in Lge 1, Champ etc etc It's not about Salford, it's the effect of this that will rip thru football. The game is almost ****ed.... its not about scouting or tactics or passion anymore. It's all about whose owners are prepared to bankroll their team to success regardless of consequences. Saying that.... I love the game
It happens in every league from top to bottom. South Shields have been doing it for a couple of years a few leagues even further down.
Maybe he knows his limit and being paid 4 grand pw to enjoy your football and celebrate multiple promotions is very appealing to that sort of player. It sounds appealing. Money talks here in the sense that Salford are paying that much, but I sense from the article Aberdeen are concerned about the lads 'greed' and ambition and I just don't buy that personally
There is one possible snag to The Plan, not that the affairs of a team in Salford bothers me. I am reminded of Gretna where, if you remember one person, Brooks Mileson (he hailed from Pennywell incidentally), bankrolled the team from non-league to Scottish Prem. But he wasn't a well man, a chain smoker with health problems and though wealthy by our standards (well mine anyhow!!) he wasn't enormously rich. When his health finally broke down he had to withdraw his backing and the Club went to the wall. I IMAGINE that most Gretna supporters are grateful though as they had a great and most unexpected ride, while it lasted.
I remember Brookes Mileson and Gretna very well (in fact I've mentioned them above). If they'd stuck to the lower leagues of the SFL (which would still have been quite a story) that might have been sustainable but because of what happened they lost their place (now taken by Edinburgh City) and the replacement club are in non-league. Some Gretna supporters clearly loved what happened. But some may have been upset by the potential loss of their club when things went pear-shaped. And if you watch the 'Class of 92' documentary, several Salford fans weren't keen on their nice friendly little club being dragged into the professional world. I'm all for taking a non-league club and building them into something else but it has to be sustainable. Not because I want to be a misery about it but because I care about the good of football in general. Gradually building something having put good foundations in place is the way to do it. If/when the Man Utd boys withdraw their support (for whatever reason) can the Greater Manchester area sustain another league club? I would have thought it was at saturation point already. You also gave to question what the ultimate goal of these blokes is. Do they intend to challenge the position of Man Utd and bite the hand that fed them. Or even of smaller clubs in the area and jeopardise their futures. Several of them have coaching ambitions- this could lead to a conflict of interests and what then? But none of this is my main concern. I think it is a sad state of affairs when a club like Aberdeen, who have challenged for European honours in the past, are less attractive than a team in non-league English football. That is a bad thing for football in general.
Poly & Norton. I could tell you some stories about Mileson. My wife was best friend with his first wife, they were at school together and Brookes got her pregnant and they got married, the biggest mistake Pauline ever made. Mileson was a commonwealth games athlete and had a bigger opinion of himself than Steve Cram has. I could go on but as this is about football which by the way Mileson knew very little about I'll leave it there but finish by saying he may have been a self made man but he was a complete arsehole.
He's dead now isn't he? I thought the story about Gretna's demise is that after he died his widow refused to bankroll the club anymore.
Interesting. These 'larger than life' characters often don't have very savoury back stories. Give me humility any day. Exactly. Unsustainable. Ruined a nice little football club.
Thing I can’t work out on this is that StewartvDonald states that the average salary in league 1 is 3k a week. 5k fir the top earners! Can’t work out how they can pay 4K a week for a player. Agree that they’ll likely be championship in the not too distant future mind
Their budget will be ****ing massive for their league. Billionaire majority owner, some of the most famous players to have ever played the game as minority owners, a BBC documentary that's displayed them in a ****ing brilliant light. They are making the most of the incredible PR. Maybe they're running at the loss but the value of the club must be soaring.
Did it? What they're doing undoubtedly will generate interest and curiosity amongst the public and will therefore attract people to their games. But I thought the 'Class of 92' came across as riding roughshod and being insensitive to the wishes of the people already associated with club and being utterly convinced that their way was 'right' solely on the basis that they were 'names'. I didn't think they came across very well at all. And that's not to mention the unpleasant characters that they signed for the club.
To me they looked like a well run, ambitious club who were working with the community to move forwards together. Not really anything I'd have been worried about as a fan. People whinged about change early on but quickly got behind it due to the success it was bringing. I missed the unpleasant characters, do you mean the joint managers?
