The current wages are irrelevant, as it is inevitable that your owners will poor more money into the players upon reaching the Premier League. The average wage will increase significantly with their crosshairs set on the Europa League short term and Champion's League long term. Of course, once achieving Premier League status and assuming you stabilise, then having a super rich owner with the possiblity of them leaving is no longer a realistic outcome. You'd have to essentially come back down straight away for a capitulation big enough for them to leave. The point was in the reasonably likely event that the club is not in the Premier League within 3 seasons and they decide to cut their losses and leave, the wage structure you are on is not sustainable in the Championship.
That high? I'm surprised. Leicester doesn't even have a population of 500 000 and I wouldn't expect a large surrounding catchment area with Nottingham, Derby and Coventry right on the doorstep.
I'm really surprised. We draw from at least 3 cities surrounding us, populations of 200 000 (York), 300 000 (Wakefield) and 550 000 (Bradford). That's a catchment area of just shy of 2 million before you factor in places like Kirklees and Harrogate. Haven't even thought about the East coast either. For a catchment area of 1 mill they've got a decent sized fan base.
If I'm right, Leicestershire had a pop. of around 570,000, but that's from my A level geography days from 15 years ago. I think the Leeds fans are correct that our current wage bill is not sustainable in the championship, but this would've been implemented into the '#' year plan that a loss will incur in the first couple of years. We have signed players that if need to be sold will have a value, as they are on 3+ yrs contract. The aim of the owners is top flight football as that means 70 to 90% less money is spent on advertising in the Asia region of their brand. With the hiring of Sven and then his 'surprise' sacking (which to me is no surprise as we have been indifferent since February) has created more media attention, all free advertising.
They're a well-supported club. About half the size of us, and a more provincial fanbase in terms of nationwide support (which you can tell from their away support in comparison with ours), but well-followed nonetheless. Do you see the whoring of your club as a marketing vehicle as a good thing or a bad thing? Myself, I hate the fact that we even have to have shirt sponsors. Commercialism everywhere.
You can intend all you want but on recent results you're going nowhere. One good result against Burnley doesn't mean your season has turned around, you have been inconsistent since the start.
Unyet we're six points from the automatic spots. Imagine what will happen when were not longer "inconsistent". And even if we don't go up this season, I'm sure we will next.
This is going to turn into a circlejerk again, so I can't be bothered. I've explained why it's just as likely (if not more likely) to not happen this season or even next at least 10 times.
It's 21st century professional sports. Look at Man City, now a walking billboard for Ethihad. Arsenal- Emirates. Professional football is following what the American sports have been doing for years. It's a mini Americanisation. King power have took a 'cheaper' option of buying a club that has potential to reach the gold at the end of the rainbow, sorry I mean premiership.
The financial implosion of the world can't come soon enough. Sure the situation will be ****ty but we'll get to the point where the people with money won't have power any more, because the people who don't will be in too much poverty to care. Bring on the day when I can beat a billionaire investment banker who takes a fat mutlimillion pound bonus out of the bailout money the stupid ****ty bank got from the government to within an inch of his life.
Of course it would be. I'd still follow the team but I'd feel hollow knowing that any success is bought and not earnt. Remember we tried to buy success and it went wrong. I actually tried following Manchester City as a second team because despite loving Leeds, some of the ****ty football played in League One is just so agonising to watch that I wanted another team I could watch where the football is at least guaranteed to be good regardless of the result. I got bored within a week because I felt what's the point following a team that buys success.
The most annoying part of it is when the poor quality print inevitably starts to fall off and you're left with a shirt that looks ruined.
Remember that we have also been where you have been, and we would've gone back there if it wasn't for Mandaric. Idon't know about your situation, but Bates maybe to you what Milan was to us. As a fan, we can't do more than support our clubs, the decisions made are out of our hands. All we can do is argue, joke, WUM on boards just like this........till the day we win the euros lottery.....
