Oh that day will come, once they have achieved their goal. Look at PSG and their investment. It got them the world cup and then they started to look to get out
I know. That's why someone has to find another way. Football clubs have always eaten up people's fortunes but I reckon it doesn't have to be the case. It's my ambition to own my local non-league club so I've spent a lot of time thinking about this.
That's the issue, for me. We've been kicked in the teeth so many times, it takes very little to turn the fanbase toxic. Not the fanbase's fault, of course, but it's hard to see how the club gets enough leeway to implement the yo-yo model intentionally.
You could argue Norwich are an example of how being a yo yo club is accepted? I dont recall hearing their fans complaining to much about how they work?
I have seen folk saying promotion would be great as we would get 100 million, even if we came straight back down. While i get that i think those same people would be demanding we spent loads to try n stay up and would then kick off if results on the pitch were poor and demand the owners leave. I want us to compete in the PL when we get promoted and for me we are still a bit away from that. It takes time to get a recruitment team to where you want it plus the academy n data aspects. It was crap being in L1 for as long as we were but in a way i was pleased as when we got promoted we actually had a team that could compete - previous yrs we wouldnt of had that Ambition isnt just about spending money on transfer fees (which we have done btw), its about trying to recruit the best staff n spending money on the infrastructure of the club. Some people forgot how far weve come in a short space of time, we got promoted in KLDs 1st full season then finished 6th 1st yr in the championship, the 2nd season in a new league is always harder, yet we are still 6th. To show no ambition would be to sign lots of experienced championship players who know the league inside out but dont have high upside to play at a higher league Instead our owners are showing ambition by putting together the youngest squad in the league that is full of players with big upside. Will all the players reach their potential with us, no but at least we are trying something a bit different. Does there need to be tweeks to the model, yes at times there will be n hopefully the club will learn from this over time We are def showing ambition n im excited about the future of our club. This season is about a playoff push while continuing to develop our youngsters. Next yr i will be excepting to challenge the top 2, promotion at worse case being the yr after
I think me using Ambition is probably the wrong word. I cant quite think of the right word to explain it, is it more realisation? that i dont want us up to the eyes in debt or beholden to a Nation or acceptance? that football is fubar
I suppose the club doesn’t look too different on the outside, from D and M to KLD, so you can partially see why the natives get restless. What’s not obvious to all is the deep damage done by the former and the internal improvements paid for by the latter.
I think that for the group to grow and become sustainable we will have to deal with going up, not overstretching and being at risk of relegation. The money is so good. I think there’s a danger in going up too soon though and judging Saturday now is too soon unless we are much stronger by the end of the window. It’s likely we’ll be slightly stronger.
Although to stay up you don't have to perform against the top teams , you just have to perform a little bit better than the bottom 3 in your first season. I think we would probably do alright against the bottom half teams as they would see us as whipping boys and come at us leaving space at the back. When we do happen to go up we will probably lose most weeks, the first 2 or 3 years is just survival any else is a bonus
It's frightening Clocky, I was four when we were relegated for the first time in 1958 but can't remember anything about it so I can't really claim that one, but I was there in 1964 when we were promoted and been around for all of the relegations/promotions since then.
I think football is at a crossroad now more than ever. The top few will always be the top few generating funds on historic achievements and popularity. Then there's the state owned clubs and I believe more and more will be bought in the future. Then there's a few that's always mid table baring the odd season knocking on the door of Europe then back to the "safe" area of the league. Then there's everyone else in the leauge, scrapping for points, trying to not get destroyed by the big teams and hope to say up because there's 3 ****ter teams there. Then there's all the teams putting it all on red trying to reach the promised land of the Premier league. I thought I'd never say this, but what's so great about Premier league? Talksport banging on about Lutons unmatched spirit the rattled off a load of games where they showed said spirit yet didn't win any of them. So to the question re ambition..... Find somewhere in the middle of the above and stay there for a while. IF we went up, you're talking 100million (plucked out of the air)spend just to be slightly competitive, because like it or not, and yes it was a one off game last Saturday, alot of our players are simply nowhere near Premier league quality at the moment.If the modle is to spend little, develop and sell on, we'll not need worry about promotion. All of the above is in my opinion ofcourse.
How many points did we get off Burnley, Luton and Shef U last season, I can’t remember but I’m sure that will give you an indication of how well your system would work.
Me to mate, and Ive found out joy is joy. When I followed Scunny, winning a match was exactly the same as Sunderland winning a match. The division you are in is irrelevant.
It's a really interesting question, I just want us to be competitive but sustainable and I think that's exactly where we are. Realistically I doubt many thought we would make the playoffs in our first season, although I did think we were more geared for the Championship than many teams once we got promoted. So in that regards we are ahead of where I thought we would be now. As for promotion, the Premier League in its current state is just awful. The gap between the top and bottom of the league is absolutely huge and then you have VAR ruining most games and sucking the fun out of it. I do suspect we may become a yo-yo club if we happen to get promoted as it would need so much investment to even stay there and unless someone like Red Bull fancies us I just don't see that happening. Billionaire owners are no longer enough these days so i'm glad we are taking the sustainable approach...even though it's frustrating at times.
I think promotion would be considered the stretch goal this season, with a playoff spot regardless of promotion being the basis for success. That said if we finish in 7th-9th and take it to the wire I think most supporters will see that as a disappointing but acceptable outcome. Anything below going into game 46th with a chance would be a failure I reckon.
I find it fascinating to be honest. A very good knowledgeable poster elsewhere has suggested we may not be far off break even in the next accounts, which considering how bat **** mental 99% of clubs are in this league are is a massive achievement and puts us in a great place when the new FFP rules really start to bite in 2025. Part of me is thinking if this is what break even looks like then its not a bad place to be on the field is it? Exciting young team, decent football, winning our fair share of games, very affordable for families to go. Its not a bad place to be is it?
We should have also beaten Fulham, I'm not saying we would stop up, but we've proved at times we play better against better teams, and I personally believe we are 2 quality additions away from a very good team. It's not just beating the bottom 3 it's about accumulating more points than them. With the squad we have right now I don't think we'd survive, however add 2 players like Diallo and Ross Stewart then I think we would quite easily stay out the bottom 3
