Say what you will about Blackpool's ambition or lack thereof, but they recognized that their current situation couldn't really support spending to the level of many of their competitors...Bloomfield Road needs to be expanded considerably or replaced, otherwise there would be little way for them to be a permanent fixture in the PL without spending beyond their means. And despite that, they came within a win of staying up last season; for my money, that's a better means of operating than the many teams piling on debt to chase the dream.
I do agree with you Schad. I'm not knocking them at all but attendances is only a relatively small portion of revenue in the PL. TV money, sponsorship, merchandising, Final position payments all vastly increase a clubs revenue in the PL. To quantify, an argument could be that had they spent £1million on puncheon and he scored the winning goal to keep them in the premiership, they could build upon their status and progress. A club that finish 17th in the PL will probably be two / three times better off than a championship club in terms of revenue. Clearly all ifs and but's but it's a valid point none the less. What Blackpool did on a shoestring budget was heroic but ultimately they paid the price for a lack of investment be it by 1 point, 3 points or 20 points. That's fine because that was their model and they can cope with the relegation financially and still maintain competitiveness in the Championship. For Saints, I would bet that we will gamble a little more to preserve PL status and try and push on. Yes that's partially down to luck with our owners but we will also maintain a sensible business plan to make sure we are not spending for the sake of it. Quid pro quo.
Fair play to Blackpool for not trying to overspend and buy for the sake of buying when they we in the Prem. A lot of cudos should go to Ian Holloway, he built a very good side on little money and nearly kept them up. mayber they will be a yo yo club for a while maybe not but they are developing their ground and are obviously a lot more secure after their little adventure last season. I have always thought that it is easier for a club to get a one off promotion and get relegated than an established club get relegation and have to cut their cloth accordingly. This is why the likes of ourselves, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry and countless others have been into or near admistration. If we are running at a point where we are close to breaking even currently, then, should we get promoted we will run at a profit and still have funds available to strengthen where needed.
Yeah, I don't think that the Blackpool model is for everyone...we'll likely have a bit more margin because a one-year loss for the Liebherrs is a rounding error, and the club has the facilities and fanbase in place to churn out a pretty good turnover. But I believe that their focus was the right one given their situation. If you don't have the facilities in place to be a sustainable Prem side, focus your funds on that first...so long as you aren't plunging into debt, it's a long-term investment that'll make future success possible. Conversely, neglect those things, and if the club ever finds itself in difficulties, it's a far less attractive property (as our poor friends in blue have discovered).
Spot on chap. The difference between us and Blackpool is the funds we have at our disposal now which allows us to be more ambitious and make Southampton a potentially future gold mine. It's also the same reason that some clubs/fans are slightly jealous and envious of us now...it's too easy for them to assume we are buying our way up the ladder when the reality is we're now on solid footing, living within our means and will become more than self sufficient in a few years time with the progress of the academy and other marketing successes in countries such as Japan (Tadanari) which we can now exploit. Cortese is a genius. Markus is god!
