Well we have two seasons worth of ticket sales (projected figures which are probably much lower than predicted) already tied up in the stand development which screams theres been a cash flow problem for a while. We are losing money in court and ground developments, gates and overall fan spenditure down and dont forget Bates little miscellaneous expenses column on the books where he bleeds us dry. We cant compete with the likes of Ipswich for players which looking at the squad size and fanbase none of the above should be a problem. But it is! Bates is failing as an honest business man but will retire a wealthy bastard.
Oh I don't doubt we are being bled dry but LUFC is bringing in enough money to survive, it is just that our chairman chooses to spend the money on his own personal interests and business ventures and lining his own pocket. My argument is you would not kill the goose that is feeding you, it is common sense that Bates won't allow us to go under again, he will either cut his cloth to ensure the club plods along mid table or he will sell and cash in. Either way we will have a team to see out May, of course only my opinion but then that was the keyword used in BIG's statement
I think Bates wont be able to ignore the figures once they go public. I think he has seen the way the team has started and is maybe thinking he can find investors that will be prepared to keep him on and we may have a crack of hitting the jackpot which is the prem. It would certainly seem that way judging by Warnocks comments regarding funds and that the squad shouldnt be good enough but there honest lads that will give it there best etc. Warnock wants Bates to listen to him and clear the decks for someone to come in and back him financially like Bates originally promised and not cling on to the hope Warnock can work miracles on the cheap. I agree we will of course have a team out in May question is will it be considerably stronger or significantly weaker depending on who is controlling the club.
By all accounts, Diouf reserves the abusive behaviour for the opposition and is actually brilliant in the dressing room and with the youngsters in the academy!
Loan window isn't so bad if we have the financial clout to get the top loanees from the top clubs, with a view to buy. In the past it's been a case of get anyone who's going cheap.
My personal opinion is that if we're in the financial ****, it's because bates is a terrible businessman and he honestly doesn't know how to fix it. I wouldn't be so sure of him "cutting the cloth" to suit our situation (lol pun), because he's so bad at business to get into this position in the first place. Plenty of businesses go under because of mismanagement, plenty of high profile businesses with high turnovers, you don't see them "cutting the cloth" to suit and keep the business afloat because it's just not possible because of the mess they are in. This is the situation I suspect we are in.
I keep seeing everyone say how bad he is at running a business - How are you looking at it, that he makes the share holders and employees lots of money (or keeps fans happy) or he makes a bloody good living out of it? He is in his eighties, he has more money probably than ALL of us on this forum put together, he isn't doing too badly. While I HATE what he has done to Leeds Utd he isn't a poor businessman - he know exactly how to milk every penny out of a business to suit his own needs before selling up at a great profit. He is a crap chairman of a football club, as a businessman he is doing pretty well for himself.
I can't see how or why we would be in a financial mess when you consider revenue generated by sale of player and gate receipts
Fair point on Diouf Marko. But as an ex semi pro who never got sent off, I think I would have blotted my copy book a bit had someone spat me during a game. It is the worst thig a player can do? Let's hope he sticks to doing what he is doing at the moment. He may not be a class above all of our players, but he does look as though he knows what he is doing & is helping to move the team in the right direction.
He makes a living at the expense of businesses he runs. He is bad at running businesses for the benefit of the business, therefore he is a bad businessman. He's a good hustler. He's a bad businessman. The loss making businesses that he's started are proof enough. Look at his business history. He's never left a business in a better state than he's found it. That means he is a bad businessman. What I HATE is that people assume he's a good businessman because he's got a lot of money. He doesn't, actually, it's all tied up in assets. He's made his money by ruining businesses and running off with all the assets. The signs around the club point to a cash flow problem, so why do you assume just because he's a businessman that he knows what he's doing and that the club isn't in the ****? The evidence, the actions of the club in the past year point to a cash flow problem. His business history points to him being a bad businessman, putting a company in the **** to make himself money, or not even that half the time! This man is more interested in attention than money. If he was only interested in money he would have retired years ago. He wants that feeling of "look at me, look how great I am and how much good I've done for you, now worship me". A megalomaniac. His actions consistently point to him having a megalomaniacal personality disorder of some kind. He's in the past NOT done so well for himself, screwing up negotiations and ending up with less than he was actually entitled to. This whole good hustler = good businessman thing is tiring, especially when it's further extended to believe that it means he'd know how to keep the club afloat for years and years and years and that we're in good financial health as a result of his management.
This is my point Elland we are because Bates is spending it and bleeding it out of the club, if he stops doing that then we would have more money. Take an easy example Snoddy sold a month back but how much was given back to the club to spend? Hence why I am not worried about our future financially because if Bates stops bleeding it out of us we won't end up on the scrap heap. If anyone believes Bates would do that when he is sitting on a £50m + investment then I believe they are wrong.
He can't see the wood for the trees half the time. It wouldn't be the first time he's cut of his nose to spite his face in a business deal. He seems to want to feel in control rather than get money. He'll make a demand and stick by it tooth and nail instead of negotiating properly. How he's gotten into this position given his history is beyond me. He essentially holds people to ransom to make his money.
He is the owner (Sadly) of LUFC his job as a businessman is to make a living for himself. We know he doesn't care about the fans or the club, as long as it makes a successful lifestyle for himself he has succeeded. If I brought a business for £10m say and made £20m out of it for myself - I would say I was successful, I don't care what happens to that business when I am gone or when I have took out of it more than my investment, ruthless maybe but still a success as far as I would be concerned. Don't read that snippet above then Granted he is totally **** at running a football club IF you happen to support the club he runs
He's **** at running businesses. My idea of a good businessman is someone who runs the business for the mutual benefit of himself and the business. bates doesn't do that, just for himself. He is a hustler, nothing more.
to use the words "ken bates" and "successful" in the same sentence is the act of a man who hasn't read his business history.
Bates makes a healthy living out of LUFC he is on the verge of selling it (hopefully) for a large profit he has done what he set out to do. Your idea - Really you mean "mutual benefit of himself and the fans?" Like I said he is a **** chairman of a football club but how can you say he has failed when he brought a business for £10m and is set to sell it for £50m and after taking countless millions in profit for the seven years he has owned it. Failed us the fans YES Failed himself - NO he has done exactly what he set out to do He has screwed us fans over from the very start WJ
It's his style Marko - he is ruthless and a complete and utter ****er. Anything he touches is with a view to how much he can line his pockets, he doesn't care what happens as long as he gets more out than he put in. Looking at his lifestyle he hasn't done too badly. We can't even hope that one day he comes a cropper and has a downfall as time is running out for the miserable ****. If I went down the road and brought a small business for £1000 tomorrow which had two workers and I kept it running for a year, made myself £2,000 in profit and sold the business to someone for £5,000 and they were looking to lay the two people off and knock the place down and build something else I wouldn't have failed as a businessman - I would have made a profit and be ready to move on to my next project. I might have failed those that trusted me but that's a different matter.
He's screwed over the business, the business is in poor financial health and the only evidence anyone has to suggest otherwise is "bates is a businessman, he would never let that happen". There is a cash flow problem, due to his mismanagement of the funds available. He is only selling because he can't afford to keep the business afloat any longer. Literally THE ONLY evidence to suggest otherwise is the idealistic notion that he's a businessman and by default knows how to keep the business ship shape and Bristol fashion. He clearly doesn't as the business is in very poor financial health, as suggested by all the evidence.
