Let's say I run a business (bear with me here). I have a few employees. They are all paid just above the going rate for their roles. eg if the going rate for employee 1 is £25,000 I pay them £30,000. If i then make a profit that year of £1million, do the employees all demand a pay rise and fans of my business demand I employ more people. Or can I keep the money? Even if i can see i am losing market share? I know it is totally different, but this is what some are wanting. The club pays the going rate and also does occasionally reinvest in new staff. If the owners make a profit, entirely up to them what they do with it. If we get relegated it will upset me, but not as much as it will hurt the owners of the business financially. As someone else has said - it is their call, their 'gamble' with their business. FWIW I don't think the lack of investment has been the issue with our league position this year. It is the employment of a totally inept and out of depth manager and sticking with him for so long. Yes, the board (appointed by the owners) have made this decision, and it is the owners that need to make the next decision with what to do with the board. Should Les & co go if we go down? I have an opinion, but it is not my call - it is the owners. Their money, their decision. Whatever Gao does with his money is his choice. Also, it has been mentioned that he has saddled himself with debt to buy the club. That may be, but would he borrow big and potentially ruin himself if he didn't have a long term plan for the club? Would you go out and buy a house with a huge mortgage and the next day burn it down and put radioactive material over the land so it is worth nothing the next day? Or would you buy that house, keep it a few years and hope to make an income/profit from it? If we were sitting 8th, 9th or 10th in the table, we would still be having this discussion - we'd say we could be top 4 if we spent every last bit of our profit in the squad. As fans we will never be happy. Just my view and it is not right or wrong...my view. Not trying to put a positive spin on it, just seeing it how it is to me.
I must be a right weirdo because I can see both sides of the argument and I'm not sure who I agree with more. I wish fences were more comfortable.
Perhaps you won’t mind me sharing the fence with you? I agree with everything said by Fats and no7 about the club’s money not really being our concern, but there are issues we are entitled to worry about surely? The concerns about Les Reed’s son, the bullying in the Academy, the negative transfer equity over the last few years, and the total lack of communication from Mr Gao about what he wants to do with the club are surely all things we as fans can raise our voices about, especially when the team are where they are?
Try a cushion. I am less happy than I was under the Leihberrs. I felt safe with Markus and Katharina from a financial point of view...not risk taking and at least some sense of affection from them (even bearing in mind that it was business really). I know nothing about Gao and about Chinese finance and law. However, as there is nothing I can do I prefer to worry about the teams performance and hope the financial side is being taken care of by people who may know what they are doing. There has to be a reason why Katharina took a minority share in our holding company...perhaps a desire to still be involved or because it's a good investment. I hope both. I have just bought my Bournemouth ticket, so that £42 should help.
There is always flip sides. This is why I so often counter peoples views, because we don’t know everything that goes on and there is always another option.
Yep sort of agree but a few additions: And FWIW, I'm not trying to annoy anyone, I just feel it's not that simplistic. But no doubt, Gao can certainly do what ever he wants & in reality, "fan power", as seen many times previous, holds little sway. Edit: That post didn't come out as I hoped - I'd added a few other pointers but they got lost in the compression.
He wouldn't be the first Chinese businessman to saddle himself with debt, borrow big and potentially ruin himself with no long-term plan for the club. Take a gander at AC Milan. As best anyone can figure, it was either a get-rich(er) quick scheme that hasn't panned out, some sort of shell game with assets inside/outside China, or just a fundamental misunderstanding of the business of football.
I now see it as a consumer. If the product is **** I shall move on. Being red and white through and through has been kicked out of me and I no longer have an emotional attachment to Southampton FC ltd or whatever it is called these days.
The thing I hate is that I pride myself in being Victor Meldrew at heart. My other half always calls me Victor. Now I know that this is Godders
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43543439 West Brom Chief Executive worried about their finiances despite posting a pre tax profit of £39.7m.
