Possibly but that's much easier said than done. I'm not saying we're doomed now but it's better to have money freely available that not. Nobody has directly said it - and obviously if we sell players we may be able to re-invest the money we receive - but Hofstetter has called the outstanding transfer fees "a burden" and said "Whilst I perceive that we have inherited a difficult situation financially, there are now clear and structured plans in place to progress the club and avoid a similar situation from occurring again". The figures released today show that, disregarding transfer activity, we made a profit. Including transfers we made a loss. There will obviously be plans to increase revenue but that will take time. The clear implication of what's been said today is that (in the short term at least) we won't be spending as much on transfers.
Converting the loan into shares in a club they already own is effectively writing of the loan. Chelsea did something similar. We are luckier than we can imagine. Our progress has been nothing short of meteoric over the last 4 years. To progress further in a sustainable manner will need time. If we achieved a similar league position next season, but brought on more Academy lads and repaired our finances, it wouldn't be the end of the world for me.
Indeed. Let's look at our first eleven: Artur Boruc - free? Luke Shaw - free Calum Chambers - free Jose Fonte - £1m Dejan Lovren - 8.5m Adam Lallana - free Morgan - £1.2m Jack Cork 750k Steven Davis - £1m (approx) Jay Rod - 7.5m and..... £1m for Sir Rickie Lambert....absolutely priceless.... Total cost: (approx) £21.9m Osvaldo - £17m Where is the better value?!
Oh Fran, don't talk nonsense. We all know that how much we pay for someone directly influences how effective they will be for us
Who has suggested there is a correlation between how much you pay for a player and how effective they are?
Don't think anyone said it directly...but some seem concerned that we won't get anyone decent if we haven't got zillions to spend. My point was that some of our most effective players have been bargains.
To be honest, I think Financial Fair Play is going to start kicking in properly next season. It is said that clubs like Chelsea are going to lose upto 28 players they've signed and either stockpiled or sent out on loan. There will be some very effective players available out there who have been kicking their heels for too long.
Robben has just taken a shot with his right foot. They showed it in slow motion afterwards. Jeez, that was one unbalanced footballer. He is soooo left footed.
Hopefully the common sense approach from football will be the end of ridiculous wages and eventually transfer fees being kept in check. It will take a few years, but hopefully both will fall in relation to turnover and then the clubs can start to compete on more even playing field.
I haven't seen anyone say that. The strongest words I've seen anyone say are that not having money to spend might make players question the ambition of the club and that clubs that have significant amounts of money to spend are in a better position than clubs that don't. I don't really agree with the first point but it isn't completely unthinkable and the second point really can't be argued. Lets not kid ourselves either. There's no direct correlation and there will always be exceptions but more expensive players tend to be better than cheaper players. Yes, we've signed some good players on the cheap but the success rate of our more expensive signings is better than that of the cheaper signings. Most of the players we've spent relatively big on have worked out to some extent. Of the more expensive signings I'd say Lovren, Wanyama and Rodriguez are definite successes while Ramirez has been mixed. Osvaldo was a poor signing but even he was decent on the pitch. In terms of cheaper players, the bargains we've signed since getting into the Championship (Cork, S Davis, Clyne and Boruc) don't match up to the number of duds we've signed. De Ridder, Lee, Gazzaniga, Mayuka and Forren have all been very poor signings.
I think Gazzaniga will come good. He's already a perfectly competent keeper. I think he'll make the step up eventually.
He's a long way from being perfectly competent, unfortunately. As for the policy, we'll have to see what it means in practice, but between the phrasing of the accounts (particularly the transfer spending) and this statement, I'm expecting pretty significant belt-tightening.
We must also remember that any financial constraints would also have been in place if Nicola had stayed....the situation hasn't changed much since he left. The only thing that may have changed for the better is that the owner is involved and may step in if necessary (which may not have happened if NC had to go cap in hand).
Just wondered how people felt about next season. Would it feel like failure if we don't make top 6? It might be difficult to achieve without being reckless on the transfer front.
No, it won't feel like failure for me. Talk of top 4/6 is a pipe dream. Yes, with signings that click and some luck on injury front, there's always a chance we can challenge. I'd take comfortable top 12 next season but will hope for better.
In my experience, the way accounts are worded is often more of a reflection on the way previous accounts were worded and/or to fit a business mission statement than a true reflection of where a business is at today as it were. This simply provides continuity in a high level audit trail. Note that the £21m in transfer fees due in 2013-14 has been settled in full and that £5m of the £27m new fees has also already been paid, meaning that we potentially "owe" the same amount this year as last but with a hugely increased windfall due from TV money (plus the proceeds of the sale of Osvaldo). To my eye, the club is in rude financial health and talk of belt-tightening in the transfer window through necessity is well wide of the mark. We may well rein in a bit but it won't be because we have to.
I wouldn't. Finishing anywhere but top half next season would be taking a step backwards. The least I expect is a top half finish and I would ideally like a trophy as well.
I agree with that to some extent, and is the realistic view, but I'd be concerned how a 12th place finish would affect the commitment of the likes of Lallana and Shaw. Both seem pretty sold on the potential of the club to improve and progress, and as a result seem set to reject to some pretty high profile offers in the summer. Should we "slip back" to 12th next season, I think that commitment might be more severely tested.
IF it is the case that we cannot expect any big-money transfers this summer: I would be happy with top half of the table. If we can at least keep our current players I think this is achieveable. As Tom says a good cup run would be nice, but I don't really see Poch changing direction on the B-team-for-cup-games policy, so we have to add strength-in-depth or promote more kids who come good to realistically expect that. If we finish below top-half, and God forbid in some kind of relegation battle, that would be very sad. But I really don't see that coming just now.
