Yet another fine club on the way to oblivion then? the decline of this club has been steady but I guess inevitable, I remember going to the Rico arena when Sousa was in charge,what a great stadium fair play. I think cookie colemon was in charge back then, looks like he actually done a fantastic job there all things considered because I think they went tits up after they sacked him didn't they ? Bearing in mind Coventry has/had everything in place and a strong following why wasn't there somebody to take a financial punt on them? seems strange that nobody really wants them or is it because the level of debt that had been run up meant there was nothing for shady new owners to screw out of the club? We are seeing clubs continue to go to the wall,it seems nobody is listening to the Stories of Rangers and Pompey! Coventry have sold just 300 season tickets for this season(they now ground share with Northampton) compared to 7,000 last season !! I think we are just scratching the surface with football clubs and debt. We as a club must always remember our past,its easy to forget and get carried away on the high of prem status but what happens when it all goes wrong? personally we are lucky that our owners are fans too and everything is in place to protect the club if the worst should happen, Hull city,Cystal Palace,Sheff utd,Plymouth Argyle,Portsmouth,Cardiff and many others have had serious problems recently, it seems the desire to be premier league is achievable but at the ultimate cost to the very fabric of football society! Would you stuff prem football for a positive bank balance ? If it came down to rolling the dice for survival,spending £10m quid on a player to turn things around would you be happy with that? I believe our past history has given us an edge over other supporters, I believe that there would be many Swans fans happy to see the club keep plenty in the bank for a rainy day instead of chasing the prem dream every year. Do my fellow jacks think its only a matter of time before bigger clubs start dropping off the footballing map? Will the financial fair play scenario ever actually have an effect ? Are the Swans one of a very select few ready to take advantage of good house keeping? Why after all this is the current transfer window getting ready to push towards a record number in terms of money spent? What the **** is going on in football guys? its all getting a bit ****ing crazy now isn't it.
It's only a matter of time, before we do see clubs being liquidated. I was expecting Portsmouth to be the first, but as they are now a supporters trust, their is light at the end of the tunnel for them. Still might take then another year or two for them to get the club on a real sound footing. Now Coventry might be a different kettle of fish, that is one messed up club, and with the holding company being liquidated will the club follow?? Will a bigger club go, yes. It's inevitable that one will go by the wayside, who it is we will have to wait and see.
I think cookie colemon was in charge back then, looks like he actually done a fantastic job there all things considered because I think they went tits up after they sacked him didn't they ? I think Coleman is underrated as a manager all things considered. Speaks Spanish, managed abroad, encourages short passing possession football. Met him and his mates once and they were all sound. Coleman was humorous and outgoing, can see why he'd be popular in the changing room. Would you stuff prem football for a positive bank balance ? Absolutely, enjoyed the whole experience just as much (being the best footballing team with the lowest budget) in the lower divisions. If it came down to rolling the dice for survival, spending £10m quid on a player to turn things around would you be happy with that? No way. In that scenario I'd sooner give someone from the youth team a chance. Do my fellow jacks think its only a matter of time before bigger clubs start dropping off the footballing map? I think they'll drop off then be revived by genuine fans and run sensibly (as new businesses) Will the financial fair play scenario ever actually have an effect ? Tough one this......there hasn't been much transfer activity this summer, but those who have spent are the very clubs you would imagine falling foul of the new rules.....and the wages at the top are rising higher still. Have you heard how much Christiano Ronaldo wants to be paid per annum? I'm going to say no. Are the Swans one of a very select few ready to take advantage of good house keeping? I believe so. We are getting stronger every season....just at the right time aswell, but without a mega stadium and the attendances we will never be an elite club. I see us like an Auxerre. Consistently punching above our weight. Why after all this is the current transfer window getting ready to push towards a record number in terms of money spent? Because of those elite clubs mainly and the better TV money enabling the likes of us, Southampton and Norwich to compete with clubs like Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton in the transfer market (driving up the price) What the **** is going on in football guys? its all getting a bit ****ing crazy now isn't it. Yes it is.
Terror- Thanks for those well thought out replys I think its just a matter of time before we lose a big club for a long long time. The suprising thing is about it all for me is the whole financial fair play thing was being driven hard by Michael Platini until a few of the French clubs became cash rich, he then seemed to crawl under a rock and disappear !! They were gunning for the premier league clubs but they seem to be the least of everyones worries now ! Monnaco PSG Madrid Barca Are now the main culprits and that is making life a bit difficult for Platini IMO. Coventry is a smashing club and one that is a part of our football History, I cant stand the get rich quick buy for success type clubs, they are basically destroying football from the top down. When you have a scenario where a championship club that has never played top level football is £80m plus in debt to try and gain prem football then something is seriously wrong with football and its fans. I was watching pompey painting their trophy room on sky the other day, the supporters trust are now running the club but I honestly think we as fans are equally responsible for the downfall and the spending! Its us that moan abut not signing players and its us that want the manager sacked after going on a losing streak! we have learned to have more patience at the swans than other fans but generally we all want the best and don't care how we get it1 How can the mind set change ? Maybe a team like swansea having consistant success can help others believe things can be done modestly ? It seems a shame that people(and we will know) lose their football clubs and identity because of a spend spend culture, the same culture that has put us in global recession for the last 6 yrs !
It's pretty ****ing depressing that this has been allowed to happen. Why can't the state or even the FA give itself powers to deal with this? Time for the German ownership rule methinks, but it'll never happen...
I don't believe it can. Thinking/planning long term is a trait of high intelligence. The majority of any population are incapable of thinking further than what they want now. (also behind many of the problems in the wider economy at the moment) The majority will always demand expensive signings. Faced with relegation the majority will always demand the role of the dice. Faced with the lure of the sugar daddy the majority will always welcome him. I think the Swansea City story is exceptional. We've got some smart people in charge but there also was a coming together of circumstances which meant it was necessary for us to grow the way we grew. We didn't have the short term options at our disposal.
You are probably correct mate, but surely the penny will drop soon enough? It did with us. Other clubs like Cardiff and Pompey,also Leeds have been at a point where they were primed for fan involvement. Pompey have now done it,many other clubs have commented on their massage boards about our documentary and saw how it could be done, I don't believe it's just swans fans that saw the light,many others see it too,especially as our template is now proven. Do they choose to put the head in the sand?
What a refreshing thread, top one Norway and you Terror some great content. As I'm in work, I'll post my toughts later on. Have a good one!!!
No other clubs can and will learn it needs the right combination of Manager and Board singing from the same song sheet. We got relegated last season but it seems to have worked out in our favour we appointed a manager who had told the board at a previous interview where they were going wrong a little over 12 months later the boards position had moved around to the position espoused by the manager so they appointed him after the problems we had with the previous manager seeming to think that by filling the club with Scots all the problems would be magically solved. We lost a huge number of players in the close season and a couple more transfered out with another one at least to go but the signings that have been made seem to have been thought through young with the chance of adding value to them plus a few of our youngsters look like making the break through this year. Circumstances often make for strange bedfellows and sometimes the really bad things that happen can turn out to be a blessing that just can not be seen at the time. Some fans on the Cardiff board think that we are jealous of them because of the fact that they got promoted whereas we got relegated we are admittedly somewhat envious of the fact that they are in the Premiership but hardly any of us would support the sort of owners they have there now, destroying their history in order to make a few quid in the home country of the owners same as we are thankful that we have an owner who is a fan unlike the owners of Coventry City. In fact I think to be honest we are more envious of Swansea than of any other club in the Premiership and wish to emulate them more than most of the other clubs. Good Luck in your European Campaign this year.
Good comments hawkmoonfy. Like terrorwit says I guess only when the backs are to the wall correct action is taken, it's a shame that supporters groups cannot get more organized and become a stronger voice. It is heartening to know that no club really needs to beg to a foreign owner for success,Swansea is a medium sized club that has maybe exceeded it's expectation, but it proves that many clubs can follow the same path and be a success on and off the field. Realistically it's not rocket science just basic common sense! Hue Jenkins said that if you have 20 quid coming in then you only spend a tenner! Most of us can follow that logic! I think a lot of fans are getting the wool pulled over their eyes when these flash foreign owners come in and promise high finance and quick fix 5 year plan to prem football, I think they purposely over complicate the financial side of things to keep fans away from the theft that takes place of assets and loans. These people hardly ever put their own money in do they? the multi millionaire Owners of Birmingham,leicster,Pompey,blackpoll and others have IMO stolen money from these clubs not invested it. At the end of the day it's only the fans that will remain when these people have finished running up debt so sooner rather than later supporters groups should be getting more pro active in the running of what is very often the heart of a community .
If RA walked away tomorrow Chelsea would be in ruins as you don't have a stadium big enough to generate the money for both big players and big wages.
Look at Chelsea pre abramovich . A fine club but a false giant really, and I'm not saying that to be a wum, the big money has pushed them far beyond people's dreams but if that ever went so would a lot of the sponsorship,plastic fans and big players . I like Chelsea a lot so please don't think I'm being dis respectful to your club or fans, I guess many of your own would think the same a s me on this
We're the 5th biggest club in terms of revenue, the 3rd biggest in terms of match day revenue in the premier league. Even made a small profit last season. So no, Chelsea won't be in ruins of RA left.
The only reason why a player is at the price they are is because of billionaire owners that will pay what it takes to get their player and then pay them obscene wages that the club by itself cannot ever afford. take bale,rooney rvp for example, they are no better than any other striker who scores the same ball park area goals as clubs who don't have these get any player at any cost owners, There is no way on this earth that these players are worth that much or the wages they get paid, All it does is ruin it for everyone else who now have to pay over the odds if they want a decent player....Its obscene what we at swansea pay in wages but we have little choice, We do try and keep the cost down for buying players and we are the best club at doing that but even we had to pay £12 million for one player this season and put him on a very good wage and all this is due to billionaire owners willing to pay outrageous sums of money that is small change to them for a player......A big club like chelsea will one day will come to a point that they are in well over their heads and they will go into liquidation with a billionaire owner or not and meanwhile more and more lesser clubs will go out of business because they cannot anymore keep up and get seriously into debt. Its about time somebody took charge of the situation and realize its getting out of hand and maybe look at how the germans have started to tackle the situation and put a cap on transfers and wages and the cost to watch football and follow their example, Their national side and club sides are reaping the rewards and proof you don't need to over price everything to do with football...
Agree Dai. If a player wants to play for the biggest clubs in the UK they will chose Utd or Liverpool. If they want the money they will chose Man City or Chelsea
