How are we doing on the financial front?

[downham seagull]

I've read some comments on various threds over the last few weeks that when the accounts are published later next year that they are going to be terrible. Does anyone know of this is true? Is it a case that operationally we are doing very well but the stadium/training acadamy costs will be a noose round our necks for a long time? Does anyone know how much income we generate per match with the expansion and is the Amex profitable on non match days? The cost of keeping the facility going must be huge?

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

The club have confirmed we're making a loss - nobody will know the answers to your other questions until the accounts are published.

 

[MORTY]

How do you put a nose round your neck?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The club have confirmed we're making a loss - nobody will know the answers to your other questions until the accounts are published.

Maybe it's a Starbucks style "loss"?

 

[downham seagull]

How do you put a nose round your neck?

Haha! Missed an 'O'

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Making operational losses in the seven figures.

 

[trueblue]

We're absolutely awash with money. Should have kept Noone and Murray and brought in several premier league players. The stadium must cost next to nothing to run because it's bringing in wheelbarrow loads of dosh - far more than all those parachute payments the other clubs are getting. It'll be a doddle to pay off Poyet because we really ought to have Guardiola in charge. After all, we all pay an absolute fortune - more than £20 a match and most of us eat a whole pie every game, so the accounts will surely reveal that we're turning over something close to the GDP of Brazil. It's just a shame Tony Bloom is so tight - letting us all pay through the nose for a couple of things in the club shop each year to keep the place solvent.

That's what I've managed to work out from reading NSC anyway, so the accounts had better not let me down...

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

We're absolutely awash with money. Should have kept Noone and Murray and brought in several premier league players. The stadium must cost next to nothing to run because it's bringing in wheelbarrow loads of dosh - far more than all those parachute payments the other clubs are getting. It'll be a doddle to pay off Poyet because we really ought to have Guardiola in charge. After all, we all pay an absolute fortune - more than £20 a match and most of us eat a whole pie every game, so the accounts will surely reveal that we're turning over something close to the GDP of Brazil. It's just a shame Tony Bloom is so tight - letting us all pay through the nose for a couple of things in the club shop each year to keep the place solvent.

That's what I've managed to work out from reading NSC anyway, so the accounts had better not let me down...

Not forgetting that we should win the league every season and sack the manager every time we lose a game !!

 

[hitony]

Haha! Missed an 'O'

Sorted

 

[Napper]

Is it a fact we re losing money ? If its just down to training ground and stadium expansion then fine . If not then this is a massive concern . I was sure it was documented our break even figure was about 12 k so seems strange. I'd certainly expect us to be creaming it in first few years at the Amex .

 

[tweenster]

Is it a fact we re losing money ? If its just down to training ground and stadium expansion then fine . If not then this is a massive concern . I was sure it was documented our break even figure was about 12 k so seems strange. I'd certainly expect us to be creaming it in first few years at the Amex .

I also recall reading that our business plan was based on crowds of 12-13000, in which case we should be well in the black from a club operating perspective.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Is it a fact we re losing money ? If its just down to training ground and stadium expansion then fine . If not then this is a massive concern . I was sure it was documented our break even figure was about 12 k so seems strange. I'd certainly expect us to be creaming it in first few years at the Amex .

We were losing money as spending had run away out of control. Hopefully Barber has started to put things right, but the accounts to be published in March are rumoured to be a grim read.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

We're absolutely awash with money. Should have kept Noone and Murray and brought in several premier league players. The stadium must cost next to nothing to run because it's bringing in wheelbarrow loads of dosh - far more than all those parachute payments the other clubs are getting. It'll be a doddle to pay off Poyet because we really ought to have Guardiola in charge. After all, we all pay an absolute fortune - more than £20 a match and most of us eat a whole pie every game, so the accounts will surely reveal that we're turning over something close to the GDP of Brazil. It's just a shame Tony Bloom is so tight - letting us all pay through the nose for a couple of things in the club shop each year to keep the place solvent.

That's what I've managed to work out from reading NSC anyway, so the accounts had better not let me down...

From the right honourable Gordon Brown !!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I also recall reading that our business plan was based on crowds of 12-13000, in which case we should be well in the black from a club operating perspective.

This was based on a rather cheaper stadium than we've ended up with - and was a figure designed to impress the Planning Inspector with the fact that the Falmer project was financially sound.

A lot of things have changed massively since then. I expect operating costs to be far higher than the earlier projections and the first set of accounts to show us significantly down on the figures that some optimists might be expecting.

 

[Del Fenner]

Let's hope it is down to one-off relocation costs then. It's going to be very grim for non-Premier League football if we can't have some financial success stories to point the way.

 

[The Birdman]

This is why things like catering advertising selling merchandising producing home grown players to play for us and to sell are all part of having a club which could compete at the top level. We have come a long why but more needs to be achived on the field as well as of the field. Please keep the faith. the lads not be

 

[El Presidente]

I also recall reading that our business plan was based on crowds of 12-13000, in which case we should be well in the black from a club operating perspective.

The 12,000 break even was based on being in League 1, paying League 1 wages and the stadium costing £48 million. All those figures are out of date, so are irrelevant.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The 12,000 break even was based on being in League 1, paying League 1 wages and the stadium costing £48 million. All those figures are out of date, so are irrelevant.

We surely must be exceeding the new break even figure though?

 

[downham seagull]

If we are not breaking even on the operational cost and paying a fair amount back then we have few options;
Increase Ticket Prices (ST)
Slash the wage Bill (poorer quality football)
Gain more Tv money by gambling on getting into the premiership
Increase non match day turnover (recession not helping)

I think there will be a lot of loan activity as this does not burden us past the summer in a push for the prem

 

[Brovion]

Leaving aside our current slump to an appalling 10th in the Championship these are the 'good times', and given that almost every game since we've been at the Amex has been sold out (or as near as dammit) we should be making a substantial operating profit. If we're not then something is VERY badly wrong and does not bode at all well for when the bad times come and the ground is only three-quarters or half full.

If we are making an operating loss then I guess some of it is due to costs spiralling out of control pre-Barber, and some of it is just due to the crazy world of football economics where it is not unheard of for the wage bill to exceed turnover.