JonCrumplinFootballGenius
New member
- Apr 7, 2013
- 3
I have always admired Tony Blooms ambition for Brighton and his commitment to make the club the best it can be, but I am starting to question whether he has got the right structure in and around the club to take it on to the next level. I think Paul Barber is doing a decent job, he is trying to make the club FFP compliant so that Albion can lead the call for spending restraint -and put the club on a sound footing ready for the Premier League. But it is a difficult balance - the team is in danger of going backwards this season if the club doesn't bring in some proven quality - I like the philosiphy around developing youngsters, and the investment in Lancing will reap long term rewards, but you can't expect it to pay instant dividends.
So therin lies the dilemma for Bloom and Barber - if the club starts to drift in the Championship then the attendances and Season Tickets are going to decline, they are going to struggle to increase it anymore as it is already one of the most expensive outside of the Premier League. You expect that the club is currently maxing out its revenue streams through match day and commercial revenue for its current status - and yet the last set of financial results still posted a big loss.
In some ways the past 2-3 seasons since the club moved to the Amex Bloom has taken a gamble and its likely players like Vincente, Bridge, Koosh etc were never a sustainable option should we not reach the PL in the short term - but its on the back of those players that the team made it to two consecutive play offs and that has obviously inflated the Season Ticket holders.
I think Hyppia is the right man to take the club forward but I think both Bloom and Barber need to be realistic about ambition with supporters - it seems to me like the short term PL plan might now be a longer term aim - the club has to find a way of sustainably competing within its means - and without a global reach and PL TV revenues or parachute payments its going to take time to grow a team. But having a philosophy in place at all levels of the club is a good starting point, you want your under 18's playing the same style and system as your first team so that players can make the step up fully understanding what is expected of them.
I still think if the club spend the Ulloa cash wisely they can push for the play offs this season - but its wages that are going to be the big obstacle. All of the noises coming out of the club are about reducing wage costs - its all very well having £8m to spend but if Ulloa was on £20k a week thats not going to go far...
I don't mind buying into a long term plan or philosiphy - but the first thing you need to do that is to have everybody on the same page. Under both Poyet and Garcia I don't think that was the case - and the noises from Hyppia are starting to sound all too familiar. For me, I think Bloom & Barber needs to have a look at the structure and sanity check it is aligned to where the club is going - and make sure both board, manager, players and fans are clear about what the plan is.
So therin lies the dilemma for Bloom and Barber - if the club starts to drift in the Championship then the attendances and Season Tickets are going to decline, they are going to struggle to increase it anymore as it is already one of the most expensive outside of the Premier League. You expect that the club is currently maxing out its revenue streams through match day and commercial revenue for its current status - and yet the last set of financial results still posted a big loss.
In some ways the past 2-3 seasons since the club moved to the Amex Bloom has taken a gamble and its likely players like Vincente, Bridge, Koosh etc were never a sustainable option should we not reach the PL in the short term - but its on the back of those players that the team made it to two consecutive play offs and that has obviously inflated the Season Ticket holders.
I think Hyppia is the right man to take the club forward but I think both Bloom and Barber need to be realistic about ambition with supporters - it seems to me like the short term PL plan might now be a longer term aim - the club has to find a way of sustainably competing within its means - and without a global reach and PL TV revenues or parachute payments its going to take time to grow a team. But having a philosophy in place at all levels of the club is a good starting point, you want your under 18's playing the same style and system as your first team so that players can make the step up fully understanding what is expected of them.
I still think if the club spend the Ulloa cash wisely they can push for the play offs this season - but its wages that are going to be the big obstacle. All of the noises coming out of the club are about reducing wage costs - its all very well having £8m to spend but if Ulloa was on £20k a week thats not going to go far...
I don't mind buying into a long term plan or philosiphy - but the first thing you need to do that is to have everybody on the same page. Under both Poyet and Garcia I don't think that was the case - and the noises from Hyppia are starting to sound all too familiar. For me, I think Bloom & Barber needs to have a look at the structure and sanity check it is aligned to where the club is going - and make sure both board, manager, players and fans are clear about what the plan is.
