[Albion] Albion announce £73.9m profit for 2023-24

[Driver 8]

Tony is still owed £300m but has taken steps to potentially convert £200m into shares, effectively writing it off.

He does walk on water as far as I'm concerned.

That will help with APT .

 

[Brian Munich]

Next years should be massive loses due to spending 200 million on players ?

You thick MAGA ****.

 

[Peppermint Tea]

I am going to take issue with this narrative that Paul Barber is "elite"

He is clearly a very competent CEO, but I've met loads of very competent CEOs who don't command salaries of £3m per year.

Just to reiterate, I'm not suggesting he's useless, but I would be willing to bet you 30p that this club will see no discernable difference in performance on the day Chelsea decide to poach him. Just like when Winstanley and Ashworth left. All competent, all replaced by similarly competent people.

But this idea that Barber is elite is a bit weird. If you ask a Vancouver Whitecaps fan what they thought of him, you'll get a very different opinion, suggesting that he's not so elite that he can make a silk purse from a sow's ear all by himself

There are CEOs and CEOs, but a sensible benchmark would be CEOs of FTSE100s (as opposed to CEOs of smaller private businesses). I suspect PB‘s rem will be median for this group. It’s rather irrelevant whether we think he’s value or not (I do as it happens), because it’s Tony and the board (or at least the remco) who think he’s worth it.

As for elite, I think you’d be in a minority here, Simster. He’s an exceptional CEO in my opinion and that seems widely shared by the footballing community (boardrooms and pundits). You mention what Whitecaps fans’ views of him were - good point but he left there c14 years ago when he was in his early 40s. Fair to say he’s continued to grow and develop since then.

I believe we are incredibly lucky to have him and I wouldn’t swap him for any other footballing CEO in the world.

 

[ac gull]

PB contract stated by TB to "at least" 2030 ... implies he may well stop longer than that ...

 

[Simster]

There are CEOs and CEOs, but a sensible benchmark would be CEOs of FTSE100s (as opposed to CEOs of smaller private businesses). I suspect PB‘s rem will be median for this group. It’s rather irrelevant whether we think he’s value or not (I do as it happens), because it’s Tony and the board (or at least the remco) who think he’s worth it.

As for elite, I think you’d be in a minority here, Simster. He’s an exceptional CEO in my opinion and that seems widely shared by the footballing community (boardrooms and pundits). You mention what Whitecaps fans’ views of him were - good point but he left there c14 years ago when he was in his early 40s. Fair to say he’s continued to grow and develop since then.

I believe we are incredibly lucky to have him and I wouldn’t swap him for any other footballing CEO in the world.

I think that's a reasonable response. To reiterate, I don't think he's anything other than competent, but equally nobody can reasonably shut down debate over his salary by insisting he's elite and worth every penny, because we simply don't know anything about the way he does his job. It could be the club falls apart when he leaves, it could be it carries on as normal just as it did when the two other execs left. We simply don't know. But he is paid a lot of money.

 

[ac gull]

suspect he would be paid a lot less if we sold Ali Mac for £6m and Moises for £9m - it's payment for results AFTER the results have happened

 

[Weststander]

PB probably has a far wide remit than other non-shareholding football directors. Some other clubs have control freak owners / part owners, some on a substantial salary, the most senior director under them have their wings clipped. Takes responsibility, a dream for TB who spends much of the year overseas.

It was said that FSG wanted to poach PB a few years ago. TB subsequently rewarded his loyalty.

 

[dazzer6666]

I think that's a reasonable response. To reiterate, I don't think he's anything other than competent, but equally nobody can reasonably shut down debate over his salary by insisting he's elite and worth every penny, because we simply don't know anything about the way he does his job. It could be the club falls apart when he leaves, it could be it carries on as normal just as it did when the two other execs left. We simply don't know. But he is paid a lot of money.

….but we do know. Club has been pretty successful since he’s been with us. That’s not coincidental

 

[Simster]

….but we do know. Club has been pretty successful since he’s been with us. That’s not coincidental

No we don't. We've been pretty successful since Bloom arrived. Who do you attribute our success to? Bloom or Barber?

I'll call it now - Bloom is the one who has risked millions of his own money and surrounded himself with competent people (of which Barber is one). But Barber the main reason of success? Maybe but unlikely.

 

[Springal]

….but we do know. Club has been pretty successful since he’s been with us. That’s not coincidental

And we know how we were run by his predecessor

 

[dazzer6666]

No we don't. We've been pretty successful since Bloom arrived. Who do you attribute our success to? Bloom or Barber?

I'll call it now - Bloom is the one who has risked millions of his own money and surrounded himself with competent people (of which Barber is one). But Barber the main reason of success? Maybe but unlikely.

Main ? No. Instrumental ? Probably

Why do you think Tony keeps giving him whacking pay increases if he’s just ‘competent’ ?

 

[Simster]

Main ? No. Instrumental ? Probably

Why do you think Tony keeps giving him whacking pay increases if he’s just ‘competent’ ?

Maybe that's the going rate for a CEO in the industry? I don't know. But unlike Kaoru Mitoma, I can't say Barber is elite at his job, because I don't honestly know that is the truth.

Let's turn this on its head, @dazzer6666. What has Barber done that has clearly made a significant positive difference to the progression of the club? I am not being facetious here, I genuinely want to know and am prepared to accept him as being elite if you can answer the question with conviction.

 

[dazzer6666]

Maybe that's the going rate for a CEO in the industry? I don't know. But unlike Kaoru Mitoma, I can't say Barber is elite at his job, because I don't honestly know that is the truth.

I’m out. I’ll leave the last word to…….Tony

Tony Bloom, the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, has called Paul Barber "pivotal" to the club's success and "one of the most-respected senior executives in world football".

• "Paul's professionalism, drive and loyalty tied to his unquestionable ability means he is one of the most-respected senior executives in world football".
• "We are absolutely thrilled to have him here for the long term to deliver on an exciting new visio

 

[Simster]

I’m out. I’ll leave the last word to…….Tony

Tony Bloom, the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, has called Paul Barber "pivotal" to the club's success and "one of the most-respected senior executives in world football".

• "Paul's professionalism, drive and loyalty tied to his unquestionable ability means he is one of the most-respected senior executives in world football".
• "We are absolutely thrilled to have him here for the long term to deliver on an exciting new visio

Bit of a cop out. Man says nice things about high profile well paid director shock.

 

[redoubtable seagull]

Does the £40M of stadium improvements go into next years accounts or will it be amortised ?

You’d think it will be considered as capital expenditure and therefore depreciated over the expected life of the building.

 

[Seagull27]

Maybe that's the going rate for a CEO in the industry? I don't know. But unlike Kaoru Mitoma, I can't say Barber is elite at his job, because I don't honestly know that is the truth.

Let's turn this on its head, @dazzer6666. What has Barber done that has clearly made a significant positive difference to the progression of the club? I am not being facetious here, I genuinely want to know and am prepared to accept him as being elite if you can answer the question with conviction.

Obviously none of us know what happens in the inner workings of the club. But my interpretation is that the fact that the club hasn't fallen apart when key personnel have left, and has actually got stronger (we have a replacement lined up before they leave etc) - is surely down to Barber, largely, and the system he has overseen for recruitment of staff.

The fact Bloom made him Deputy Chairman in addition to CEO tells you what Bloom thinks of him. And that we've kept him despite interest from others on numerous occasions. I think Bloom sees him as his partner.

And I don't think the club would fall apart without him, because Barber has built a system that means individuals are replaceable - and he has probably already helped identify his own replacement. Having said that, I think (and very much hope) he'll be with us until he retires.

Elite may be the wrong word as I don't know how you define that for a CEO. But calling him "competent" is a huge understatement.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I think that's a reasonable response. To reiterate, I don't think he's anything other than competent, but equally nobody can reasonably shut down debate over his salary by insisting he's elite and worth every penny, because we simply don't know anything about the way he does his job. It could be the club falls apart when he leaves, it could be it carries on as normal just as it did when the two other execs left. We simply don't know. But he is paid a lot of money.

I didn't realise there was a debate about Barbs' salary.

And one person tutting over your concerns is hardly the shutting down of debate

So who do you think we should replace Barbs with and how much should we pay him? Or her?

Let the debate begin!

 

[Peppermint Tea]

I think that's a reasonable response. To reiterate, I don't think he's anything other than competent, but equally nobody can reasonably shut down debate over his salary by insisting he's elite and worth every penny, because we simply don't know anything about the way he does his job. It could be the club falls apart when he leaves, it could be it carries on as normal just as it did when the two other execs left. We simply don't know. But he is paid a lot of money.

Good to debate with you, Sir.

 

[Simster]

I didn't realise there was a debate about Barbs' salary.

And one person tutting over your concerns is hardly the shutting down of debate

So who do you think we should replace Barbs with and how much should we pay him? Or her?

Let the debate begin!

I don't think we should replace him with anyone, but when someone exclaims he's paid a lot of money and is met with "Barber is worth every penny because he is elite", I'd quite like to see the evidence - especially given the poor reviews he had at his last job in Vancouver. I guess Bloom's endorsement is good enough for most (including me, tbh) and that's fair enough, but that really doesn't prove that he is elite. I wouldn't even know what makes a CEO elite really, would you?

 

[jcdenton08]

I don't think we should replace him with anyone, but when someone exclaims he's paid a lot of money and is met with "Barber is worth every penny because he is elite", I'd quite like to see the evidence - especially given the poor reviews he had at his last job in Vancouver. I guess Bloom's endorsement is good enough for most (including me, tbh) and that's fair enough, but that really doesn't prove that he is elite. I wouldn't even know what makes a CEO elite really, would you?

I think the proof is in the pudding. Record breaking results on the pitch. Record breaking profits off it. Pushing for Europe again and about to open a brand new fan zone. Making money hand over fist to pay back our benefactor’s enormous generous loans, while planning for a women’s football ground in Brighton. State of the art infrastructure.

If he oversees a deal which sees Caicedo going to Chelsea for £110m or whatever, I have no problem with him getting £3m in salary and bonuses. The club are still massively ahead on the deal. If a lesser negotiator got us £75m and his salary is £1.5m, we are still £33.5m up on the deal.

He’s doing a phenomenal job in every single aspect of his remit. Compare and contrast to CEO’s of failing water companies taking massive bonuses and salaries with consistently poor results.