Could we go bust?

[Dave the OAP]

I think that, looking at the Southampton ( and to some degree darlington) case, it is something that Brighton fans need to be concerned about.

When Archer was stiching us up, the only thing that kept us from the wolf was the sale of the ground which went to clear off debts to the Government agencies and Directors loans....and I seem to recall Archer also financed us after that for a time.

we will have a situation if and when Falmer is built that we have no asset that is not financed by the goodwill of the directors or financial institutions ( or the council in the value of the land donated to the club).

I think some people who dismiss concerns people have on here are doing a disservice to them, as people have genuine feelings of angst at the moment ( coupled by the fact that we are actually a Football club and currently our football team is dreadful and about to be demoted to the bottom tier of the professional game)

The interesting thing about Southampton will be the reaction of the FL to the administration of the holding company. Legally and morally.

personally I think that creating a holding company is a bit of a dodge as at the end of the day, Brighton is a football club, first and foremost. Creating a XYZFC Sporting Company Limited holding alll the assets and leaving the football club to have all the liabilities seems a bit strange.

 

[Silent Bob]

His and other people's money, that's true, but look at Tony's profession. It's not the most re-assuring of CVs to persuade me he'd be the right man to run the Albion.

He likes a game of cards, why is that a big deal?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Yes, I think it will a lot higher. We manage to get 5000+ watching a terrible team in a horrible stadium. I think better facilities will attract far more the 2000 extra fans, even if we are in L2.

To be honest I dont think it matters what bloody division we are in. If the team is doing well and pushing for promotion from any league the punters will come.

I will put my 15 1/2 inch neck on the line and say that if we are in the run for a return to League 1 this time next year we will have to dust down the 'sold out' sign.

 

[The Large One]

He likes a game of cards, why is that a big deal?

I see what you did there.

 

[DIFFBROOK]

Comparing Southampton and Brighton is probably not comparing like for like.

We have a business case to pay for Falmer. That includes filling it with at lesat 12,000 fans (breakeven). That is why its important to get out of L2 and L1. Its gonna cost Bloom etc money in the short term. Failiure to do so will mean bigger losses in the future. I think the Board are well aware of this.

In Southamptons case, the mega millions lost in revenue from falling out of the Premiership is what killed them. They probably could fill their stadium every week, but they would still post horrendous losses.

Thats what falling out of the Prem league does for you.

 

[glasfryn]

Southampton are still averaging nearly 17000 this season despite languishing near the bottom of the Championship. That's still nearly 2000 more than the capacity of the Dell. For the first few years at St Mary's they enjoyed 30000+ crowds. In addition to this they have had the bonus of a cup final appearance and the sale of Theo Walcott.

I don't think their woes can be blamed on their new stadium in any way. To me this looks like a case of financial mismanagement. My guess is they gambled on a quick return to the Premiership and lost.

nailed it in one

Well, technically we are already bust. As are Chelsea and Liverpool and Newcastle and God knows how many other clubs.

To re-phrase the question "do we have the financial backers to fund us for the foreseeable future?" then I don't know as I'm not ITK but can only be eternally grateful to the Blooms, Knight, Cook and all those others that continue to chuck money at us for sod all reward.

so true ....so thankyou

To be honest I dont think it matters what bloody division we are in. If the team is doing well and pushing for promotion from any league the punters will come.

I will put my 15 1/2 inch neck on the line and say that if we are in the run for a return to League 1 this time next year we will have to dust down the 'sold out' sign.

about right too and if we have to do it at Falmer(the new Goldstone) we could attract huge crowds as we did at the old Goldstone

Comparing Southampton and Brighton is probably not comparing like for like.

We have a business case to pay for Falmer. That includes filling it with at lesat 12,000 fans (breakeven). That is why its important to get out of L2 and L1. Its gonna cost Bloom etc money in the short term. Failiure to do so will mean bigger losses in the future. I think the Board are well aware of this.

In Southamptons case, the mega millions lost in revenue from falling out of the Premiership is what killed them. They probably could fill their stadium every week, but they would still post horrendous losses.

Thats what falling out of the Prem league does for you.

yes what exactly happened to all the parachute payments,money from the sale of players if they had our higher management they would be as rich as MU

with all the problems we have at this moment going bust I think is not one of them

 

[Marlton & Hove Albion]

I don't really get posts like this. What is the point of worrying about things that might happen 4 years down the line?

I don't know that it is hard to "get" the concern. Granted, none of us in a position to do much about it but I believe the point of a board that allows discussion is to allow discussion.

I'm not having a poke at anyone and I wouldn't want to be the one to have to make massive decisions about a very uncertain future.

I hope I am proven to be completely wrong but I can't help thinking that relegation plus massive new debt plus credit crisis and no substantial money bags on the horizon = a definite risk of failure on either the football side, business side or both.

There is comfort in knowing that more than >60% of the respondents don't think we are going bust anytime soon.

 

[Storer68]

Rather than look at Southampton, lets look at MK Dons (where we are going tomorrow for a game in the same League) as an example of a club improving itself throuh a new stadium. Not been in the highest league, not been generating the biggest income, no really wealthy chairman to bankroll anything, just some hard work and sound financial management results in ...............

THIS

and built by the Buckinham group!

 

[Uter]

Rather than look at Southampton, lets look at MK Dons (where we are going tomorrow for a game in the same League) as an example of a club improving itself throuh a new stadium. Not been in the highest league, not been generating the biggest income, no really wealthy chairman to bankroll anything, just some hard work and sound financial management results in ...............

THIS

and built by the Buckinham group!

They are also a good example of how to attract new supporters. They have managed to a regular following of 10000 from nothing. Given the lower ticket prices for tomorrow I think there will be 13-15000 there.

 

[Sweeney Todd]

Good luck playing them next season.

Oh, really?

 

[perseus]

The money we've spent on players in recent times would suggest finances are not as bad as they were when we were forced to sell our best players.

I think the future would be very bleak if Falmer had been turned down because the best we could hope for would be one season in the Championship.

However, I'd worried about our ability to finance Falmer and then get sufficient fans inside to cover the costs. The Southampton and Darlington cases show that it is simply not enough to build a stadium; they've failed to get it right on the park so the fans haven't turned up.

This is why the club needs to leave no stone unturned in building up our new fanbase, and it's not just about getting people to come to Withdean but also raising the presence of the club in the community.

The Falmer costs never weighed up in my opinion. That's why I suggested an alternative.

PS: I thought Southampton made a mistake and they should have built the stadium at Eastleigh.

 

[Everest]

The Falmer costs never weighed up in my opinion. That's why I suggested an alternative.

which is totally unworkable.

Get over it.