Financial restrictions at the Albion hampering the playing budget?

[Silverhatch]

No one is disputing that income is beyond all expectations but costs have not been controlled, as they should have been, and the club is still being subsidised by Tony B. I have it on good authority that this is correct

If costs are not being controlled, and Tony has taken the necessary actions to correct this, then it's just another example that we are now all supporting (hopefully) a properly run football club. As a fresh faced 16 year old (many moons ago) I was once told by Lord Weinstock that the key to any business success was to have a forensic attention to detail when controlling costs. Maybe Tony Bloom's cut from the same cloth.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

. Looking at a club on a broadly similar footing as the Albion, such as Ipswich, who had crowds similar to those in our first season at the Amex, in their last reported accounts they lost £14 million.

.

Sorry, but that is a terrible comparison.Just picking a club with the same headline crowd figure tells you very little.

Portman Road is nothing like the Amex, with nowhere near the level of hospitality income.

Also, their playing budget was clearly way higher than ours. When we played them at the Amex, I believe they started the match with TEN players with Premiership experience.

 

[itszamora]

Sorry, but that is a terrible comparison.Just picking a club with the same headline crowd figure tells you very little.

Portman Road is nothing like the Amex, with nowhere near the level of hospitality income.

Also, their playing budget was clearly way higher than ours. When we played them at the Amex, I believe they started the match with TEN players with Premiership experience.

I think that's the point El Pres is making - those kind of budgets simply aren't sustainable at this level, and it would be very naive of us to expect the Albion to suddenly be one of the financial big hitters in this division. The Amex gives us the opportunity to compete, but I'd rather tread water and be run properly than chase the dream and end up doing a Leeds/Pompey.

 

[B.W.]

There is a massive enthusiasm for the Albion at the moment. The fans are doing everything that could be asked of them and more. Buying every season ticket going, hugely oversubscribing the 1901 club, buying shitloads of club stuff, eating everything they can get their hands on and drinking themselves stupid. If the ambition of the club doesn't match the support of the fans, then I expect that level of support to fall away pretty quickly.

This is a key point... our club IS ambitious, and that ensures fan's enthusiasm and, hence, ticket sales and additional revenue... if the club's ambition is not maintained, then fan numbers WILL drop... just pointing this out to those that are happy to maintain mid-table Championship finishes... fortunately, this doesn't include TB...

 

[mikeyjh]

Sorry, but that is a terrible comparison.Just picking a club with the same headline crowd figure tells you very little.

Portman Road is nothing like the Amex, with nowhere near the level of hospitality income.

Also, their playing budget was clearly way higher than ours. When we played them at the Amex, I believe they started the match with TEN players with Premiership experience.

Are you sure about this? I think Brighton fans are a little inward looking on this subject - Most stadiums (all new ones), have varying levels of hospitality arrangements, some will be more extensive and generate more income than Brighton, some less so. Obviously they are all more established than those at Brighton so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if some were generating more business and were more profitable. As an example, Derby's conferencing facilities are very very busy, but the club still have to cut the cloth and manage expenses very prudently and still struggle to break even. I'm not sure there is any compelling argument, despite the great growth in the revenue side, that Brighton are exempt from this model.

For what it's worth, I don't think the fact that the club are making an operating loss is something to get too worried about, just something that the club need to understand, address and manage the fans' expectations.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Are you sure about this? I think Brighton fans are a little inward looking on this subject - Most stadiums (all new ones), have varying levels of hospitality arrangements, some will be more extensive and generate more income than Brighton, some less so. Obviously they are all more established than those at Brighton so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if some were generating more business and were more profitable. As an example, Derby's conferencing facilities are very very busy, but the club still have to cut the cloth and manage expenses very prudently and still struggle to break even. I'm not sure there is any compelling argument, despite the great growth in the revenue side, that Brighton are exempt from this model.

.

That will be from the hospitality and conferencing opportunities at Pride Park, Derby's NEW ground then? Did you rake in a lot of H&C income at the Racecourse?

 

[El Presidente]

This is a key point... our club IS ambitious, and that ensures fan's enthusiasm and, hence, ticket sales and additional revenue... if the club's ambition is not maintained, then fan numbers WILL drop... just pointing this out to those that are happy to maintain mid-table Championship finishes... fortunately, this doesn't include TB...

That's great, provided it is done within a sustainable budget. The (alleged) problem in our first season at the Amex is the lack of control over expenditure, resulting in some of the extra revenues being wasted. It does look however that TB has the issue in hand, and has appointed some of his trusted lieutenants to get things in order.

I felt at times last season that fans expectations were unrealistic, and some of the sniping at Poyet showing a lack of understanding that ultimately money talks.

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

That will be from the hospitality and conferencing opportunities at Pride Park, Derby's NEW ground then? Did you rake in a lot of H&C income at the Racecourse?

Probably not, since Wrexham kept playing there all the time...

 

[8ace]

 

[somerset]

That will be from the hospitality and conferencing opportunities at Pride Park, Derby's NEW ground then? Did you rake in a lot of H&C income at the Racecourse?

You haven't made a mistake have you HKFC?