Financial restrictions at the Albion hampering the playing budget?

[skipper734]

The reason for this is that expenditure has spiralled out of control, as budget holders assumed that Tony Bloom would write out a cheque to cover every spend and TB is VERY unhappy with what has happened.

If they are budget holders then shirley they have a budget to work too.
Having said that, there appears to be hoards of staff with ID badges floating around not directly connected to removing money from punters pockets.
(I'm only basing this assumption on a few lunch time visits too Dick's.)

 

[Springal]

There are a few too many variables here I am afraid. Although TB is away a lot of the time, he still has trusted mates on the board, with strong accountancy backgrounds. So there would have to have been some pretty sneaky business going on for this to happen?

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

other than infrastructure and players, what other meaningful "budgets" are there? or rather, why would they become so large as to affect the general accounts significantly? so, excepting infrastructure, what you seem to suggest is that Gus (i presume the player budget holder) has overspent? if so, on what?

The energy costs for one would have been ridiculous. Through the roof. Then there's all the non playing admin staff etc.

 

[The Optimist]

What follows is pure speculation and conjecture.

I always thought that the main costs (and by some distance) with any football club were players' wages. Therefore if the club over spent in other areas it seems hard to think they over spent by enough to make the accounts very disappointing. Obviously it would appear I'm wrong on this front. Given the investment in infrastructure and the impressive behind the scenes appointments it seems clear that the clubs aim is to reach the Premier league in the next few years. I would have thought that therefore Tony Bloom would not want to reduce the playing budget and instead would take the hit of this season's poor financial results and ensure that costs are brought under control next season. This is of course all guesswork.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Transport costs are apparently very much higher than TB thought they would be.

 

[rool]

The energy costs for one would have Ben ridiculous. Through the roof. Then there's all the non playing admin staff etc.

Energy costs shouldn't have been a surprise as they would have obtained costings from similar sized venues. They would have been able to cost the staff levels too

 

[Billy the Fish]

Transport costs are apparently very much higher than TB thought they would be.

And they've already rectified that problem for next season.

 

[The Large One]

And they've already rectified that problem for next season.

Some of it. By no means all of it.

 

[Surrey_Albion]

I thought I read last week Gus had a budget and he was happy with it?? I might be wrong, has been known

 

[pork pie]

Nothing concrete, and the club will not publish the 2011/12 accounts until next March/April. It was notable that they did not mention them on the official site this year, and the Argus did not pick up on them either.

Are you right about the Argus and/or official site? I am aware of those figures being published somewhere, and I don't believe that it was from you on here.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

I thought I read last week Gus had a budget and he was happy with it?? I might be wrong, has been known

Yeh, he did say that. That doesn't mean it hasn't been restricted from what TB would have liked to give him.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Some of it. By no means all of it.

Interesting, so we know everyone will be paying their share of the subsidised public transport, so that cost should now be fixed depending on the number of STs sold.

What else is there?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Any chance this is the real reason for Ken Brown's departure?

Sounds very feasible.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

Again, total speculation. But if this is the reason we're looking for a new MD, this suggests to me that Bloom has this under tight control and isn't prepared to wait until we're spiralling out of control before he takes action.

Transport costs must be one of the few unforeseen costs, everything else must be easier to predict? No? Yes?

 

[The Large One]

Interesting, so we know everyone will be paying their share of the subsidised public transport, so that cost should now be fixed depending on the number of STs sold.

What else is there?

I don't know the exact figures, but taking 21,000 STHs (not sure if this includes the 1901 Club) paying the £30 levy, this comes out at about £630,000 - give or take.

Martin Perry said on the excellent Albion Roar that the transport costs were 'well into seven figures'. How far into them, I don't know, but all we're doing collectively is making a dent in that cost.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Transport costs are apparently very much higher than TB thought they would be.

This I can well believe. And more seats will mean more subsidised travel. If all those seats are filled, then fine. If not ...

With luck, the new transport charge on season tickets will help. I used the Race Hill park and ride a few times and no-one asked me for a travel voucher, so I suppose the club was losing out there.

 

[Gritt23]

We have to balance the books, and if that means we play at the bottom end of this division, then so be it, if it means we play League One, then so be it. We must take our expected earnings - which due to our high level of ST sales is far more predictable than for many football clubs - and cut our cloth accordingly.

We should not be running the club on the basis that TB covers the losses over and over again, until he runs out of money, and then we find someone to replace him.

No, if everyone else is spending unrealistic sums, and that's the only way you can sit in the top 10 of this division, that is not a good enough reason to do that ourselves.

 

[Simster]

I don't know the exact figures, but taking 21,000 STHs (not sure if this includes the 1901 Club) paying the £30 levy, this comes out at about £630,000 - give or take.

Martin Perry said on the excellent Albion Roar that the transport costs were 'well into seven figures'. How far into them, I don't know, but all we're doing collectively is making a dent in that cost.

Martin Perry was instrumental in having the stadium built on this site. I don't really understand why these additional transport costs have come as a surprise to him. Surely this would all have come out in a feasibility study years ago?

 

[Billy the Fish]

I don't know the exact figures, but taking 21,000 STHs (not sure if this includes the 1901 Club) paying the £30 levy, this comes out at about £630,000 - give or take.

Martin Perry said on the excellent Albion Roar that the transport costs were 'well into seven figures'. How far into them, I don't know, but all we're doing collectively is making a dent in that cost.

Which would make sense, because the club is paying most of the cost of travel within the subsidised zone. That is a figure which they shouldn't be surprised by, the only surprise would've been when the travel voucher numbers didn't add up.