[Albion] The right time for major investment in the team?

[forumwayseagull]

I think the issue here is to do with the wording “ major investment “. The club has and will continue to invest in the players each season. However I see what the original poster was implying re investing for next step to progress. It’s worth remembering that as grateful as we all are to TB etc the club is a business and in the richest league in the world. Therefore to stand still requires “ investment”. If we sell off say Cucurella and Bissouma that would be about 80 mill. Add that to Ben White and burn sales that is getting close to 150 million in a year.
Naturally the club needs to be self sufficient etc in long term but to progress it’s all a balancing act. Add quality where possible, sell players at ridiculously high fees when opportunity arises snd reinvest accordingly. You cannot have too much of one of other or trouble beckons.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Bloom strengthened the team last summer (Caicedo, Cucurella, Mwepu) , and I’m sure he will do likewise this summer. This thread is arguing that the club needs a major investment implying that Bloom and his approach isn’t enough. I disagree. Apologies if you concur too.

I’ve got English A Level but it was a long time ago so fair enough I’ll look “entropy” up in the dictionary.

The thread is certainly not saying that the club needs major investment, if you reread my OP. What it is asking , is whether this is tactically a very good time to significantly up the investment, with the potential for future rewards. Where the investment may come from is definitely a valid question - and TB may well be wanting to increase his own investment - but the premise, that this may tactically be a good time to shift course slightly, is interesting in its own right.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

1 or 2 star player sales


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I actually disagree, the point of major investment now would be to keep those stars to play alongside the developing youngsters, giving us a settled first team for the whole season. Selling and reinvesting in potential would keep us on the path of being a development club - which is fun and great as it is and you won't hear me complain if we do that - but the former approach could see intriguing success on the pitch.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Just so we can afford to give i dunno, Jesse Lingard on £100K a week ? Really ?

No, to pay Bissouma, Cucurella and maybe others already here £100k per week.

 

[dazzer6666]

1 or 2 star player sales


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…every season ? Necessary if you’re going to massively jack up the wages

 

[chaileyjem]

No, to pay Bissouma, Cucurella and maybe others already here £100k per week.

Doubling our annual wage bill is quite the major investment - it’s clear Bloom doesn’t intend to go down that route so unless you’re prepared to discuss how or the type of owner who would fund such a wage bill and all the baggage that would come with that, then arguing that this massive change in salary structure is the right thing for the Albion is a bit moot.

 

[jimhigham]

Yes, now is the time. And I mentioned this before. We must grab the opportunity or we may well slip backwards.

There’s an uncomfortable question we are all going to have to face very soon, which is just how many more seasons can we keep heading upwards? Much was made of Poyet and his ceiling at the time but, realistically, we must be getting very close to that point now. Cold hard economics mean that the top six places are more or less assigned to those with the biggest budgets. Manchester United were risible for much of the season but still managed sixth on financial firepower alone. It’s hard to imagine them being that bad again.

Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United made up the top six this season and will most likely do so next, although Newcastle United now have the muscle to crash the party. If that’s the top seven basically sorted then we’ve very little room left to improve.

My observation isn’t really related to the original post. Just putting it out there that it is going to be ludicrously hard to make any further advance up the table.

 

[Robinjakarta]

There’s an uncomfortable question we are all going to have to face very soon, which is just how many more seasons can we keep heading upwards? Much was made of Poyet and his ceiling at the time but, realistically, we must be getting very close to that point now. Cold hard economics mean that the top six places are more or less assigned to those with the biggest budgets. Manchester United were risible for much of the season but still managed sixth on financial firepower alone. It’s hard to imagine them being that bad again.

Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United made up the top six this season and will most likely do so next, although Newcastle United now have the muscle to crash the party. If that’s the top seven basically sorted then we’ve very little room left to improve.

My observation isn’t really related to the original post. Just putting it out there that it is going to be ludicrously hard to make any further advance up the table.

Great post if not what many here will want to hear. We will do very well to do win as many points and finish as high next season as we have just done. I for one would be delighted with that.

 

[chaileyjem]

There’s an uncomfortable question we are all going to have to face very soon, which is just how many more seasons can we keep heading upwards? Much was made of Poyet and his ceiling at the time but, realistically, we must be getting very close to that point now. Cold hard economics mean that the top six places are more or less assigned to those with the biggest budgets. Manchester United were risible for much of the season but still managed sixth on financial firepower alone. It’s hard to imagine them being that bad again.

Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United made up the top six this season and will most likely do so next, although Newcastle United now have the muscle to crash the party. If that’s the top seven basically sorted then we’ve very little room left to improve.

My observation isn’t really related to the original post. Just putting it out there that it is going to be ludicrously hard to make any further advance up the table.

Of course although it’s a little bit like the old George Best joke “where did it all go wrong ?”. But FWIW - Southampton, West Ham , Leicester have all made the top 6 several times in the last 7 or 8 seasons. And Burnley, Wolves have been 7th and entered Europe.

 

[Juan Albion]

Relax. Undav is the bee's knees and will make all the difference. And given our performances against many of the 'big' teams this season, I'd say we are already competing with them if we can keep this team together one more season.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

No, to pay Bissouma, Cucurella and maybe others already here £100k per week.

I think there is a good case for getting more "competitive" at the top end of our wage structure.

Funding quantity means losing quality.

I look at our 31 man over 21 squad ( with another 10+ U21s on the edges of it ) and think a fair amount of wages are there to be more focused on the "core". Of course some of these will be loaned out, having a proportion of their wages paid, but this doesn't work for players who are not going to feature for us in the future. They still command resources for little purpose. I don't want to name any of these - but there are 5 or 6 at the club in my opinion - and that goes a long way to funding a 100k per week player or boosting the wages of some of the 50K per weekers.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

There’s an uncomfortable question we are all going to have to face very soon, which is just how many more seasons can we keep heading upwards? Much was made of Poyet and his ceiling at the time but, realistically, we must be getting very close to that point now. Cold hard economics mean that the top six places are more or less assigned to those with the biggest budgets. Manchester United were risible for much of the season but still managed sixth on financial firepower alone. It’s hard to imagine them being that bad again.

Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United made up the top six this season and will most likely do so next, although Newcastle United now have the muscle to crash the party. If that’s the top seven basically sorted then we’ve very little room left to improve.

My observation isn’t really related to the original post. Just putting it out there that it is going to be ludicrously hard to make any further advance up the table.

Agree, we have been mostly excellent this season and 9th will be hard to match next season.

I would settle for the decent football remaining even if we finished 14th, I would see this as static and not a backwards step being pragmatic. This won’t be liked by some i accept

 

[Machiavelli]

I actually disagree, the point of major investment now would be to keep those stars to play alongside the developing youngsters, giving us a settled first team for the whole season. Selling and reinvesting in potential would keep us on the path of being a development club - which is fun and great as it is and you won't hear me complain if we do that - but the former approach could see intriguing success on the pitch.

I actually think that we don't have a settled team, that GP doesn't operate with a settled team, and that it is this that enhances our recruitment of the brightest talent. West Ham have a settled team, in that they don't rotate their players much. GP likes to rotate players and, with the five substitutions that are about to be introduced, will have still more opportunities to do so.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I actually think that we don't have a settled team, that GP doesn't operate with a settled team, and that it is this that enhances our recruitment of the brightest talent. West Ham have a settled team, in that they don't rotate their players much. GP likes to rotate players and, with the five substitutions that are about to be introduced, will have still more opportunities to do so.

Agree with your point entirely, but that isn't really what I'm saying about a' settled team'. Every Potter season the first choice 16 or so has been quite different at the end of the season than the start of it' because we're developing and blooding players. So the settled side aspect of my post is that we move away partly from being a development squad, and have a first choice squad the whole way through.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Doubling our annual wage bill is quite the major investment - it’s clear Bloom doesn’t intend to go down that route so unless you’re prepared to discuss how or the type of owner who would fund such a wage bill and all the baggage that would come with that, then arguing that this massive change in salary structure is the right thing for the Albion is a bit moot.

Is it clear? Quite the assumption to make, didn't think you liked people making assumptions judging from your posts on other threads. It may be that he does want to invest more and is waiting for the right time to do so.

It's also not doubling the wage bill, it's increasiing the top end figures. Just as back of a fag packet math, using the extra 15 million from finishing 9th could pay 50k a week extra to four key first team players and an extra 20k a week to a further five.

 

[nickjhs]

I suspect that new contracts for Ali Mac and Tross will mean raising the bar on player salaries. .......

And herein lies our problem, the same problem faced by all clubs with a comparatively low income stream

 

[WATFORD zero]

And herein lies our problem, the same problem faced by all clubs with a comparatively low income stream

And this is what I can't see changing. The best we can hope for (and seem pretty close now) is to pick up the best young players coming through, keep developing them for a few? years, and once they are established and proven at the highest level, let them go and earn mega bucks at the seriously big clubs around Europe. Maybe as we get better, keeping them a little while longer

 

[chaileyjem]

Is it clear? Quite the assumption to make, didn't think you liked people making assumptions judging from your posts on other threads. It may be that he does want to invest more and is waiting for the right time to do so.

Not my assumption , the club CEO/vice chair made it pretty clear only a few weeks ago.
"The figures [the annual accounts] are testament to the careful, diligent and professional approach of so many across the club, who adapted to the global situation, and to the stability that Tony Bloom’s financial investment gives the club.

As always, we are greatly indebted to Tony for a further increase in an already very significant investment in Brighton & Hove Albion. Tony provides a level of stability rarely enjoyed by other clubs, and this has enabled us to continually grow and progress under his chairmanship and ownership. [£427m since he took over]

This week’s results show just how difficult it is to be competitive in the Premier League, but with roughly half of our total loss attributed directly to the pandemic, hopefully we can now move forward with more certainty. Nevertheless, we must continue to look for new ways to boost revenues, increase our fanbase and reduce operational costs.

The overall effort to become more sustainable, and less reliant on Tony, is a long-term project involving all of our staff. We recognise that there will always be difficulties in achieving our aims and ambitions, but we remain determined to work towards our combined vision.

Long-term sustainability also isn’t achieved easily or overnight and improving our key financials must be balanced by careful investment on and off the pitch. On the pitch, this means shrewd transfer dealings and ongoing output from our academy, while off it, improving the fan experience at our stadium and providing the best possible value for money is paramount."
https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/2555741/read-paul-barbers-programme-notes

 

[Swansman]

No, to pay Bissouma, Cucurella and maybe others already here £100k per week.

Well, that would be nice but it comes with a bunch of issues. Look at Bayern Munich now, they can't sign or renew with players because they overpaid a few star players and now every agent demands that anyone moving to Bayern should earn more than the club believes is sustainable. Once you start paying higher wages it is very difficult to turn back if needed.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Not my assumption , the club CEO/vice chair made it pretty clear only a few weeks ago.
"The figures [the annual accounts] are testament to the careful, diligent and professional approach of so many across the club, who adapted to the global situation, and to the stability that Tony Bloom’s financial investment gives the club.

As always, we are greatly indebted to Tony for a further increase in an already very significant investment in Brighton & Hove Albion. Tony provides a level of stability rarely enjoyed by other clubs, and this has enabled us to continually grow and progress under his chairmanship and ownership. [£427m since he took over]

This week’s results show just how difficult it is to be competitive in the Premier League, but with roughly half of our total loss attributed directly to the pandemic, hopefully we can now move forward with more certainty. Nevertheless, we must continue to look for new ways to boost revenues, increase our fanbase and reduce operational costs.

The overall effort to become more sustainable, and less reliant on Tony, is a long-term project involving all of our staff. We recognise that there will always be difficulties in achieving our aims and ambitions, but we remain determined to work towards our combined vision.

Long-term sustainability also isn’t achieved easily or overnight and improving our key financials must be balanced by careful investment on and off the pitch. On the pitch, this means shrewd transfer dealings and ongoing output from our academy, while off it, improving the fan experience at our stadium and providing the best possible value for money is paramount."
https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/2555741/read-paul-barbers-programme-notes

I would expect nothing less from the club than to do all of those things that Barber says, and I hope we do. But it certainly doesn't rule out TB investing more money in the club when the time is right to do so.