Woeful season, but potentially invaluable lessons learned for the future?

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

But what about how we're constantly told how incredible and award-winning the stadium and academy are, and the fact of how expensive our season tickets are? The club have got to understand that these things are going to raise expectations that on field matches off field - at the moment the two are MILES apart.

At LAST some sense. This is exactly the problem/point.

If we were still at withers then of course we would be OVER THE ****ING MOON we just about survived.

But we are not at Withdean.

 

[Lifelong Supporter]

I have a lot of time for Tony Bloom,for what he has contributed to his club.What i have realized this season that ourselves (and we are not alone ) just cannot complete financial with many of the ex prems in this league.Anyone thinking that we will spent big this summer i think are unrealistic. This then places huge demands on our scouting of players,and assuming CH is a winner,then unearthing those 35 goals from a striker and attacking midfielder within our budget will be the key.....to top 6......or bottom 3 !

This is very much it as regards spending. Tony Bloom finances this club with millions year on year and players are well paid. But the hot shot strikers proven in this Championship cost huge amounts and are outside our reach. Therefore we have to speculate on strikers. Some come off and others do not. CMS did for a while, Barnes was competitive and Ulloa is a natural goal scorer. Baldock shows some promise. Hopefully our 2015/6 recruit(s) will be decent.

Really good sides have the quality to play 2 up front. I doubt if we are going to have that quality for a little while yet so it is a tough task to play up front for us.

 

[chaileyjem]

Bravo

There will always be exceptions to every [Champ team doing well out of L1 strikers] rule
.

Glenn Murray ? Jordan Rhodes ? Charlie Austin ? Troy Deeney ?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

What a load of crap. If someone wanted to build a hotel, they'd just buy a hotel sized plot of land and build it, without the hassle and expense of building a high spec 30K stadium and funding the 10m a year losses that it costs to run the team.

£200M and counting. I'm sure Tony Bloom didn't become a multi millionaire with business plans like the one you're suggesting.

Maybe in other areas of his business life. But there something seriously flawed with his Albion business plan when he initially more or less filled the stadium with STH eating pies and drinking pints like they'd been starved for a month and the club still makes a stonking great loss. How's that ever going to be turned around without properly investing in players at the market rate in order to get on the Premier League gravy train?

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Maybe in other areas of his business life. But there something seriously flawed with his Albion business plan when he initially more or less filled the stadium with STH eating pies and drinking pints like they'd been starved for a month and the club still makes a stonking great loss. How's that ever going to be turned around without properly investing in players at the market rate in order to get on the Premier League gravy train?

So are your proposing that TB should pump/sink (sorry, "properly invest") more money into players and football costs on the basis that the current business plan, under which football costs totalled 86% of the club's £24m turnover last season and TB stumped up £10.6m, is seriously flawed? If so, how much annually and for how long?

 

[Husty]

So are your proposing that TB should pump/sink (sorry, "properly invest") more money into players and football costs on the basis that the current business plan, under which football costs totalled 86% of the club's £24m turnover last season and TB stumped up £10.6m, is seriously flawed? If so, how much annually and for how long?

I don't like you and you don't like me but you're talking absolute perfect sense here.

 

[RexCathedra]

I don't like you and you don't like me but you're talking absolute perfect sense here

.If so, how much annually and for how long?

Based on a cursory reading of the 'what to do in the closed season' threads, the answer clearly is:

All of it, forever. Anything less is insulting.
We deserve it. We are Albion!

 

[scousefan]

In the Amex era two out of three young managers have been successful. Not much to learn there. It may have been quite hard to spot that Sami would be clueless with no charisma.

A settled side is more important than FFP.

It's a limited market for player recruitment, so haggling to the last penny is not a good strategy.

Get two good strikers at whatever cost.

Unfortunately recruitment this summer will be tough because we are not rich and will be less attractive

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

I think the biggest lesson to learn is sh1t happens.

I think one major plus now is that we know which division we will be in next season, we do not have the distraction of playoffs to worry about and CH has had time to assess things and work out what to do.

And after we have thrashed Watford and Borough (in my dreams) we will go in to the close season on high.

 

[stss30]

So are your proposing that TB should pump/sink (sorry, "properly invest") more money into players and football costs on the basis that the current business plan, under which football costs totalled 86% of the club's £24m turnover last season and TB stumped up £10.6m, is seriously flawed? If so, how much annually and for how long?

I agree, but the club need to be honest to supporters about their realistic aspirations to the fans. Raising ticket prices and the comments from TB before the season raises fans expectations, If we aren't going to invest as much as others clubs (those without parachute payments specifically) it alienates fans who are stumping up the cash but are seeing no improvement on the pitch.

 

[chaileyjem]

I agree, but the club need to be honest to supporters about their realistic aspirations to the fans. Raising ticket prices and the comments from TB before the season raises fans expectations, If we aren't going to invest as much as others clubs (those without parachute payments specifically) it alienates fans who are stumping up the cash but are seeing no improvement on the pitch.

Ticket prices are frozen or reduced this season.
He never says "we will" get in the top 6. He says he's stumped up the cash for a squad "who could".
We do invest as much as other many other clubs(without parachute payments). Certainly more than our position in league would indicate.

 

[B.W.]

Ticket prices are frozen or reduced this season.
He never says "we will" get in the top 6. He says he's stumped up the cash for a squad "who could".
We do invest as much as other many other clubs(without parachute payments). Certainly more than our position in league would indicate.

Are you in the club's employ? Or merely deluded?

 

[Machiavelli]

I think the biggest lesson to learn is sh1t happens.

I think one major plus now is that we know which division we will be in next season, we do not have the distraction of playoffs to worry about and CH has had time to assess things and work out what to do.

And after we have thrashed Watford and Borough (in my dreams) we will go in to the close season on high.

This is the best that we can derive from the season, and NSC might be the place to drown in negativity, but B&HA isn't. Football, like life, is not some continual upward trajectory. We've had a good period, with an upward trajectory, and this season is a reversal (although the seeds were sown a little earlier). We're still in the Championship. We have stability in terms of board, manager, recruitment team. Let's hope that the recruitment works this time round (it has done with Kayal, for the first time in a while). I have hope that certain players have better seasons next time round than this (Stockdale, Baldock).

 

[Machiavelli]

Ticket prices are frozen or reduced this season.
He never says "we will" get in the top 6. He says he's stumped up the cash for a squad "who could".
We do invest as much as other many other clubs(without parachute payments). Certainly more than our position in league would indicate.

This is true. But it's also true that our ST prices are the highest in the Championship, or thereabouts. West Ham just announced STs at about £300, which is also true.

 

[chaileyjem]

This is true. But it's also true that our ST prices are the highest in the Championship, or thereabouts. West Ham just announced STs at about £300, which is also true.

Actually their ST prices are going up in 15/16, despite 75m of Sky/Bt money and then their cheapest are being reduced in 16/17 when they move to a stadium built by public money and their projected TV income will be 20x that of the Albion. No word yet on other prices. They might be on the Champ then anyway.
But I'm not sure what your point is ?
Expensive seats at the albion ( and that depends on travel / where you sit/ how you pay etc... ) = promotion guaranteed ?

 

[stss30]

Ticket prices are frozen or reduced this season.
He never says "we will" get in the top 6. He says he's stumped up the cash for a squad "who could".
We do invest as much as other many other clubs(without parachute payments). Certainly more than our position in league would indicate.

I was talking about previous seasons not the season upcoming.

Are you in the club's employ? Or merely deluded?

He insists he isn't, maybe Paul Barber's cousin or something?

This is true. But it's also true that our ST prices are the highest in the Championship, or thereabouts. West Ham just announced STs at about £300, which is also true.

I know it's different for Premiership clubs as they will get big money from the new tv deal but from my perspective if they cut season ticket prices, the stadium would be packed most weeks, it would make for a better atmosphere and, although there's some people who seemingly love to complain about almost everything, I think there would be a lot less negativity.

 

[chaileyjem]

Are you in the club's employ? Or merely deluded?

To follow the albion for 40 years then probably the latter.

 

[Machiavelli]

But I'm not sure what your point is ?
Expensive seats at the albion ( and that depends on travel / where you sit/ how you pay etc... ) = promotion guaranteed ?

It's certainly not that. I don't go in for simplistic or mechanistic thinking. I suppose all I was trying to say is that there are a plethora of facts/truths, and what matters is which of these we regard to be significant.

 

[Sweeney Todd]

Two seasons ago, Burnley avoided the drop on the last day of the season. A year later, with virtually the same set of players, they went up automatically. That shows what can be done. They were a functional team with a solid defence. I expect us to be a similar kind of team next season. Hughton sets up his teams to be hard to beat, which is the basis for success. Burnley created few chances, but those that were created were converted by clinical strikers in Vokes and Ings. Get two strikers like them, then, and we will challenge for promotion next season.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

I agree, but the club need to be honest to supporters about their realistic aspirations to the fans. Raising ticket prices and the comments from TB before the season raises fans expectations, If we aren't going to invest as much as others clubs (those without parachute payments specifically) it alienates fans who are stumping up the cash but are seeing no improvement on the pitch.

Interestingly only those with parachute payments who could go straight back up is Norwich.

Therefore I will not hear of parachute payments as an argument.