In Price v Out Price

[TrueBlue]

Following on from the comment from Grand Master J of the Young British Muslim Movement, if we go from say when 2004/2005 season what we have spent against what we have made on transfers what would you say was the loss/gain?

 

[Andyhsufc]

We have definately gained from then and I would say it is in the mid to high hundreds of thousands?

 

[J]

Exactly, so why not spend the profits ;)

 

[steveo]

Exactly, so why not spend the profits

Swallowed up by massive interest payments on debts maybe?

 

[Mick]

Exactly, so why not spend the profits ;)

Like spending it on keeping the club alive ... yes let's.

 

[J]

Like spending it on keeping the club alive ... yes let's.

I thought Ron had already cleared our debts? This is what was said?

 

[turkishm]

Swallowed up by massive interest payments on debts maybe?

Could well be right there. I think everyone got to get there head around the fact,there aint gona be much money spent on players this season, maybe next season too.

 

[J]

Could well be right there. I think everyone got to get there head around the fact,there aint gona be much money spent on players this season, maybe next season too.

.......................

 

[Firestorm]

I have posted these figures on the other thread

but here we are again

From the P&L account
Player Trading
year to 31/7/04 loss 17,557
year to 31/7/05 loss 48,134
year to 31/7/06 loss 124,183
year to 31/7/07 profit 1,175,634

players registration costs

year to 31/7/04 237,208
year to 31/7/05 342,000
year to 31/7/06 517,000
year to 31/7/07 1,279,100
__________________

 

[fbm]

I think that anyone who has followed football in the last 10 years or so will be aware of the fact that football is generally run on a "hand to mouth" basis.

It shouldn't be... but it is.

Sadly we are a selling club. We have to sell to survive but in the last few years we have been lucky enough to have a had a couple of promotions and cup runs, plus loads of TV appearances to help balance the books.

Yet we are still only just in profit.

When you see clubs like Luton, Rotherham and Bournemouth at the bottom of L2 having been deducted points last season and this, it just makes me grateful that we haven't broken the bank on bringing big name and expensive players in (even if they would agree to come here).

For the benefit of the younger fans... on 2 occasions that I know of in SUFC history we have gone down the road of bringing in "big" names. First, in 1983/4, we signed Billy kellock from Wolves - a top flight club then - and other players that were vaguely heard of and that came from higher leagues. After an impressive start where we whipped Scunthorpe 6-1 away, Brentford 6-0 at home and managed a couple of other great wins, most thought we would absolutely walk Divison 3 (the one we're in now for those who can't remember). However, it became clear that these "big" players did not have their heart in the club, didn't have the stomach for a fight and we got relegated. The following season was probably the bleakest in the clubs history with us narrowly avoiding re-election (we finished 20th in Div 4) and players weren't paid, they went on strike and the club was literally saved by Vic Jobson. Out went the big names and in came more hungry players, like Richard Cadette, and we finished 9th and started the upward climb again.

The other occasion was in 1996/7 when the club nearly skinted itself buying Mike Marsh from Galatasaray for £500,000.

Now why on earth would a player leave a club that was in the Champions League and attracting 30,000 plus crowds every week to come to Southend United?

Two reasons -

1) Ronnie Whelan was the manager and every day was a holiday with Ronnie, and
2) Money.


So I'd actually like to keep our transfer profits thanks that will hopefully ensure that we still have a club to support in 10 years time.

 

[Firestorm]

For the benefit of the younger fans... on 2 occasions that I know of in SUFC history we have gone down the road of bringing in "big" names.

I would add Eddie Firmani and Ronnie Whelan to that list and possibly Eddie Clayton and Frank Lampard too altough Lampard was a big name he was past it....

Ricketts , Whymark maybe as well....

to be honest , the only big names I can recall who have done really well were Marsh, Firmani and Goater, although the Marsh was part of the "big spend" under Whelan which we are still effectively paying for !

 

[Tin Bath]

I would guess two thirds of the squad are on over £100,000 a year, thats a lot of fixed over heads we have before interest owed on debts, the golden rule is no more than 50% of total revenues to be paid in wages and salaries but with lower gates and commercial revenue we might well be above that ratio

 

[fbm]

I would add Eddie Firmani and Ronnie Whelan to that list and possibly Eddie Clayton and Frank Lampard too altough Lampard was a big name he was past it....

Ricketts , Whymark maybe as well....

to be honest , the only big names I can recall who have done really well were Marsh, Firmani and Goater, although the Marsh was part of the "big spend" under Whelan which we are still effectively paying for !

I had no problem with Firmani, Whymark, Lampard, Whelan and Goater... they were at the twilight of their careers and in fact all of them finished with the Blues (except Firmani).

But Marsh, Kellock and some of the others that were brought in (Glen Skivington from Derby, Phil Pritchard from Stoke in the 1980's, Andy Rammell, Paul Byrne and Mark McNally in the 90's) were all players that had a lot more to offer in their careers as opposed to being at the tail end of them.

The fact that some of them didn't play again was more down to injuries or the lifestyle they had whilst down here.

Other huge mistakes include bringing in big name players at the end of their careers but only on loan. Then they really couldn't give a stuff - Martin Allen and Neville Southall are living proof of that.

I was going to include Tony Currie somewhere there because he was meant to be our saviour except having been announced to the crowd he injured himself in the warm up and never kicked a ball for us.