Paul Barber: Why the Albion lose £1m a month

[halbpro]

Burnley....

I'm not sure what your point is? I'm not saying it's not doable, I'm saying balancing all the competing factors isn't easy.

 

[El Presidente]

Cut through all of Barber's words ( and saying " bleating on " does not imo show supporters a lot of respect for legitimate questions ) the bottom line is the players are paid far too much money for what they do. That is the major factor and issue in English football and until that is addressed the whole system will forever be f*cked

Really? Manchester United and Chelsea have the second and third highest wage bills in the country, the first makes a profit and the second breaks even, so clubs can afford the wages.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Really? Manchester United and Chelsea have the second and third highest wage bills in the country, the first makes a profit and the second breaks even, so clubs can afford the wages.

Do you disagree then ? Don't the players wages take up something like 70% of the total revenue. Do you think this is right ?

 

[Bozza]

Cut through all of Barber's words ( and saying " bleating on " does not imo show supporters a lot of respect for legitimate questions

He was talking about himself bleating, not about supporters. Look:

"supporters always hear me bleat on"

 

[Bozza]

Do you disagree then ? Don't the players wages take up something like 70% of the total revenue. Do you think this is right ?

What is an appropriate figure?

What percentage of revenue is spent on wages in your business?

 

[pastafarian]

The 7-8,000 empty seats each week at the Amex do suggest that the pricing isn't quite right. It's a tough balancing act the board have between upsetting STH who pay a lot up front, and would therefore be slighted if the club 'gave away' tickets simply to fill the stadium through special offers, and changing some of the pricing policies.

i wonder what % of season tickets holders would actually be upset if the club were filling these empty seats with special offers,personally it wouldnt bother me in the slightest.

i can imagine some being miffed,but in the big scheme of things surely the financial need for more bums on seats outweighs any personal feelings about being ripped off if some people get in cheaper with last minute special deals.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

What is an appropriate figure?

What percentage of revenue is spent on wages in your business?

Less than 70% I would think. Ok, maybe it is me and only me that thinks it is too high. Carry on

 

[El Presidente]

i wonder what % of season tickets holders would actually be upset if the club were filling these empty seats with special offers,personally it wouldnt bother me in the slightest.

i can imagine some being miffed,but in the big scheme of things surely the financial need for more bums on seats outweighs any personal feelings about being ripped off if some people get in cheaper with last minute special deals.

I think yours is a sensible viewpoint, but I suspect some people will be outraged, because it comes naturally to them.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

i wonder what % of season tickets holders would actually be upset if the club were filling these empty seats with special offers,personally it wouldnt bother me in the slightest.

Same, It's as of little interest as how much the person next to me on a plane paid for their seat.

 

[Bozza]

Less than 70% I would think. Ok, maybe it is me and only me that thinks it is too high. Carry on

Oh, don't do your usual 6-year old style sulk. My question was a genuine one. What level would be considered reasonable and appropriate as I really have no idea.

 

[El Presidente]

Do you disagree then ? Don't the players wages take up something like 70% of the total revenue. Do you think this is right ?

Manchester United's is 51%

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Oh, don't do your usual 6-year old style sulk. My question was a genuine one. What level would be considered reasonable and appropriate as I really have no idea.

What ? I guess a 6 year old would say, a level of wage that would prevent the business losing £ 1 000 000 a month. Does that answer it for you? It is really not that difficult a concept to grasp I would have thought

 

[spanish flair]

I would just like two questions answered.

1. PB stated last July that the club was currently losing just above £8 Mill now he is stating that this season it is a loss of £12 Mill. What has been the cause of the £4 mill increase?

2. Last season when he stated we were losing over £8 mill he said this debt was unsustainable. How long is the £12 mill loss sustainable for?

 

[bobby baxter]

i wonder what % of season tickets holders would actually be upset if the club were filling these empty seats with special offers,personally it wouldnt bother me in the slightest.

i can imagine some being miffed,but in the big scheme of things surely the financial need for more bums on seats outweighs any personal feelings about being ripped off if some people get in cheaper with last minute special deals.

It wouldnt worry me, anything helping to increase revenue for the club should be supported. I do wonder though if it would affect season tickets if holders decided to pick games and wait for cheap deals during the season.

 

[Bozza]

What ? I guess a 6 year old would say, a level of wage that would prevent the business losing £ 1 000 000 a month. Does that answer it for you? It is really not that difficult a concept to grasp I would have thought

Your "maybe it is me and only me" is a classic 'you' reaction as soon as someone expresses a different opinion to you. (As it happened, I didn't even do that - I just asked you a question). It's playground-level debating.

Anyway, going back to the point in question: you're saying you would be happy with the Albion in mid-table League One, with occasional flirtations with promotion to the Championship which is probably where we'd be if we sliced £10m off the playing wage budget?

Think carefully about that answer as I don't think I'd have to try very hard to find you expressing desires to see the Albion in the Premier League and that almost certainly requires money to be spent.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

He was talking about himself bleating, not about supporters. Look:

"supporters always hear me bleat on"

Duly noted

 

[Return of the Rev]

Let's hear it then. Your starting point is where we are currently: in the Amex with c22,000 season ticket holders, a strong squad commanding decent wages and ongoing operating losses.

Tell us where the club should be and how you would get it there.

To be fair the club is doing all they can but i really think its an impossible situation,Things needed to be addressed during the honeymoon period. If the travel subsidy is removed about 2,000 s/t holders could be lost the same with a price hike. The issues have been there from the start but anyone bringing these up got shouted down with the "you can be replaced we have a waiting list brigade) There was a method in the madness of bringing up travel,catering and atmosphere issues while the bha wagon was in full flight with all its wheels. Catering is the golden goose which the club must look at.Although they don't want it brought in house a halfway house option should be looked into. My tolerance of the catering issues would be far greater if the club earned more than pennies off each item.Why not let different catering companies run different parts of the stadium,bring in real competition and a diverse experience for the paying public. I think there was a massive miscalculation pre amex and boy is Tb paying for someones error.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

To be fair the club is doing all they can but i really think its an impossible situation,Things needed to be addressed during the honeymoon period. If the travel subsidy is removed about 2,000 s/t holders could be lost the same with a price hike. The issues have been there from the start but anyone bringing these up got shouted down with the "you can be replaced we have a waiting list brigade) There was a method in the madness of bringing up travel,catering and atmosphere issues while the bha wagon was in full flight with all its wheels. Catering is the golden goose which the club must look at.Although they don't want it brought in house a halfway house option should be looked into. My tolerance of the catering issues would be far greater if the club earned more than pennies off each item.Why not let different catering companies run different parts of the stadium,bring in real competition and a diverse experience for the paying public. I think there was a massive miscalculation pre amex and boy is Tb paying for someones error.

I'm in total agreement with you regarding the catering. The 'emergency' firm that took over were much better than Sodexo. There is also a problem with the variety of food offered. I know of a couple of people with gluten intolerance that cannot buy anything at the Amex as it is either a pie or bread based. I know chips have been sold but that isn't in all areas, as far as I know.

 

[El Presidente]

Never mind all this grumbling about club finances, ownership and governance, there's one question that keeps me awake at night and one question only.

Have I got PPI?

 

[Hotchilidog]

i wonder what % of season tickets holders would actually be upset if the club were filling these empty seats with special offers,personally it wouldnt bother me in the slightest.

i can imagine some being miffed,but in the big scheme of things surely the financial need for more bums on seats outweighs any personal feelings about being ripped off if some people get in cheaper with last minute special deals.

FWIW it wouldn't bother me at all. I want to see the seats filled and any imaginative schemes they can come up with to do that would have my support. My ST is good value I have no problem with others paying less if that is what it takes.