Blackburn report £36.5m loss

[El Presidente]

We clearly aren't going to agree on this so happy to agree to disagree but I'd add one final comment. To my mind any real estate in the immediate area around Brighton is a solid, long term investment. Its a city that nearly matches London for land value and is growing in both size and affluence. Therefore, even if you assume no long term value to the stadium itself, the real-estate its built on will continue to appreciate in value for anyone looking at the long term.

1: The stadium, which you agree has no long term value other than as a stadium, has a cost of £90 million, which will have to be written off.

2: The land upon which it is built is NOT in the affluent part of Brighton (I'm from Woodingdean, I should know), furthermore, Brighton Council do have restrictions on what can be done with this land.

3: There would be further costs incurred in developing whatever these mysterious investors want to develop.

You have not given any figures to support your assertions, that is the first thing any 'investor' would look at. Ultimately it is a numbers game, and they don't add up for anything other than TB using the Albion as a personal plaything, fortunately his love of the club means that his role is that of a benevolent dictator, rather than asset stripper as we previously had in the guise of Archer and Stanley.

 

[Creaky]

1: The stadium, which you agree has no long term value other than as a stadium, has a cost of £90 million, which will have to be written off.

Why would the £90m have to be written off? It is currently rented to BHAFC and would presumably continue to be rented to them so long as the club exists irrespective of who may own the club.

2: The land upon which it is built is NOT in the affluent part of Brighton (I'm from Woodingdean, I should know), furthermore, Brighton Council do have restrictions on what can be done with this land.

The existing lease is for 125 years and could be extended - there are many areas which have changed in status over much shorter periods. Yes there are restrictions on use but any decision regarding the proposed hotel will show how restrictive they really are depending on the outcome of an application for planning permission.

3: There would be further costs incurred in developing whatever these mysterious investors want to develop.

Of course there would but that is not normally a disincentive towards such developments - how much will it cost to build a hotel?

You have not given any figures to support your assertions, that is the first thing any 'investor' would look at. Ultimately it is a numbers game, and they don't add up for anything other than TB using the Albion as a personal plaything, fortunately his love of the club means that his role is that of a benevolent dictator, rather than asset stripper as we previously had in the guise of Archer and Stanley.

Again referring to the proposed hotel, the figures obviously 'add up' for that, so why not others? - I'm sure you are right about the club being a 'plaything' but the property side is not part of the club.

I'm sure that TB does have the best interests of the club at heart but that doesn't mean to say that he hasn't also got an eye on the bigger picture.

 

[El Presidente]

You might be interested to know that the Albion paid rent of £0 to The Community Stadium Company Limited for the use of the Amex.

 

[Rugrat]

Don't forget we will get a cut of the fine as long as we meet FFP, the way things are going the money from the fines can be our transfer budget each season

I wouldn't hold your breath. I've a feeling it could be several years (if at all) before FFP really starts to penalise non compliance

 

[Creaky]

You might be interested to know that the Albion paid rent of £0 to The Community Stadium Company Limited for the use of the Amex.

As I said in a previous post, the current setup allows TB to subsidise the club, zero rent is one of the ways - there is nothing to say this will continue into the future - a lot depends if ownership of either the stadium company or the club company changed hands.

 

[El Presidente]

As I said in a previous post, the current setup allows TB to subsidise the club, zero rent is one of the ways - there is nothing to say this will continue into the future - a lot depends if ownership of either the stadium company or the club company changed hands.

We lost over £9 million last year paying no rent, how can we afford to pay it to another party?

 

[Stat Brother]

You might be interested to know that the Albion paid rent of £0 to The Community Stadium Company Limited for the use of the Amex.

So the club is basically still living at home with Mum and Dad!!

 

[El Presidente]

So the club is basically still living at home with Mum and Dad!!

Yup, and they are giving the club a lot of pocket money too each year.

 

[Stat Brother]

Yup, and they are giving the club a lot of pocket money too each year.

Result.
Fingers crossed they'll let us convert the garage and we need never move out.

 

[Se20]

Blackburn's problems go back to Uncle Jack Walker bankrolling the club to the title . The fans thought that they would be in the upper echelons of English football for years to come, but Jacks money soon dried up after his death. Owners have come and gone, the chicken farmers being the latest ones chasing the Premier dream.
It seems they could be in serious trouble if they don't go up this season, the manager and players must be under extreme pressure to succeed.
Regarding the best time to go up, there isn't a good time. We were clearly the underdogs to gain promotion last season, and we are struggling big time, but that's no surprise.
The gulf is getting bigger every year, as much as Hull and Cardiff are doing ok at the moment, they will struggle to finish out of the bottom three.
We will, baring a miracle, be plying our trade next season back in the championship, hopefully wiser for the experience.
So far ,this season hasn't been enjoyable, and taking the money aspect away, I'd prefer us to be playing at our natural level, the championship.

 

[Stat Brother]

The gulf is getting bigger every year, as much as Hull and Cardiff are doing ok at the moment, they will struggle to finish out of the bottom three.
We will, baring a miracle, be plying our trade next season back in the championship, hopefully wiser for the experience.
So far ,this season hasn't been enjoyable, and taking the money aspect away, I'd prefer us to be playing at our natural level, the championship.

That's clearly not the case.

The gulf between the top 6 - 8, is massive, but that has nothing to do with the rest of the division.

The other 12 teams, are all capable of being bad enough to get relegated, or at least flirt with it.

Teams need to play in 'their' league.
Sacking Jol after losing to Utd is stupid, Fulham are not supposed to win that game anyway.

Hull and Cardiff will struggle to finish in the bottom 3, while in the same division as (in descending order) Palace, Sunderland, big spending Norwich, Fulham, Stoke, West Ham, Villa, then a distance to Newcastle, Swansea, Everton, while currently still further away, Southampton, West Brom.

Points are available from all those teams.

The problem isn't the gulf between the 2 divisions, it's the gulf within the Premier League.
None of the above teams can play the season for any reason other than 'not get relegated'.

 

[Creaky]

We lost over £9 million last year paying no rent, how can we afford to pay it to another party?

We couldn't - remember the Ricoh

If the club and the stadium are owned by different people at some time in the future then who is to say the same thing couldn't happen here?

Coventry City council says the stadium complex is still viable without the football club - over a ten year period the arena complex grew to include a hotel, parking facilities, casino and shopping centre - of course this couldn't happen in Brighton - could it?

 

[El Presidente]

We couldn't - remember the Ricoh

If the club and the stadium are owned by different people at some time in the future then who is to say the same thing couldn't happen here?

Coventry City council says the stadium complex is still viable without the football club - over a ten year period the arena complex grew to include a hotel, parking facilities, casino and shopping centre - of course this couldn't happen in Brighton - could it?

It could, but at present it's supposition and fantasy, and you are ignoring a very hostile local council.

 

[Leighgull]

Blackburn's problems go back to Uncle Jack Walker bankrolling the club to the title . The fans thought that they would be in the upper echelons of English football for years to come, but Jacks money soon dried up after his death. Owners have come and gone, the chicken farmers being the latest ones chasing the Premier dream.
It seems they could be in serious trouble if they don't go up this season, the manager and players must be under extreme pressure to succeed.
Regarding the best time to go up, there isn't a good time. We were clearly the underdogs to gain promotion last season, and we are struggling big time, but that's no surprise.
The gulf is getting bigger every year, as much as Hull and Cardiff are doing ok at the moment, they will struggle to finish out of the bottom three.
We will, baring a miracle, be plying our trade next season back in the championship, hopefully wiser for the experience.
So far ,this season hasn't been enjoyable, and taking the money aspect away, I'd prefer us to be playing at our natural level, the championship.

I'll bet you would. That's a gracious post. Let me just add...

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm sure that TB does have the best interests of the club at heart but that doesn't mean to say that he hasn't also got an eye on the bigger picture.

Very much this.

 

[Creaky]

It could, but at present it's supposition and fantasy, and you are ignoring a very hostile local council.

I'm not suggesting it is likely nor that TB has any such plans - all I am saying is that the way the club and the stadium are structured financially it could happen - I'm not supposing nor fantasising it will happen.

The only reason I can think of, for the way in which the club and the stadium have been kept as separate entities, is to safeguard the capital investments - suggesting that it was done in order to make FFP accounting simpler is a non-starter in my opinion considering the dates on which both companies were incorporated.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It could, but at present it's supposition and fantasy, and you are ignoring a very hostile local council.

What suggests Brighton council are "very hostile" with respect to the Falmer site?

 

[Gwylan]

What suggests Brighton council are "very hostile" with respect to the Falmer site?

I assumed that he was talking about Lewes - part of the Falmer development is over the border, is it not?

 

[El Presidente]

What suggests Brighton council are "very hostile" with respect to the Falmer site?

Brighton council aren't. But to have the casino/retail/hotel development being suggested is going to require land that is not on Brighton council's patch.

 

[mwrpoole]

Back to the OT, there's an interesting article in The Telegraph detailing Blackburn's problems and the fine they could face if they get promoted this year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-if-they-win-promotion-to-Premier-League.html