Could Tony Bloom sell the club

[dejavuatbtn]

I get more sceptical each day with how football is going. Nothing surprises me any more and I have no doubt that the end game is money.

 

[Brovion]

If we want to 'progress' he might have to. In the old days people who invested in their local clubs were local millionaires who'd made a few quid on the back of some shady property deals and/or dodgy nightclubs. Then the bar was raised so that clubs needed people like Tony Bloom. Now it's gone even higher and if you want success your backer needs to be a billionaire (millions are no longer enough), a large corporation or even a county. This process has accelerated even since we've been at the Amex - just look at the additional clubs who've got mega-rich owners.

Will FFP reign this back? Possibly. If it doesn't we WILL get left behind as we won't be able to compete financially. Despite our sell-out crowds, eye-watering prices and off-field income we still make a massive loss each year to the extent that we have to sell our best players just to cover the debts. Certainly unless we are VERY lucky with new youth prospects, unknown foreigners, etc we will struggle to reach the Prem as we aren't rich enough to buy in the players we need. So in order to progress TB will probably have to sell the club to someone/something far richer than he is.

Question is .... would we like the result?

 

[kevtherev]

Of course he will sell, once the hotel etc is in place. But he won't see any return on his investment unless we are in the prem. Which makes the lack of investment in the playing squad a bit of a mystery. We are going backwards atm.

 

[supaseagull]

Have noticed an influx of foreign ownership in the championship recently. Charlton, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Reading. With the infrastructure in place at the albion and the potential for more commercial spin offs ie Hotel etc could Brighton be a prime target for acquisition? there have been a few rumours floating around recently.

Despite Bloom promising to keep the albion “in house” I find it odd now that he doesn’t want to push the extra mile to get the squad up to the required standard. Would it seem too far fetched to suggest that his relative lack of ambition on the field would perhaps make supporters more inclined to allow an outsider to take over and Bloom is therefore not too interested in pushing the boat out with this in mind?

Or does this all sound far fetched?

The club will be sold once the hotel has been built.

 

[martin tyler]

It is a tough call. Foreign ownership is not always the answer. Look at Blackburn amongst others.
What Tb will want is a similar situation to Southampton. A youth system that produces high quality players which in years to come are sold at a substantial profit after we have become an established PL team.
At this moment in point we are conscious of FFP.

However as a truth football needs to take a look at itself especially in the UK. It is pricing out the fans. Average players want obscene money and as a business its unsustainable.

 

[BensGrandad]

I have always maintained that is the ultimate end to the story the only question is when and I think I will be when the hotel is built and we are in The Premier League as we will then be a more saleable club.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Easily. The current business model is flawed and incurs year-on-year operational losses.

Very few football clubs don't.

 

[Rookie]

Not in the near future if he wants the bulk of his money back

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Very few football clubs don't.

Can't help but feel that TB will flog the club on to somebody willing to throw big bucks (for better or worse) at the playing side once all the real estate is in place. As a successful businessman, its one thing being a fan and quite another thing looking at year-on-year operational losses until at least 2027. Bit of a commercial no-brainer really.

 

[El Presidente]

Or does this all sound far fetched?

Yes

 

[El Presidente]

Tony Bloom has spent £200 million on the Albion, the club is worth at most £12 million. Selling would be a fairly dumb thing to do.

 

[Black Rod]

Tony Bloom has spent £200 million on the Albion, the club is worth at most £12 million. Selling would be a fairly dumb thing to do.

Depends.

If he loves the club as much a people seem to say he does, he could be willing to sacrifice that amount of money to sell it to someone who can make us a stable Premier League outfit

 

[RexCathedra]

stable Premier League outfit

How many of those are there, anyways?

 

[nwgull]

Amazing. Everyone seems to have inside knowledge on what TB is planning on doing. I didn't realise he had so many close friends on here.

 

[Black Rod]

How many of those are there, anyways?

Stoke, Swansea, Palace

With the massive increase of television money for last seasons teams, becoming one will be even harder now

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Tony Bloom has spent £200 million on the Albion, the club is worth at most £12 million. Selling would be a fairly dumb thing to do.

Spending £200 million on a club worth at most £12 million with no prospect of banking a healthy profit at some point would be an infinitely more dumb thing to do.

 

[El Presidente]

Spending £200 million on a club worth at most £12 million would be an infinitely more dumb thing to do.

Wise worms Tom!

 

[RexCathedra]

Stoke, Swansea, Palace

How many consecutive years in the top flight between them?

 

[El Presidente]

Stoke, Swansea, Palace

With the massive increase of television money for last seasons teams, becoming one will be even harder now

So, after one season, Palace are a stable PL club? Seems a bit far fetched to me.

 

[RexCathedra]

Spending £200 million on a club worth at most £12 million with no prospect of banking a healthy profit would be an infinitely more dumb thing to do.

Go find me a stranger -- preferably a foreigner -- with no connections to the team and the community at once to do precisely this. Dodginess no issue.

The fans demand it!