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Post by Bay Dolphin on Feb 3, 2009 14:38:17 GMT
It's beginning to look more and more like relegation for the Cherries, the Saints and Pompey! With the demise of the Saints, and now Pompey, there will be no south or south west teams in the highest league in the land!
The 'League of Greed' is already predictable and boring and if it is to retain any shred of meaning it surely ought to be representative of the country as a whole. At present, for example, there are too many North West sides and too many from London.
Following the succces of MK Dons, is 'franchising' the future? Will wealthy egoists continue to run the show? Will fans give up and turn to 'real football' - like PTFC?
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Post by m3dolphin on Feb 3, 2009 17:44:30 GMT
I think it's possible it could be worse than that Brian. A recent debt league showed that Soton owe an alleged £27m and AFCB an alleged £4m still. I heard hearsay, and that's all it is, that Soton were allegedly going to seek administration if in a mid-table position and secure enough to take a points loss that would havel seen them still have enough points to remain in the Championship. As it is a points deduction at this time would surely resign them to league one football, however, if they get relegated to league one anyway and then go into administration that could see them start League one with a massive points deduction, much like Leeds had. I hear it's possible AFCB could also still face a similar fate and could end up doing an "Aldershot" and starting off in the BGB or even the Dorset league.
There are also clubs higher up the non-league pyramid that are feeling Financial strain and could also end up tumbling down the league structure. So where does this leave us ?
While I would love promotion and will do everything in my power as a supporter to help I am well aware of the financial obligations this would put on the club, such as a larger player budget and traveling expenses, to name a couple - players coach travel will add on 10 to 12k alone on operating costs per season. To help with those costs I would imagine it's imperative to have a large clubhouse to help bring in the necessary funds. Never has a project like BR been so needed.
List from an article in the TalkSport Online Magazine which lays out the relative debts of several clubs.
-£764M Manchester United -£736M Chelsea -£706M Valencia -£416M Arsenal -£350M Liverpool -£183M Fulham -£142M Deportivo La Coruna -£84M Middlesborough -£63.8M Aston Villa -£59M Everton -£37M Hearts -£36M West Ham -£32M Portsmouth -£27.8M Sheffield Wednesday -£27.5M Southampton -£25M Derby -£17M Blackburn Rovers -£11.5M Charlton -£8M Luton -£4M Bournemouth
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Post by slepe12 on Feb 3, 2009 20:55:42 GMT
See the point m3, we are solvent, happy with our lot so is promotion going to be as desirable as we think. I agree the Branksome Project is vital to allow the club to maintain the status which we are aspiring to. Life beyond level 4 is precarious to say the least. It is too much of a risk to contemplate an assault on the higher levels unless your financial position is secure. This is why the current management have got it so right, they need a much larger group of people involved in the day to day duties. More investment in both time and money.
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Post by sterteroad on Feb 4, 2009 13:09:45 GMT
See the point m3, we are solvent, happy with our lot so is promotion going to be as desirable as we think. I agree the Branksome Project is vital to allow the club to maintain the status which we are aspiring to. Life beyond level 4 is precarious to say the least. It is too much of a risk to contemplate an assault on the higher levels unless your financial position is secure. This is why the current management have got it so right, they need a much larger group of people involved in the day to day duties. More investment in both time and money. I think the meeting on Monday will lay out the future for us, if we want to progress as we are, solvent and as one, we all need to give up more time and effort for the club. Plymouth progressed well with that ethos, until the board forgot why they were there. It's sad what's happening at the three "Big" Dorset clubs, but it's what happened to us in the 90s. Up to the supporters to do their bit. Floreat Dolphins
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Post by Bay Dolphin on Feb 4, 2009 13:40:39 GMT
Thanks for that m3. It looks like football is being run by the same people as run the banks!
I still think we need a promotion or two provided we can remain viable but you're definitely right slepe and sterte. Let's hope the meeting is productive. Wish I could do more.
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Post by m3dolphin on Feb 4, 2009 14:04:43 GMT
I see Southampton lost at home again last night, and more bad news on the financial side for AFCB as well. I like the solidarity at our club and the comitment and loyalty Cussy and TK have shown, it's hard to find in football these days.
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