|
|
Post by redintheface on Oct 2, 2024 15:39:31 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by redshank on Oct 2, 2024 15:53:46 GMT
It will be my 80th birthday on that day.As is usual,no celebrating as it will be just another day of this pile of atoms drifting away until another day begins,a piece of nothingness of the solar system and beyond.
|
|
|
|
Post by bigron on Oct 2, 2024 17:29:24 GMT
Let's hope he turns up this time , the last time Paul Terry took his place ( he was fun though )
|
|
|
|
Post by dohnut on Oct 2, 2024 18:29:04 GMT
Fair play to the management for doing this. Whoever turns up.
|
|
|
|
Post by redintheface on Oct 15, 2024 7:43:24 GMT
Not a particularly uplifting evening from the little I’ve been told. Apart from the awful news about Theo the main topic seems to have been the difficulties RW is facing around budget and getting hold of the players he really wants. On the brighter side RW says we are still aiming for the play offs and that he has every intention of seeing out his contract.
|
|
|
|
Post by dohnut on Oct 15, 2024 8:43:53 GMT
After a good few years of unprecedented success, two top class managers and fantastic owners, I feel we have reached the peak of our capabilities. Ground limitations finally coming back to haunt us. Just not an enticing place for football. Despite upgrades it’s not really fit for purpose. People I think want more than football in an old stadium in the middle of a housing estate. Also amenities to enhance the match day experience. Just the way it is. How can our owners hope to finance current losses let alone finance growth. Not reasonable to expect this. Do we have a set up good enough to entice new inventors, possibly. Much easier if the Council owned the ground or better still, the club.
But peaking in league 1 isn’t too bad. Some bigger teams flit in and out for added interest and nothing wrong with being a strong mid to upper level side. Consolidation is the key. Talk of play offs little more than RW doing what he does so well, boosting player confidence.
The focus right now is simply moving up the table. Thats good enough.
|
|
|
|
Post by Thor on Oct 15, 2024 9:29:57 GMT
Dohnut sorry I have to disagree with you. We got to the play off final in the same ground and with a smaller budget. Clubs smaller than us have got to the championship.
There is no reason why we can't do it now.
|
|
|
|
Post by ramblingman on Oct 15, 2024 10:21:49 GMT
I find myself agreeing more with Dohnut.
During our last spell in League One the divisional average attendance was 7,500. Now average gates in League One are above 10,000, which exceeds our ground capacity. In other words we can't even be average in this division in terms of generating match day income. So although it's not impossible that we could do what teams like Burton and Wycombe have done and get ourselves promoted, we would probably suffer the same fate if we did.
I need to get my around this properly, but my sense is that lower league football is changing rapidly. There are more academy trained players and more highly qualified coaches, so the quality is improving. As a result demand is rising and telly is becoming more of a factor.
The downside is that clubs can no longer rely on the old blokes in fleeces (like me) who have supported the club for forty years. New supporters demand higher standards of facilities. Better players and coaches need better pitches to play on to create the spectacle. Rule changes - such as five substitutes - invariably favour clubs with bigger squads.
All of this means that it will become harder and harder for small clubs to compete.
The longer term strategy for LOFC and others in our position is to create the conditions in which the club can grow and if that can't be achieved quickly then the challenge is how can we keep up with the bigger boys and punch above our weight while the pieces are put in place.
|
|
|
|
Post by dohnut on Oct 15, 2024 20:27:26 GMT
Dohnut sorry I have to disagree with you. We got to the play off final in the same ground and with a smaller budget. Clubs smaller than us have got to the championship. There is no reason why we can't do it now. All things are possible, but not probable. And it gets more difficult by the year. Costs are rising at a pace and far exceed our ability to generate income. Plenty of moaning when prices go up. There is a an admission price saturation point where to exceed it, attendances will drop. Catch-22 So where does the money come from to sustain our challenge. Totally unfair for our owners to keep shelling out. Has to be a point when they say enough. I believe we are at or close to that point. Can our current owners continue to suffer annual losses of £3m? Could they finance Championship survival if we got there? I doubt it. We need a business model that generates annual income of a level that allows the club to compete without bankrupting our generous owners. Brisbane Road cannot do that. So could we go up? Of course. Could we stay up? Highly unlikely. Sustainable growth is the answer and we haven’t even reached that in league 1 yet. So of course promotion is possible and it would be great. But without significant income it’s likely to be short lived. Right now league 1 is a good place to be whilst other stuff gets put in place. |
|
|
|
Post by ostralia on Oct 15, 2024 21:07:30 GMT
I think you’re doing Leyton a disservice by calling it a housing estate. It’s an old, well established suburb, with a vibrant and diverse community, facilities and cultural life. There’s reasons that more and more people are moving there.
|
|
|
|
Post by eca on Oct 15, 2024 22:05:54 GMT
The following are not direct questions for RW but the answers may effect how RW thinks in his long term position - as investment is critical to his success by allowing him a budget that satisfies him to acquire the players he wants.
Based on NT interview on the club site he mentioned how others complimented him on how well the financials are at lofc. He then mentioned the only “debt” is what he and others have against them or similar words.
Does that mean the directors “debt” is actually reimbursed to them when new suitable investor(s) purchase the majority of the lofc shares from each current director.
If that is the case does NT investment “debts” attract some contract commercial interest - if that was the case the “debts” should really be called loans.
Or
Has the NT investments and other directors “debts” just be called a gift - where they see orient as an exciting hobby or sports relaxing pastime to keep them occupied.- where the sums are considerable but as a proportion of their individual wealth acceptable to them individually.
I know in the UK a loss can be offset to other business that made a gain. I know in the USA one can depreciate a domestic house mortgage unlike the uk
As the uk and USA tax laws are different I don’t know what proportion of their investment can be offset - I assume it relates to whether the “debts” are called commercial investments ie loans or just gifts.
|
|
|
|
Post by buffalobill on Oct 16, 2024 8:04:50 GMT
I think we can all agree that Nigel and Kent have recognised the limitations they have of being able to finance the club at a higher level.
No criticism of them, they are looking at the next level of investment and that is how we get ourselves into the position to move up into the Championship and stay there.
There are a lot more young fans in the ground now than in 2013/14, atmosphere in the TJ stand is good as a result, more success on the pitch will only bring in more youngsters and once your hooked, we all know what that leads to.
|
|
