Sugar Daddy needed - again?

[Wirral Red]

Nice place Eastleigh , pleasant walk from the station to the ground through the country park , good little ground but no fan base and no regular income.
If they flop as they probably will most of their spectators will revert to watching Southampton and very few tears will be shed.

[Junior Shabadoo]

Originally Posted by pagl

Money is always needed to support the playing budget. Its one of the reasons we struggled after FAT final. Not going into that conversation again though.

The whole point of BTB was to give Keates a chance to sign better quality to avoid the drop. When he took over he didnt really have any budget to work with.

The fans raised a great start amount and asked the club to assist with collecting the monies so it was assistance not insistence the fans wanted.

We were getting what we were told was a top 5 budget through the gate before BTB. Most people back it but we did not need it like Eastleigh needed one man to write cheques.

[pagl]

Originally Posted by Junior Shabadoo

We were getting what we were told was a top 5 budget through the gate before BTB. Most people back it but we did not need it like Eastleigh needed one man to write cheques.

So where is the failure if its not finances?

Just imagine where we would have been this season without it.
Talk of £2m per year is crazy but £200k would make a huge difference to us. Providing it was well spent

[Junior Shabadoo]

Originally Posted by pagl

So where is the failure if its not finances?

Just imagine where we would have been this season without it.
Talk of £2m per year is crazy but £200k would make a huge difference to us. Providing it was well spent

Maybe we'd have had a budget as low as, err, Macclesfield. You're not really taking my point on board, I'm not debating whether it made a difference or not (although I personally never supported it) but it is not an essential part of our existence as a club at the level we're at.

[pagl]

Originally Posted by Junior Shabadoo

Maybe we'd have had a budget as low as, err, Macclesfield. You're not really taking my point on board, I'm not debating whether it made a difference or not (although I personally never supported it) but it is not an essential part of our existence as a club at the level we're at.

Ah - take your point now and yes I agree with this as a basic principal as we are budgeting to live within our means.

Unfortunately as we have seen this hasn't got us anywhere near the promised land for quite a few years now and the league becomes more difficult every year.

The last 2 winning teams didn't have massive budgets but I think its fair to say had that little extra on top of what they could afford from their attendances.

[The Only Way Is Up]

The right amount of finance (aka budget) is very important. But there are other elements too.

My old Nain might have been given a McLaren or Ferrari, or even a Mercedes F1 car, but it doesn't mean that she could complete a lap in any of them. Her forte was riding a 1940s pedal cycle. The same kind of analogy applies to many managers and coaches. You can give them the earth but it doesn't guarantee that they can handle it well. Conversely, some managers and coaches are able to perform miracles with what their clubs can afford - Accrington and Macclesfield anyone?

As with almost everything in life, balancing the budget available with players' ability vs their egos, and applying development skills to improve their individual and team performances is essential to create opportunity at every level.

Focusing on improving skills is vital - but so is eliminating the weaknesses in individual players and the team.

Everyone know this already, and I really don't understand why we have this same "chat" every season. OK - I do... it is because despite that certain knowledge, its application is found wanting year after year. It is the reason why managers come and go with the regularity of cuckoo clocks, with a bit of help (or hindrance) from Lady Luck, refereeing decisions, and the strength of the opponents. A manager can put together the best package that his budget can buy, but if another manager at a competing club can work with a better package for the same money, or can have his budget increased part way through the season if his team needs strengthening, sourcing that extra budget can be vital.

If our club sets the maximum budget affordable for the start of the new season, then BTB is the perfect vehicle for that strengthening: it doesn't reduce the size of the pot available between now and the start of the season just in order to have funds available in January. That extra money in January is like the icing on the cake that gives us an edge that our competitors may not be able to match.

Keep at it pagl. YOU know it's right. If others chose not to contribute, that's ok too. Not everyone can afford to raise the extra, and no-one is going to think less of them because of that.

Those who either don't understand why BTB exists, or regard it as a begging bowl to milk the same fans all the time, should think of it in the same way that other clubs' owners and directors do when they want extra performance from their team for the benefit of the supporters but only have the option of using their own chequebooks for the purpose. And if finding £100,000 is beyond their individual means, isn't it great that Wrexham has loyal fans who can dip into whatever they have available and use it to make a difference! How much more might fans have donated had they known how much (or how little) it might have taken to "buy" the four points extra that would have guaranteed us a play-off place?

[RED2309]

Originally Posted by Omni

Massively overpaying wages I'd imagine.

The money was introduced as share capital so the yearly losses have been depleting it although they probably still have about £2.5m left in the shareholders funds if you extrapolate the figures from the last published accounts.

This is why they are debt free, however, if they continue to operate with the same losses of previous seasons they'll be broke by next summer.

Ricketts mentioned the ridiculous wages being paid at Eastleigh last night.

[jonesfach]

Originally Posted by RED2309

Ricketts mentioned the ridiculous wages being paid at Eastleigh last night.

He also mentioned that the players weren't actually worth it. Got his eye on the ball has Sam.

[Rhys's Daddy]

Towns like Eastleigh will also struggle with a low fan base, even if they got to Championship overall attendance would be low - us however could easily get to and survive on an average 10K fan base.

How do we get there, well may be not sugar daddy but it does need vital investment such as someone putting in a substantial sum and to develop and then sponsor the kop