The on field product is a key element in increasing your crowd base although I have heard of some regular fans who have stopped coming and when I asked when they last came it was 15 years ago, they cannot be classed as a regular fan in my opinion.

The club is kept afloat, and has been for many years, through JW and the directors , with assistance in last couple of years from the council, who will recoup this once the retail elements are built. The costs of running the new ground will be in excess of a million pounds per annum, which would have been a huge drain on the club moving forward. The deal i believe is we pay a rent, we get money from gate admission and corporate hospitality, but get nothing from the bars or snack bars. Ideally if Sale move in , then logic would say that our rent would be halved. The key for the future is to try and bring new blood into the boardroom, {preferably with lots of money} and try and get new sposors, as obviously the more income we can get from off field activities helps with what we can spend on the salary cap. This in turn should mean we attract better players, play more attractive football and be more successful , which should bring more fans through the gates. Lets Hope!!!!

Barker picking out more stories off here i see !I Was informed during our game with quinns off a very reliable source regerding players not being paid!!

So where does this reliable source get info?!surely if there was stuff like that ratchford wud have said he's going wire?!why wud he stay with financial probs!the team spirit seems good for a team with financial problems!just bugs me,clubs trying to move forward, new coach,new ground,and people are on here saying were not paying players,show me proof and I will believe it!jeez!

Are you sure that you are not Neil Barker? His sources seem very like your own.

Now I heard from a very good source that Rob Parker was going on loan to Castleford and that was before Parker new about it.

Just playing devils advocate her, but there is an interesting article in the finance pages of tonights MEN, stating that Mr Wilkinsons company has sucessfully applied for a loan to "finance Expansion".
One wonders.!!!

Did anyone say they don't get paid? Sometimes the players get paid on time, sometimes they don't. They do get paid though!

Nothing wrong with businesses borrowing to expand if it is done for the right reasons,if you read the full article it is very complimentary towards Wilkinson Star Ltd.

Sounds identical to our situation at the LSV , one point about the corporate , at Hilton Park we filled the corporate ( 120 covers ) virtually every match and made good money from it as it was reasonably priced , better quality than the LSV and most importantly the drinks were ' normal ' prices .

We now struggle to get people into the corporate at the LSV because the price is more , the food worse and the drinks exorbitant ' relatively ' , we also make less per head out of it , you might well find something similar

Your main revenue stream will be numbers through the gates , you will need massive and long term investement to build your numbers , early doors extra away fans will bolster the numbers , but ultimately that is what will make or break the move to Barton

A statement like that makes me wonder if you are Malcolm White with all the financial knowledge that caused the sale of Station Road? either that, or being deliberately mischievous

The NWBF is a commercially operated fund that lends to businesses who want loans in what is often called the 'equity gap'. This is where a business wants an expansion/growth loan but because equity investors tend to not operate below a £2 - £2.5m investment threshold there is a gap in the market where the NWBF sub-funds step in. Hence, the NWBF is a good source of investment finance for any business able to present a growth/expansion business case.

A business receiving a loan for "finance expansion" is very good news for the business!!!! so wonder not.

Wash your mouth out with soap sir.!! Malcolm White indeed.

Time will tell if your assumption is correct or not after all would the companies own bank not be the first port of call. I do accept that the lending criteria of most banks is extremely rigid but one wonders that if the business is financially sound then they wouldn't have a problem.

I do take on board your comments regarding the NWBF being a good source of investment but the "financial expansion " can cover a multitude of sins.

There is that mischevious side comming out again. lol

The NWBF terms can be preferential to those of the bank when it comes to expansion/investment loans as opposed to just a general working capital loan. The point being you go the bank generally formore short-term loans whereas for a longer term loan (investment) then you'd want equity finance which is genarally not available below £2m. A bank judges you on your ability to re-pay and charges interest accordingly (using a rediculously mechanical approach these days but that is another story!), investment monies are offered based on a risk based judgement of an ability to expand/grow the business often meaning the terms are better. That's partly what would make me think it a good thing if looking at the business as an outsider - an ability to obtain investment capital over general cash loans shows a longer term confidence by the funding provider - it also makes commercial sense to the recipient as the terms will be better.

as for "Finance expansion" in explanation marks again. I'm guessing you don't know the funding rules and criteria of NWBF and the sub-funds (and why would anyone really unless they've had to?!). They are restricted from what I would call 'cash-flow' deals due to the nature of the NWBF and the the financial instrument mechanisms that established it (which is what I worked on).

Back to the thread...

The fact that Salford are still going when the likes of Oldham, Rochdale, Swinton, Widnes etc. have been through what they have over the years should give confidence to us that those running the club will do what uis right. It is a business - and hence, quite rightly it shouldnt be plastered all over our forums and we as just fans have no intrinsic 'right' to know the fine details. Being even more harsh - most of us wouldnt understand the fine details anyway! All this thread shows is that 'guessing' or 'insinuating' from scraps of information or even rumours is pointless.

I'm surprised this sort of poop stirring hadn't surfaced earlier, but we are a little over three weeks from the Franchise decision day so expect more.
Have a bit of faith.

I agree wholeheartedly that club business should be kept to the inner sanctum of the board room.

I do however draw your attention to your following quote "The fact that Salford are still going when the likes of Oldham, Rochdale, Swinton, Widnes etc. have been through what they have over the years should give confidence to us that those running the club will do what uis right" you are overlooking the fact that only last year Salford were bailed out by the council with a loan to assist day to day running of the club. So it seems as we all know that there are no Rugby clubs making money on a day to day basis.
It is enlightening to speak with someone who does however have o good reasoned knowledge of business matters.

not going to debate that as it's not something I know the details of and I doubt there are many that do. but what i would say is that a 'loan' is not always a 'bail out' if you have the confidence it can be repaid - that is something that makes a fundamental difference when looking to hand over any cash. Sad to say, but it is why i doubt Swinton could have been helped at the time of leaving Station Road - the liabilities as I understand them were in the £millions with the upkeep costs of Station Road itself (however historic) being a key part of the problem. Thankfully Salford have never been in such a bad position and the works done to the Willows over the years have at least kept it reasonable - the club never had such a huge liability hanging over it the way Station Road was to Swinton.

Same can be said for the Sheddings which was falling to bits when Salford went there in the last year before Superleague. The upkeep of 'traditional' grounds to meet modern H&S standards (never mind tastes of people coming to games) mean that they represent an ongoing drain on club monies with little upside. Hopefully, the move for Salford to Barton reduces that cost / liability. If Agecroft happens, Swinton too should be on a more even keel - just a pity that steps were not taken 20 years ago to sort it out.