Quote: Jake the Peg "So kath was turning up every day put of her love for the club? Who do you think was running the show? kath or the other directors? What was happening to the money that wasn't being paid into overseas players' ebt funds, spent on training facilities or the academy? What about the money that was been saved utilising tax avoidance schemes? We're currently operating on this reduced income you're telling us about, spending the money we should be on facilities etc and we still broke even last year. You explain to me, as an accountant, where you think the money used to go?'"
The club made profits of around £1m IIRC during the last board's tenure, enabled partly by not spending appropriately on the academy but after taking into account any payments to KH. Since AP took over nearly £800k has been lost. We didn't break even last year, gates are down again and many on here are saying they're not renewing. Sponsorship is likely to be lower - remember the P&O deal that was the largest of its kind at the time? The record shirt sales? IIRC we averaged 14k one year. Wilf is saying we've given up on 12k as a target now.
Let's say the reductions in income are offset by increased Sky monies - it's possible, and that on average over a c 15 year period we broke even. My point, in the opening post, is that Leeds, with £11m turnover, Saints with £7m & own stadium and Wigan with £7m and a cashed up owner, all three of which have higher gates too (and possibly better sponsorship) are currently much better placed than us financially, and the gap will be hard to close in the short term. Are you satisfied we have the size and quality of these three's back room staff? If not, and gates fall again, I just don't see how the expectation we can compete on a level playing field is justified.