Money Floyd
Part of what any
company relies on is its product and assets. That’s basic stuff yeah?
A football clubs
product is what goes on out there on the pitch, its ability to entertain and
produce results, trophies and success.
Its assets are
the playing staff; it’s workforce if you like.
Investment is
needed in any successful business but getting rid of your assets without
gaining the finances with which to reinvest is a foolish approach, furthermore
choosing not to reinvest after losing assets couple be construed as asset
stripping. So far so simplistic.
It is a financial
fact that the building of the Emirates stadium was a venture that accrued debt.
Presumably a plan was put in place to repay that debt with some projections
based on future earnings development deals sponsorship and the like.
Money Madness
I wonder, was
part of this projection on repayment based on possible future sales of players?
This would seem like speculation in anyone’s book. If this was factored in
(hard to believe that this would be part of any sound business model) then it
provides some form of explanation as to why revenue from sales has not been
commensurate with expenditure on replacements. If this is not the case (as
seems more likely) any lack of expenditure has been through choice.
Adebayor, Clichy,
Fabregas, Tourre, Nasri have all been
some of the more recent sales and the money generated from those sales (and
saved through wages) has clearly not been reinvested.
The question
remains; what exactly is the club’s financial policy? We keep hearing about
self sustainability but failure to invest is a foolish short- term and long- term strategy when it
means the product; the football club, becomes less attractive to exterior
revenue sources.
The Supporters
will always remain; that’s what supporters do, but it is a cold hard reality
that success on the pitch attracts more opportunities to earn. The reason I am
focussing on money is because it seems to be the be all and end all as far as
the likes of Gazidis, Kronke et al are concerned. This in itself would point
towards them being poor business men as the clear decline of the club is
counter productive to increasing income. You don’t need an economics degree to
work that one out.
Money Python
It seems to me
that Arsene Wenger is the perfect Manager for Arsenal Football club as run by
the current regime because he is balancing those books that seem to be the most
important thing to those upstairs.
What seems to
have been wilfully overlooked more than been forgotten, is that yes a Football
club is a business, but it’s a unique one by virtue of the fact that it is a
football club. There is no point of having success in the bank account when
there is no success in the league table or trophy cabinet. Something has been
neglected in the swirl of financial gluttony and obsession.
A great club is obsessed with winning it is not obsessed
with book balancing.
Money Lizards
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so I said...