I wasn't aware that their status was so fragile. Will be interesting to see how it plays out but I'll be surprised if serious sanctions bit any of the big clubs
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I wasn't aware that their status was so fragile. Will be interesting to see how it plays out but I'll be surprised if serious sanctions bit any of the big clubs
It's not just the Football authorities though, they've already been accused of cheating HMRC. The Cyprus papers I believe.
Like I said, even they get done for just half of the accusations, they're facing a World of pain and shame.
They won’t be found guilty.
The twerking for Abramovich-esque ownership is depressing. Would rather go trophyless for the next 20 years than fall into the ownership of people who've got blood on their hands. Not to mention they achieved all that they have through cheating.
And don't come at me with the "Joe Lewis is facing charges for insider trading". Yes, there are barely any "good" billionaires but you've to be delusional to think they are both on the same scale of "bad".
And don't come at me with the "Joe Lewis is facing charges for insider trading". Yes, there are barely any "good" billionaires but you've to be delusional to think they are both on the same scale of "bad".
Our next set of results will show 100 million in sales though so probably similar if not sustainable. Some decent sales, CL and we could make 600 million next season.
John Thomas
are you done jeezing all over the place? Don't forget to rehydrate.Yeah, I don't disagree.
I think I was (wrongly) interpreted as some of Levy-out maniac on this thread. I'm not. My point is whether the Directors' comp is optimised for on-field success. It doesn't appear that way from the £3m bonus following a shite season.
I am also a bit less convinced than some that PL clubs are "just businesses", and that it will always remain so. Like it or not, we are quite a bit more socialist as a country than the US (cf their sports franchises). And while there will (rightly) always be a concern about harming the commercial success of the PL, I can see the new regulator over time being given teeth to (for example) - improve fan representation and ownership opportunities, increase grassroots funding, place restrictions on ticket pricing, increase provision for young supporters etc etc. None of which is what the existing owners generally want.
Why should his salary be linked to on field success? That’s not one of the boards strategic ambitions / objectives, increasing revenue is and that’s how Levy is obv incentivised. Not saying we don’t want to win, but it’s clearly not the primary focus u like other clubs
I think we will fall in line with your last point - regulatory changes etc
I didn't even get into the governance farce that is the THFC Board. No doubt (despite having 20+ years experience at the centre of major PLCs) I'd be told I was an idiotic speculator or some such on that as well. Levy's an owner, so it is what it is, for good and bad.
Because on field success is the primary purpose of the organisation. That does not mean unsustainable on-field success (which of course, is the whole point of FFP etc). Your argument implies you are fine with owners who don't care about on-field success, other than to the extent it maximises profit, and if, for example, the Board take a view that that limits us to a "competing for top 4" for evermore , that is ok. Surely fans shouldn't just accept that but should challenge that to see whether the club can invest more to win more? Should we, for example, revel in having the lowest wage/revenue ratio, when increasing it (affordably) could generate more success (obviously there are many other factors, but this is likely to be one thing that needs to change to move up to the top tier).
They also added to their wage bill:
Rice = £240k per week
Havartz = £265 per week!!!
Timber = £90k pw
In addition, they've increased the wages with new contracts for:
Saka = +£200k pw
Gabriel = £100k pw
Martinelli = £180k pw
Odegard = £240k pw
Saliba = £190k pw
Tomyiasso = £66k pw
White = £120k pw
and paying the salary of
Raya = £85k pw
Approximate up-to-date PLAYER values are in the region of:
Woolwich Annual PLAYER Salaries = £177,626
Tottenham Annual PLAYER Salaries = £153,266
£24.4m less
The Havertz one is insane. Agreed
That was the first time I had realized what his salary was, I nearly fell off my chair!
It’s not the primary purpose - after 25 years that’s fucking obvious. It should be, it’s not - I’m not OK with it, but I have accepted it ain’t gonna change
The good work they’ve done (as a primary objective) to grow revenue means on field success is more likely (but still secondary)
I'd say that the immediate primary objective was to grow the club commercially, but the overall primary objective is to have sustained success arising from that growth.
The thing that doesn't sit well with many of the fanbase is the timescale involved. I've posted before that I think that Levy has a more Japanese type of approach, which is longer term planning. I don't think he thought it would take as long as it has, but then the Chelsea and City takeovers threw a spanner in the works there. Had they not happened, we'd likely have had that onfield success a lot earlier. For example, we lost our on a title to Conte's Chelsea due to their financial advantage, allowing them to pay over the odds for World Class players, with a World Class manager. Their final run in was ridiculous.
Let's not forget that it, and for many other seasons, was as a result of cheating.
He now has a perfect storm here, where the cheats are having to rein in, and it's already having an impact on Chelsea. They've taken a massive gamble that, at this point in time, looks to have blown up in their faces massively.
The other big teams are also being impacted by P&S, which should mean that player prices come down, especially as Europe is also skint.
This should really put us front and centre for many players, as those players rated at £70-100M a season or 2 ago, should fall into the £50-70M bracket, which we've shown we are prepared to go to for the right player.
I honestly think that we'll see a significant drop in transfer fees starting this Summer, and if we do, then I fully expect the club to take advantage of that.
For me, this is the place that Levy has plotted and planned to be in. Financially, we can now compete with just about anyone in the World, and we're not as hamstrung by P&S as most of them are. As I said earlier, it's a perfect storm.
It's extremely hard to break into that elite level, and we were always going to fall short as long as the cheats kept on cheating, and the financial monsters were managed well. Right now they're not, so we'll never see a better opportunity to strike than now.
Agree but still think the primary overall objective is commercial growth not sustained success. They are interlinked so it’s difficult but if you offered Levy the chance to sign Rice for 100M, even with hindsight I don’t think he goes for it. I do agree with value of players dropping but still think we will buy second tier and look for well priced signings as opposed to the odd overpriced superstar that moves the dial
I hate Levy but can still recognise his strengths. He’s got some superpowers but also has plenty of blind spots. So frustrating