James Brent on Spotlight Tonight

so assuming we stay in the league we need to sell 1200 season tickets a season JUST to pay pre-existing debt
also as our loan players and those out of contract are likley to go we aint going to have much left to fund replacements.

conference the season after next looks ever more likely.

Supposedly there is a plan for the Conference ! ? wonder what that is we'll need to sell even more season tickets at that level to just repay debt before we start looking at paying any existign staff.........

So that's the Football Creditor debt out the way. Have the unsecured creditors been paid or are they also part of the 5 year plan to oblivion?. What about the secured creditors?. What was the final arrangements with Ticketus?.

According to this from October, the rent would be £135k a year, with an option to purchase the ground back every 5 years for 12 x £135k = £1.62 million and the rent looks as though it would stay at that figure if we're in the BSP, and I take it the football creditors amounts would stay the same? What are the chances of our average gates increasing by 25% in the BSP?

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Greenjock wrote:

According to this from October, the rent would be £135k a year, with an option to purchase the ground back every 5 years for 12 x £135k = £1.62 million

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This is something I've always been wary of. The supporters get to buy the ground, again. Will it ever end?

I think that with us needing gates of 7500 to stay on an even keel Brents' business plan is unsustainable, even if we manage to push on into league 2 next year the hope of staying there will be sorely tested by the need to sell players to service debt. No wonder we are being asked not to ask questions, it is as I have been saying for a little while, we won't like the answers.

Things may become more apparent over the next few days but as it stands, the figures just don't add up.

[quote="GOB"]

Coxside_Green wrote:

It's a pity those who knew couldn't just answer the damn question in the 1st place, it has certainly lowered my expectations over the coming years. Not sure where I got the 7% bit from but I'm sure I saw it somewhere, at least that could've been more managable.

It shouldn't be forgotten that it is also James Brent's vision that the club becomes self sufficient during these times of financial turmoil. I hope the new grandstand gets built before the start of next season!

Welcome back Brendan Guilfoyle?[/quote]

If you get relegated, I'll give it 18 months...

[quote="Sandford_Grecian"]

GOB wrote:

Coxside_Green wrote:

It's a pity those who knew couldn't just answer the damn question in the 1st place, it has certainly lowered my expectations over the coming years. Not sure where I got the 7% bit from but I'm sure I saw it somewhere, at least that could've been more managable.

It shouldn't be forgotten that it is also James Brent's vision that the club becomes self sufficient during these times of financial turmoil. I hope the new grandstand gets built before the start of next season!

Welcome back Brendan Guilfoyle?[/quote]

If you get relegated, I'll give it 18 months...

And how you will Guffaw !

[quote="Tringreen"]

Sandford_Grecian wrote:

GOB wrote:

Coxside_Green wrote:

It's a pity those who knew couldn't just answer the damn question in the 1st place, it has certainly lowered my expectations over the coming years. Not sure where I got the 7% bit from but I'm sure I saw it somewhere, at least that could've been more managable.

It shouldn't be forgotten that it is also James Brent's vision that the club becomes self sufficient during these times of financial turmoil. I hope the new grandstand gets built before the start of next season!

Welcome back Brendan Guilfoyle?[/quote]

If you get relegated, I'll give it 18 months...

And how you will Guffaw !

To be honest tring it's all pretty boring now, it was fun for the first 3 years, now it's all very tedious...










































Course I'll be feckin' guffawing lad

Ha ha ! had a peep on the banter base earlier................ bleddy tumbleweed everywhere. Won't be long before Porky's back trading schoolboy insults with other childlike, grown men.................... praaaaaper faaaaans though.

Iggy wrote:

I think that with us needing gates of 7500 to stay on an even keel Brents' business plan is unsustainable, even if we manage to push on into league 2 next year the hope of staying there will be sorely tested by the need to sell players to service debt. No wonder we are being asked not to ask questions, it is as I have been saying for a little while, we won't like the answers.

Where does the 7500 figure come from? Also it may be true this year but the expensive contracts all terminate at the end of the season.

Given that we are currently getting around 6000 per game we are 1500 x £20 x 23 = £690000 down for the season. Add that to the £3m unpaid staff wages and we need to budget for a loss of around £4m over the next 5 years.

The club's business plan must reflect this. It should also budget for 6000 crowds. Setting a break even figure for attendances that we are unlikely to get can only result in disaster.

Working backwards from there crowds of 6000 paying £20 each generates £2760000. Reduce that by the £800000 needed to pay off the historic debt leaves about £2m. 55% of that is £1.1m. That in turn split between 20 players leaves an annual wage of £55000 for each player.

Just what constitutes a "good wage" for a player in our division? Is £1k/week a high enough wage to attract the players we need to challenge for promotion next season? If it is then that 6000 attendance figure will be smashed to bits. If it isn't then we need to generate cash in some other way to make up the difference.

For what it's worth, Exeter's playing budget for this season is £1.2 million.

Wherever they finish up, their playing budget is being slashed to around £800k next season. That is Conference money for a L1 team, assuming they stay up.

I would venture that £1.2 or £1.3 million for us in L2 is better than most and well capable of a promotion chasing team. £1.2m in L1 is not enough, as is being demonstrated by our friends up the road.

Cerbera wrote:

For what it's worth, Exeter's playing budget for this season is £1.2 million.

Wherever they finish up, their playing budget is being slashed to around £800k next season. That is Conference money for a L1 team, assuming they stay up.

I would venture that £1.2 or £1.3 million for us in L2 is better than most and well capable of a promotion chasing team. £1.2m in L1 is not enough, as is being demonstrated by our friends up the road.

Blimey! Looks like my fag packet sums have given a vaguely credible outcome. I was expecting a load of "that's a load of crap that is".

According to my back-of-an-envelope calculations, the first 2000 paying customers at every home game will be paying off the pre existing debt, or to put it another way, it'll ber home game number 9 before the club can keep the gate receipts.

Either way, it's looking like free transfers only, for the next five years, and jolly lucky if we escape another Administration.

Everybody is concentrating on gate receipts and have not looked at any other revenue sorce the club has. There is merchandise sales, sponsorship of players, matches, match ball. There is advertising within the ground. Probably a few things I've not mentioned which all add to the turnover figure. This is not going to amount to a huge fortune but it makes the players wages payable higher than just on gate receipts. As far as I am aware the 55% is on turnover and not just supporters through the turnstyles. There are clubs in this league who are opperating on gates of half what we get. If we are bound to struggle then why not them? The poor start to this season was mainly due to being in Admin at the start and being unable to do a proper team build or preparation. Next season we will offload the high wages we are paying for nothing much and have a full pre-season to get a squad together rather than beg borrow and steal from around the country. Why please tell me does our position necessarily mean we are BSP bound and can't do reasonably well? Why does it automatically mean another Administration because I can't see evidence that has this nailed on and it is no more than a possiblility and definately not a given. It could happen of course but equally it just as easily may not.

I've just had a thought! When the grandstand gets redeveloped that will not only lose income for that period but where on earth will the rich people sit whilst that's being done!?

knecht wrote:

I've just had a thought! When the grandstand gets redeveloped that will not only lose income for that period but where on earth will the rich people sit whilst that's being done!?

Don't worry about that, Knecht. There's plenty of room in Zoo Corner; Convert one of the food outlets to a hot buffet, lay down a few bottles of Chateauneuf du Pape in the old Ladbrokes kiosk, and Robert's your mother's brother, the suits, the Board, El Prez, and all the pasoti mods will have somewhere to call home til the new Grandstand is built.

You worry too much

If the grandstand is to be redeveloped, who is going to fund this? Sorry if I'm being being a bit thick but what sort of money are we talking about, and how long would it take? Obviously the redeveloped grandstand will have the facility to generate extra income from decent food outlets, a bar maybe, so I just wondered what sort of hypothetical figures would be involved in it being built, and realistically how much extra income could this bring in?

I know it would be great to have a brand spanking new grandstand, but I would rather have a better team on the pitch first and if the grandstand takes up all of the available funds, then what would be the point if no-one is going to turn up to use it because the team is so poor?

This isn't criticism by any means, I genuinely don't know what the plans are.

GOB wrote:

Things may become more apparent over the next few days but as it stands, the figures just don't add up.

They dont add up gob because everyone is throwing thier two pennies worth in, between here and pasoti its like a session of championship chinease whipers.

£600k football creditors debt a year!

Well once Walton is out of contract thats 400k a year towards that already.

Then add the reduced wages for Fletcher if he's still here and bashera, then bingo thats the 600k paid and gone. Not a big deal if you stop and think about it.

As for rebuilding the team in the summer with no transfers fee's being paid, not a big deal either, there will be alot of quality players on free's in the summer good enough to sign rebuild and challenge.

People need to stop and think and stop adding drama to everything.

How much did Sturrock spend at southend this year, How did it cost bournmouth to get out of this division, Stevenage, and so on.

125+1 wrote:

GOB wrote:

Things may become more apparent over the next few days but as it stands, the figures just don't add up.

They dont add up gob because everyone is throwing thier two pennies worth in, between here and pasoti its like a session of championship chinease whipers.

£600k football creditors debt a year!

Well once Walton is out of contract thats 400k a year towards that already.

Then add the reduced wages for Fletcher if he's still here and bashera, then bingo thats the 600k paid and gone. Not a big deal if you stop and think about it.

As for rebuilding the team in the summer with no transfers fee's being paid, not a big deal either, there will be alot of quality players on free's in the summer good enough to sign rebuild and challenge.

People need to stop and think and stop adding drama to everything.

How much did Sturrock spend at southend this year, How did it cost bournmouth to get out of this division, Stevenage, and so on.

Hmmm, chinese whispers indeed. Where does 400K a year for Walton come from? Didn't he take a pay cut as part of the takeover deal?. What makes you so sure Bhasera is going anywhere?, he's contracted until 2013.

oh dear ! lets not start the look who sturrock got to southend quotes..... its an hour from london for gods sake.
and dont start look who he got before ( 2001) that was a differnt time & im sure a lot was performance related which im sure we cant do or even think about.

quality players on free transfers ???? who !!!!! anyone is going to want a 6 figure sum to sign on dont forget to move 300 miles from home - switch on 125+1 please.

the only lads gonna come here will be 20 year olds who need us more than we need them.

the reason we may end in BSP is we have a rookie manager, who may survive this season then there will be a move to keep fletcher another season as some sort of 'thank you'. what would he do next season, cant see purse staying another year whould he be up to it ???

at the minute i would say the likes of purse are carrying fletcher (maybe) a whole pre-season coould be interesting.

chadwick for next season too ? he hasnt got the legs for this campaign let alone the next one !!!

Ok GregCampbellfanclub, just out of curiosity as you know the ins and outs of free transfers please give me the details of the last 3 or 4 free transfers who came to Argyle. You know the sort of thing. How much were they paid to sign on and what is their precise salary etc. Please feel free to phone a friend.

Why do people insist on belittling Argyle as a place nobody of any note wants to come? Why is it that we are only perceived as being a place the nobodies and has beens wash up in by our own supporters? Footballers are very much like mercenaries who go where they are both wanted and willing to pay. Argyle is no different than any other club in that respect. The reason we had more difficulty recently was because we were not paying anyone but that was then and this is now. We will offload high wage earners this summer and it will help with future signings no matter how much cold water anyone wants to pour on that.

Oh sensible, i love this kind of debate in the boozer before a game.

So Purse & Chadwick have had NO signing on fee to come here ???? really????
Last summers signings dont count

Well let me say,,,, if you lived in the midlands do you want to join the club that recently paid no one for 9months or join that may well pay you & you havent got to move to to the other end of the country to join.......

Lets get this one right shall we. You stated as some kind of fact about signing on fees and they would be in 6 figure sums. Now as you clearly have the insight into this and know this to be true of purse and Chadwick as you quoted them, how much did they get paid to sign on? No prevaricating and must have got this or that, tell me how much and what their wages are? Or, don't you actually know and the quote you made is based on nothing more than something you have come to believe.