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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2014 20:01:54 GMT
But a few years ago, I would have never imagined Stoke City would be in the premier league let alone playing decent mid table football safe with half a dozen matches to go and looking forward to an exciting new season with a manager who has definitely moved us on a notch or two more and, given a few bob this summer- opportunity to move us from mid table into the top half.
This happy situation complete with realistic tilts at cup competitions and even more ability to upset a few of the bigger clubs away from home and even, humiliate a few of the lessor ones just like we did a few weeks ago last 30 minutes against Wet Sham however,
There is a spectre - a worry - a niggle - a doubt
Peters Family want self sufficiency - no more lapses into a loss revealing balance sheet- the transfer strings were tied up until very recently for our new manager and - even though season tickets are literally flying off the shelves like fresh oatackes filled with cheese and bacon
Absolutely no sign of the overdue stadium extension ?
( i.e. the the filled in scoreboard corner lifting our capacity to a more sensible 30k
not a breath
This worries me
Does this mean we are happy where we are ?
or, do we want to grow ?
The club now shits money - there is no hiding this - absolutely none - the new TV deal whilst grotesque, is in our clubs favour to a ridiculous extent prepared to older rivals bereft of access to such riches.
And , no matter what other people think - we really do need a 30k stadium - and with sensible ticketing - and a retraction of some of the stupidly thought out and tiered 'on the day rates' - I have absolutely no doubt - we would regularly fill it,
(you would put kids for a quid in there if nothing else)
I know the academy costs and an objective is to bring more players through - but there will be never a better time to make a statement of intent
A 30 k stadium makes a very clear statement to everybody - The locals - Business - sponsors - the doubters - the knockers - the worldwide media - our competitors -
everyone gets a message - we are serious about going further
I just hope we dont remain satisfied, basking in the glory of mid table 'mediocrity' if that's the word ---for too long
you grow - you move forward or, you die in all things
finally - I expect to see construction work at the ground this summer - that empty corner has just got to go !
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Post by Sergeant Muttley on Apr 3, 2014 20:03:27 GMT
To London on Saturday
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Post by hamptonhillpotter on Apr 3, 2014 20:18:04 GMT
Stoke City are going straight to the top of the Premier League next season for the first time in their history. All of the so called great clubs have waxed and waned this year. Our time has come. I have a crystal ball and it is looking good.
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Post by boskampsflaps on Apr 3, 2014 20:51:09 GMT
Without big investment or a bit of luck with some bloody good youngsters coming through there isn't really anywhere to go, and I have to disagree about the stadium, we don't fill the one we have, which to me proves we don't need any bigger.
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Post by Pugsley on Apr 3, 2014 20:55:31 GMT
Think small time, act small time, wither on the vine.
The corner needs to be filled in and the club needs to back the manager in the transfer window. We've missed one golden opportunity to push on, we have another in our grasp.
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Post by unknown182 on Apr 3, 2014 20:56:10 GMT
I'd be happy with midtable again, a few youngsters being given a chance and a good cup run.
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Post by boskampsflaps on Apr 3, 2014 21:11:23 GMT
Think small time, act small time, wither on the vine. The corner needs to be filled in and the club needs to back the manager in the transfer window. We've missed one golden opportunity to push on, we have another in our grasp. When you say small time do you really mean sensible and not spending beyond our means. |
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hoopty
Youth Player
Posts: 431
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Post by hoopty on Apr 3, 2014 21:36:25 GMT
The corners are a financial irrelevance. The sad truth is we all are as well. Us fans and season ticket holders now make up only about a 10% of the club revenues. TV money pays for the club now. Full houses generate lots of noise whatever the size.
It's the reason why clubs with big supporter bases such as Leeds, the Sheffield clubs, Forest etc. no longer have much of an advantage from big attendances.
The answer to the question, where do we go from here is basically here or down. Unless you have an owner willing to lose £100m plus a year or get the Champions League money there is no way to compete for much higher than we are now.
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Post by mrcoke on Apr 3, 2014 21:41:32 GMT
No business manager will invest in extra capacity without some assurance of a reasonable payback. How many times since the stadium was built would the corner have yielded extra revenue?
The only way in the short term that the owners would invest is if so many season tickets were sold there was a need to allocate a new area to visiting fans for every home match. Then they might build the corner knowing that there would be an income stream from doing so.
Spending capital on fixed assets is not the same as players/employees, the academy, other promotional aspects such as IT.
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Post by terrorofturfmoor on Apr 3, 2014 22:25:33 GMT
I think we need Premiership dugouts first and foremost..... Can't keep expecting the likes of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho and their "Prima Donna" over paid and over hyped subs to sit on cold, hard, uncomfortable plastic seats in a poxy small dugout.....it'll end up costing us a fortune in hot water bottles!!!!  Plus......They look nice!!!!!  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2014 22:55:58 GMT
Think small time, act small time, wither on the vine. The corner needs to be filled in and the club needs to back the manager in the transfer window. We've missed one golden opportunity to push on, we have another in our grasp. When you say small time do you really mean sensible and not spending beyond our means. .....and by that do you mean we could not afford it...? What in terms of percentage outlay to Peter Coates & Bet 365 do you base your argument. ? Would 5 , 10 , 50 or £ 100 million break the bank...? How many tins of spam would St Peter need to see him through to his maker...? |
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Post by kitkatkev on Apr 3, 2014 23:04:40 GMT
We are heading for American ownership
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Post by Gods on Apr 3, 2014 23:04:57 GMT
The corners are a financial irrelevance. The sad truth is we all are as well. Us fans and season ticket holders now make up only about a 10% of the club revenues. TV money pays for the club now. Full houses generate lots of noise whatever the size. It's the reason why clubs with big supporter bases such as Leeds, the Sheffield clubs, Forest etc. no longer have much of an advantage from big attendances. The answer to the question, where do we go from here is basically here or down. Unless you have an owner willing to lose £100m plus a year or get the Champions League money there is no way to compete for much higher than we are now. Ain't that the truth, all of it. 35,000 in a ground which holds 50,000 is an utterly dire experience for a TV audience, they feel like they have backed a loser, 27,000 in a ground for 27,500 is a good one. Sunderland get half as many again through the gates as we do and yet the messge which gets ringingly broadcast to the outside world is "empty seats, no one cares, so why should you?" I can see a day when the fans get in for free, the gate receipts are increasingly becomoming an irrelevance but a full stadium is essential for a good TV experience. As for our direction it is ultimately down once we are no loger able to sustain 'here'. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2014 23:06:01 GMT
We are heading for American ownership Guaranteed.... |
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Post by kitkatkev on Apr 3, 2014 23:10:47 GMT
We are heading for American ownership Guaranteed.... Logical progression after the Warrior deal and the USA guys playing for us. St Peter see's the American Market as the place to go forward |
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Post by Gods on Apr 3, 2014 23:11:08 GMT
We are heading for American ownership Guaranteed.... Yes. It doesn't matter if it is a kit supplier, a 'partner' club, a dodgy winger, a pre-season tour or a some-time director missing in action then whatever the question the answer is now the USA. We're all American now. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2014 23:29:06 GMT
Well...at the end of the day if we are going down the route of attracting foreign investment and ownership , then at least America represents a culture not too far removed from our own. Without wishing to turn this into some kind of racist debate , I personally believe that it would suit our image more than some far flung culture in the middle east.
I can see this all happening within the next two to three years.
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Post by bozlemandy on Apr 3, 2014 23:32:47 GMT
The corners are not really the most important thing but they are highly symbolic and very, very important in terms of the club's development over the next 10 years.
The Finance side of things needs he to be considered but filling in the Corners is vital in terms of Strategy & Commitment. Now is the time to commit to being a Premier Club.
Tony,
You have the poetic heart and soul of Stoke but your tactical nouse is shit.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2014 23:36:29 GMT
More than happy where our football club currently is. Midtable obscurity it may be, the next level in my opinion would be to break in to the top 6 which would be a big ask of any club, Everton, Newcastle, Tottenham and even Man utd this season are looking around that sort of position to end the season. Maybe Everton could finish higher and Newcastle in my opnion may finish below us.
To move to the next level would mean great investment or great managment/luck, call it what you may. To stay there season after season is an even bigger ask. Just look at teams who used to be there like Pompy and Leeds. Granted they over spent and speculated to accumelate and it went wrong. But that shows how easy it is to fall from grace.
I'll take this level of football and midtable prem finishes all day long. You have a better chance of winning a cup or getting to the final than if we were a championship side.
To move on and break into the next level within the next couple of seasons would mean big investment. I cant see that and dont expect that. Not on that scale anyway.
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Post by djduncanjames on Apr 3, 2014 23:38:38 GMT
As far as stadium improvements, does a massive outlay in construction costs impact our FFP? And if so, would people be opposed to the Brit being "renamed" if it meant we had the money to improve the ground? I'd hate to call The Brit anything but that, but if it meant an improvement to the matchday experience, would it really be that bad?
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Post by This is the year on Apr 3, 2014 23:39:41 GMT
Which clubs are actually owned by americans?
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Post by Dallas Cowboy on Apr 3, 2014 23:41:19 GMT
Americans are much maligned and nowhere more so than in Britain. America always has, and always will be, dear to my heart in spite of recent events in my personal life. I think it is fair to say that Liverpool have certainly benefited from their new American owner. I think it all depends on who the Americans are. If we ended up with owners similar to Fenway Sports Group, Stoke City would be in good hands. Just my two cents!  |
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Post by imho on Apr 3, 2014 23:57:43 GMT
just before we all start waving the stars and stripes to welcome in new owners its worth remembering that part of the reason so much usa stuff has been going on (tour,players,etc) is to not to sell the club (although the promotion of the club is a part of it) but to help sell our sponser bet365 to the yanks
on the original question the club has almost gone as far as it can (best position 8 worst 14 in a season) as the clubs above that are two big and the corners should not be filled in - we wouldnt fill them (though kids for a quid is a good shout) and the 'wind' effect should never be overlooked - our own players have even come out and spoke about it (how hard it must be for teams to get use to it only playing here once a yaer)
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Apr 4, 2014 0:01:42 GMT
Cool your boots...
There'll be no expansion of the ground until the Hillsboro' show trial has confirmed that football fans are indeed human beings too.
Once that has finished then the idea of humans standing on their own two feet at a nogger match will be re-introduced into the modern English top flight experience.
Twelve months from now.
In the meantime the money saved from the last couple of windows will be used to pay better contracts to the likes of Bego, Shawcross, NZonzi and co, to keep them here and to change our wage structure from fourteenth highest into the top ten...
If we then perform to that level they'll knock down the façade of the Novus and wrap a proper stadium around the more substantially constructed JS stand. {the Novus etc was always a temporary construction.}
All this will be funded by the continuing ridiculousness of TV money and our parents parent company Bet 365.
Or it won't.
And they'll keep keeping us guessing. It's a gamble.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2014 0:07:21 GMT
just before we all start waving the stars and stripes to welcome in new owners its worth remembering that part of the reason so much usa stuff has been going on (tour,players,etc) is to not to sell the club (although the promotion of the club is a part of it) but to help sell our sponser bet365 to the yanks on the original question the club has almost gone as far as it can (best position 8 worst 14 in a season) as the clubs above that are two big and the corners should not be filled in - we wouldnt fill them (though kids for a quid is a good shout) and the 'wind' effect should never be overlooked - our own players have even come out and spoke about it (how hard it must be for teams to get use to it only playing here once a yaer) So....bet 365 'our sponsor' and St Peter should be kept as separate entities for the purposes of this debate then eh...? It's a bit like ignoring that Nigel Farage's previous role model and political icon Margaret Thatcher as part of his political make-up. |
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Post by jimigoodwinsbeard on Apr 4, 2014 0:16:02 GMT
just before we all start waving the stars and stripes to welcome in new owners its worth remembering that part of the reason so much usa stuff has been going on (tour,players,etc) is to not to sell the club (although the promotion of the club is a part of it) but to help sell our sponser bet365 to the yanks Why would bet365 need to sell itself to the yanks? There are enough yanks to gamble as it is, if bet365 were to go back into the US market (it is a very,very,very big IF) the amount of previous customers would flood back anyway as bet365 has the most comprehensive US sports markets in online gaming (other than possibly Pinnacle sports). It is a long,long way off and may not happen during Coates' tenure anyway. |
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Post by djduncanjames on Apr 4, 2014 0:33:12 GMT
What makes everyone think a Staffordshire based sports betting company wants to sell up their only Staffordshire based sporting team? I don't understand all this conjecture? Bet365 own an established premier league team FFS???
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Post by barnscfc1 on Apr 4, 2014 8:16:16 GMT
Many many years ago I worked with a lad who supported Middlesbrough, they were mid table prem at the time we were somewhere on the 2nd division (I think) trying to get into the play offs (I Think). He said at the time He wished they had more to play for and they only had cup competitions to challenge for! Bet he doesn't think that now. I am more than pleased to be mid table, more than pleased watching the team develop, like most want to witness younger quality players coming into the ranks. Long may our mid table prem status continue please.
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Post by cheekymatt71 on Apr 4, 2014 9:47:13 GMT
One of the biggest problem about the open corners is the fact that the noise can dissipate for too easily. I think if they are filled in, the atmosphere will be so much louder and the songs can resonate around the ground. Im sure this will help get the Brit rocking and as loud as the victoria ground used to be.
So the argument about the wind helping, our team is just bullshit for me. The players would much prefer to be backed by a wall of sound from supporters.
Fill the corners in, bring in safe standing at 10 quid a pop, and Im sure it will bring some long ago left supporters back for the matchday experience. Bigger capacity, Bigger attendance, Bigger atmosphere all for what 10 million squid? Thats better value for money than Wilson Palacios will ever be
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Post by pottersalt on Apr 4, 2014 10:30:10 GMT
This club is going to continue on in a similar vein as it has the past few years of not struggling but not really getting out of the bottom 12. The clubs above us are in big cities with big crowds and unless we suddenly start attracting fans outside of the potteries to come and see us this is where we are.
What we can be proud of is that we are here, we're staying here and the way we're staying here has definitely improved over previous seasons and we can now really enjoy watching our team sticking one on the big boys!
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