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Post by Admin on Feb 23, 2004 20:28:24 GMT
Dave,
We had two "lifelong" fans on the board and they showed themselves to be in this club for a profit, so why should we expect any differently from a foreign-based consortium?
The Icelanders were always up front about being in this to make money - they never lied about it and so it's hard to hold that against them.
During the time they have been here they have, on occasion, managed to incur the wrath of the supporters but I have to say that I consider the club to be in better overall shape now than it was when they first took over.
Cheers,
Smudge
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Post by wardrobe monster on Feb 23, 2004 20:33:47 GMT
well said smudge. Its the rules of supply and demand...the club will supply them if the demand is there. Its also like bulk buying. Anything you buy can be bought at a discount when bought in bulk, i.e:- go to tescos for a 12 pack of carling and youd pay less pro rata than a single can. Now if tescos have a special offer on the 12 pack making it even cheaper..brilliant. unless you dont want to buy a 12 pack maybe your fridge is too small...who gives a flying f*ck, but dont then complain that because you only want to buy one its more expensive than the special offer bulk buy. Likewise if you dont want to buy a season ticket then dont complain when you pay more by buying them one at a time. I hope every one understands what Im trying to say, it sounded brilliant in my head but doesnt seem to translate that well to text Im off to lie down now.
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Post by browneyedboy on Feb 23, 2004 20:56:45 GMT
Smudge, I don't totally disagree with you here. I'm not trying to suggest that there's an alternative option to the Icelandics that is both better and realistic.
In some circumstances - specificially the position we've found ourselves in now, making steady progress on the pitch and turning in a small loss - having a prudent board who want to make money is probably the best situation for the club, especially compared to what we had before or compared to some idiot who ploughs the club into mountains of debt to try and get promotion.
However, I think that in other circumstances, having a board who are only really interested in profit can work against the club. I can think of two examples:
Firstly, if we were to make the Permiership and make a profit, I'm sure there will be much debate about how much of that profit should go in the to consortium's pocket and how much should be put back into the club. Of course, they may surprise us all and put almost all of the money back into the club, who knows?
Secondly, if performances on the pitch go downhill and we were to get relegated (which very nearly happened last season and could, despite progress this season, happen next season or the season after that, etc. etc.) and subsequently get lower attendences and lose more money, my fear is that the board might give up and try to extract as much money from the club as is legally possible. Most people feared that if we had gone down last season, the board (who already appeared to be losing interest at times) would simply asset-strip the club.
Let me just reiterate, I'm not suggesting that we have a better alternative right now and I agree that we're in a much better position (both on and off the field) than before the Icelandics took over, but I'm just concerned about what might happen if things go badly wrong as tends to happen in football.
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Post by mcf on Feb 24, 2004 16:06:41 GMT
Smudge
The club cannot be faulted for the this offer. Agreed. If people can't take them up on it for whatever reason then that is a shame. However, they will still have the right to moan if INDIVIDUAL ticket prices are set too high.
The club will be the first to suffer if this is the case as well.
mcf
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Post by guernseydave on Feb 24, 2004 21:03:29 GMT
I want a Jaguar; if Jaguar have a sale and knock £10,000 off a model I still can't afford it. Does that make the Jaguar offer bad and does it give me any right to complain that they are priced too high anyway?
I've got a nice Jaguar Soveriegn for sale. Just had the brakes done, serviced and is in excellent condition. Runs better than David Oldfield ;D OTO
GD
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Griff
Spectator
I haven't slept in 24 hours, I've killed 2 people since midnight, so maybe you should be more afraid
Posts: 36
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Post by Griff on Feb 24, 2004 21:25:01 GMT
Okay. The Club get promoted, and for once Stoke make a profit. I find it highly unlikely that all of the profits are going to be pocketed by the board members. If the owners are here for the long term which I believe they are, they are going to want to continually strive for success if the club is going to continually make a profit. To do this needs continual re-investment.
At the end of the day, the only way any of them are going to make any money from Stoke City is by selling their stake in the club.
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