Panic Fannies vs Men of Steel

[Worthy4England]

Guerilla Fag Packet Maths

Our football turn-over was £30.6m (last Accounts) - £22m of that came from "Broadcasting Revenue"....FFP has been trying to cap salaries @ no more than 60%? Championship Clubs without parachute payments I believe get £2.3m basic "solidarity payment", which would be a bit of a cut from £22m...That would leave our revenue at £10m ish? so you'd expect no more than £6m on salaries....I thought I read somewhere from the Supporters Trust meeting that we'd managed to get down as far as £27m...

My back of a fag packet calculations put our turnover minus the parachutes and with some reduction in gate revenue at about £7M? Sound about right?

Also the loss of offices recently reportedly knocks off £600K so the figure may be reducing all the time.

Edit: current playing staff wages are 16M.

I didn't count the revenue from non-footballing activity which was £7m (so you probably wouldn't need to knock off the 600k). But yeah, somewhere between £7m and £10m looks to be in about the right ball park for footballing activity only. Most of the £7m non-football was put down to the hotel...which you'd sort of expect to be sold if they can...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

More fag-packet maths. £20k per week is £1m per year. Obviously we have more "staff" than just first-team players, but it seems we've got a few people knocking about on more money than we actually make.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

It wasn't doing us any good before he stopped.

You can't say it's all about something then say there is one exception when it suits your point of view. The money helps hugely...usually. But there are clubs that manage without it. Usually they have a good chairman, manager and a plan. I'm not sure we've had any of those for quite some time.

It didn't work? 11 years in the top flight. If Eddie had carried on letting the club buy the Anelka's etc we may have come down but would have gone back up. But he stopped the spending. It did work, it isn't a guarantee but over a long period I'd bet there is a relatively strong correlation between wage bills and league position.

I agree that there is always a chance to over perform. But football is becoming harder and harder to compete without the money being available. There will always be the odd exception but could wait decades for that to be us.

I'm talking the last 7/8 years, which is when the vast majority of 'debt' occurred. The club has had no plan other than chuck money at it since Allardyce left.

I agree that from our position it's going to be a long long time, but the only way forward is to get and stay within our means. Eventually we will probably get back to the Championship, providing we have the right management.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

One of the many ways in which we we have been spoiled in the last two decades is in the idea that the second tier is a briefly-inhabited launching platform to the Prem. We spent two season here under Rioch then went up; one glorious campaign under Todd going up as irresistible champions; then a three-year spell in which we finished 6th (play-off finalists), 6th (semi-finalists in play-offs plus both major domestic cups) then promoted via play-offs. Even coming down this time, Stan & Ollie expected to walk it and we somehow crabbed up to 7th under Freedman.

Not everybody is as consistently top-six. Overshadowed by its big brother, this is a division of clubs longing to be in the top flight rather than "settling" for second-tier. That will only get worse as clubs gamble to get up.

I have a feeling (as yet unbacked by stats) that the third tier is more even, more fluid, more winnable, arguably more interesting. That's not to say I'd "rather" be there, but if can steady the ship in the third tier, we can think about getting promoted back in a sustainable way – and if we did slip back down again thereafter, it's not the end of the business model. I'm not sure that is true any more of promotion from the second tier.

[Tombwfc]

Before we went down wasn't the Championship seen as more even, more fluid, more winnable and arguably more interesting than the Premier League?

We had every opportunity to be competitive in the PL (14th highest wage bill) and we fecked it. We then practically couldn't fail to be competitive in the Championship (huge wage bill + parachute payments) and we fecked it even worse.

The problem hasn't been the divisions we're in, it's been us. If we can clear the decks over the next few months there's every chance we can be successful in League One, and success (at whatever level) will get people excited about their club again.

As for where I am on the panic-fanny scale, I'm firmly at the have a pint at the Winchester and wait for this all to blow over stage. I can't keep up with all the deadlines, Eddie's motivations (in Barbados and apparently not arsed, yet also personally stopping us from selling Vela for Christ knows what reason) and who we're raising money to pay off. All I know is I'm certain that come August Bolton Wanderers FC will exist and be preparing for a season in League One.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

More fag-packet maths. £20k per week is £1m per year. Obviously we have more "staff" than just first-team players, but it seems we've got a few people knocking about on more money than we actually make.

Thing is, it's not just player's wages is it. I saw somewhere BWFC employ 400+ people. 400+!!! Which includes a full time pastor. Imagine employing Bish full time, the outlay in statues alone must be ENORMOUS.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Before we went down wasn't the Championship seen as more even, more fluid, more winnable and arguably more interesting than the Premier League?

Yes! And let's face it, it is.

We had every opportunity to be competitive in the PL (14th highest wage bill) and we fecked it. We then practically couldn't fail to be competitive in the Championship (huge wage bill + parachute payments) and we fecked it even worse.

Yes! Very well put.

The problem hasn't been the divisions we're in, it's been us. If we can clear the decks over the next few months there's every chance we can be successful in League One, and success (at whatever level) will get people excited about their club again.

Yes! And wouldn't that be nice?

As for where I am on the panic-fanny scale, I'm firmly at the have a pint at the Winchester and wait for this all to blow over stage. I can't keep up with all the deadlines, Eddie's motivations (in Barbados and apparently not arsed, yet also personally stopping us from selling Vela for Christ knows what reason) and who we're raising money to pay off. All I know is I'm certain that come August Bolton Wanderers FC will exist and be preparing for a season in League One.

I admire your calm. Can't say I'm 100% certain because this shit-storm appears to be a-blowin' harder than most expected, but that does sound like the most expected outcome. I must admit I'm starting to wonder what it'd be like if the squad was completely wiped BUT we had financial stability - not Sheikh Spendabillion, just a competitive/compatible cashflow for the division.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

More fag-packet maths. £20k per week is £1m per year. Obviously we have more "staff" than just first-team players, but it seems we've got a few people knocking about on more money than we actually make.

Thing is, it's not just player's wages is it. I saw somewhere BWFC employ 400+ people. 400+!!!

Indeed. And while I don't want to see anybody unemployed, you have to imagine savings will be made across the business. That said, I'd be surprised if there were more than a handful of people on more than £500pw, so you'd have to sack 32 to afford an Amos. (Not to pick on him, a good goalkeeper and all, but an illustrative difference.)

[Lost Leopard Spot]

It'd probably be more like 64 Bish's equals one Amos, but yeah, I get your drift.

[Enoch]

I saw somewhere BWFC employ 400+ people. 400+!!! Which includes a full time pastor.

I'd imagine a fair number of them work in the hotel.

Which I thought I read we sold, again.

[Worthy4England]

I saw somewhere BWFC employ 400+ people. 400+!!! Which includes a full time pastor.

I'd imagine a fair number of them work in the hotel.

Which I thought I read we sold, again.

Last Accounts....274 Management and Admin staff, 64 Players....That was up from 2013 which was 206 Management and Admin and 59 Players...I guess the increase from 206 to 274 on the Management and Administration bit, were all to do with the Administration...

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

I saw somewhere BWFC employ 400+ people. 400+!!! Which includes a full time pastor.

I'd imagine a fair number of them work in the hotel.

Which I thought I read we sold, again.

Last Accounts....274 Management and Admin staff, 64 Players....That was up from 2013 which was 206 Management and Admin and 59 Players...I guess the increase from 206 to 274 on the Management and Administration bit, were all to do with the Administration...

Maybe buying out devere on the hotel increased our staff numbers?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Seems I'm the first 25%er. I think it quite possible that we will get to court on the 18th and plead for more time as there'll be an ongoing takeover. Which would create another panic window (maybe a week).

See, I'm not always right. It wasn't a week, it was five.

[bobo the clown]

So. 48 hours = 48 days.

Fannies who panic indeed.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

We just get stickier the longer this goes on...

[Lord Kangana]

So. 48 hours = 48 days.

Fannies who panic indeed.

Just remember that it's not the fall that kills you!

[Lost Leopard Spot]

So. 48 hours = 48 days.

Fannies who panic indeed.

Just remember that it's not the fall that kills you!

It's the hope?

[thebish]

So. 48 hours = 48 days.

Fannies who panic indeed.

Just remember that it's not the fall that kills you!

It's the hope?

I think he might be suggesting that it is the landing that kills you....

[Lost Leopard Spot]

So. 48 hours = 48 days.

Fannies who panic indeed.

Just remember that it's not the fall that kills you!

It's the hope?

I think he might be suggesting that it is the landing that kills you....

No, no. It's the hope that kills.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

But then again, statements like this don't help my panic attacks
"Registrar Michael Briggs was told by the tax authority that the 'proposed route' for rescuing the club was 'speculative to say the least', and Bolton Wanderers FC Ltd appeared 'to be very clearly insolvent'."