Knowing that @Ladygargar is involved with the Swans on Facebook, I forwarded her a copy of @jackodiamonds excellent post about the three concerns he had about our club, which he posted on the Coventry match thread. LadyGG in turn posted it on FB and has reported back that it went down a 'storm' with a number of 'glowing' comments in agreement. Now, in the past GG has met with Andy Coleman in meetings with others regarding the infrastructure of the club and general treatment of fans who, in times of austerity, more than ever need good reason to part with their hard-earned. She has posted her views on FB with her blessing to reproduce it here, which I now do with pleasure.
The view from here, by Lady GG:
So now the dust is beginning to settle, that well worn saying ‘we are where we are’ is upon us again. We’ve been accused in this big old group of negativity whilst being happy clappers, and of being hard hearted and harsh whilst being twp, so in the interests of being fair, or playing devils advocate, there are other viewpoints which could be considered.
Possibly, the owners are simply holding back the damn of debt, in which case, are we as a group being a tad unfair?
If (as reported) there is a £17 million+ pre tax loss, that is a massive amount of money - which will soak up ALL the investment recently made available, then there’s tax and interest on top, as well as the eye watering day to day costs of running the club.
The new investors will no doubt have set their own budgets - amounts they are willing to risk on a potentially loss making venture and the budget released by their collective gamble, may just be an injection to keep us running (to stand still) in terms of not going under, whilst they wait to see signs of germinating their investment into growth?
Dwindling gates and cost of living hikes aren’t helping either, but the investors can write off at least some of their investment gamble/losses against their tax from their multi million/billion businesses elsewhere.
AC has clearly been given the remit of running this club on a shoestring, and so far could be seen to be hustling left right and centre robbing Peter to pay Paul to cover all the bases?
If this speculation is correct, it might partly explain his distracted involvement in the ill-fated attempt to get a Welsh presence in Europe and grab more cash, at a time perhaps when his eye should’ve been on the transfer market or getting a decent player recruitment team together?
By now our Chairman has to be wakening up to the fact that we are impoverished in the UK and particularly so in South Wales. We don’t have the disposable income of our transatlantic cousins, and the spare dosh we do have we spend on necessities such as our kids and activities which are a value for money treat.
Talking to him, he’s an adept salesman, a man with a visible passion for business, and yet so far all the seeds he has cast might as well have landed on our stubbly pitch - because despite his best efforts, without nourishment and knowledge of local conditions, nothing is likely to grow.
AC’s plan on monetising the club via the concourses was never an option, unless you directly sell an awful lot of good quality produce for a scaled down margin. To do that, rather than be outsourcing every single element, you need to be ‘first hand invested’ in what’s being sold, you need crowds, and you need good football. Currently, on the pitch, in the concourses and round the campus, we have none of those elements.
We have a pitch to be ashamed of; being called out on national telly, won’t help our image, and that will harm any transfer prospects. We are not only ‘impoverished’ by football standards but far worse, we are SEEN to be impoverished amongst our competitors.
We have yet to see the improved concourse offerings, and all the brilliant ideas from fan engagement come to life. The outsourced caterers and sponsoring providers have neither the time nor the inclination to get on board with our pride and passion for local business and produce, which is another opportunity missed.
Finally, because fans over here have become desensitised to the amount of money a £ million is, through ridiculous player sales and a bit of FIFA (PC game) thrown in, they bandy about terms like he’s “only” 4 mil…….as if it were peanuts. It’s not.
Just to add balance and more understanding to the debate…..and to be fair, because that’s the real Swansea way.
The view from here, by Lady GG:
So now the dust is beginning to settle, that well worn saying ‘we are where we are’ is upon us again. We’ve been accused in this big old group of negativity whilst being happy clappers, and of being hard hearted and harsh whilst being twp, so in the interests of being fair, or playing devils advocate, there are other viewpoints which could be considered.
Possibly, the owners are simply holding back the damn of debt, in which case, are we as a group being a tad unfair?
If (as reported) there is a £17 million+ pre tax loss, that is a massive amount of money - which will soak up ALL the investment recently made available, then there’s tax and interest on top, as well as the eye watering day to day costs of running the club.
The new investors will no doubt have set their own budgets - amounts they are willing to risk on a potentially loss making venture and the budget released by their collective gamble, may just be an injection to keep us running (to stand still) in terms of not going under, whilst they wait to see signs of germinating their investment into growth?
Dwindling gates and cost of living hikes aren’t helping either, but the investors can write off at least some of their investment gamble/losses against their tax from their multi million/billion businesses elsewhere.
AC has clearly been given the remit of running this club on a shoestring, and so far could be seen to be hustling left right and centre robbing Peter to pay Paul to cover all the bases?
If this speculation is correct, it might partly explain his distracted involvement in the ill-fated attempt to get a Welsh presence in Europe and grab more cash, at a time perhaps when his eye should’ve been on the transfer market or getting a decent player recruitment team together?
By now our Chairman has to be wakening up to the fact that we are impoverished in the UK and particularly so in South Wales. We don’t have the disposable income of our transatlantic cousins, and the spare dosh we do have we spend on necessities such as our kids and activities which are a value for money treat.
Talking to him, he’s an adept salesman, a man with a visible passion for business, and yet so far all the seeds he has cast might as well have landed on our stubbly pitch - because despite his best efforts, without nourishment and knowledge of local conditions, nothing is likely to grow.
AC’s plan on monetising the club via the concourses was never an option, unless you directly sell an awful lot of good quality produce for a scaled down margin. To do that, rather than be outsourcing every single element, you need to be ‘first hand invested’ in what’s being sold, you need crowds, and you need good football. Currently, on the pitch, in the concourses and round the campus, we have none of those elements.
We have a pitch to be ashamed of; being called out on national telly, won’t help our image, and that will harm any transfer prospects. We are not only ‘impoverished’ by football standards but far worse, we are SEEN to be impoverished amongst our competitors.
We have yet to see the improved concourse offerings, and all the brilliant ideas from fan engagement come to life. The outsourced caterers and sponsoring providers have neither the time nor the inclination to get on board with our pride and passion for local business and produce, which is another opportunity missed.
Finally, because fans over here have become desensitised to the amount of money a £ million is, through ridiculous player sales and a bit of FIFA (PC game) thrown in, they bandy about terms like he’s “only” 4 mil…….as if it were peanuts. It’s not.
Just to add balance and more understanding to the debate…..and to be fair, because that’s the real Swansea way.
