How likely is this scenario?
Lah-di-dah gunner Graham goes back on a match-to-match contract with a HUGE bonus if he can keep them up.
That would stop them running up another big payout in the future, and get the Goonersaurus back into management - where he wants to be.
Quite likely i think.
Haven’t the faintest idea but it seems unlikely to me. Would the fans accept Graham . . . i just dunno ?
The England squad:
"England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has included Charlton’s Scott Parker and Chelsea teenager Glen Johnson in the squad to face Denmark. "
Because he plays in Scotland. It’s as simple as that. You can’t expect to be picked for England (or more accurately, break into the squad) if you play in a minor league.
If he wants to play for England he will have to move. It’s his call.
I’m pleased to see Scott Parker in the team, and I hope we go back for him in January.
He plays in the Champins League, just like Hargreaves.
Even if Spurs could afford to buy without selling, I think we’ve left it too late now. The price has gone up and so, probably, has Parker’s aspirations.
In my estimation, the only chance we have of signing him now is if we appoint Curbs first.
Major Leagues: EPL, The Spanish one , The German one and the Italian one. The rest are two-bob.
The Champions league thing is a bit of a red herring - Olympiakos play in it - and you wouldn’t rate them.
I suspect that you’re right about Parker. My bet on the manager is still live - and we could do a lot worse than Cubuishley.
West Ham are £44,000,000 in debt. That’s got to hurt - esp in Division one. They’re stuffed. Who’s actually going down first?
THe idiot fuckpuppet that runs them defends himself here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/3260497.stm
The welsh Injury crisis grows by the day…
And to think I was a teeny bit concerned about Spurs (£20ish mill) . . . how on earth could that happen. I mean, they’re not even a buying club, they’re a definite selling club and had an average of 34,200 last season. Jesus. It makes no sense to me; how do these peolle do their accounts !!
So Leeds at almost £80 mill, ManCity are at £50 million, Sunderland at £36 mill . . .anyone know the Gooners numbers, they should make interesting reading . . .
Fwiw, I was hearing last night about Charlton; shares went public at 80p. Yesterday, with them fourth in the Prem, the shares stood at 18p. None of it makes any kind of sense.
I see Dennis The Menace has got the Millwalll job. I have no idea what that will mean . . .
The filth are in fairly big trouble - but not as bad as some.
They are about £60m in the hole, but they do have assets (Henry +pires + Campbell pays that, also they have some landholdings that are worth a few bob).
They are bleeding money on Ashburton Grove, without any sign of a resolution.
In other words they are living beyond their means - but could reign back to a realistic position (they have exactly as much cash as spurs/villa/newcastle etc - that is their realistic position, ie they can’t actually afford £100k pwk wages).
Needless to say each footy finance story makes it that bit less likely that banks are going to loan them the money.
Leeds are asking their creditors to take a haircut on the debt - if anyone of them refuses - administration ahoy! (better to do that in the Prem rather than div 1 as the Prem has no penalties for administration.)
A sobering thought for Leeds - Stadium plus player assets minus liabilities and debts comes up with a minus sum. They ARE bankrupt. Its just a question of when the winding up order comes in.
Chelsea are also completely bankrupt in a business sense - but they have a backer of last resort with deep pockets.
Holy Fuck! I’m speechless . . Gardner gets England call-up
Well, maybe it’s £60 but . . . different sources, different numbers, it looks to me (at the moment) like the Gooners are probably at £50 mill by now (high £40s in April). And it’s also rising rapidly, for example almost £10 mill in a recent 6-month period (problems with controlling wage costs).
This is actually an interesting read, for example they lost £22 mill in the year they last did the Double . . .
So Man City and the Gooners are in the same financial boat -ish (£50 mill down), but Man City have the bricks and mortar stadium and the Gooners have the players. Spurs, on the other hand, have neither the stadium or the players but only have debts of £20 mill.
West Ham and Sunderland blew it, and Leeds are on their way to the funny farm.
A certain symetry there. Perhaps.
Gardner? 'kin’ell! Now he is an international we could flog him. (we paid £1m for him - looks like a shrewd buy).
The goons position is that they are trying to make the great leap forward. They have a tiny stadium but cannot finance ashburton Grove out of current revenue, although they could probably fill it once it was built. However no one will lend any football club any dosh right now, and Hill-Wood is no Abramovich.
This is the horrible circle that they (and spurs) have to square: You can only fill a big stadium with a good team (and bear in mind the gooners are shit fans with zero loyalty who are just waiting to fuck off back to rugby, if they go down hill on the pitch their gates will plummet (like before). To build the team to fill the stadium you have to spend money you haven’t got.
God knows how this is going to be done. However the goons are spending big money on a building site with no building going on in it. That can only end one way.
I have said it before and I will say it again. The filth are going to wembley. We’re going to the olympic stadium (if built).
Sven did send somebody up to Glasgow to watch Thompson against Anderlecht last week, but he was injured.
I do remember reading Mr Tor (lost his) Grip travelled up to the Twilight Zone once. I didn’t know Thompson was injured that time, or that neither Sven or Grip had been along since.
It seems a bit odd, really. It’s like every where else on EasyJet (or wherever), an hour at most from London . . .perhaps it is the general standard u there that worries Sven Quite how he knows if he hasn’t been, I’m not sure . . .
And we really do need that left-sided player. Badly.
Anyway, I think I’ll start jogging again; if Gardner can make the squad, it can only be a matter of time before a grateful nation comes calling . . .
The debt numbers are just a part of the picture, when it must be repaid is also important. IIRC three quarter of Leeds’ debt is long term and if they can convert the other quarter to long term debt they are saved for now, as long as they don’t get relegated.
Without knowing when the debt must be repaid it is hard to know what the financial situation really are.
And wouldn’t it be ironic if Spurs moved to the Olympia stadion in East London, especially if Arsenal build Ashburton Grove?
BTW what’s your view on a stadion with a track around the field?
Well you’d have to make sure the subs didn’t get carried away when they warmed up…
The City of Manchester Stadium (now occupied by Man City) hosted the Commonwealth Games last year before being converted into a regular footie stadium – the running track is gone and the project took the (later) need to convert into account at the design stage – I wonder if we’d get a roof, as well!
Yep, I agree the nature of the loans/debts is crucial. Last I heard, £60 million of Leeds’ £80 million debt was a long-term bond, which they’re trying to reschedule over an even longer period, kind of like Argentina, or something . . .
Some say the site of the Leeds ground represents the most desirable site for retail redevelopment in the North of England.
Perfect for athletics…
Wembley, despite it’s history, was probably the worst ground I’ve watched football in (I’ve never been to the Olympic Stadium in Munich, but apparently that’s even worse…)
Footballers need to feel the crowds breath on the back of their necks when they take throw-ins…
That’s atmosphere…
I’ll make the point of the last post clearer: Wembley was probably the worst ground in terms of atmosphere, feeling part of it; you were too far away from the action…
The Old Showground, The Shay, St. James’s Park (Exeter)… they were probably the worst grounds I’ve been to…
English FA website today has Grip saying that Thompson “probably” would be in the squad if he wasn’t injured, and that he may be there for the next England game (in February).
I’m not really bothered one way or the other mind.
It is a part of the olympic “legacy” planning that a premiership club takes over the stadium - with us as hot favouritres. However there is a long way before the stadium gets built.
Has anyone else been to the dogs at wembley? It is a truly surreal experience to be one of about 500 people in that great big stadium, watching the mutts run round the pitch.
As to Leed’s debt - did anyone see the Money programme last night - it was very critical of the way they have gone about things.
It seems that the long term debt they have is secured against future gate receipts. That is safe enough, however it means that every quid that goes through the gates goes to the bank.
Ahh, that makes more sense ruadh. All I’m hoping for now is that he takes a move to the Gooners or the Launderers in the January window so as to build experience of playing with either A. Cole or Bridge (England’s left-backs) . . . little joke, there . . . Curiously, the only vacancy I can see for him is if Sven drops Gerrard (who isn’t a leftie), which would be interesting . . . however, we do need that leftie.
Do you know if he’s prone to injury or is this a fairly unusual event ?
On Leeds, didn’t see the programme . . . but now I’m confused. If the long-term £60 million bond is secured against gate receipts (eminently sensible) and, currently, 88-ish% of all income goes on players wages (insane, insane, insane) . . . one or the other has to give.
If nothing else, they have to offload Viduka and his £65,000 a week. Doesn’t matter what they get for him, just get that £65,000 off the books.
On Spurs, fingers crossed Freddie will be fit for a run out against the Villa in 10 days time. Looking very possible !!
Big night out for the Celtic fringe tonight. Hope they don’t both take a haorcut.