by Stranded »
19 Jun 2024 08:19
Clyde1998 WestYorksRoyal Anybody with access to Google knows are running costs are high for a L1 club. Are these buyers surprised to discover it?
Though the bigger problem seems to be Dai's asking price - perhaps it would be fair if the club was financially stable, but given it's running up losses it's clearly too high.
We'll have two bigger costs than a typical League One club - the stadium and the academy.
The stadium maintenance will be a fairly fixed cost and will probably be offset by ticket sales.
Having a Category One academy in League One is probably the biggest factor as to why we're needing external funding. Of course, it does also mean we don't have to buy as many players and may be able to sell players for higher fees than a typical League One club. However, the operating costs are probably too great whilst we're in League One.
Very much this. As you say the stadium will be a big cost that we can't really do too much about esp as our average attendance doesn't even really allow for a stand to be mothballed for a period to cut some costs. The Academy and the Womens Team are both unfortunately areas that the club is spending on that will put us well above other clubs at our current level.
As horrible as downgrading the Womens side is, if the money saved there helps keep the club afloat then is should be downsized or closed for a period - after all, if there is no mens side, there is no club and as a result no womens team anyway.
The Academy could pay for itself if we are able to sell talent from it regularly at high prices with sell on fees - but shifting down a level or even moving to a B Team model may be more cost effective at this time. We can always apply for Cat 1 again if and when we are established in the Champ again.