Is this the way to (Amarillo) relegation?

[Millerbri]

There is supposed to be some more money trickling down from the Premier League next season.

Some on our forums are estimating Championship Clubs will be getting up towards 10 or 11million.

That will give us a bit more scope with wages, but it's all relative because we will all get it.

 

[Ciderup]

Personally, I think this is a dilemma for quite a few clubs at this level. Do you speculate to put yourselves in a stronger position long term or go with the status quo?
At City, we are extremely lucky to have an owner who CAN spend on infrastructure without adding debt to the club so the new stands are adding new facilities by the day, various lounges for match day / non match day use, restaurants, coffee bars, corporate facilities, concourses (which we have never had yet the majority use pre-game now) etc etc. All things we never had before and bringing much higher revenues into the club meaning our turnover should go up appreciably.
As I said, we are very lucky but the dilemma for others I do understand.
Will it be a case of 'go for it' just to survive though as just about everyone seems to have the financial capacity to spend quite big in this division?

 

[AnkleBiter]

Depends how easily it can be extended. If you average an extra 3000 at £20 per head (including kids/seniors prices) the that's an extra £60k per game and £1.38m over the season, which is basically what we spent on Nahki Wells who you could argue has kept us up here. There is also of course more perks to additional support than ticket income, merchandising and increased sponsorship for example.
Problem would be keeping these new supporters interested, mid-table loses its appeal, as we've learnt with a 2.5k dip in our average since averaging 15k in our first season back.

 

[AnkleBiter]

Personally, I think this is a dilemma for quite a few clubs at this level. Do you speculate to put yourselves in a stronger position long term or go with the status quo?
At City, we are extremely lucky to have an owner who CAN spend on infrastructure without adding debt to the club so the new stands are adding new facilities by the day, various lounges for match day / non match day use, restaurants, coffee bars, corporate facilities, concourses (which we have never had yet the majority use pre-game now) etc etc. All things we never had before and bringing much higher revenues into the club meaning our turnover should go up appreciably.
As I said, we are very lucky but the dilemma for others I do understand.
Will it be a case of 'go for it' just to survive though as just about everyone seems to have the financial capacity to spend quite big in this division?

It's risky depending on your owner though. Ours is a lifelong fan so hasnt had an issue with pumping it in to get us established up here... but he won't be around forever.

 

[Ciderup]

It's risky depending on your owner though. Ours is a lifelong fan so hasnt had an issue with pumping it in to get us established up here... but he won't be around forever.

I totally agree AB, we are in the same position. Our owner is, like yours, a supporter as well as an extremely wealthy bloke and has put his son (also a City fan) in a position of relative authority at the club for when he eventually hands the reigns over. We even have his tiny grandson (about 2 years old) at games sat on grandads knee so the succession seems to be there.
While we are both lucky enough to have this type of owner, many aren't so the decision becomes all that much more difficult as finances may dictate that a 'punt' or expansion are just not viable. Use MillerBri's club as a hypothetical example. I would assume they have all the corporate bollocks already so expansion is the next gamble. Would it be prudent for the Millers to look to expand capacity, meaning a short term possible DROP in capacity (while the work is carried out)? A drop in capacity means a drop in revenue which could (with all respect) send them down BUT they would be in a much stronger position to get back up and stay up because of the expansion! I'm only using the Millers as an example by the way.
There in lies the dilemma IMO.

 

[Bobbin']

These last few posts haven't made me feel any better about our situation

 

[Ciderup]

These last few posts haven't made me feel any better about our situation

You're just being run by someone with no end plan Bobbin. I really don't get what his eventual goal is?
Hopefully, you'll be back soon bud.

 

[Bobbin']

You're just being run by someone with no end plan Bobbin. I really don't get what his eventual goal is?
Hopefully, you'll be back soon bud.

No-one knows mate! Including him.

Seriously though, no jealousy here. Best of luck to clubs like yourselves and Huddersfield. Enjoy it while you have it and don't take it for granted!

 

[Millerbri]

The NYS was built with the provision to expand first to 16000 then to 20000 and the expansions can be done over 2 close seasons.
So the infrastructure is already in place, it just needs the necessary will to proceed.

You have to remember we were in the basement when it opened in 2012 and it made perfect sense to make it just 12000.
Trouble is, bloody ridiculous stewarding reduces this down to 11600 ish, so this doesn't help.

It was fine in the 1st and 2nd divisions because very often away crowds were just a few hundred supporters, so we could put them in the corner of the East stand and use the South stand for home supporters if circumstances dictated e.g. the promotion decider against Aldershot.

Now it would make sense to try to capitalise on the fantastic away followings that are fairly commonplace in this division and make extra cash from visitors.
Another benefit would be there would also be a small increase in home fans because as things stand with more than 2/3 of the home ends taken by season tickets, it can be hard to purchase tickets together and that puts people off going, after all there's nowt worse than sitting on your own.

The down side is we don't want to be rattling around in a 20000 seater stadium if we go down.
It really is a difficult decision for Tony Stewart to make, he has to be sure we can sustain our place in this league, otherwise it's money down the drain..........remember Darlington and nearer home Doncaster, they are only getting about 6000 in a 15000 + stadium.

It's always easier to spend someone else's money.

 

[Walkley_Owl]

I'd say it's ideal for you a present fella, you're averaging just under 10k at home, of that 8,450 are home fans.

 

[Millerbri]

I'd say it's ideal for you a present fella, you're averaging just under 10k at home, of that 8,450 are home fans.

It depends whether we want to take advantage of the extra revenue available from the bigger teams in this league.

There are quite a few teams in this league play in half to 2/3 full stadiums.

Is it that bad for the atmosphere or are we worrying too much about it?

 

[Walkley_Owl]

It depends whether we want to take advantage of the extra revenue available from the bigger teams in this league.

There are quite a few teams in this league play in half to 2/3 full stadiums.

Is it that bad for the atmosphere or are we worrying too much about it?

The question is would the bigger clubs (I'd argue 4/5 sell out) and the increased gates be worth the cost? It's a tough one for Stewart

Sent from my YOGA Tablet 2-830F using Tapatalk

 

[Millerbri]

The first stage of the expansion was told at the time of the new build as being the North and South stands being expanded, followed by another tier on the family East stand.

Now nobody I have spoken to can explain satisfactorily how the 2000 seats could be added to the N & S stands without actually building them to overhang the present footprint of the stadium.

But accepting it can happen that would give the away support an allocation of around 4500, and as you say that would mean only clubs such as yourselves, Leeds, Middlesborough, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Sunderland (obviously dependant on promotion/relegation) would fill it.
We might also get a good cup draw (well overdue BTW) which could be another sell out.

Even getting 3 to 3500 from such as Forest, Derby, Birmingham,and Wolves is possible if they are doing well so that would be a decent increase in revenue.

Coupled to the fact we have to spend money on the training ground, and Warnock (if he stays) will want a decent budget to work with, so it might not happen this season.

Personally I think TS will wait to see if we can make any progress next year before he commits himself to the project.

 

[Madejski]

16th in the league, haven't beaten a team above us since September and35 game since we last averaged over a point a game.

Boy have we escaped it this season. Much like last.

 

[Dazza]

16th in the league, haven't beaten a team above us since September and35 game since we last averaged over a point a game.

Boy have we escaped it this season. Much like last.

Good job we played well the first couple of months. Can't be many sides with as bad a record as us since then.

 

[Madejski]

Just the bottom 3.

Since game day 11 when we were second in the league:
Reading 31pts (-15 GD)
Charlton 30 (-33)
MK Dons 28 (-27)
Bolton 22 (-30)

So our GD isn't nearly as bad, but for 34 games now we've basically been as bad gathering points as 2 of the 3 relegated clubs...

 

[Dazza]

Just the bottom 3.

Since game day 11 when we were second in the league:
Reading 31pts (-15 GD)
Charlton 30 (-33)
MK Dons 28 (-27)
Bolton 22 (-30)

So our GD isn't nearly as bad, but for 34 games now we've basically been as bad gathering points as 2 of the 3 relegated clubs...

Christ.That is awful form. Highly unlikly to keep getting away with it. Fail to invest in the Summer and we probably won't next season.

 

[JoshBCFC]

The way it's going, Reading and Blackburn are good contenders to end up being the Charlton and Bolton of next season.

 

[Camdenite]

Probably the best place for me to say goodbye seeing as how this is the thread I've spent more time in than any other.

We'll be back, I'm sure. Older, wiser and better prepared. It'll be nice to get back to playing some football next season. Said it many times, but it's been an eye-opener how physical the Championship is. It shouldn't have been as we saw enough teams coming down to League One over the years and that should have served as a warning that filling a side with technically good, but lightweight players was a big no-no. That's not the only reason we struggled, but it was a big part.

 

[roversfan2001]

The way it's going, Reading and Blackburn are good contenders to end up being the Charlton and Bolton of next season.

We're going down, 100%. Apparently Paul Jewell is lined up to be our manager and unveiled on Monday.

 

[JoshBCFC]

We're going down, 100%. Apparently Paul Jewell is lined up to be our manager and unveiled on Monday.

Well, you never know when it comes to managers! Plenty of examples where managers do surprisingly well with a not great record, and vice versa. Still, doesn't seem promising

 

[JoshBCFC]

Probably the best place for me to say goodbye seeing as how this is the thread I've spent more time in than any other.

We'll be back, I'm sure. Older, wiser and better prepared. It'll be nice to get back to playing some football next season. Said it many times, but it's been an eye-opener how physical the Championship is. It shouldn't have been as we saw enough teams coming down to League One over the years and that should have served as a warning that filling a side with technically good, but lightweight players was a big no-no. That's not the only reason we struggled, but it was a big part.

Goodbye to you and MK for now!

Oh, and Charlton and Bolton

 

[Ciderup]

Indeed, all the best to Charlton, Bolton and the Dons.

 

[Bobbin']

Yep, suppose this is the place to say our goodbyes.

Cheers for everything chaps, the discussions, the forum games etc and of course the thrashings the majority of you dished out to us this season!

Will still pop in from time to time to see what we're missing, and I'm going to leave Lamby here if it's all the same to you all.

All the best, enjoy your trips to Villa and probably Newcastle. You bastards.

 

[Muzzle]

Yep, suppose this is the place to say our goodbyes.

Cheers for everything chaps, the discussions, the forum games etc and of course the thrashings the majority of you dished out to us this season!

Will still pop in from time to time to see what we're missing, and I'm going to leave Lamby here if it's all the same to you all.

All the best, enjoy your trips to Villa and probably Newcastle. You bastards.

We still have each other

 

[Dazza]

Yep, suppose this is the place to say our goodbyes.

Cheers for everything chaps, the discussions, the forum games etc and of course the thrashings the majority of you dished out to us this season!

Will still pop in from time to time to see what we're missing, and I'm going to leave Lamby here if it's all the same to you all.

All the best, enjoy your trips to Villa and probably Newcastle. You bastards.

Please don't. What have any of us done to deserve that.

 

[Lamby]

Please don't. What have any of us done to deserve that.

Be alive?

 

[Ciderup]

All the best, enjoy your trips to Villa and probably Newcastle. You bastards.

We will Bobbin. enjoy the trip to your other 'soft spot club' at the Mem and I hope it is pissing down. You won't be so fond of them then!

 

[Bobbin']

We will Bobbin. enjoy the trip to your other 'soft spot club' at the Mem and I hope it is pissing down. You won't be so fond of them then!

Not going to let that one go now are you!?

Knowing my luck it will be pissing down, or a Tuesday night.