League 1 General Chat Thread

[valefan16]

They're unlikely to attract players if they don't think they will get paid. Plus, who wants to play for a club who are 8 points down before they've started. I'd be amazed if their budget would be circa 6 million.

They're just another example of a non league club chasing the dream without the fan base or income streams to back it up. As soon as the generous benefactor leaves/dies/gets put in jail, they plummet back from whence they came.

Meanwhile, they take the place of a genuine club who is trying to live within their means but flitting between the bottom divisions.

I feel sorry for the fans (although I'm sure they weren't bothered when winning the FA cup) but I can't say I've got much sympathy for the club.

It’s a difficult one, as you say when clubs are spending big the fans enjoy the ride, Wigan and Portsmouth FA Cup and European adventures for example.

I always have some frustration with it all as both our administrations came about without us getting any footballing benefit or overspending, the first was down to ITV digital collapsing and the Lorne Street Stand mineshaft issues which still isn’t finished 20 years on! (All be it no points deductions in those days) and the second was down to a calamity of issues which led to the supporters club trying to take legal action, on the pitch we were crap and spending little.

Wigan’s one seems messy, lots of statements but payments not happening and the EFL not getting the deposit is worrying, assume if administration follows they lose 12 points on top?

We seem to be going through a bad phase of clubs in trouble, obviously lost Bury and Macclesfield then we had Derby and now we have Wigan, Reading, potentially Fleetwood, Morecambe etc.

Money is ridiculous now, not sure how true the weekly wage figures are that we’re posted yesterday but assuming correct Vale spent 3.2 million on wages last season and that was only 17th highest, it’s big money really for the arse end of league one.

 

[codaplenty]

Statement by the Board
Andy Pilley has stepped down as Chairman and Director
Steve Curwood who has been an excellent servant of the football club as CEO for the last 15 years becomes interim chairman. Phil Brown Vice Chairman becomes a director
The club have this week entered discussions with the EFL in relation to requirements surrounding a change of ownership and control
More information will follow in due course

 

[GEORGE]

Surprised Dave Whelan hasn’t had something to say about this after all those years building Wigan up to punch above their weight and now it’s basically back to square one .

Not saying I'm old -- But remember him playing for Blackburn Rovers against Wolves in the 1960 Cup Final. My first final.

 

[BarrieOwl]

Not saying I'm old -- But remember him playing for Blackburn Rovers against Wolves in the 1960 Cup Final. My first final.

You knew the dead Sea when it just poorly didn't you.

 

[White horse]

You knew the dead Sea when it just poorly didn't you

Did you play in that one Barrieowl ? Are you going to Wembley, £4 for a bag of crisps, £7 for a cold pasty, beware lad, good luck

 

[LancashireTrotters]

 

[Super_horns]

Not saying I'm old -- But remember him playing for Blackburn Rovers against Wolves in the 1960 Cup Final. My first final.

Did you know he broke his leg?

Has never talked about it since..

 

[Carver]

Are Fleetwood in trouble?

They have a few decent players in their squad, could be worth scrambling for them.

 

[GEORGE]

Did you know he broke his leg?

Has never talked about it since..

Yes

 

[denzel ecfc]

Are Fleetwood in trouble?

They have a few decent players in their squad, could be worth scrambling for them.

You probably couldn't afford them.
But neither can they..

 

[Carver]

You probably couldn't afford them.

How so?

 

[denzel ecfc]

How so?

Well I don't think that Stockley left Charlton for Fleetwood because he liked roller coasters, do you?

 

[Carver]

Well I don't think that Stockley left Charlton for Fleetwood because he liked roller coasters, do you?

Now I must say I like the Fleetwood fan on here called Codaplenty. He has been complimentary about our club on this forum in the past and I appreciate his kind words and respect him for that.

But it annoys me how clubs like Fleetwood have more money and better facilities than us when we have a much larger fanbase who deserve better as our club are legitimate with our finances whereas Fleetwood have been doing something dodgy and illegal to gain their higher status as we have seen their chairman get charged for fraud.

 

[bigfatron]

Sounds very good but how do you move players on who have big salaries and won't be able to match it elsewhere?

Throw in the off the field problems, and obvious late payment history, lies to players about when they will get paid, I can't see those players pulling up any trees.

True - it still leaves a world of practical problems…

 

[Luke Imp]

You only have to see the statement from the club where they’re talking about legal action over the points deduction to see they clearly don’t get it. They can be as disappointed as they like but if they hadn’t gone throwing money around like a drunken sailor that they clearly couldn’t sustain or met the deadline set this conversation wouldn’t be a thing.

I don’t want to see them or anybody else struggling financially but it’s time that they had a bit of a reality check.

Surprised they've got the money for legal action...

It’s a difficult one, as you say when clubs are spending big the fans enjoy the ride, Wigan and Portsmouth FA Cup and European adventures for example.

I always have some frustration with it all as both our administrations came about without us getting any footballing benefit or overspending, the first was down to ITV digital collapsing and the Lorne Street Stand mineshaft issues which still isn’t finished 20 years on! (All be it no points deductions in those days) and the second was down to a calamity of issues which led to the supporters club trying to take legal action, on the pitch we were crap and spending little.

Wigan’s one seems messy, lots of statements but payments not happening and the EFL not getting the deposit is worrying, assume if administration follows they lose 12 points on top?

We seem to be going through a bad phase of clubs in trouble, obviously lost Bury and Macclesfield then we had Derby and now we have Wigan, Reading, potentially Fleetwood, Morecambe etc.

Money is ridiculous now, not sure how true the weekly wage figures are that we’re posted yesterday but assuming correct Vale spent 3.2 million on wages last season and that was only 17th highest, it’s big money really for the arse end of league one.

Oldham, Dover, Southend, Chesterfield (prior to the Trust takeover), Luton (years ago), Cardiff, Birmingham and Huddersfield as well in varying degrees.

Does seem to be something about that NW area overall, though, not sure what the crack is over there!

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Surprised they've got the money for legal action...


Oldham, Dover, Southend, Chesterfield (prior to the Trust takeover), Luton (years ago), Cardiff, Birmingham and Huddersfield as well in varying degrees.

Does seem to be something about that NW area overall, though, not sure what the crack is over there!

I think there's far more expectation from fanbases in the North West compared to any other region in England when it comes to football clubs and you have to look back to when money came into the game in the 90s. The historic clubs in the North West had generous benefactors in the 90s and 2000s which led to prolonged stays in the PL for the likes of Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan and also ascended Preston from the basement to a top Championship club. A by-product of this though is when the money dries up, a decline starts and then there's pressure to spend just to stay still. If relegation happens, then you're saddled with debts, a large wage bill and the need to cut costs very quickly.

Even the smaller clubs in the region have also had benefactors lower down the pyramid which have led to financial ruin when they've packed up and left. Wherever you live in the North West, there are four behemoths in this region who hoover up all the support so it clearly pressures smaller clubs to spend big in order to attract fans. Something you won't achieve by trying to run a sustainable club too which is disappointing but it causes clubs to go for broke.

We're very much one of the exceptions to that rule, but even we've been on the financial tightrope through an ill-thought out spending spree 15 years ago which took us ages to recover from and through a lack of player sales which harms our business model. With the catchment area for the region's smaller clubs being small compared to some of the Southern lower league clubs, it's very difficult to survive. We've already lost Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Chester and Macclesfield and it wouldn't surprise me to see a few more NW clubs exit the league soon as wages continue to rise but revenue streams continue to stagnate.

 

[Luke Imp]

Wigan's owners have apparently put £20m in, in two(?) years.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1662877646252920834

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Have zero Sympathy for Wigan used to go to them in early 90’s when they were lucky to get 1200 fans and were at best a L2 club.

They have ridden for 30 years now on spending vast sums well ahead of their income and rely solely on some rich owner to dig them out of any financial trouble.

It all…….finally went to sh*t a couple of years ago but they got new owners and were able to maybe get some stability around L1 or L2……….but what happens instead is another arrogant based spending spree in another wild
Attempt tone something they are not.

Unfortunately for them it isn’t the 90’s and there isn’t just them and Fulham spending like crazy and didn’t last long. They deserve to drop based on having their chance to steady ship and sinking it again

 

[White horse]

I think there's far more expectation from fanbases in the North West compared to any other region in England when it comes to football clubs and you have to look back to when money came into the game in the 90s. The historic clubs in the North West had generous benefactors in the 90s and 2000s which led to prolonged stays in the PL for the likes of Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan and also ascended Preston from the basement to a top Championship club. A by-product of this though is when the money dries up, a decline starts and then there's pressure to spend just to stay still. If relegation happens, then you're saddled with debts, a large wage bill and the need to cut costs very quickly.

Even the smaller clubs in the region have also had benefactors lower down the pyramid which have led to financial ruin when they've packed up and left. Wherever you live in the North West, there are four behemoths in this region who hoover up all the support so it clearly pressures smaller clubs to spend big in order to attract fans. Something you won't achieve by trying to run a sustainable club too which is disappointing but it causes clubs to go for broke.

We're very much one of the exceptions to that rule, but even we've been on the financial tightrope through an ill-thought out spending spree 15 years ago which took us ages to recover from and through a lack of player sales which harms our business model. With the catchment area for the region's smaller clubs being small compared to some of the Southern lower league clubs, it's very difficult to survive. We've already lost Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Chester and Macclesfield and it wouldn't surprise me to see a few more NW clubs exit the league soon as wages continue to rise but revenue streams continue to stagnate.

Very true, particularly in Greater Manchester where you have two of the biggest and richest clubs in the world on your door step and another one in Liverpool just round the corner. Football fans in the area now actively support them after generations of their families being say Bolton, Bury or Oldham fans. Still a fair few stick with Bolton but it is difficult when if you go to a match you get back at practically the same time whether you went to Old Trafford or the Tough Sheet.

 

[SF_]

Now they're fairly-long established, it'll be interesting to see if the Man City glory hunters start to out number the United & Liverpool ones in places like Preston, Bolton, Wigan, etc.

 

[SF_]

I think there's far more expectation from fanbases in the North West compared to any other region in England when it comes to football clubs and you have to look back to when money came into the game in the 90s. The historic clubs in the North West had generous benefactors in the 90s and 2000s which led to prolonged stays in the PL for the likes of Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan and also ascended Preston from the basement to a top Championship club. A by-product of this though is when the money dries up, a decline starts and then there's pressure to spend just to stay still. If relegation happens, then you're saddled with debts, a large wage bill and the need to cut costs very quickly.

Even the smaller clubs in the region have also had benefactors lower down the pyramid which have led to financial ruin when they've packed up and left. Wherever you live in the North West, there are four behemoths in this region who hoover up all the support so it clearly pressures smaller clubs to spend big in order to attract fans. Something you won't achieve by trying to run a sustainable club too which is disappointing but it causes clubs to go for broke.

We're very much one of the exceptions to that rule, but even we've been on the financial tightrope through an ill-thought out spending spree 15 years ago which took us ages to recover from and through a lack of player sales which harms our business model. With the catchment area for the region's smaller clubs being small compared to some of the Southern lower league clubs, it's very difficult to survive. We've already lost Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Chester and Macclesfield and it wouldn't surprise me to see a few more NW clubs exit the league soon as wages continue to rise but revenue streams continue to stagnate.

Good post. Baxi were great owners for us between around 1994-2002. Invested in the playing squad and stadium, a good era to support PNE.

Obviously didn't back us to the same level as Walker & Whelan though. Hemmings could have done, but he had his limits on what he would spend.

 

[White horse]

You only have to read a few posts from the majority of the Wigan supporters on various boards and Twitter to see how arrogant and deluded they are about the situation they are in. They were happy to pay ridiculous amounts in an obvious unsustainable manner for quite a few seasons lording it over clubs trying to do things properly.

It is time they paid for those indiscretions rather than being bailed out and let off lightly over and over again.

This was the typical opinion of Wigan fans last season. Loved the last comment, "this aged well" !!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1412787201793052673

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

Would help if the person wrote in English!

 

[BarrieOwl]

Would help if the person wrote in English!

That is English for a Lancastrian

 

[valefan16]

We had our fans forum tonight with Flitcroft, a chance for the club to engage with fans after six months of poor form, lack of communication and various rumours largely leading to Flickers becoming a bit of a scapegoat with the fan base…

He was rather open in far more detail than expected after concern it would be his usual office lingo.

Amongst things revealed that we have spent £600k on the youth team which in fairness has paid off with Plant rising to the fore and McDermott playing a part along with the great FAYC run. Premier League clubs after one of our youths widely believed to be Shorrock who became the youngest player in a league game for us against Plymouth when he came on.

Recruitment was done more on quantity over quality last season and they didn’t do proper due diligence on Small and McCarron who didn’t work out and seemed to criticise the lack of games for Politic and Butterworth which prevented us getting the best out of them.

Matty Taylor was rushed through after we failed to get Kian Harratt back in January after his spell in league two with us… issue was he’d played for two clubs this season already.

Pitch cost us signing Ogbeta who went Posh and we aimed high in a shortened window in the summer naming Scarlett and Dobbin as two we went in for… nonetheless we are after the same pool this season!

Felt our squad lacked physicality needed last season so addressing that this summer and the keeper issue.

No managerial candidates interviewed as they wanted Crosby.

No home pre season games as the pitch work is ongoing but off to Spain again (some fans will lose their shit again!) playing Grimsby.

Did recruitment too late last summer and Ellis took ten days to get done.

Cut spending in January as had spent a lot (Carol has spent £10 million so far) and didn’t feel we’d be ready for the play offs/promotion so wanted to stabilise.

Schofield looks set to be number 2 to Crosby.

Worrall offered one year deal plus coaching role with new U21 side but wanted security of 2 years.

Wilson we decided to look elsewhere due to injuries and what we got from him last season.

Let Hall go in Jan. probably shouldn’t but felt Jones would be good cover… he obviously got a season ending injury just after so bad luck.

Largely seemed to settle the nerves a lot of rumours of money problems after January but a lot is being spent on the pitch, score board and youth set up for the long term and when sides are throwing Millions at it in January it was never going to be something we could match to keep pace, we need to invest in the youth to generate the money to compete and are starting to reap those rewards.

Fans oddly blamed our trip to Spain last year as financially draining (probably cheaper than a UK base in fairness!) so sure some will moan but suggests the finance isn’t the issue!

Big summer for Flickers he has to show he’s learnt the lessons and the signings need to improve us, in fairness he has been harshly treated for me, yes he had a bad January and we struggled in the summer but had the late finish and early start with the play offs but he’s also the man who got DC in, signed the likes of Wilson, Garrity, Pett a virtually unknown Connor Hall etc and improved the youth team from the mess it was left in and getting spanked in the FAYC by Basford United to having the talent we have coming through now like Plant and Shorrock.

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

Who had Kian Harratt also played for this season? Looking at it, he was on loan at Bradford, and then didnt play for Huddersfield until April, so would have been eligible.

 

[Luke Imp]

Payday at Wigan today, let's see if this magical sum of money materialises...!

 

[kieran_vale]

Who had Kian Harratt also played for this season? Looking at it, he was on loan at Bradford, and then didnt play for Huddersfield until April, so would have been eligible.

He was at Bradford but then his loan got cut short as he got done for hare-coursing. He played as a sub for Huddersfield in an FA cup tie so think that would have rendered him ineligible.

 

[Carver]

Will be funny if scummy club Wigan go bust and end up like Bury after how their fans have acted on twitter.

They have punched far above their weight now for too long thanks to over the top spending.

 

[BarrieOwl]

Will be funny if scummy club Wigan go bust and end up like Bury after how their fans have acted on twitter.

They have punched far above their weight now for too long thanks to over the top spending.

Wishing a club goes bust cos of a few words on twitter, wow you're a fucking imbecile.