League 2 General Chat Thread

[Gi Dalor]

Some clubs have started releasing accounts. Crawley and Crewe today.

 

[Gunit]

Fair to say Crawley are done, just a case of when really.

https://x.com/kieranmaguire/status/1757883897361105343?s=46&t=pL83FYFoqaim3gb3E3GnVA

 

[Gi Dalor]

Fair to say Crawley are done, just a case of when really.

https://x.com/kieranmaguire/status/1757883897361105343?s=46&t=pL83FYFoqaim3gb3E3GnVA

It's not as bad as it looks.

I'll leave comment up to Casey, but I don't think there's any immediate danger of the club going into receivership or anything like that. Actually, it's heartening that they've released the accounts and are being transparent (-ish)

 

[Gunit]

You’ll have to explain to me how it’s not as bad as it looks. Unless the owners are committed long term to keep chucking in loads of money (same as prior owner) then they are insolvent. I wouldn’t be confident that current ownership will be that way inclined.

 

[Gi Dalor]

You’ll have to explain to me how it’s not as bad as it looks. Unless the owners are committed long term to keep chucking in loads of money (same as prior owner) then they are insolvent. I wouldn’t be confident that current ownership will be that way inclined.

There's 2 reasons I don't want to talk too much about Crawley.
1. There are people who know more than i do, not least Casey whose team they are.
2. There's lots that I don't know. Like, 99% of the stuff I'd need to know to offer informed comment.
But this was last season. WAGMI cocked up. They spent too much, and all they got for their money was nearly crashing out of the league.

They have started to repair some of the damage.
That doesn't mean everything is ok. I'm just saying that they're not necessarily about to become the next Southend or Scunthorpe.

 

[Casey]

I have no idea how a club of the size of Crawley can survive without the loans from owners.

The only good news is the loans that make up the majority of the debt are interest free so they reduce in worth as time goes by (inflation).

As soon as the owners pull the plug we're toast.

Casey

 

[Gunit]

There's 2 reasons I don't want to talk too much about Crawley.
1. There are people who know more than i do, not least Casey whose team they are.
2. There's lots that I don't know. Like, 99% of the stuff I'd need to know to offer informed comment.
But this was last season. WAGMI cocked up. They spent too much, and all they got for their money was nearly crashing out of the league.

They have started to repair some of the damage.
That doesn't mean everything is ok. I'm just saying that they're not necessarily about to become the next Southend or Scunthorpe.

The debt is enormous for a club with little in the way of revenue. The debt can never be paid off so needs writing off at some stage or just rolls over forever as long as someone can front the day to day expenses. I guess same for many at this level relying on someone with deep pockets. But out of the owners to trust not sure their lot are high on the list. Invisible owners watching from afar, not sure how much enjoyment they are possibly getting out of it - surely just a hassle and burning notes. We shall see.

 

[Optipez]

I have no idea how a club of the size of Crawley can survive without the loans from owners.

The only good news is the loans that make up the majority of the debt are interest free so they reduce in worth as time goes by (inflation).

As soon as the owners pull the plug we're toast.

Casey

That's the case with most clubs. We all rely on the owners funding our clubs.

 

[Casey]

The debt is enormous for a club with little in the way of revenue. The debt can never be paid off so needs writing off at some stage or just rolls over forever as long as someone can front the day to day expenses. I guess same for many at this level relying on someone with deep pockets. But out of the owners to trust not sure their lot are high on the list. Invisible owners watching from afar, not sure how much enjoyment they are possibly getting out of it - surely just a hassle and burning notes. We shall see.

The ownership at Crawley has always been fun.

I'll think I will leave it at that as I quite like my house.

Casey

 

[JJ1990]

Lost £1.4m last season. A staggering amount for a club of our size. Easy to see why given our quite well explained breakdown. Lost £1.8m in total income, a lot which comes from no PL support(-£570k) and no major player sales(-£720k), 2 key streams of revenue that were almost totally absent. PL truly are greedy fucks.

 

[Chris FGR]

Didn't last long.

Forest Green Rovers part company with CEO

Marcus Reynolds leaves position after less than a year in role

www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk

 

[Indian Dan]

Our accounts are due soon - or as they’re known in these here parts, Aesop’s Fables.

 

[Chris FGR]

Seems on top of our CEO getting the boot our relatively recently appointed Conference & events manager and most importantly of all our useless Director of Football and head of recruitment have also all been sacked this week.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

Seems on top of our CEO getting the boot our relatively recently appointed Conference & events manager and most importantly of all our useless Director of Football and head of recruitment have also all been sacked this week.

I wonder if the clear-out was part of the discussions that got SC to agree to come? Should have happened ages ago. Rich Hughes made a fist of the DOF job but doesn't seem the right model for a club our size.

 

[Greenacres]

Seems on top of our CEO getting the boot our relatively recently appointed Conference & events manager and most importantly of all our useless Director of Football and head of recruitment have also all been sacked this week.

...unless Dale is prepared to listen to his staff when they challenge him, over one of his barking mad or stupid ideas, then it will be a constant rinse and repeat...if staff fear being sacked (allegedly) if they don't do exactly as he says then the club will continue to work in the way it currently is, with so much that could easily be avoided if the working environment was positive.

 

[Chris FGR]

I expect Steve Cotterill will be prepared to challenge him though, if necessary. I get the impression he's had a big say in the restructure away from the DoF - Head Coach model. So hopefully Vince continues listening to him.

 

[Greenacres]

I expect Steve Cotterill will be prepared to challenge him though, if necessary. I get the impression he's had a big say in the restructure away from the DoF - Head Coach model. So hopefully Vince continues listening to him.

Now up to five sackings...I wonder who is next...at this rate people will need to air dry their own chips and pour their pints at the next home game, unless replacements can be found sharpish.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

Turns out we had a Head of Football Operations and he's gone too. never heard of the man until today. What a farce that structure was.

 

[Chris FGR]

So a Director of Football, Head of Recruitment, Analysis & Innovation, and a Head of Football Operations. Modern football eh.

 

[Greenacres]

So a Director of Football, Head of Recruitment, Analysis & Innovation, and a Head of Football Operations. Modern football eh.

If it means that Dale finally ditches his "another way" mentality and runs the club like a football club then this raft of departures could be what we need...if he replaces them all with another bunch of yes people, willing to respond to his every whim, unwilling to challenge him or report bad news...what was the bloody point?

 

[The Jovial Forester]

If it means that Dale finally ditches his "another way" mentality and runs the club like a football club then this raft of departures could be what we need...if he replaces them all with another bunch of yes people, willing to respond to his every whim, unwilling to challenge him or report bad news...what was the bloody point?

As someone pointed out on our forum, SC left Shrewsbury when they brought this sort of set-up in, so doubt he'd be at us for it all to happen again.

 

[Essex2Wessex]

Good riddance to the entire lot of this useless shower: if this really was in part Cotterill's doing, the song about "super Stevie" is even more to the point than it was already. Although I think the threat of imminent relegation from the EFL, which had been so hard won (and, erm, a bit, bought, in effect) must surely have finally focussed Dale's mind a bit too, but a proper and credible football figure like Cotterill would perhaps give him some confidence about what should be done than anyone else around the club could.

I have a vague inkling that come the new Government, whenever that might be, Dale might perhaps be angling for a place in the House of Lords, so he can become some kind of Minister for Green Energy or something along those lines. FGR is clearly useful to his profile and purpose through, and more so if it's still in the EFL. So hopefully setting up the club, at last, to be well run might possibly be on the cards. (Interesting profile of Dale in the FT this week, naming him as one of three big businessmen making big donations to the Labour Party).

 

[Luke Imp]

Pretty sure one of the, or main, reason for Cotterill leaving Shrewsbury was because they were bringing a DoF in and changing the structure of the Club.

Floreat Salopia will be able to clarify that, though.

 

[F!RTHY]

We’ll announce great figures, but our fans will cry #RuppSparksout!

Sob sob fucking sob!

 

[dannylad01]

Pretty sure one of the, or main, reason for Cotterill leaving Shrewsbury was because they were bringing a DoF in and changing the structure of the Club.

Floreat Salopia will be able to clarify that, though.

Thats one of the reasons that Cotterill left in that he wasn't going to work with the new structure, so I can't imagine he was going to work with it at Forest Green.

Reason for the change in structure was supposed to become clear in the weeks and months that followed, but likely to be revealed when the accounts are released, with massive losses expected. Lots of rumours and heresy as to the causes of the losses

 

[Meadow]

Seems on top of our CEO getting the boot our relatively recently appointed Conference & events manager and most importantly of all our useless Director of Football and head of recruitment have also all been sacked this week.

Head of recruitment - Will Daniels. As far as I can make out he did the sum total of fuck all for us.

Get yourselves a football nerd like Craig Cope and you might get somewhere. We're not necessarily going to get promoted but we've vastly improved since Cope came on board.

 

[Gunit]

Lost £1.4m last season. A staggering amount for a club of our size. Easy to see why given our quite well explained breakdown. Lost £1.8m in total income, a lot which comes from no PL support(-£570k) and no major player sales(-£720k), 2 key streams of revenue that were almost totally absent. PL truly are greedy fucks.

What happened to the PL payments? Thought they were still going annually.

 

[JJ1990]

PL haven't handed them out this season due to the clubs up there squabbling over how much to give and how to distribute it. Apparently it's some of the smaller clubs who are holding it up as well. Short memories given a few of them might be asking for that money next season.

 

[Gunit]

PL haven't handed them out this season due to the clubs up there squabbling over how much to give and how to distribute it. Apparently it's some of the smaller clubs who are holding it up as well. Short memories given a few of them might be asking for that money next season.

Nor last season as you’re talking about last year’s accounts?? Surely that would blow a hole in every EFL 2 team’s budget?

 

[JJ1990]

Oh yeah. Must have been withheld last season also. And it clearly has blown teams budgets.