Club update (17 Viewers)

[Hobo]

What you actually are saying is like Rotherham we should accept we are a L1 club that will have a few seasons now and again in the championship

I would hope we could maintain our Championship status somehow?

But I would rather be in League 1 than not exist.

We need new owners - but what have we to sell. There are lots of potentially big clubs out there with plenty of history. New owners are bringers of hope but not always bringers of the solution.

I admit I don't have a solution and I suspect neither do you?

 

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[SlowerThanPlatt]

But I would rather be in League 1 than not exist.

A middle ground exists

 

[Grendel]

Sisu basically have created a situation where people are just grateful for the club to exist

 

[KenilworthSkyBlue]

Come on now, you want me to give up time explaining to you what you already know?

A few short years ago, our entire retail operation consisted of a single shitty outlet in a supermarket; run by Just Sport, on crap commercial terms, churning out Nike templates and low grade leisure wear.

The Hummel deal has been hugely successful, and this pre-dated promotion and the return to the Ricoh. It is a huge success story in terms of sales and revenues, and we now have both an outlet at the ground and a city centre outlet (which we've not had for what, 15 years?).

A few years ago, we were the only club in the country with no physical ticket office - aside from part time use of a tiny window at CRFC. On matchdays at the Ricoh, we'd have to use the Wasps ticket office for a few hours, it was embarrassing. We now have our own ticket office.

A few years ago, the best we seemed to be able to do on shirt sponsorship was to go cap in hand to a local estate agents as nobody else seemed interested. Not so now.

We now seem to be switched on the licensing, there are a couple of arrangements, perhaps more. I doubt these bring in huge revenues, but it all counts.

On the return to the Ricoh we did get a better commercial deal and at least some access to parking and catering revenues.

Outside of the commercials, the academy seems more secure at the Higgs, there has been some investment at Ryton, and I think the general marketing via the social media team is good.

Now, you might say that some of these things are what any self-respecting club should have. Agreed. You might say that promotion has helped with some of this. Agreed.

The point being, that these improvements have happened, and some took place under very trying circumstances when we were playing outside of the city.

It's all very well criticising the owners and criticising the people who run the football club - fine, I'm sure some if it is justified. But, to not give any credit for any improvements made just makes it look like you have an agenda. There is no question in my mind that the club is better run now that at any point since SISU took control. That may be a low bar, but it happens to be true.

Outside what you've mentioned, the club's commercial strategy hasn't really changed since L1 - in fact you could argue in some aspects it's even more rudimentary as at least they attempted at trialling a few events such as the CCFC Race Day and a few After Dinner events and the kit reveal in L1.

Last season they failed at capitalising on the feel-good factor from the performances on the pitch and fans returning in their numbers. It's an issue that really needs to be tabled to Boddy and his team really as commercial revenue is essential to the club's bottom line and seemingly little is being done to improve it, or rather improvements are being made at a snails pace - and as you alluded to those improvements should be considered as the absolute bare minimum anyway, and any self-respecting club should have them in place already, certainly at this level.

As a Championship club they need to do better, be more creative and look at what can be improved further as last season they clearly rested on their laurels massively and relied on performances on the pitch to do their work for them.

 

[Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon]

Same. Its been clear from January that owners have no intention of driving the club forward.
Like others I'm bewildered as to why they're sticking around.

They're either content taking the interest payments out of the club (not sure how that's supposed to ultimately work out positively for them though), or they haven't formed a palatable exit plan yet. I do worry that they've dug themselves ever deeper into a hole that they can't get out of without a huge loss or some sort of miracle.

 

[Grendel]

They're either content taking the interest payments out of the club (not sure how that's supposed to ultimately work out positively for them though), or they haven't formed a palatable exit plan yet. I do worry that they've dug themselves ever deeper into a hole that they can't get out of without a huge loss or some sort of miracle.

Sisu aren’t losing money though

 

[fatso]

Why do we have a bottom 6 income? We have top ten crowds.

I don’t think the clubs ceiling is L1, and if that’s the owners ceiling they need to fuck off.

Because we don't own the Arena, we pay rent and have very limited access to revenue streams.
I'm not sure what our break even figure is concerning attendances, but clearly we arnt reaching it.
I'm sure Sisu would snatch the hand off anyone who is prepared to buy the club off them, but I doubt anyone would pay much for a business that's making a loss every year and needs constantly bailing out.

 

[Liquid Gold]

If the owners aren't putting the effort in why should we?

It's going to cost me a lot of fucking money to attend games this season, money that could be better spent elsewhere.

What is my motivation to put it into Coventry City when the grand scheme of our ambition is to scrape staying in this division?

 

[Grendel]

Because we don't own the Arena, we pay rent and have very limited access to revenue streams.
I'm not sure what our break even figure is concerning attendances, but clearly we arnt reaching it.
I'm sure Sisu would snatch the hand off anyone who is prepared to buy the club off them, but I doubt anyone would pay much for a business that's making a loss every year and needs constantly bailing out.

they aren’t bailing them out no money in for 10 years

 

[Liquid Gold]

Because we don't own the Arena, we pay rent and have very limited access to revenue streams.
I'm not sure what our break even figure is concerning attendances, but clearly we arnt reaching it.
I'm sure Sisu would snatch the hand off anyone who is prepared to buy the club off them, but I doubt anyone would pay much for a business that's making a loss every year and needs constantly bailing out.

How many years have they had to make progress on a stadium of our own though?

That fantasy isn't happening.

We know the strategy is to try and wait Wasps out but what if they get another bailout. We just have to sit and wait for another 5 years for something?

Fucking joke of a strategy.

 

[Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon]

Sisu aren’t losing money though

But are they putting in more than they are taking out in interest? I thought they were which would surely mean the debt continues to pile up without a realistic chance of being paid off. If that is the case then i dont see how that works out well for them in the long term? In the meantime the club just get fucked every season with an additional strain on the budget when they have to finance the interest payments.

 

[Grendel]

If the owners aren't putting the effort in why should we?

It's going to cost me a lot of fucking money to attend games this season, money that could be better spent elsewhere.

What is my motivation to put it into Coventry City when the grand scheme of our ambition is to scrape staying in this division?

The club statement was really an own goal

 

[Grendel]

But are they putting in more than they are taking out in interest? I thought they were which would surely mean the debt continues to pile up without a realistic chance of being paid off. If that is the case then i dont see how that works out well for them in the long term? In the meantime the club just get fucked every season with an additional strain on the budget when they have to finance the interest payments.

OSB linked a list and said since robins has been here £110k more Has come out than gone in

 

[theferret]

I admit I don't have a solution and I suspect neither do you?

Nobody has a solution. When you ask for it, they go all woolly and vague and go into full 'yeah but not but' mode.

Essentially, the only solution put forward seems to involve selling to a mysterious and non-existent oligarch waiting in the wings chomping at the bit to come in and ejaculate their filthy money all over CV6.

If only SISU would put the club up for sale - as if it isn't ALWAYS up for sale FFS.

In the absence of said oil baron with a bulging sack, the reality is we have owners who are conservative and averse to risk, so yes, we're treading water. As supporters though, we are powerless to change it, so lets just enjoy the football and cheer the fuck up. Just a suggestion like.

 

[Alkhen]

Sisu basically have created a situation where people are just grateful for the club to exist

Why so extreme? How about a being happy with a period of stability with a a view to slowly building when we can.

Personally I want success but absolutely do not want the club to over stretch our budgets and crash and burn spectacularly or slowly slip down the leagues like last time

 

[Grendel]

Why so extreme? How about a being happy with a period of stability with a a view to slowly building when we can.

Personally I want success but absolutely do not want the club to over stretch our budgets and crash and burn spectacularly or slowly slip down the leagues like last time

How under this model do we build?

 

[Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon]

OSB linked a list and said since robins has been here £110k more Has come out than gone in

Well that's particularly worrying then, unless the trend in recent years is towards them having to rack up a debt pile they are more likely to just keep milking us. What an inspiring thought!

 

[Hobo]

That’s what owning a Championship club is! If the game is too rich for your blood step away from the table. Instead it appears we are being held ransom by owners who have “managed expectations” so well that the down on its luck Championship side it took over is now expected to be seen as a great success.

All business is a gamble. You try and stack the odds with good recruitment and smart operating in a highly competitive market.

The expectation that the club should pay its own way on ticket sales and commercial (which is the implication in that statement) is ludicrous.

The strategy has to be selling the bigger players to allow for reinvestment and questions need asking as to why that hasn’t happen. Have recruitment fucked up? Have we overvalued? Is it just bad luck? None of these things going wrong should put the club in a desperate situation that forces them to reduce the quality of the squad at short notice and without manager approval.

Selling Hyam is a failure at the board level and one that by all accounts won’t even touch the sides of the bills we have to pay. If we can’t sell the big three and Joy isn’t willing to bridge the gap, how do we ever get back on track?

The idea that people are asking for some wild spending spree and not a considered and rational transfer strategy that both sustains the club and boosts the chances of the best managerial team we’ve had in a generation is frankly insulting.

I appreciate your detailed answer but you ignored my opening sentence.

Yes we are being held to ransom. Yes we do have to try and live off season ticket sales and shirt sales. Our budget is meagre.

Propelling progress via a transfer stratergy of buy cheap sell big is very difficult..

You have no solutions to the situation. You just have idealistic notions in your head what you would like to happen.

I have been supporting Coventry City for 50 years and we have never had good owners. Never have we had the stars alighed, ambition, managerial expertise at boardroom level and financial backup and an owner prepared to put real money in front of the cart.
Never.

So I just support the efforts being made by the team management and squad.

 

[Grendel]

Well that's particularly worrying then, unless the trend in recent years is towards them having to rack up a debt pile they are more likely to just keep milking us. What an inspiring thought!

We made money on big returns on transfers. When Boddy said we haven’t sold anyone in the championship he fails to mention we had over £1 m on the Wilson sale

 

[theferret]

Sisu basically have created a situation where people are just grateful for the club to exist

That just isn't true though. Content with a period of relative stability after years of turmoil - I'll give you that, but we all want the club to move forward.

Would you say CCFC is in a better or worse position (overall) than Portsmouth, Sheff Weds, Ipswich, Derby and Charlton? None of those clubs followed the 'unworkable' CCFC model and find themselves in L1, so how do you explain their situation and why is their model better long term?

 

[Grendel]

That just isn't true though. Content with a period of relative stability after years of turmoil - I'll give you that, but we all want the club to move forward.

Would you say CCFC is in a better or worse position (overall) than Portsmouth, Sheff Weds, Ipswich, Derby and Charlton? None of those clubs followed the 'unworkable' CCFC model and find themselves in L1, so how do you explain their situation and why is their model better long term?

We are in a far worse position than most of those clubs

 

[Alkhen]

How under this model do we build?

But I feel like we have built.

Better players have been added year on year. We have just hit a shitty patch where a number of factors have meant money is tighter than was planned for.

 

[KenilworthSkyBlue]

OSB linked a list and said since robins has been here £110k more Has come out than gone in

I assume that's only down to moving to St. Andrews. £1.6m was extracted in 2019 and I assume little, if anything, would've been injected if there wasn't an urgent need to plug the gap as a result of the significant drop in ticketing/commercial/sponsorship revenue as a result of the move?

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

We made money on big returns on transfers. When Boddy said we haven’t sold anyone in the championship he fails to mention we had over £1 m on the Wilson sale

Think £1.7m it was in the accounts

 

[David O'Day]

Lovely, another thread that is turned into nonsense about this years Max Biamou Dave Boddy

 

[theferret]

We are in a far worse position than most of those clubs

Ha, funny, I thought you were serious for a minute.

 

[lord_garrincha]

Please, can people show respect at the game tomorrow by NOT constantly singing SISU out!

Please sing The Owners out! Or don't bother attending!

 

[Matt smith]

Please, can people show respect at the game tomorrow by NOT constantly singing SISU out!

Please sing The Owners out! Or don't bother attending!

Oooooo can’t say sisu out can we

 

[Matt smith]

Oooooo can’t say sisu out can we

Getting straight on the owners backs for their dismal attempts in supporting MR and AV

 

[Evo1883]

Getting straight on the owners backs for their dismal attempts in supporting MR and AV

I think a toxic atmosphere is counter productive , and actually has the opposite effect fans would like it too

 

[theferret]

I think a toxic atmosphere is counter productive , and actually has the opposite effect fans would like it too

I don't think there will be much of that, or it will soon peter out. Outside of the cross-eyed types on SM and on here, I don't sense there is much appetite to go down that road again.

 

[Matt smith]

I think a toxic atmosphere is counter productive , and actually has the opposite effect fans would like it too

Oh don’t get me wrong, this will be after I’ve witnessed a consistent run of poor performances and results

I don’t think the toxic atmosphere will be too far away

if we don’t win tomorrow we’re pretty doomed I think

guarenteed loss at Norwich on Saturday I think

 

[clint van damme]

Why so extreme? How about a being happy with a period of stability with a a view to slowly building when we can.

Personally I want success but absolutely do not want the club to over stretch our budgets and crash and burn spectacularly or slowly slip down the leagues like last time

Stability? We've had one season back in Cov, had 3 league games postponed and 1 Cup game moved to Burton this season.
I'm not saying that's all on the owners but it's hardly stability no matter who's at fault.

And I've not seen anyone advocating spending silly money but it was clear once winter came last season that our squad was painfully thin and they didn't do enough to support Robins, even with loans.
They've given up trying to even progress us incrementally.

 

[Evo1883]

Oh don’t get me wrong, this will be after I’ve witnessed a consistent run of poor performances and results

I don’t think the toxic atmosphere will be too far away

if we don’t win tomorrow we’re pretty doomed

guarenteed loss at Norwich on Saturday

we need COH back disgustingly quick

Bit dramatic tbh

 

[Matt smith]

Stability? We've had one season back in Cov, had 3 league games postponed and 1 Cup game moved to Burton this season.
I'm not saying that's all on the owners but it's hardly stability no matter who's at fault.

And I've not seen anyone advocating spending silly money but it was clear once winter came last season that our squad was painfully thin and they didn't do enough to support Robins, even with loans.
They've given up trying to even progress us incrementally.

We’ll slip down the leagues more by doing what they’re doing