Article from a Sun Journalist (1 Viewer)

[Astute]

What part of missing out a lot of the truth is it to say that both sides are at fault in someway or another for the mess we are in, but if people just want to continue to blame SISU and Fisher and not look at the fact we have been bled dry for so long, each to there own I guess.

One side has tried to sort things out. One side has tried everything they can NOT to sort things out. Most of us are saying what is presently happening. A few are still going on about what happened years ago.

We should look at what is happening now and hope it all works out for our club and fans. Not point score on the past. We know who the most truthful are out of them.

 

---

[Nonleagueherewecome]

What a pile of crap. Usual Sun fare, then.

 

[chiefdave]

So he is wrong when he says only Leeds in the football league pay more rent? Is he wrong when he says we are the only club who does not benefit from other revenue sources? Go on then everyone. Tell is which other clubs have a worse deal and instead of the usual diatribe just answer the question which council run grounds on a day to day basis offer a WORSE deal.

I may be wrong here as I haven't looked it up but didn't ACL offer a reduction to £400K (which turned out to be less than WFC pay for the Bescott) and access to their share of F&B profits, plus cross invoicing of all F&B only to have it rejected by SISU?

 

[Astute]

So he is wrong when he says only Leeds in the football league pay more rent?

So only Leeds pay any rent?

Ah you are on about the old chestnut that all grounds are equal and should have the same rent payable.

 

[skybluebal]

The Sun journo has not looked at the really situation. SISU won't talk but would rather ware millions more on a pipe dream. The Ricoh will survive - they won't and, with regret, nor will CCFC in the dark land.

 

[hill83]

Fans believe the Ricoh is ours. Ok so if we were at our owned ground with an 18,000 capacity would we have had more revenue last season in that ground or the Ricoh?

You are correct, we would have had more revenue, a new ground makes sense to me. But f*ck all that, seriously, Sisu have taken this too damn far.

 

[The Penguin]

You're all still missing the point of the article.

This man is paid to call himself a journalist.

That's the real crime in all of this.

 

[Grendel]

So only Leeds pay any rent?

Ah you are on about the old chestnut that all grounds are equal and should have the same rent payable.

So you say all grounds equal. I ask again would last season under FPP would the club have been better off in a run down 18,000 capacity stadium or the Ricoh?

 

[italiahorse]

I am not talking about the figures, although admittedly it's good to know what ACL are making off the Ricoh off the backs of CCFC.

As agreed by CCFC many years ago.

The only thing you can blame ACL for is not realising CCFC plight under fair play rules.
ACL would have an economical model but perhaps needed it to be based on the football club being a loss leader as everything else on the complex is drawn in by them.
SISU and particularly TF know this and are exploiting it. That's what these people do and ACL never understood this.

If the new stadium ever gets built I will ride naked on one of my horses around the Ricoh.

 

[RoboCCFC90]

One side has tried to sort things out. One side has tried everything they can NOT to sort things out. Most of us are saying what is presently happening. A few are still going on about what happened years ago.

We should look at what is happening now and hope it all works out for our club and fans. Not point score on the past. We know who the most truthful are out of them.

We need to look at what is happening now? Okay lets do that CCFC is relocating to Northampton, why, because Tim Fisher states that we need to build our own home to profit from all revenues possible to enhance a better squad via FFP and a better club financially. Which is bang on 100% IMO, unfortunately the only thing that lets that down is we can't stay in Coventry, why, because we don't have a big enough second club in the city to groundshare with. Could we stay at the Ricoh? Yes we could stay at the Ricoh Arena and accept the offer that Hoffman laid on the table or the ACL offer, but there are two reasons why they won't they do this, a) Public Image - If SISU go back on a promise they have already made on not going back to the Ricoh then they lose any respect or dignity that they had left and be a complete laughing stock which could have effects outside the Football Club and on there business, b) SISU feel they will benefit more from groundsharing with NTFC.

Now I am not saying I genuinely believe with Fisher's thinking, I think moving from the City of which we bare our name is stupid and personally have never truly approved of the Ricoh in comparisant to Highfield Road. However as a fan I do not run the Football Club and with our current owners they are not connected to CCFC passionately like the fans are, they have invested time, effort and money (Or lack there of) into the Football Club. Football is a money orientated disease at this present moment as we all know and this is just another example of it, if you want someone to blame, blame the FA, blame the FL, blame UEFA, blame FIFA, then blame SISU, if this sport hadn't become so money orientated in the first place then the sport would be in the hands of those care about it most.

The fans.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

So he is wrong when he says only Leeds in the football league pay more rent? Is he wrong when he says we are the only club who does not benefit from other revenue sources? Go on then everyone. Tell is which other clubs have a worse deal and instead of the usual diatribe just answer the question which council run grounds on a day to day basis offer a WORSE deal.

The addict thing is unsavoury but what he is trying to get at us that people who rent a massive superstore may feel they are the biggest retailer in town but when they read the small print they are only allowed the proceeds akin to a corner shop.

Fans believe the Ricoh is ours. Ok so if we were at our owned ground with an 18,000 capacity would we have had more revenue last season in that ground or the Ricoh?

Of course Grendel but we couldn't afford to build our own ground

 

[Cityfan1]

I have no issue with the article pointing out the short coming's of ACL & CCC's involvement with the current plight that we are in at present, i believe 90% of CCFC fans would agree the club have had less than favourable dealing's with both regarding the Ricoh, be it the rent the F&B revenues etc, where i do have issue is the blind arrogance of the man to claim we are ignorant of this, and just blindly anti SISU. Our hatred towards the owners is based upon years of lie's, mismanagement, underfunding, insolvency, and ultimately the removal of our club from its home.

 

[RoboCCFC90]

So only Leeds pay any rent?

Ah you are on about the old chestnut that all grounds are equal and should have the same rent payable.

In fairness to what Grendel says Astute it say's "only Leeds in the football league pay more rent" which by that comment coupled with the article would suggest Leeds are the only club who pay more rent than us.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

In fairness to what Grendel says Astute it say's "only Leeds in the football league pay more rent" which by that comment coupled with the article would suggest Leeds are the only club who pay more rent than us.

Pay rent?
That would be good

 

[James Smith]

So he is wrong when he says only Leeds in the football league pay more rent? Is he wrong when he says we are the only club who does not benefit from other revenue sources? Go on then everyone. Tell is which other clubs have a worse deal and instead of the usual diatribe just answer the question which council run grounds on a day to day basis offer a WORSE deal.

The addict thing is unsavoury but what he is trying to get at us that people who rent a massive superstore may feel they are the biggest retailer in town but when they read the small print they are only allowed the proceeds akin to a corner shop.

Fans believe the Ricoh is ours. Ok so if we were at our owned ground with an 18,000 capacity would we have had more revenue last season in that ground or the Ricoh?

Are you talking about revenue for FFP or to cover the stadium construction costs/debts? In either event I guess it depends upon where the stadium is North Warwickshire/Coventry and how many fans can be persuaded to travel to it. Now from a financing point of view are debt repayments going to be covered by SISU, or are they coming out of the matchday revenue? Also to cover the debt repayments what margins are they expecting to make per fan and what average attendance do they need to break even?

 

[wingy]

So he is wrong when he says only Leeds in the football league pay more rent? Is he wrong when he says we are the only club who does not benefit from other revenue sources? Go on then everyone. Tell is which other clubs have a worse deal and instead of the usual diatribe just answer the question which council run grounds on a day to day basis offer a WORSE deal.

The addict thing is unsavoury but what he is trying to get at us that people who rent a massive superstore may feel they are the biggest retailer in town but when they read the small print they are only allowed the proceeds akin to a corner shop.

Fans believe the Ricoh is ours. Ok so if we were at our owned ground with an 18,000 capacity would we have had more revenue last season in that ground or the Ricoh?

How about the minimum £50M. Investment required to get to that point ,and the very real prospect of dropping through the Leagues while it Pans out ?Where will the competitive team required come from while they fund a probable £20m. loss without the cost of Construction, all to build some value into the Books so as to have something to Sell ,remember Deluded and Bell? Its the antithesis of keeping us competitive ,You also forget that this Stadium Is more than any other Stadia in comparison, and has the right to a Premium as It could be a different animal.

 

[RoboCCFC90]

Pay rent?
That would be good

Contracted to pay more rent.

Is that better for you?

 

[Astute]

In fairness to what Grendel says Astute it say's "only Leeds in the football league pay more rent" which by that comment coupled with the article would suggest Leeds are the only club who pay more rent than us.

So how much did we pay last year then?

 

[The Penguin]

We need to look at what is happening now? Okay lets do that CCFC is relocating to Northampton, why, because Tim Fisher states that we need to build our own home to profit from all revenues possible to enhance a better squad via FFP and a better club financially. Which is bang on 100% IMO, unfortunately the only thing that lets that down is we can't stay in Coventry, why, because we don't have a big enough second club in the city to groundshare with. Could we stay at the Ricoh? Yes we could stay at the Ricoh Arena and accept the offer that Hoffman laid on the table or the ACL offer, but there are two reasons why they won't they do this, a) Public Image - If SISU go back on a promise they have already made on not going back to the Ricoh then they lose any respect or dignity that they had left and be a complete laughing stock which could have effects outside the Football Club and on there business, b) SISU feel they will benefit more from groundsharing with NTFC.

Now I am not saying I genuinely believe with Fisher's thinking, I think moving from the City of which we bare our name is stupid and personally have never truly approved of the Ricoh in comparisant to Highfield Road. However as a fan I do not run the Football Club and with our current owners they are not connected to CCFC passionately like the fans are, they have invested time, effort and money (Or lack there of) into the Football Club. Football is a money orientated disease at this present moment as we all know and this is just another example of it, if you want someone to blame, blame the FA, blame the FL, blame UEFA, blame FIFA, then blame SISU, if this sport hadn't become so money orientated in the first place then the sport would be in the hands of those care about it most.

The fans.

I've stated before on here that I think we all accept we need to benefit from the extra money that a football stadium can generate. However we are gambling with the most important thing of all - the very existence of the football club - to try and get it in maybe three years, maybe five, maybe longer, who can say? We don't have a site, planning permission, a stadium design.....

If you're comfortable with that gamble, good for you. It may well pay off, and I sincerely hope it does. It is however more than likely that we'll do a Luton, continue to slide down the league into obscurity.

 

[Astute]

Contracted to pay more rent.

Is that better for you?

They said they wanted it cheaper. The loan that was outstanding was refinanced. They were offered a 66% cut in rent payable because of this. They still paid nothing. Threatened court action though.

The 400k offered is not a high rent for a ground. It is even lower than grounds that are nowhere near as good.

 

[Jack Griffin]

Utter bollocks

 

[Steve.B50]

http://dlvr.it/3dvdmZ

As someone with a Coventry postcode myself, I probably qualify to comment on the Sky Blues’ crisis.

Am I qualified to judge the rights and wrongs of it? Are you nuts?

Take a cocktail of DNA from Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Marie Curie and genetically engineer a super-genius.

It would still be left scratching its head, unable to sort out this omnishambles.

The bitter battle between Coventry City’s owners Sisu and ACL, the council backed company which owns the Ricoh Arena, is so acrimonious its way beyond mediation.

Gandhi would ditch pacifism and give these warring factions a pasting if he was still around!

Coventry fans praying for some 11th-hour solution which will keep them at the Ricoh are being delusional.

The club is hamstrung by new Financial Fair Play rules which force them to spend what they earn.

The problem is the Ricoh can NEVER provide City manager Steven Pressley with the resources he needs just to survive in League One.

So we are where we are — and sadly for Coventry fans that means a 34-mile hike to Northampton for home games for the next three seasons while a new stadium is built.

Sky Blue Trust Secretary Moz Baker slammed the Football League’s decision to sanction the temporary move and predicted: “Fans won’t travel to Northampton .

“The numbers going there will run into hundreds not, thousands. In three years’ time there probably won’t be a Coventry.”

Three years Moz? Did you read the Football League’s statement?

The part where they admitted they feared Coventry would be unable to see out NEXT SEASON!

The League warned of: “… a very real possibility of Coventry City being unable to fulfil its fixtures for next season. This would inevitably call into question the Club’s continued membership of the Football League.”

It’s impossible not to feel for fans who have been kicked from pillar to post since they left their spiritual home of 106 years, Highfield Road in 2005.

But they have to face up to stark reality, however unpalatable.

At the risk of being the most unpopular person in the area since the guy who handed Lady Godiva her robes back, it is possible the temporary move to Northampton might actually end Coventry’s real curse?

The Ricoh Arena has become as harmful as crack cocaine to Sky Blues fans — and I don’t use the simile lightly.

However difficult it is for them to accept it, their iconic stadium IS sucking the life and soul out of their club.

Leeds are the only club in the country who pay more in rent than Coventry, even though the Sky Blues are languishing in League One.

ACL hog the advertising boards, the catering, the hospitality, the car park fees, the stadium naming rights (worth £10million from Ricoh over 10 years).

Coventry wanted to attract more students by offering a free pie and a pint recently but were forced to scrap the plan because they couldn’t discount the food and drink at their own home games!

Yet fans’ Secretary Baker claimed: “We’ve got a perfectly good, state of the art stadium. We NEED to be playing at the Ricoh Arena.”

WRONG! Supporters NEED to realise a stadium which doesn’t bring in cash is not ‘perfectly good,’ while it continues to suck blood out of the club.

Coventry fans have to kick their Ricoh ‘habit,’ if they want the health of their club to improve.

It’s too easy to crucify Sisu for all of Coventry’s woes — easy and lazy.

ACL like to portray themselves as caring landlords, concerned by the fans’ plight.

They kindly offered to let Coventry play at home rent-free while the club was in administration. It was a slick piece of PR spin.

The council looked good and Sisu looked like the villains when the offer wasn’t taken up.

The reality is it wasn’t even their choice to make.

The club is now split into two companies and ACL’s offer was made to the company which is currently run by the administrator — and doesn’t possess any players!

You’d have thought such a cynical move, which raised fans’ hopes would have been denounced and showed up as a sham.

Yet the local Coventry paper has been fairly quiet on that one.

Perhaps that’s because one of the leading players in trying to wrestle control of the club away from Sisu also happens to sit on the Board of Trinity Mirror — the newspaper group which produces Coventry’s local paper!

Of course fans don’t want to lodge in Northampton for between three and five years.

But if they can grit their teeth and get through it they could be rewarded with a new stadium of their own which could pump fresh finance into the Sky Blues.

I understand three sites are currently under consideration. All three possess a Coventry postcode — and two of these are closer to the old Highfield Road than the Ricoh is.

Fingers crossed, Coventry fans might finally end up with a place to they can genuinely call THEIR home.

Interesting opinion, until he turns it into a bizarre Anti Trinity Mirror thing.

Am glad I do not read the Sun and after seeing this on here I hope no one ever does.
Looks like more SISU PR to me.
On another point Moz Baker is NOT the Secretary of the Sky Blue Trust.

 

[Astute]

So you say all grounds equal. I ask again would last season under FPP would the club have been better off in a run down 18,000 capacity stadium or the Ricoh?

Did I? Try reading again.

I ask (not again) will next season under FPP will the club be better off in a ground 34 miles from Cov that only holds 7,600 or the Ricoh?

 

[RegTheDonk]

I won't say its a load of bollocks, because clearly there IS a need to have a re-structuring of rent, F&B, car parking, naming rights etc if we were to return to the Ricoh. The only way this will happen is if CCFC actually have a stake in the stadium, which won't happen becasue SISU don't want to pay the price.

However, the Sun report falls flat on its face and contradicts these points in the final line - Fingers crossed, Coventry fans might finally end up with a place to they can genuinely call THEIR home. THEIR home??????

Anything Fisher builds won't be our home, because we won't fucking own it. It'll just be more debt round our neck until the can sell it to someone. And who in their right mind will pay £100 million for a tin pot ground (topped up with all the "dept" Joy reckons she has put in).

 

[BackRoomRummermill]

A very miopic article by the Sun , it is polarised to the extreme

 

[RoboCCFC90]

So how much did we pay last year then?

£00000000000

 

[Astute]

£00000000000

This is SISU we are talking about. You missed a few 0's off.

 

[RoboCCFC90]

I've stated before on here that I think we all accept we need to benefit from the extra money that a football stadium can generate. However we are gambling with the most important thing of all - the very existence of the football club - to try and get it in maybe three years, maybe five, maybe longer, who can say? We don't have a site, planning permission, a stadium design.....

If you're comfortable with that gamble, good for you. It may well pay off, and I sincerely hope it does. It is however more than likely that we'll do a Luton, continue to slide down the league into obscurity.

I agree its a huge gamble and not one for the weakened hearted however we all know that Coventry City FC to be a success must benefit from 100% of revenues generated from the home ground, now I wouldn't be unhappy if that ground was the Ricoh Arena, however the Ricoh is not the club's stadia and we are only tennants, put that together with both parties not being able to negotiate a packet of crisps then things look even bleaker. I don't want SISU to build a new ground, I want to them to use that funding to purchase a stake in the Ricoh but while SISU are in charge it'll never happen and unfortunately we are stuck in this very position.

 

[blueflint]

http://dlvr.it/3dvdmZ

As someone with a Coventry postcode myself, I probably qualify to comment on the Sky Blues’ crisis.

Am I qualified to judge the rights and wrongs of it? Are you nuts?

Take a cocktail of DNA from Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Marie Curie and genetically engineer a super-genius.

It would still be left scratching its head, unable to sort out this omnishambles.

The bitter battle between Coventry City’s owners Sisu and ACL, the council backed company which owns the Ricoh Arena, is so acrimonious its way beyond mediation.

Gandhi would ditch pacifism and give these warring factions a pasting if he was still around!

Coventry fans praying for some 11th-hour solution which will keep them at the Ricoh are being delusional.

The club is hamstrung by new Financial Fair Play rules which force them to spend what they earn.

The problem is the Ricoh can NEVER provide City manager Steven Pressley with the resources he needs just to survive in League One.

So we are where we are — and sadly for Coventry fans that means a 34-mile hike to Northampton for home games for the next three seasons while a new stadium is built.

Sky Blue Trust Secretary Moz Baker slammed the Football League’s decision to sanction the temporary move and predicted: “Fans won’t travel to Northampton .

“The numbers going there will run into hundreds not, thousands. In three years’ time there probably won’t be a Coventry.”

Three years Moz? Did you read the Football League’s statement?

The part where they admitted they feared Coventry would be unable to see out NEXT SEASON!

The League warned of: “… a very real possibility of Coventry City being unable to fulfil its fixtures for next season. This would inevitably call into question the Club’s continued membership of the Football League.”

It’s impossible not to feel for fans who have been kicked from pillar to post since they left their spiritual home of 106 years, Highfield Road in 2005.

But they have to face up to stark reality, however unpalatable.

At the risk of being the most unpopular person in the area since the guy who handed Lady Godiva her robes back, it is possible the temporary move to Northampton might actually end Coventry’s real curse?

The Ricoh Arena has become as harmful as crack cocaine to Sky Blues fans — and I don’t use the simile lightly.

However difficult it is for them to accept it, their iconic stadium IS sucking the life and soul out of their club.

Leeds are the only club in the country who pay more in rent than Coventry, even though the Sky Blues are languishing in League One.

ACL hog the advertising boards, the catering, the hospitality, the car park fees, the stadium naming rights (worth £10million from Ricoh over 10 years).

Coventry wanted to attract more students by offering a free pie and a pint recently but were forced to scrap the plan because they couldn’t discount the food and drink at their own home games!

Yet fans’ Secretary Baker claimed: “We’ve got a perfectly good, state of the art stadium. We NEED to be playing at the Ricoh Arena.”

WRONG! Supporters NEED to realise a stadium which doesn’t bring in cash is not ‘perfectly good,’ while it continues to suck blood out of the club.

Coventry fans have to kick their Ricoh ‘habit,’ if they want the health of their club to improve.

It’s too easy to crucify Sisu for all of Coventry’s woes — easy and lazy.

ACL like to portray themselves as caring landlords, concerned by the fans’ plight.

They kindly offered to let Coventry play at home rent-free while the club was in administration. It was a slick piece of PR spin.

The council looked good and Sisu looked like the villains when the offer wasn’t taken up.

The reality is it wasn’t even their choice to make.

The club is now split into two companies and ACL’s offer was made to the company which is currently run by the administrator — and doesn’t possess any players!

You’d have thought such a cynical move, which raised fans’ hopes would have been denounced and showed up as a sham.

Yet the local Coventry paper has been fairly quiet on that one.

Perhaps that’s because one of the leading players in trying to wrestle control of the club away from Sisu also happens to sit on the Board of Trinity Mirror — the newspaper group which produces Coventry’s local paper!

Of course fans don’t want to lodge in Northampton for between three and five years.

But if they can grit their teeth and get through it they could be rewarded with a new stadium of their own which could pump fresh finance into the Sky Blues.

I understand three sites are currently under consideration. All three possess a Coventry postcode — and two of these are closer to the old Highfield Road than the Ricoh is.

Fingers crossed, Coventry fans might finally end up with a place to they can genuinely call THEIR home.

Interesting opinion, until he turns it into a bizarre Anti Trinity Mirror thing.

where have you been the last 5 yrs m8 your article is utter bullshit and you probably know it

 

[blueflint]

So you say all grounds equal. I ask again would last season under FPP would the club have been better off in a run down 18,000 capacity stadium or the Ricoh?

how can all grounds be equal we had in the ricoh one of the most modern stadia around we wasted that by not agreeing to reduced rent and then trying to buy into the revenue streams as any other business
would the opportunity was there.with a successful team and positive football entertaining us we could of risen to prem status not now tho

 

[beduth]

the is just a Sun vs Mirror thing. The guys a nut case

The sun print so many lies you even have to check and make sure they have got the date correct , REMEMBER HOW THEY CRUCIFIED THE LIVERPOOL FANS OVER HILLSBOROUGH , that one paper non of our family will ever buy again .

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

How much rent or management fee do you think Sisu or otium or Ccfc holdings or sky blue leisure or arvo or someone will charge for our football club playing in arena 2017 just outside coventry??

 

[Seyeclops666]

To paraphrase Rolf Harris - Sun do rise early in the morning, spreading all the shite all around!!

 

[Seyeclops666]

Cheeky bstard SISU haven't paid any rent for over a year - !!

 

[Seyeclops666]

This is the dicks twitter account @graeme_bryce - unfortunately my twiitter account is linked to my job so I cant give him dogs abuse - feel free to do so on my behalf!!