oldskyblue58,
I have read most of your posts and you seem to know about economics.
Most of what I have read in your posts are about the current situation - where we are today.
I would like your view on how we got here. Who (if any) are to blame and would you prefer SISU out with RR/Hoff back at the helm?
Have some knowledge yes due to my business but really I am only offering an opinion based on the meagre information available. Somehow my idea of transparency and SISU'S differs
. What follows is just my opinion....
Dont think you can blame any one particular party in this mess, its been a "team" effort. RR and SISU arrived with good intentions and saved the club from administration. Some would argue that we should have taken administration then perhaps the medicine then might have been better I dont know. What does puzzle me is why SISU - apparent sharp operators financially - chose to buy all the debt (discounted in some ways) when they could have bought the club in administration at 25p in the pound of debt in administration. Obviously they were on restricted funds and somehow this may have been better use of funds and freed up more funds for transfers - not sure we will ever know.
Yes they have put funds into the club to keep it going, basically covering the wages to keep the players CCFC had, but they never had a fund to invest properly in the squad. Look at the transfers since they came in I reckon that its about break even or maybe a small profit on transfer dealings. SISU clearly didnt buy into what RR was trying to do.... whether thats lack of understanding, wrong person etc I dont know.... but very quickly RR learnt that the funds would not be there, the players he wanted to bring in would not be financed, and those he wanted to build a team around were being sold. There needed to be a gamble that worked because that would improve player values, and increase crowd numbers and propel the club forward, SISU took the money men from the City attitude and crunched numbers that said they couldnt afford to do it. For them it was the right decision, well i have to assume that, but for CCFC it created a world of restriction and lack of confidence.
However no one is innocent and there are always two sides. SISU clearly relied on RR to advise on football matters and to set up the original deal. Not sure he was clear enough. However dont level the blame for underinvestment at him because SISU would have done their own due diligence on the scheme and still bought in. In terms of buying CCFC I think they made a bad investment decision for them. However look a bit deeper have they used this as a means to an end but it cost them a little more than expected. What they really wanted wasnt CCFC at all but the Stadium and behind that the Prozone Group, both capable of making money. They havent invested in the stadium because CCFC has cost £20m + more than they thought. Yes they got caught by recession.... but the stock market is now above the crash levels and a recession isnt a bad time for everyone investors can make huge sums if they know what they are doing. RR employed on his recommendation managers that really should have produced more and didnt and the difference between the AB season and now is stark. THat affected the crowds and whole morale of the club. I just dont think that SISU went into this properly equipped, I think RR didnt properly understand who he was getting involved with and made some questionnable decisions, CCFC needed more and better, result has been a slow bleed to the current mess.
However it wasnt RR or SISU that got us to the original mess, that was done over many years and by various different managements all of whom share some blame. The club has meandered and slipped away over the last 20 years with too many fingers in the pie and no proper control. There has been no plan to produce a successful club, merely one crisis after another. No business is ever successful unless it has a clear vision. I think what SISU and to a lesser extent RR have done is to compound it, not worked in a common direction. SISU held 84% of the shares and controlled all the finances in that sense they ran the club and RR was just a front man having to toe the party line, SISU cant hide from their responsibility. Yes they "saved" the club but they controlled what has happened since and frankly made a mess of it. I have never known so many city fans so distanced from the club they love and that is SISU's doing. They are trying to change that but many do not trust them - funny thing trust takes ages to build and is gone in seconds.
Do I trust in SISU to get it right, to be honest no. The new board seem to lurch from one mistake or misquote to another. There is a lot of words from the board but precious little action, it is hard to give them time when the trust isnt there. There is I feel a hidden agenda with this board particularly when you listen to how they dodge questions. So do I want SISU running the club no but have to put up with it until they choose to go or the club ceases.
Do I want RR and MH to take over the club..... I quite like RR and his approach, MH has financial pedigree to match any of the current Board. But I dont know what their plans are ...... I would however being very willing to listen to them
What I really want is a successful team..... I cant affect who brings that...... but I want a team that at least challenges at the top of the table!
