preston chairman quits

[lucky green trainers 0]

preston chairman quits - after taken just 1 point from 3 games (from us) - and finding his motor decorated in gob after their 3 nil home defeat at the weekend - he decided it was time to go.  he suggested other shareholders with more money than he should give the job a go now, or that new investors should have a tilt.  in other words - preston haven''t invested enough dosh this summer - either cos they can''t or won''t.  either way its a sign of the new reality gripping football in the UK -  where the dominent business model is to invest more than recoverable in income - to run the club at a loss, in the hope of gaining promotion, and likewise to stay in the prem.  its not pretty to watch, and i don''t agree with it, but traditional and properly managed clubs like preston and city are finding they are priced out of the market. whether we like it or not - we are probably worse off now than at any point in the last 40 years.  in all seriousness, i''m beginning to realise we can''t spend enough to get a squad together capable of mounting a top6 challenge - despite having record gates, and extra income from off-field activities.  its sad, but likely true, that this new reality has overtaken and passed us by for the time being.  i hope we can pull a rabbit out of the bag before the end of the tranny window - but i have to say its looking unlikely.   

[gissing canary 2]

I agree, great post.

It is a concerning fact, but its why we have to be realistic, and argue against these idiot fans who demand crazy spending - not the other way!  Until we get a billionaire owner, it is gonna be tough.  But we cant live on this hope we have to be realistic, and keep the club alive, I am happy dreaming we can put together a squad on the cheap and make it one year - than one year of glory and years and years of fear!

Also it shows poor Preston the league we are in - at least 10clubs fans are demanding promotion, and 6-10clubs are hoping - this cant happen!  Many will call for grants head if he doesnt get us up, as will many other clubs.  We have weaknesses, but I am happy we are always dreaming of the Premierleague again - rather than being a Bradford / Notts Forest / Leeds.

 

We need to get realistic - and also not let this cloud our judgement for allowing substandard play!

 

[a1canary 0]

Good post LGT, this is an all too common model for football clubs in the Champ and League 1 and it''s not pretty to watch the inevitable fall out when clubs don''t get the all prized promotion. Only 3 can go up after all out of probably 30-35 clubs in the Champ and League one who have realistic aspirations to play in the Premiership. Preston have been one of the stronger teams in the Championship for the last few years but never quite seem able to make that step up and now the club hierarchy is paying for that. Eventhough they may have been doing a really good job making them one of the more respected sides in the second tier of english football. I went to uni up there in 95 when they were in the old division 3!

[The Judge 0]

Agree we need to be realistic Gissing, however the danger is that in the medium to long term if we continue with our prudence with hollow words of ambition mantra there is only one way our club will go and that is downwards.

Just like this season, and last, and the one before that, there will continue to be clubs in the championship that will be bought out by rich benefactors. Add to them the clubs that come down from the Premiership with their huge amounts of parachute money and very very soon we will be in a position where we will be struggling to stay up. Not because our club isn''t being run properly, but because it simply can not financially compete. Especially with £22m worth of debt !

How can i ask are we ever going to pay this back if we stay in the Championship ?- answer is clear - Never ! How do we get out of the Championship ? - answer is - Invest (or get very lucky) ! Its risk versus reward.

Unfortunately for us all, like it or not the people currently running the club do not have the financial clout to compete in this league, add to this our financial debt (which I guess can be restructured in the future), and the fact Delia has this moralisitic view of how a football club should be run, despite the fact every one can see its a dirty, hard, winner takes all, business, then unfortunately you can only come to one conclusion. 

The post i read aren''t generally from people who are saying spend recklessly, people are saying that for alittle more investment (remember we have let more players go this summer than bought in, making a tidy positive contribution to the clubs finances at the same time) and a couple more quality players we can secure our place in the championship, aswell as giving us a realistic pop at the play-offs or promotion.

I don''t know what we should do to be honest, but i do know if we don''t invest this season you can bet your bottom dollar that we will need to invest a darn sight more in future seasons to give us that opportunity - and where will that money come from ??(and no it won''t be off-field activity income)