HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF!

[ricky 0]

Lot of people are not going to agree with me but i cant help feeling that history is repeating itself. Buildings not team strenghening seem to be the main aim again. We sit 2nd in league but in all honesty now losing the loan players can anyone honestly see us mounting a challenge for promotion.
We may get some more loan players in but really don''t think they will be of the quality of the ones we had. I will agree the south stand was a mess and the ground will look great with the new stand but what''s the point if your not going to fill it.
I see in the paper today the 8 match season ticket is selling well for the stand but these supporters are not going to come another season if what they see is mid table football. I really hope im wrong and the team can sustain their position in the league but sadly we saw early in the season before the loan players had arrived that we were a mid table side.
I realise running a football clubs finances must be terrible these days but being a fan like thousands of others it is just so demoralising that we are so close to the premier yet so far. Please board don''t let this season fade. The stand will be great but it''s the team the supporters come to see.

[Mcsncfcmcs 0]

I see you point. But the whole problem we have got is that we cannot currently generate the revenue to pay the wages etc of those extra quality players we need. Last season showed that. Selling out the home section in more or less every game still did not bring in enough money. That is why the new stand is essential, especially to the playing side. A posible 4,000 extra tickets at each home game is a lot of money. And of course you have to take into account this includes 10 Exec. boxes and the additional 312 executive seating which brings in a hell of a lot of money. Its a chicken and egg situation over which comes first I suppose. But if you don''t have the money to pay wages/transfer fees now then you cannot fufill your commitments without going even further into debt. Lets face it, having the extra capacity to fill gives the board a real incentive to spend a bit more on players as at least if you then fill the stand you are getting some financial reward on your investment if you don''t gain promotion. (On a side note, its worth considering that the board still sanctioned the loans of Crouch, Hucks and Harper knowing that during those 3 months they would see no real financial benefit in terms of extra ticket sales). Now, due to the money we are losing this season, we won''t truly see the benefits of extra revenue until part way into next season. So I''m not confident there will be much investment in players this January, but from next summer we will always have that option (buying players in the knowledge we will raise extra revenue).

On top of that is the general argument that the stand simply had to be rebuilt, and now is the best time as there is clearly a demand for tickets that we cannot currently supply. And don''t forget how the stand will eventually be funded: the sale of the residential land. We do not hold a great amount of assets which we can sell, and that piece of land is the most lucrative. Once we spend the money then its gone, we cannot just go and sell another piece of land in 5 years time. So spending this money on players would be a terrible decision for the future of NCFC. By spending it on the stand you have the option to generate much more revenue for years and years, as opposed to the lottery that is spending money on players. Any player can get injured or lose form, so thats not a reason not to sign someone. But it is a reason not to risk the profits from the sale of one of the very few sellable assets we have. So I don''t feel this is a case of "Buildings not team strenghening" as you put it, because no one with any common sense or financial knowlegde would have risked that money on players.

I''m just as frustrated about the situation, because like you say we seem so close to success. But I really believe building the stand was completely the right decision. There is some money there for more loan deals, and as we were able to bring in the likes of Crouch and Hucks, maybe we will be able to bring in similar quality again. I don''t see the point in just giving up as there are many other players out there. I don''t care if they are not "name" players, or not Premier league loanees. Whoever they are and wherever they come from they will desrve our support, and if they do the job then we will all be happy.

[Carrow89 0]

Perhaps you might care to tell us who authorised the signing and payments of the three loanees. The fans ?

Building the newstand is obligatory. The south stand would be closed for good within a season.

It is ridiculous to suggest that the budget for ground development should could be used for funding the playing staff.

If so what next ?

Flog all the seats and ask the fans to bring in camping stools. Don''t replace the floodlights, instead get the fans to bring torches to night matches.

Lets get rid of the ground all together and follow the likes of Brighton and Wimbledon.
(Curiously though Brighton seem more concerned with acquiring a ground big enough rather than any worries over playing staff or league position.)

So what is the point of a wasted attempt at promotion with three sided stadium ?

[First Wizard 0]

Typical reply Master Green as usual, very silly and somwhat boring, sorry friend. The original poster was only making their point.