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[Archived] Blackburn Rovers Accounts 2008


AndyNeil

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Guest Kamy100

The last paragraph of John William's report is the stark reality facing the club:

"without funding from our owner we are inevitably moving from a trading club to a net selling club. It is the simple economics of a club with a small fan base".

For me this means relegation this year would mean the club we see this time next year would be vastly different and returning back to the premier league could take many many years. Secondly even if we survive this year we are likely to be back in the same position next season unless we find a suitable buyer.

Hopefully Phillip will be able to provide his usual excellent overview of the accounts.

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I think on a very quick glance of the Chairman's report the thing that stood out to me was that the Trustees only loaned the £3m to the club for this year's campaign and it has to be repaid.

I pointed this out several months ago on here I think.

Going back to Kamy's point about not having funding from our owners, surely this goes back to the same old point that surely the Trustees must be contravening Jack's wishes.

And I fail to see why we have to be a "net selling club" when we are turning in a substantial annual operating profit thanks to the new TV money.

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And I fail to see why we have to be a "net selling club" when we are turning in a substantial annual operating profit thanks to the new TV money.

My gut feeling on this Rev is that they envisage in the future that maybe not this season, but eventually sooner rather than later we are going to take the drop and that their hands are rooted firmly and deeply in their pockets.

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I pointed this out several months ago on here I think.

Apologies if you did, RB, I didn't see it.

And I fail to see why we have to be a "net selling club" when we are turning in a substantial annual operating profit thanks to the new TV money.

I think JW makes it clear we certainly won't be making an operating profit this year. If we manage to scrape a 17th place turnover will be down around £7m on last season and fewer live tv appearances (14 last season compared with only 5 so far this) means a further £4m drop. So if everything else stayed the same, which is unlikely as wages/costs will be up and match day turnover down, we're looking at an £8m loss compared to a £3m profit. Thankfully the Bentley money will reduce that.

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My gut feeling on this Rev is that they envisage in the future that maybe not this season, but eventually sooner rather than later we are going to take the drop and that their hands are rooted firmly and deeply in their pockets.

Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

- They are preparing for relegation (financially)

- They are reluctant to invest in Blackburn Rovers Football Club, either because they have no satisfaction from seeing it prosper, or can't due to other financial commitments and lack of liquidity

- This means good players will leave the club and not be replaced - even if we make a decent profit

- Therefore the quality of the playing staff suffers

- So we can no longer compete in this league

- Resulting in relegation

Is it possible that the trustees are reducing the costs and debt of the club in order to reduce their losses (or maximise their gains) when the club is sold for a smaller amount than they want?

I'd be surprised if the trust that Jack set up allowed this to happen? Although I am surprised at the £3m being a loan - tax purposes?

Sounds like if we are to avoid oblivion, it's survive this season and find a buyer in the summer...

Simples!

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Going back to Kamy's point about not having funding from our owners, surely this goes back to the same old point that surely the Trustees must be contravening Jack's wishes.

We do not know Jack's wishes but surely there are checks in place to make sure they follow them.

However Jack did make noises time and again about wanting Rovers to be, ultimately, self-financing. Perhaps there was a time limit set on when the Trust could start reducing the money they were liable to invest. Perhaps there was a time limit before they could look for buyers. It seems the requirements put in place by Jack regarding such a sale will make finding a buyer difficult if not impossible.

I find it hard to believe the Trust would just stop following Jack's wishes. In the years after his death they invested huge amounts on first getting us back up and then on the likes of Cole and Grabbi. After that there seemed to be a sort of sliding scale to their investment before finally they took the 3 million out as well. Therefore it is reasonable to hypothesise that eventually the point of the Trust was to create a self-sufficiency at the club then pass it on to someone else to run.

It could be that we are bound by the conditions for sale required by the Trust at a time when there is no longer a necessity for them to invest further.

Either way...we seem in limbo somewhat.

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I pointed this out several months ago on here I think.

Going back to Kamy's point about not having funding from our owners, surely this goes back to the same old point that surely the Trustees must be contravening Jack's wishes.

And I fail to see why we have to be a "net selling club" when we are turning in a substantial annual operating profit thanks to the new TV money.

I find it strange that if a person owns a business and they not willing to fund it - it can surely mean one thing, they trustees are happy for the business to go bust.

Maybe supporters should get a public petition going to try to encourage (force) the trustees to start funding the business they own. I hate to say this, but if the owners are not willing to fund the football club, why should supporters?

I strongley believe that if the trustees, the board and whoever else at Rovers are not willing to help the club, then it has to the supporters who have to try to act. How is a different matter. A sit in protest after a home game or something.

BACK FROM LUNCH, ALL O/S REQUESTS DEALT WITH AND INBOX NOW EMPTY ...

Thanks received mine from you via email - thanks again.

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I think these statements goes to show how vital it is for us to keep our Premier League status. This was also the reasoning behind the sacking of Paul Ince I believe. If we were financially sound, maybe Incey would have got a few games longer. However, it just goes to show that we (hopefully) acted at the right time.

So the £3million we recieved from the Trustees was a loan? Was it some sort of p[ublicity stunt then, just to show the media that they are investing in the club?

Disgusting, What would Uncle Jack be saying. How we miss the Bif Fella :(

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