Wfc Finances

£25m+ for Chak next season, £25m+ for Baah. For every season, churn, churn, churn...

 

£500m!

 

Enough to make me want to give Pozzo the byrd…

 

Is that what he quoted you? He said he'd do it for £450m for me. Mates rates!

 

I struggle to keep up with where we are on the timeline, but if Duxbury wasn’t fibbing and the external debt was gone end of June 24 then surely the Asprilla money covers operating losses for many years into the future? I suspect we still owe a bundle in transfer instalments that Duxbury doesn’t count and all incoming instalments have already been borrowed against.

Hopefully the latest accounts will shed some light.

 

Be careful what you wish for. This year I bought a little place in France, and my local club is in Niort (Chamois Niortais). 2 years ago they were in Ligue 2, and were relegated. Last season they were playing Championat National 1, which is the equivalent of League 1. I went to the last game of the season; they were in 3rd, and a win + the second place team not winning would mean promotion. Unfortunately both won. I was surprised at how good the football was, and the stadium (which is a bit Vic-like with arched main stand, holds just over 10k).

So, I was looking forward to the programme for 24/25, so that I could maybe catch a few games. When I googled it they weren't there. I checked Ligue 2 to see if there had been an upset like points deduction for the promoted teams - nah. Maybe they've been relegated for financial irregularities - check Championnat 2 - nah.

So I google what's happened - they've been liquidated for debts of about 2m€. There's a tribunal to see if the club can be resurrected and which division it can play in. Eventually a new societé is formed and takes the name of the club, and is inducted into Régionale 3 - roughly the Isthmian League. They still play at the stadium, but obviously all the best players have walked, and because they are on a transfer embargo because of unpaid transfers, they can't sign players from other clubs (free agents are okay)

First 4 games of the season the squad was 12 players (and only 1 keeper). On the upside, they are unbeaten so far and have made it through to the 7th round of the French Cup (when Ligue 2 teams come in).

We all have dreams of glory, but just having a club to support is nice.

 

The French 2nd + 3rd tiers are a goldmine of talent, so many good players that could easily play at a much higher level.

French football is undergoing a bit of a financial crisis at the moment, there's been a few clubs that have gone under (Bordeaux the biggest and most well known), at the start of the season when the domestic TV rights deal was up for sale, there wasn't much interest from broadcasters (that's to show football on French TV!). Eventually a deal was signed but it was for the lowest sum the league has received for 20 years, which along with lack of interest from broadcasters abroad, has naturally had a knock on effect to clubs (both in Ligue 1 and below).

 

It must have improved a bit then, as I watched Strasbourg in Ligue 2 a few times in my year at uni there in 2006/7 and I thought the standard was noticeably below the Championship.

 

Not sure when it really started kicking off, but I first noticed it a season or 2 after Kante joined Leicester (around 15/16 it seems), this season players from Ligue 2 have joined Monaco, Marseille, Braga, Lyon, Man City, West Ham, Boro, Swansea, Burnley, Sheff Wed, Coventry.

I'd say you're right in that the quality is below the Championship, but the average player age is lower and the potential of a lot of players are higher than what we see in the Champ. Mix that potential and the often cheap fees, means that young players in that league get bought up quick.

Last season Burnley snapped up Odobert for €12m from Ligue 2 and flipped him to Spurs for double that in just 1 season.

 

Rhys Healey wants a word…

 

I still like him tbf! If he could stay fit I still reckon he'd be a decent Championship striker

 

It was fairly 'surreal' trying to watch this bloke play football!

 

Anyone else had the last desperate attempt to sign up email for the share / digital equity / own sweet FA thingy?

"Based on the amount contributed, owning shares puts investors in line for exclusive merchandise, stadium tours, premium hospitality, special player events, training ground tours and more."

 

Had an email to say that the digital begging bowl exercise closes on Sunday... looks to have raised $7,035,710 so far, or £5,476,752 to you. So that's 33% of the £17.5m they wanted to raise.

Still hard to believe that anyone parted with a penny for shares with no rights, let alone nearly £5.5m worth.

Wonder what happens to these riches - Mogi? Macquarie? A £5.3m player from Udinese?

 

Wow, it’s almost like it was never a good idea to begin with.

 

Super Danny Jebbison's loan fee I believe.

 

I don't think you can argue with them getting £5m for basically nothing. In some ways it's the ultimate heist.

 

Given it’s about a third of the target, I’d say it’s been a failure. The whole thing made me very uneasy to start with and that feeling hasn’t changed. I suspect the funds will be used purely to service debt.

 

Me too. But it was an entirely made up target. If I go out tonight hoping to scam 10 old ladies out of £1000 each but only come back with £4000, I'm still winning!

 

Yeah credit where credit is due. They have managed to sell thin air.

Who on earth are these people?

 

How much did you make?

 

People who have never watched 'The Producers'?!

 

Does anyone know anyone who "invested"?
Surely the podders stuck their hands in their pockets.

 

In reality we've probably got nowhere near that sum. Take off the admin and third part costs, plus aren't they just pledges so you've actually got to actually get the money in the clubs account.Then of course you've got Duxbury's substantial bonus for his extra work.

 

From what I hear, it's "Cowboys or Indians".
Maybe that means Cowboys for the present and Indians for the future.

 

Has anyone actually parted way with their money yet or is it just a commitment to do so?

 

Apparently all new investors have been sent their share certificates, sent an email advising that unfortunately the shares are now worthless, and sent a stamped-addressed envelope and a letter asking them to return their certificates for cancellation.
Ah well, win some, lose some.
"The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you can get back less than you originally invested".

 

Are you sure the envelopes actually had stamps on them?

 

Have you seen the price of stamps?!
Cheaper to buy a small car.