| Gambling with our future? 16:31 - Oct 3 with 6856 views | londonlisa2001 |
Some on here have asked the question if today is the day that our club ended as we know it.
Extreme? Possibly, yes. But in 6 months or so, we have gone from a fan owned 'proper football club', rightly lauded for our ability to 'do things differently' to a club making decisions for reasons that have almost nothing to do with football.
Because this is the first managerial appointment that I can think of which has been made for purely commercial reasons. Not the sacking of Guidolin, deeply unsavoury though the treatment of a real gentleman has been. But the appointment of Bob Bradley in his place. A man with a footballing record that can at best be described as fair to middling, yet a man who is as close to a household name in the US as any football manager can possibly be. Someone who has never been considered for any other Premier League position, and as the current manager of a French Second Division team, would be pretty low down any list of candidates we would or should reasonably expect.
Make no mistake, this decision has been made for one reason and one reason only. To dramatically increase the profile of a small, unfashionable mid table Premier League team. Outside the giants of the British game, there will be no Premier League club that is now more spoken about in the US media than Swansea City. No club that will receive more analysis. No club that will attract the attention of more vaguely interested US sports fans. When the attention of the US sports channels turns each week to the Premier League, few results if any will be reported before the result of Bob Bradley FC. In depth articles will be written on the 'breakthrough' of the first American manager to take over a top level team. Commentators will discuss at length his selections, formations and which US players would be best suited to join the Swansea 'roster'.
And that enormous boost to our profile will lead, or so our new owners hope, to an equally enormous boost to our commercial potential. Companies that would have rightly asked 'who' when our name was mentioned, will suddenly find us interesting. And when they hear of the rags to riches backstory, conveniently laid out (with some artistic licence) in a ready made film, then we suddenly become a very interesting proposition indeed.
The problem with all this, of course, is that we have relegation in the Premier League. And, however interested the US becomes in us, that interest will vanish overnight if we find ourselves in the championship next season. It will also take a hell of a lot of extra commercial activity to replace £150m each season in TV money.
I guess we now know what the new owners meant when they talked about 'increasing our commercial activity' and 'achieving the next level'.
But it's a huge gamble - swapping a tried and tested European manager who most fans believe would have kept us up bringing in another £150m or so, and the chance to do it again next year, for a few extra minutes on Fox every weekend, some Twitter trends and possible new deals for stadium naming rights and front of shirt. Deals that will last until the final whistle of our game against West Brom next May if Bob Bradley finds the Premier League too much for him.
Tell us Jason - do you feel lucky? |  | | |  |
| Gambling with our future? on 20:58 - Oct 3 with 1423 views | costalotta |
| Gambling with our future? on 19:47 - Oct 3 by Nookiejack |
When we get relegated and the Americans:-
1. sell off all our best players and the players on the highest wages and replace them with players on £1k a week
2. bank the parachute money over the next 2 seasons.
Is there any way they can get money out of the club - to pay back their investment - I assume through dividends - without having to also pay the Trust's 21% share? |
Its likely they will be in profit, if are not already, by the end of the season as things stand. |  | | |
| Gambling with our future? on 20:59 - Oct 3 with 1418 views | costalotta |
| Gambling with our future? on 20:57 - Oct 3 by londonlisa2001 |
I agree with you - thats the bit they don't get. I really don't think they understand how hard this league is. It's a massive gamble, but the commercial returns are only too obvious - look at some of our American fans saying about the number of people talking about this in the US.
I'm waiting to see who our coaches are... |
Gary Linebacker? | | | |
| Gambling with our future? on 21:01 - Oct 3 with 1412 views | londonlisa2001 |
| Gambling with our future? on 20:58 - Oct 3 by costalotta |
Its likely they will be in profit, if are not already, by the end of the season as things stand. |
No they won't.
They've a long way to go before they take £70m cash back out of the club. Until then, everything is simply paper profit which is meaningless. | | | |
| Gambling with our future? on 22:47 - Oct 3 with 1313 views | Brynmill_Jack |
| Gambling with our future? on 18:13 - Oct 3 by nierika |
He has previously been considered to manage West Brom, Aston Villa, Fulham and Hull City. But please continue to write him off because of his age and where he has been. |
It's not so much where he has been as where he is now - the French second division. |  |
| Each time I go to Bedd - au........................ |
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| Gambling with our future? on 23:17 - Oct 3 with 1268 views | jacktar |
| Gambling with our future? on 22:47 - Oct 3 by Brynmill_Jack |
It's not so much where he has been as where he is now - the French second division. |
I think you'll find he's in the EPL now.  |  |
| We shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush you know! |
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| Gambling with our future? on 23:20 - Oct 3 with 1258 views | SwansNZ |
| Gambling with our future? on 23:17 - Oct 3 by jacktar |
I think you'll find he's in the EPL now. |
He must be good then |  |
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| Gambling with our future? on 08:45 - Oct 4 with 1169 views | costalotta |
| Gambling with our future? on 21:01 - Oct 3 by londonlisa2001 |
No they won't.
They've a long way to go before they take £70m cash back out of the club. Until then, everything is simply paper profit which is meaningless. |
Ok.
I'm sure you know more about these workings than I do so I will take that on board.
I was only basing it on the math...
Summer just gone...
Transfer fees received > Transfers fees paid thus there's profit there.
Speculating : TV Money coming in is by far greater than what was last year. So if no more money spent and after taking away wages i'd say they will be well and truly in profit.
Now, getting the cash out is another thing and they may be a but dim when it comes to football and appointing managers and DOFs but I'm sure these Americans now exactly what their doing when it comes to money. | | | |
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