RUFC Accounts for Year Ending 30th June 2017

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

A club like Rotherham United need to find young good players, & hopefully sell on for a decent amount, like Crewe Alexandra have over the years turned out good players, then sold for a profit, which goes into the clubs coffers to keep the club afloat.
Its down to ground roots of football with a club having scouts to find a player or players that make the grade, then getting a good sum to benefit a club.
It seems now that match day receipts don't cover wages & expenses of a club, so sponsorship & tv money come into play, plus on match day sales.
Rotherham United keeping afloat is Stewart's priority, while hoping for some success along the way.

[KerrAvon]

The problem isn’t when he calls in his loans, it’s when he stops pumping money in.

Tony is now in his 70’s and at some point will want out. Any potential buyer of the club might not be happy with the lease terms. Then what??

Just about every club is dependent upon the largesse of its owners and vulnerable to a change of circumstances when that ownership changes. There’s no point worrying about it, because it won’t change a thing.

If a potential buyer isn’t happy with the terms of the lease then they won’t buy. If Stewart wants to sell and the terms of the lease are an obstacle to that, he would have an incentive to change them. But, again, why worry? Will it change things?

The other option for a buyer is to do what Stewart did when he wasn’t happy with the terms on Millmoor. That worked out quite well.

[KerrAvon]

A club like Rotherham United need to find young good players, & hopefully sell on for a decent amount, like Crewe Alexandra have over the years turned out good players, then sold for a profit, which goes into the clubs coffers to keep the club afloat.
Its down to ground roots of football with a club having scouts to find a player or players that make the grade, then getting a good sum to benefit a club.
It seems now that match day receipts don't cover wages & expenses of a club, so sponsorship & tv money come into play, plus on match day sales.
Rotherham United keeping afloat is Stewart's priority, while hoping for some success along the way.

That sounds great, but it is fraught with risk. Scouts cost money. And suppose you take on ten young players with that intention. They will all need training, medical and physiotherapist etc. support and, of course, will all need paying. If you manage to get one decent one out of the batch of ten, you will still be paying the nine until you can offload them at the end of their contracts.

And, of course, it is a strategy predicated upon the notion that you will sell your best and most promising players. Ask a Barnsley supporter how that is working out for them

It sounds good, but as a strategy is based on having a lot of luck. Barnsley have done well with it in the last couple of years, but it remains to seen if that was luck or whether it is sustainable.

[wrinkly]

That sounds great, but it is fraught with risk. Scouts cost money. And suppose you take on ten young players with that intention. They will all need training, medical and physiotherapist etc. support and, of course, will all need paying. If you manage to get one decent one out of the batch of ten, you will still be paying the nine until you can offload them at the end of their contracts.

And, of course, it is a strategy predicated upon the notion that you will sell your best and most promising players. Ask a Barnsley supporter how that is working out for them

It sounds good, but as a strategy is based on having a lot of luck. Barnsley have done well with it in the last couple of years, but it remains to seen if that was luck or whether it is sustainable.

I'm with you on this. A frequent criticism of the club is the failure to "grow our own". Academies are massively expensive and very few succeed, especially at our level. As you say the "good life" approach sounds great but is, more than likely, unsustainable.

[mellowmiller]

A club like Rotherham United need to find young good players, & hopefully sell on for a decent amount, like Crewe Alexandra have over the years turned out good players, then sold for a profit, which goes into the clubs coffers to keep the club afloat.
Its down to ground roots of football with a club having scouts to find a player or players that make the grade, then getting a good sum to benefit a club.
It seems now that match day receipts don't cover wages & expenses of a club, so sponsorship & tv money come into play, plus on match day sales.
Rotherham United keeping afloat is Stewart's priority, while hoping for some success along the way.

I know I've said it before but I prefer the Peterborough approach to player development because it's more likely to bear fruit than the convoluted academy/youth development systems that have very low success rates.
Peterborough look in non league and the lower leagues and have proved there are some gems out there that can flourish with a bit of polishing.

[welovebooth]

Of course the revenue and wages are going to drop there is a massive difference between championship and league 1.

[caytonmiller]

Of course the revenue and wages are going to drop there is a massive difference between championship and league 1.

who you replying to m8?

[mygiddypant]

Yes theoretically ASD Lighting could call in it's loans, but what would be the point? Both the club and ASD are owned by the same person. What would he achieve by effectively using one of the companies to close the second down.

The ground is owned by RU Estates - a company owned by the same person as the club. Whatever the legal niceties, the ground and club are, in effect, owned by the same person.

TS' ownership is both a strength and a weakness. While he remains active he is the mainstay which (hopefully) guarantees the continuing existence of the club. Once Tony exits, the running of the club will presumably pass on to his son. My perception is that
Richard is less enthusiastic and may want to cash in his inheritance. I hope that I'm wrong.

[sawmiller]

TS' ownership is both a strength and a weakness. While he remains active he is the mainstay which (hopefully) guarantees the continuing existence of the club. Once Tony exits, the running of the club will presumably pass on to his son. My perception is that
Richard is less enthusiastic and may want to cash in his inheritance. I hope that I'm wrong.

The unecessary abuse on social media hasn’t exactly helped in that respect 😕

[frogmiller]

I'm with you on this. A frequent criticism of the club is the failure to "grow our own". Academies are massively expensive and very few succeed, especially at our level. As you say the "good life" approach sounds great but is, more than likely, unsustainable.

Whilst I understand yours and Kerrs argument but I believe that the club must have some sort of youth set up. It gives young lads and lasses from Rotherham the chance of connecting with RUFC and in some kids it'll make their dreams come true from a young age.

As for as an academy and it's cost and are they worth it. The best tallented young lads will be cherry picked by the clubs with a proven track record of bringing kids through to play for the first team. Our record is dire and with other clubs in close proximety we don't stand a chance.

What we should have is an academy for failed young pros. I know it's a bit of a fantacy but finding the late developers may be worth a shot. Maybe one for a new thread.