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I presume this is the total investment (or as Ray Trew put it the black hole) made in the club including all the debts incurred or passed over from the Trew era?Originally Posted by irishpete
So breaking this down there will be the upgrades around the club in infrastructure such as the conference and banqueting facilities, the gym / sports hall under the Family Stand and also the Players Changing room. These improvements are like what someone would do when they move into a new house.
Then there will be the costs associated with playing side which will presumably be the largest financial outlay and include all salaries for the coaches, managers and players that have been at the club in the past two years. Unfortunately this will be inflated because of the financial cost of the departure of Kevin Nolan, the appointment of Kewell and the departure of Kewell. Then there are the contracts of the players signed this summer.
I imagine the club will still be losing £X per week, month and year which I can’t remember what figure was quoted by AH when he took over, so there will also be that shortfall that needs to be plugged on a constant basis.
Obviously as a supporter I’m greatful and appreciative of all that Alan Hardy has done to help progress the club. He has made mistakes which have had significant financial costs, but it’s his money and as a rookie chairman I guess it can be expected. I don’t think there is any doubt about his effort and commitment in wanting what is best for the club and putting his money where his mouth is when backing his managers.
However he has been badly let down by those whom were involved in the playing side as I don’t think anyone envisaged how much things would collapse on the field from the start of 2018 all the way through to now. I know some people will say “well he employed them”, but at the end of the day you employ experts in roles beyond your own capacity to take that responsibly and the old adage of you don’t have a dog and bark yourself is true in this respect. The players, coaches and former managers have to be accountable and take their share for the reasons and blame behind our current plight. It can’t all be on the shoulders of the chairman even though the buck does stop with him. He has admitted he’s made mistakes and appears to be doing everything he can to rectify them by bringing in Paul Hart and Neal Ardley.
Anyway it all started to fall apart for me when we lost 8-1 to Swansea in the FA Cup 4th round replay on 06/02/18. We’ve never been the same on the field since then.
