Are we really broke?

[alexthe great]

Since 2012 the club must have taken in an excess of 4 million in transfer fees and we were told that Nick Powells fee would finance the academy for four or five years, since then we have had money for Westwood and Murphy. At the present we are being led to believe there is no money to even bring in emergency replacements. It poses the question were as the money gone? are we broke or is the board reluctant to release money that they have set aside to finance future academy years.If this is the case it’s a dangerous policy as in my opinion the way things are being allowed to progress we are in danger of being the first club in the Conference to have a Cat.2 Academy

[Timmy58]

I suspect the money has been loaned to a certain person hence the shortage.

[alexthe great]

Then if that is the case I certainly wasted my money on a season ticket and see no point in supporting a team just to generate funds for dodgy individuals, time to boycot for me, starting with the cup,although I believed that the dodgy coffee share dealing went on before the above mentioned deals obviously I,m wrong.

[AlexLeicester]

I do not know, and conjecture seems a little pointless, but on a business principle I would have thought that setting aside sums to ensure the future of the club is a priority. Further income (from player sales and gates) is then available for day-to-day running. Instead of courting insolvency we have to live within our means - that's just logic.
What is needed is for Alex supporters to attend games and enjoy the company of people who go; applaud the occasional Alex goal; and watch more skilful football than is usually found for free elsewhere. I am led to believe that we are short of cash - therefore this is no time for petulance. It is the time to show support.

[alexthe great]

Well Leicester you show your support if you are convinced that we are not being sold a red herring by the Board but what with no Balance Sheets being produced,total silence from the chairman and the shenanagins that have gone on in the past, unlike you i am not convinced that we are not being taken for a ride.
With regard to petulance with which i take as being refering to me I can only say I have supported the team since 1955 and renewed the season ticket which I have held for the last thirty years on the promise made by the Chairman "that we won't let this happen again"so I maintain the only people not showing support are the people running the club.Unfortunately the only way that I can show my displeasure at the way the club is ignoring the supporters, is by not attending matches that I have not already paid for(cup matches), and I suspect a lot more people will be joining me.

[OgerAlex]

In business things change. I'm more and more of the belief that the current situation with the academy needs to be reviewed. Surely in its current guise it is the epitome of not living within your means?. I wouldn't have contemplated questioning its status a few years back but downgrading it's category has to be considered now.
The club seems to have fallen into a mess. Ultimately this stems from the stench emanating from the boardroom. We all know the individual concerned, but the fact the others quite happily tow the line is pathetic. There needs to be fresh blood brought into all areas of the club. Easier said than done when the board seems a closed shop. We constantly get reminded about the state of Stockport or tranmere, but on the flip side look at Bournemouth, the journey Wigan have been on and the rise of Burton.
It's a depressing time to be following the Alex at the moment. There are fundamental issues wrong with the club, which fans need to address, and challenge. A blink

[Nexus_6_Replicant]

There needs to be fresh blood brought into all areas of the club. Easier said than done when the board seems a closed shop.

Really? It was a few years back that an opportunity to pretty much buy the club presented itself (was it an advert in The Times or some such journal?) and there were no takers (asset strippers aside). Stuck with it, I'm afraid.

The silence from the Boardroom in relation to our last few years of struggle has been incredible though, I'd agree. I'm not sure this makes all involved equally culpable though.

[somersetcrewe]

We constantly get reminded about the state of Stockport or tranmere, but on the flip side look at Bournemouth, the journey Wigan have been on and the rise of Burton.

Bournemouth and Wigan are very much exceptions to the rule. They, like Fleetwood to a lesser degree below them, have bought their success. Is that what you want? I know I don't!
MikeSB yearns for a return to football in the 60s. I myself am a little younger and draw comparisons with times pre-Premier League before money (and foreign mercenaries - off as well as on the field), became the ruination of our beloved sport
And look at Wigan now anyway, it can all come crashing down once the benefactor jacks it in!
Nope - comparisons to Tranmere and Stockport, plus Grimsby, Lincoln, Wrexham, Halifax, Cheltenham, Macclesfied, Scarborough, Torquay, Yeovil and others are far more appropriate.


[quote="OgerAlex"] It's a depressing time to be fol

[bigroof]

The club used to loan to Mr Hassall, didn't it, and he repayed with interest; so there was always money that was more like a 'nest egg', and not actually used on the team or the facilities. When he got into difficulties (do I really have to say 'allegedly' here), the club couldn't be sure of that nest egg, hence the caution, which the club is still exercising now, amidst the mysterious (to most of us) creation of various sub-companies. This is the simplified version, I know.
Two or three years ago, we heard that three (?) directors put up some of their own money, which needed paying back. Do we expect the directors of our chosen football club to pay out for our continued pleasure, or not?
Why the club can't explain these sorts of things, I don't know. Perhaps they view their directors' financial affairs as private, which seems reasonable.
Steve Davis says, often enough, that money is tight. Is it an excuse, or a fact?
There are players he's signed, either on loan, or on the payrol

[AlexLeicester]

I am of the view that we are reading some well thought out and argued comments. The fact that I disagree with them is neither here nor there.
I don't think anybody has 'shut up' (ergo, the comments on here), but I feel that lambasting a Board that is adamant in its belief in the long term future of our club is off the mark.
It's easy to be negative when the club needs support because the team is not performing on the pitch. For me, going to the Alex is more than just football: it's the people, the banter and the 'occasion'. It's a full day out.
I'd much rather follow my team and applaud the honesty of the way it's run, than the creeping, insidious and, frankly terrifying, thought that the club may disappear for ever. I feel sorry for Leeds fans at the moment; for Vale fans all the time; and for fans of clubs that have fallen so far (Hereford, for example) or simply ceased to exist.
I've never really asked myself why I go to watch the Alex. If it was solely for football, then I'd no