Transfer Market

[all]

I have followed the Alex for over fifty years, home and away and already have my season ticket for the coming season.
However, whenever I visit this forum or the OS all I seem to hear is that players are preferring to go just about anywhere because of our wage structure and an apparent inability to offer anywhere near the going rate for first div players. I look around and find the likes of our near neighbours appearing to offer greater financial rewards, whilst smaller teams in terms of gates seem, also to attract players. How many of this years first div clubs have netted larger incoming transfer fees across the last two or three seasons, not too many I suspect.
It gives me no pleasure to ask the question, but do the board wish us to float about at the bottom of the league or even fall to div two, whilst not appearing to take any financial risks whatever. Can we ever challenge for promotion from this division?

[MikeSB]

Now had I said all that, someone would accuse me of being negative. Even though I have said it before many times.

We are told by the club and other fans that we don't operate like any other club and all our transfer money goes into the academy to then sell on other players with the money going to the academy which money goes...

Well you get the drift.

Also apparently all these other clubs have 'Sugar Daddies'. But most people with money don't seem to give it away and want a return on it. So who are all these guys?

I would guess that we go where the kids take us as Dario used to say and that loan players will come in as required as we blood a few more kids in the first team. It is possible of course that the new intake so to speak may be of a similar calibre that took us to the Championship but the only problem is we don't seem to keep hold of any decent ones like we could and they are sold asap and so that in itself is counter productive to the ambition of the fans who have to

[AlexLeicester]

The way Football League clubs operate has been changing for years, and there seems to be a growth in instability all centred around money. That growth seems to have accelerate, if slowly, and I can see a coming implosion. The Alex will survive where clubs with a proven history of financial failure and dodginess (e.g. Vale, Notts County) will disappear.

If the price of having a club to support in a few years is to struggle and stick to the solid ethos of bringing through young kids to first team success and an upward career trajectory, then so be it.
Do we really want Hassall to put money in? When he inevitably takes it out the club could go bust. Personally Ia€™d rather have a Board that manages prudently, takes little out of the club, and does not see it is a get-rich-quick business opportunity. Bowler is an exemplary exponent of what Chairing a football club should be.

[number1stuartevans]

hassall put money IN ???!!!??? What f***in planet are you guys on?

[OgerAlex]

hassall put money IN ???!!!??? What f***in planet are you guys on?

Wasent it not so long ago he 'borrowed' 1m quid and paid the club back in shares or something like that?. What the hell was that all about??. Even if I'm wrong and he did repay in cash we're not a sodding bank and shouldn't entertain such dealings.

[albert]

I think if you look at the at the club in its entirety and in particular the time the current board have been in situ, there have over the many years been instances where the board have injected their own cash to maintain the club, paying players wages etc; I agree that on paper "the Loan" and its non reimbursement causes concern it should be looked at perspectively. My view is that the current board have ensured that Crewe Alexandra is a self supporting viable self sustaining business for the long term and in the current business climate sustainability is the key issue.
And realistically if they were to pump in a few million, then that would need pumping in continually to keep the status quo which would not be possible in the long term as our board are not billionaires.
unless of course we sell to a Russian or Chinese owner.
I am happy to see home grown talent be brought through and sold on and wish them all the luck for the future and truly believe that if more clubs operated as ou

[AlexLeicester]

Get your head out of that shed, Albert - unless there's a cold beer in there. I could not find fault with anything you've written there ... not that I was looking. :-D

Thank you saying what I was thinking.

[OgerAlex]

No one can deny the board we have bring an air of stability to the club. I think a lot of frustration stems from the fact we always seem to be close to the edge financially despite selling on a regular basis. It wasent so long ago we gained at least 5m in transfer fees (Powell, Westy and Luke Murphy) with two appearances at Wembley and associated tv coverage. However we are already in a position where we have to off load the higher earners and tootle has been pretty much marketed by the club for a move (numerous articles about him being ready to step up). I'm a great admirer of the academy, yet a genuine figure of how much it is costing to operate would be welcome.