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Baggies fans give their reaction to the possible sale of the club after chairman Jeremy Peace announced he was looking for ’significant’ new investment.
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32 Comments
As said on the rest of the stories, for teh club to progress to the next level and really make a impact on the premiership you need big investment.
The club has been run brilliantly over the last 10 years but in todays football climate you need a sugar daddy to bank roll any serious assault in he big time.
As a wolves fan and business man and investor myself I have to admire the way wba has been run financially and progressed. In the emiership and at worst 1 years money and 2 years parachute payments to start with, fantastic. Another plus point is albion v wolves in notorously the fiercest derby in the countrywhich attracts attention.
However, unfortunately there are limitations to buying a club like westbrom from an investors point of view. In terms of accounts and figures this is the stumbling block. You were fantastic last season but even when you were top and cruising you stil gave away (no money for tickets and loss on police and stewarding) 3000 tickets and alot of tickets for a tenner (possibly breaking even- no profit on those tickets)
The area is not attractive nor big enough to compete with villa wolves or blues.The investor I predict will not be a billionaire but a very healthy millionaire but will not throw huge mney at it because of the above. The guy who wrotethat article yesturday predicted newcastle to be bankrupt now!? I really hope you stay up.
Laughing - you have said many times that you are in investor and so claim some knowledge of this situation… but how many football takeovers have you been involved in ??
From my non-professional viewpoint, i don’t think millionaire or billionaire investors give a fig about attendances…. and as we regularly get over 20,000 in the championship with that many season tickets already sold for next year its not even an issue.
Do you think Abramovich is worried about Chelsea attendances ?? He makes millions from the premier league, SKY, TV worldwide, the champions league, etc ect….
I don’t think chelsea always sell out even now…. and clubs like Fulham and Wigan get well below our figures (I think there were 6 prem clubs with lower attendabces than us last season).
So whilst I have no idea what will happen, who will come in for us, or how much they will pay, i’m pretty sure our balance sheet (which is in the black) will be of more concern than how many fans came against preston.
Laughing, I have to agree with Happy on this one too. Even in the case of Wolves, Sir Jack must have taken massive losses during his time in charge including writing off all the debt when he sold it to Morgan. As he is also an investor and business man I assume he knew he would not make anything out of it. Likewise the guy at Man City, they will never really challenge United and he is still shovelling in the cash in. Investment in football does not follow normal business rules and you could argue that Abramovic and Shinawatra have big egos and are fuelling them through the football clubs. Making money certainly in these cases does not seem to be important. I accept that any takeover has its risks but there is also a potential upside. lets wait and see as whichever way you look at it the Albion at the present moment are an attractive proposition
Laughingwolf
Even though you have “dressed it up” differently,
your angle is still repetitive.
We all know we do not have as many paying customers as yourselves or Blues, the difference however is negligible, and given the size of our respective catchment areas and
population therein, it is hardly a “eureka” moment is it.
I could argue, and with some justification, that per-capita we are better supported,
however such arguments are futile, because we will never concede to each other.
On the point you make about the area not being attractive enough……yes, again we know that the area is somewhat disheveled, by virtue of being ravaged by the collapse of the industrial age,
but please you make it sound like Wolverhampton and Birmingham have been miraculously transported to Beverly Hills.
Sir jack was a wolvesfanaticthis was his hobby his luxerynot his business, businessmen are o to make money, make no mistake there. Attendances are vital like chlseas dropped and mourinho got sacked after winning 5 trophys. h will also be loking at the long term if there not just looking to sell when your an stablished premiership club at a profit nd te cub has lmited potential wth bigger clubs and areas likely to take future supporters. Actually happy football takeovers is what i studied in business and investing. My earlier comments show what factors ar looked upon before purchasing. Steve morgan is now owner f wolves as his hobby he also one day get us established and sell and make a huge profit. ffeece is he has a legally biding cotrct to invest at least 30 mil your chairman will sell pocketing the money himself with no guarantee of investment into the club but if they want success its vital that they do.
2.. We all know that West Brom run a fine football in the community programme and thats why the tickets where given to the local schools ,they have done this for years. Why wolves fans seem to make such a big deal is beyond me.
As for the £10 tickets its good PR we are at the moment still a family club.
As happy said do you really think that a potential owner cares about how many people watch the team in the stadium, when the premier league beams its pictures to millions and millions of people world wide.
Laughingwolf, don`t take this the wrong way but you don`t sound like a businessman in that you havn`t quite grasped the concept.
What is so attractive about WBA is that they are making a profit, have no debts, are in the Premiership, have the prem windfall and parachute payments in the bag - all this despite not filling the ground every week, and giving a few tickets away each week at discounted rates.
If they were selling out each week, at full price and still stuck in the championship then I could understand serious people with serious money shying away.
Fair play to Mr.Morgan he had 3 numbers on the lottery come up and has bought WWFC, but even he would admit that WBAFC is a far more mouthwatering proposition.
Laughing, what do you invest in, you can’t just call yourself an investor, it is not a job title.
Also, i thought most businessmen could spell YESTERDAY, not yesturday!!!
Whoever takes charge at the Hawthorns has in prospect got a cushy job, they do not have to consolidate any debts, there is no backroom issue’s as many clubs have just of late, superb support for the team Home & Away, a good basis of a squad to work with and help build foundations for an assault on the Premiership.
Also the academy status we have is exceptional and with TM wanting to get his hand in with that side of things I can only see a rosy future. I do hope the person who comes in is credible and that he don’t deliver promises he can’t keep (like investing £30 million but seeing no return from it).
All in all I waited with baited breath to see where all this publicity leads.
Hi Tony - good to see you back - hope everything is ok.
Given laughingwolfs history of posting nothing but anti albion drivel on here for many months i take this sudden transformation to an unbiased commentator with a huge bucket of salt.
No one outside of the boadroom knows where we are with this sale, who’s coming in, how much they will spend ect….I love the speculation, but thats all we can do till JP announces whats happening.
I think it’s potential that matters as much as actual attendance figures. A successful Premiership club in this area has the potential to attract far more supporters than Baggies, Wolves, Blues or even Villa have attracted so far. The number of youngsters in our area that follow Man Utd/Chelsea etc is amazing. If these saw a local club worth watching who were charging reasonable prices I think that local clubs grounds could be filled week after week. In the case of the Baggies I believe it’s critical that they appeal to all sections of the community in particular the Asian supporters a lot of whom follow teams like Man Utd and Liverpool. Look at Wolves when they were playing in the lower reaches and only attracting 4-5,000 regularly. Better grounds, football, stamping out racism have all brought the crowds back. If sides like the Baggies can add success to that I believe that they can attract huge gates in this area.
Happy, Thanks mate, yes everything okay.
To be honest mate, I’ve read Laughins posts…sorry drivel and i’ve now learn’t to take postings like that with a pinch of salt and not respond.
As regard to boardroom I agree also there is probably only an handfull of people that know what is actually going on and the rest is speculation, until we see some concrete action and a statement on the officail website i will also take that in the same way I take Laughins posts. In my opinion though I suspect that Peace has something in mind and maybe we will see developments very soon.
LAUGHING WILF,,best investment you could make son is buying yourself a baggies shirt,,boingboing,,SUPA RICH BAGGIES PLAYING THE MOWBRAY WAY,,IN STYLE OF COURSE,,OOOOOOOOOOOH YES.
To be honest, as I have already said, I’m not looking at this from a football fans point of view but as a businessmans point of view.
Yes mike no.9 an investor is a job title infact, I myself have investments in land, property and the fnancial market.
7. baggie boy you are family club but you would NOT have GIVEN 3000 tickets if they could if been sold nd also reduced if could and should of been sold at full price.
Happy baggie my friend you can believe what ever you like hence why we are on football comments page but am only looking at things from a ptential buyers point of view. If youo down which you are very likely o those sason ticket holders will soo dissapear again and the no tv money etc.
My views have been nothinbut complimentary about the way the alion has been run and I’m not claming to some sort of genius but I am just stating the rules of investment as that s how i make mine with te greatest of respect.
stevie g you also hae added expenses of transfer fees players wages bonuses etc.
no.10 its not a ‘promise’ its a ‘legally binding contract’ over a period of time not 0 months that he has run the club!
Having read 15 & 16 does anyone fancy asking laughingwolf to make investments on their behalf ??
Can you imagine HIS letter turning up on JP’s desk ?
Daer Jeremey,
On behalf ov my cliant i would like to mek an offer for sandwell town.
I will giv you £9.99 coz ur club is a slum and so wurf less than the mighty Wulves.
tek it or leeve it - you will get reagated anyway.
Yours, laughingwolf.
p.s - i’m just an investor and so unbiased.
Lafin ..Post 6 you say about attendances utter rubbish! Morionio wassacked due to a fall out with the man that owns the club nothing at all to do with attendances. I agree that should a wealthy buisness man come in for albion then yes attendances may have a impact but to be fair success breeds interest and thats what will fill the seats, but if a filthy rich man or woman purchased the club they would not care how many came through the turnstiles.
Football clubs to these people are just status symbols Chelsea owe 1 billion pounds and are losing well over a million pound a month but the owner seems not to care its just a game to these people
Laughin wolf.
Pack it in mate, even us wolves fans are cringing. We all know you`re not an investor and you`re not making any valid points either.
And as far as the spelling goes, did you actually go to school?
Laughingwolf. I must say how impressed I am with your diverse investment portfolio. However, being an `Investor´ myself, I would stress that property and land is not necessarily yielding the most fantastic returns at present is it. And we all know how the Ftse has been performing of late. Personally I would recommend a closer look at commodities, in fact the fine wine market has been showing me 20% + annually over the last few years, free of capital gains tax! But I sure you already know this. Maybe WBA should appoint you as Chief Advisor!
I can confirm that Laughing Wolf is indeed an investor in a multi national company. Every week he buys two lucky dips in the same paper shop as me.
On his brilliant point about our fan base not being sufficient. You have to agree, QPR would have no chance of attracting three billionaires would they?
On the subject of fan base. Our crowds took a cut back in the 60s and70s when much of the local housing was demolished and given over to industrial building. Added to this was that most of the housing on the Birmingham side of the ground being inhabited by Asians and Afro/Carribeans who had little interest in football. An encouraging sign is a healthy increase in the attendance of this section of the population at the Hawthorns, helped by the fact that there is no racism at our club.
PS LW.
If your secretary is typing these entries up for you, give her the Alan Sugar ‘you’re fired’ as she obviously has little grasp of basic English. Just another problem of being a multi national ‘investor.’
As a non-investor, except WBBS have my bit of cash in ISAs etc., I am not rich so cannot comment on the successful. They have a drive for money I found somewhat distasteful, but generally they are articulate people with a VERY sharp eye for detail. That said, would you trust a penny of your cash with Laughing Wolf? I lost count of the howling clangers dropped in those few posts. No.2 post was reasonable and before the excessive liquid lunch of the rest of his diatribes.
Comment 17 - quality post mate.
its all about fashionable brands and lets face it wolverhampton /west bromwich are both a long way from being a either fashionable or a brand in a worldwide sense.Can wolves and Albion get into the prem and stay there, i believe they will,Albion are there and i believe wolves will be within the next 2 years.We must hope that what happens in America doesnt happen to the premiership where there is no relegation and promotion in most of their top sports.
Guys,
Have just twigged it. Laughing Wolf, Invester in land property and the stock market, so that makes him a Laughing Stock doesn’t it?
I suppose he was another one that followed them all the way down to the fourth division and back. If you believe the drivel thay write they were attracting 25,000 fans then.
Anyway we all know something is in the wind I just hope JP concludes things a little more quickley than he usually does.
Peace makes announcement in press
Peace is off to london
Means investor already identified
Just what we need
The lord is my sheppard
Boing
COST DEL SOL BAGGIE- I am awe of the returnson investment in wine and it cetainly something something of interts with the figures, however, I know every little about this sector and land is going pon average 40% per year even with the economy the way it is. The laws of economics suply and demand we are set ol be 2 million houses short in 3 years? Seems the albion fans will not listen to m knowldge a i am a wolves fan.
Wakeybaggie I have been going to wolve for 20 years since I was five. My points were not about football but about business and to e host is a typical football fan response when i as referring to business. 22- I do ok thank you, I don’t claim to be a genius but I am fairy wise for my tender years!
excuse my keybord!
Laughingwolf, no hard feelings, just having a laugh! But quite simply, at the right price, any investment is worth it!
No worries costa. Do you invest in any other ares other than wine?
Laughingwolf. A few bits and bobs. Maybe we could have a chat. Would be nice to get some feedback.
Anyway back to the footy!Will look out for your future posts.Who is top of your Wolves hit list for this season! All I seem to do is bump into wolves fans out here, the banter is great!