Annual results / AGM 27th November

[compo 7,042]

We need another man of the calibre of the late Freddie Fletcher on our board .

[buster. 5,194]

27 minutes ago, compo said:

We need another man of the calibre of the late Freddie Fletcher on our board .

Somewhat ironic that Freddie Fletcher died just as Ashley was getting his claws into Rangers, given his previous roles at both clubs.

 

A penny for his thoughts in his last few months.

[Bill 13,717]

11 hours ago, pete said:

I believe totally that we have a financial plan and that was not my argument. I didn't mean to bring that over. The point I was trying to make is that football is such an unpredictable business that more often than not financial projections will go out the window and need to be re-adjusted. In ordinary business you can look at what you made this year and what new orders are in the pipeline what your production limitations are, new investment in a machine park etc and make a prediction. In football one injured player can turn your season around. if you have ever watched the Lions Den then the people are asked for a 3 year projection. Most are fantasy and dreams.

There isn't a business I know where a cancelled order, a significant bad debt, an unexpected resignation, a change in export legislation, a swing in FX rates, new competitive technology, or any number of factors, can have an impact on projections. Which is exactly why companies take weekly or monthly soundings in the form of financial variance reports. Many businesses have to cope with unpredictability, football is no different and there's absolutely no basis for football clubs adopting less stringent management oversight.

 

BTW if you have any interest in business I'm not sure Dragons Den is where you'll learn anything. It's a highly scripted entertainment show.

[Bluedell 5,626]

11 hours ago, pete said:

I believe totally that we have a financial plan and that was not my argument. I didn't mean to bring that over. The point I was trying to make is that football is such an unpredictable business that more often than not financial projections will go out the window and need to be re-adjusted. In ordinary business you can look at what you made this year and what new orders are in the pipeline what your production limitations are, new investment in a machine park etc and make a prediction. In football one injured player can turn your season around. if you have ever watched the Lions Den then the people are asked for a 3 year projection. Most are fantasy and dreams.

I don't think it's that unpredictable. There will be various scenarios covering European cash and domestic cup runs but it wouldn't be too difficult to have a worst case and an expected scenario, and even a few others if required.

 

Largely anything that has happened this year should be covered and if we do something unexpected like qualify for the group stages then it's just a bonus.

 

Most companies have a degree of variance in their business models and it shouldn't be too difficult for someone who knows their business to manage it within their overall strategic plan.

[buster. 5,194]

The issue isn't about having or not having 'a plan'....Obviously, we do.

 

It's about announcing it to the shareholders/public/media or not..........or how much of it, beyond legal requirements, to divulge.

 

Recent experience suggests that it's better to say less, rather than more.

 

Various ongoing legal matters also increase levels of unpredictability.

[pete 2,499]

55 minutes ago, Bill said:

There isn't a business I know where a cancelled order, a significant bad debt, an unexpected resignation, a change in export legislation, a swing in FX rates, new competitive technology, or any number of factors, can have an impact on projections. Which is exactly why companies take weekly or monthly soundings in the form of financial variance reports. Many businesses have to cope with unpredictability, football is no different and there's absolutely no basis for football clubs adopting less stringent management oversight.

 

BTW if you have any interest in business I'm not sure Dragons Den is where you'll learn anything. It's a highly scripted entertainment show.

Nah the only projection I can make is at the end of the month I will be in the red. I am very consistent in that though I normally have my prediction spot on. 

[JohnMc 2,754]

I find it hard to believe there's not a costed, agreed three year plan. We're in the unusual business of signing employees on fixed length contracts so someone, somewhere, must have budgeted for them you'd hope. Our directors aren't idiots, a number of them are involved in successful businesses, as such they'll be used to working with projections and budgets. I suspect Mr Gerrard was given assurances around budgets for players when he signed, I suspect these budgets were for the next few years, not just until May. 

In many ways Rangers are in the enviable position of knowing exactly what they can expect to earn. TV deals, league position and cup position already have agreed amounts, so we already know what we'll earn based on finishing top of the league or bottom of the league, winning a cup or going out in the 1st round. We must also know what it costs to host a match at Ibrox and what our breakeven point is on attendance, so again a fair degree of accuracy can be used when projecting income from there. Sponsorships are also negotiated in advance, so we must know what's expected from that, I assume based on how we do in the league/cups.  Lastly season tickets, an educated guess can easily be made on numbers from this source based on success on the park, or lack thereof. Only retail income and player sale income is unknown currently. 

 

I've been away a lot recently and missed the publishing of these figures. I'm a little surprised we're all as calm about them as we seem to be. They're not only awful but clearly they're unsustainable. While they can be explained in terms of the 'Pedro experiment' going wrong they should lead to some serious questions being asked of our directors. What would become of the club if, God forbid, something was to happen to King or one of the three Bear's health? Any business plan that requires Champion's League group stage involvement sounds like a foolhardy and ruinous one to me. I know we face issues around Ashley and the deals with him as well as the farcical TV revenue we receive, but that's the world we currently inhabit and we need to live accordingly. King is a gambler, I'm nervous of the odds he's playing. 

[buster. 5,194]

31 minutes ago, JohnMc said:

I find it hard to believe there's not a costed, agreed three year plan. We're in the unusual business of signing employees on fixed length contracts so someone, somewhere, must have budgeted for them you'd hope. Our directors aren't idiots, a number of them are involved in successful businesses, as such they'll be used to working with projections and budgets. I suspect Mr Gerrard was given assurances around budgets for players when he signed, I suspect these budgets were for the next few years, not just until May. 

In many ways Rangers are in the enviable position of knowing exactly what they can expect to earn. TV deals, league position and cup position already have agreed amounts, so we already know what we'll earn based on finishing top of the league or bottom of the league, winning a cup or going out in the 1st round. We must also know what it costs to host a match at Ibrox and what our breakeven point is on attendance, so again a fair degree of accuracy can be used when projecting income from there. Sponsorships are also negotiated in advance, so we must know what's expected from that, I assume based on how we do in the league/cups.  Lastly season tickets, an educated guess can easily be made on numbers from this source based on success on the park, or lack thereof. Only retail income and player sale income is unknown currently. 

 

I've been away a lot recently and missed the publishing of these figures. I'm a little surprised we're all as calm about them as we seem to be. They're not only awful but clearly they're unsustainable. While they can be explained in terms of the 'Pedro experiment' going wrong they should lead to some serious questions being asked of our directors. What would become of the club if, God forbid, something was to happen to King or one of the three Bear's health? Any business plan that requires Champion's League group stage involvement sounds like a foolhardy and ruinous one to me. I know we face issues around Ashley and the deals with him as well as the farcical TV revenue we receive, but that's the world we currently inhabit and we need to live accordingly. King is a gambler, I'm nervous of the odds he's playing. 

This season we know we're getting an 8 figure number but the biggy re. unpredictability has historically been European revenue.

 

A gamble is the only palatable dish that will attract 40K+ ST buyers.

[Bill 13,717]

2 hours ago, JohnMc said:

I've been away a lot recently and missed the publishing of these figures. I'm a little surprised we're all as calm about them as we seem to be. 

I’m not calm at all but I share your surprise at the lack of debate. 

[917 191]

Somebody ought to ask at the AGM how much all this dodgy legal advice King seems to get is costing us and him indeed, and I don’t just mean in fees. I checked online though and the club have indeed paid off the loans from Close Bros, so things ain’t that bad. But these losses simply can’t continue.