The Board Address Fan Concerns

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,345]

22 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

Bigger stadium capacity, no problems with Mike Ashley and continued Euro revenue in the last decade are the three that immediately spring to mind.  

The fat man is a clear one yes. But the bigger stadium? It was half empty for years while we slogged our way back up. Great revenue from the CL qualification but routine pumping's is limited as we are finding out this year. Looks like they have made decent cash from a pipeline of player sales.

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,345]

According to the Rangers Review the board will present a plan to upgrade the disabled supporter facilities at the AGM. That's one off field project I can back investment on. Should have been done long ago. I used to sit just behind some disabled supporters and the section they get is the worst view in the stadium and exposed to the elements. 

 

No doubt the usual suspects will complain about safe standing but IMO this comes first.

[buster. 5,199]

53 minutes ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

Why is there such a financial disparity between us and them? Thier player trading model isn't as good as the red tops would have you believe. Thier participation in Europe is the same. Thier shareholders also take dividends IIRC. 

Consistency over a long period.

[buster. 5,199]

9 minutes ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

 ....present a plan to upgrade the disabled supporter facilities at the AGM. 

Predicted in June, alongside communication being a big problem and the squad not being good enough.

 

#trumpetblower

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by buster.

[forlanssister 3,114]

12 minutes ago, Sutton_blows_goats said:

Why is there such a financial disparity between us and them? Thier player trading model isn't as good as the red tops would have you believe. Thier participation in Europe is the same. Thier shareholders also take dividends IIRC. 

We're currently addressing 40 years of infrastructure neglect, millions have been spent on repairs which were absolutely vital but people simply don't notice i.e new roofing on 3 stands which would have resulted in the refusal of a safety certificate if not attended to. You may recall a section of the Govan Stand roof becoming loose and fans having to be shifted during a game. I remember on one occasion a dozen or so wheelchair fans had to leave a game before half time because they were absolutely drenched because lumps of water were cascading down from the Club Deck roof onto them, when I complained to Jim Hannah the following week he said "Ach it's ok they hadn't cleaned the gutters but they'll be cleaned now." Maintenance doesn't come much more basic than that that's how far we had fallen, I also remember a conversation with the guy who recorded the videos of the training sessions for analysis he said his work was being hampered because he couldn't get a new battery for his camera as every item of expenditure costing over £100 had to be personally authorised by Stockbridge. 

 

After the sp.ivs the Club was in a far worse state than imagined way, way worse than the Three Bears believed. It's still going to take tens of £m's and years to catch up yet. That's something that could and should have been communicated far better than it has been. One example is the new wheelchair facilities that will be installed something that could and should have been addressed decades ago and will now cost £m's to rectify and result in a significant ongoing reduction in stadium capacity and the associated ongoing revenue reduction.

 

Have the Board made mistakes? Absolutely, should they be criticised for thst? Absolutely. Personally I think they got their priorities wrong i.e. refurbishing the tunnel area and dressing rooms which could have been delayed and the monies put towards ticketing and customer service areas of failure which are now biting them on the arse along with their cack handed attempt to address the PR shambles which after a promising start has regressed.

 

While we were being raped left, right and centre by various owners those across the city had a free ticket to European riches, their player trading model (I concur with your point about it being exaggerated) has been ongoing for over a decade while as Bennett pointed out ours is six months old, we'll be playing catch for quite a while yet too something we really have to learn to accept. There is also the 10k stadium capacity shortfall which is often forgotten, it's to try and mitigate that which is behind the high cost of CL tickets etc.

 

It's correct to scrutinise the Board and it's fair to highlight their shortcomings and to criticise them where it's, merited. They are not infallible. However some of the stuff I've been reading of late (not on here it has to be said) is pure off the scale batshit mental and totally detached from reality. With Rangers there appears to be only heroes and zeros when in reality there's a world in between. 

 

Boardrooms like teams are organic and evolve over time, sometimes both need revolution as opposed to evolution we had the revolution we're now in a period of evolution and we should be thankful for that.

 

The current board (along with King it has to be said) not only stepped up and played they stepped up and paid over and over and over again.

 

The torches need to be extinguished and the pitchforks returned to the barns. People need to be careful what they wish for because they just might get it.

 

The AGM should be fun with the likes of William Stanch ESA, DLA, PIP lecturing successful billionaire businessmen and a group of self made millionaires on how to successfully run a business. 

[Sutton_blows_goats 5,345]

3 minutes ago, forlanssister said:

The torches need to be extinguished and the pitchforks returned to the barns. People need to be careful what they wish for because they just might get it.

 

Good post. Lots of detail I wasn't aware of. 👍

[forlanssister 3,114]

Just now, Sutton_blows_goats said:

Good post. Lots of detail I wasn't aware of. 👍

Thanks. Yes the needless communication failures of the Board are causing them unnecessary issues and it's baffling that this situation still exists.

[buster. 5,199]

The relatively new UEFA distribution model has had an effect and will continue to do so.

 

Ie. The ten year co-efficient and being paid a sum according to what your number is, relative to the other 31 teams. We are 31st this season and get 2 shares of over a million euros each.

 

IIRC, they are getting in the region of 9m euros. Big difference, then you have to add a 55/45 split of TV money in their favour (latter has a short term resolution possible / win the league)

 

Similar thing happened last season in the EL, but numbers were much more modest (EL share worth around 10% of CL and about x3 of Conference).

 

 

At the other end, Real Madrid rake in 32 x approx. 1.2m€.

Keeping the elite clubs onside, for now.

Edited September 21, 2022 by buster.

[Bill 13,717]

39 minutes ago, forlanssister said:

The torches need to be extinguished and the pitchforks returned to the barns. People need to be careful what they wish for because they just might get it.

It would be nice to believe that, had our financial realities been better explained to supporters, the torches and pitchforks might never have been mobilised. Unfortunately, years of careful observation concludes that the natural response of many to adversity is simply to ignore reality anyway and set off for the castle fully armed. 

 

Along with others, I've been saying for months that posting player sales or UCL money on the balance sheet is a long way from banking cash. Since there's clearly no appetite for funding the club from debt, those fans calling for greater spending on the first team are effectively spending pretendy money and ignoring every other call on the money we do have. Reality is of little interest to the usual suspects.

[forlanssister 3,114]

1 minute ago, Bill said:

It would be nice to believe that, had our financial realities been better explained to supporters, the torches and pitchforks might never have been mobilised. Unfortunately, years of careful observation concludes that the natural response of many to adversity is simply to ignore reality anyway and set off for the castle fully armed. 

 

Along with others, I've been saying for months that posting player sales or UCL money on the balance sheet is a long way from banking cash. Since there's clearly no appetite for funding the club from debt, those fans calling for greater spending on the first team are effectively spending pretendy money and ignoring every other call on the money we do have. Reality is of little interest to the usual suspects.

Then they'll learn reality bites.