honved Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I wanted this to have a separate topic from the other threads on the social event on 19 January because it is the most important point that came out in the open discussion. This £100k hole in the current season's finances that was announced in December, if I understood correctly, can and will be filled by sources of income that the directors can obtain. Whether this is akin to the £50k sponsorship that Billy Allan has brought in, or whether it's just directors dipping their hands in their own pockets or those of their rich, Thistle minded contacts is not clear and to a certain extent not relevant. In short, there seems to be no big panic and no Save the Jags 2 on the horizon. So far so good. The follow up is of course, what happens next? The mind's eye vision that David Beattie painted last night was of the club breaking even from this point on, but how that is going to be achieved is still in the mix, with a marketing committee heavily involved. Anyone knows that to go from loss making to break even needs a combination of factors, but one of those will be reducing the wage bill by shifting Liam Buchanan on. How palatable that type of action is to the fans in general, remains to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alx Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Anyone knows that to go from loss making to break even needs a combination of factors, but one of those will be reducing the wage bill by shifting Liam Buchanan on. How palatable that type of action is to the fans in general, remains to be seen. Yon ex-Hibs director was making this point on the radio the other night. Tom farmer runs Hibs like a business and expects the books to balance. This seems to wind up the fans, but presumably fans just have to lump it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKennan Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I wanted this to have a separate topic from the other threads on the social event on 19 January because it is the most important point that came out in the open discussion. This £100k hole in the current season's finances that was announced in December, if I understood correctly, can and will be filled by sources of income that the directors can obtain. Whether this is akin to the £50k sponsorship that Billy Allan has brought in, or whether it's just directors dipping their hands in their own pockets or those of their rich, Thistle minded contacts is not clear and to a certain extent not relevant. In short, there seems to be no big panic and no Save the Jags 2 on the horizon. So far so good. The follow up is of course, what happens next? The mind's eye vision that David Beattie painted last night was of the club breaking even from this point on, but how that is going to be achieved is still in the mix, with a marketing committee heavily involved. Anyone knows that to go from loss making to break even needs a combination of factors, but one of those will be reducing the wage bill by shifting Liam Buchanan on. How palatable that type of action is to the fans in general, remains to be seen. Thanks for this, Tom. Despite your best efforts I don't see a clearer picture of what's happening at the club other than it'll have sugar daddies until it can stand on its feet. Would this be a fair assessment? Did David say what the nature of the sponsorship Billy Allan has brought in was? How long it runs for? The marketing committee sounds interesting. However, given the way things appear to be going - that the direction of the club will be dictated by Beattie and Allan - is there any point in a committee? Who knows? Right now, the problem is not marketing the club, it's preserving the fanbase it has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honved Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks for this, Tom. Despite your best efforts I don't see a clearer picture of what's happening at the club other than it'll have sugar daddies until it can stand on its feet. Would this be a fair assessment? Did David say what the nature of the sponsorship Billy Allan has brought in was? How long it runs for? The marketing committee sounds interesting. However, given the way things appear to be going - that the direction of the club will be dictated by Beattie and Allan - is there any point in a committee? Who knows? Right now, the problem is not marketing the club, it's preserving the fanbase it has. The sugar daddy claimed that he didn't want to be cast in that role and would rather have a club that consistently breaks even going forward. The Billy Allan thing...I don't think anyone was particularly interested in knowing the precise nature of it, but I'm sure that if you asked, you would get an answer. It's this season only as far as I know. As of July, the club should be budgeting to balance its books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKennan Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks Tom. I'm a hanging-in for a reply to a communication I made last summer. Tick tock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kni Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 David Beattie's comments and plans are entirely reasonable. It appears that under the previous regime, the club took unnecessary financial risks that have resulted debts of well over of a £1 million. Even with PropCo, an unfortunate but necessary deal to save the club, we still have to service and repay debts of around £750,000. The wage bill and been cut considerably, mainly due to the pittances paid to the four player-coaches, and Buchanan's departure would reduce it further. I have been sceptical in the past that the youth policy would succeed. However, it would appear I was wrong and that it will yield dividends next season with Scully, McGeough, Campbell, McBeth, Bannigan, Fraser and probably Burns all in the first team squad. If they are good enough to be regulars, it is likely that some of our senior players will be released at the end of the season. It's difficult to see how we could afford to pay them, unless they accept pay cuts, with recent home crowds averaging 2000. The alternative is part-time football for some or all of the squad. The big question is how restructuring will affect our club. Will we ever be able to return to the SPL and attract crowds of over 5,000. If not, with Glasgow Warriors crowds also dwindling, we need to question the viability of maintaining such a large stadium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennythistle Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks Tom. I'm a hanging-in for a reply to a communication I made last summer. Tick tock. I think you should send that communication again, only this time to David Beattie himself. You will at least get a response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willjag Posted January 20, 2011 Members Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 I'm a hanging-in for a reply to a communication I made last summer. Tick tock. Yeah, know what you mean! I sent a PM to someone on this forum back about that time as well and I'm still awaiting a reply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKennan Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Yeah, know what you mean! I sent a PM to someone on this forum back about that time as well and I'm still awaiting a reply! I'm not the marrying type, William. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willjag Posted January 21, 2011 Members Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'm not the marrying type, William. Does the Jewish girl know that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKennan Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Yes, but neither is she. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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