General Accounts are up

Thank you for your considered and measured response: I don’t agree with every word but there is some good moderates logic in there
 
1. I don't think there is any doubt that the property/stadium deal is a key priority. I think Tiger genuinely loves football and wants to be involved in all apsects of the club, but the business plan will very clearly include a new build. Personally, as long as the club is protected and able to secure a much better deal regarding income shares then I don't have an issue with this.

2. Under FFP we have to be able to generate our own income. We can only do this through gate receipts, sponsorship, cup winnings, tv rights and player sales. Although we have done well to increase numbers through the gate, have had cup success, with tv money and sponsorship bonuses, these are a fraction of what we need in order to really compete. So we have the player trading model, which has been pretty successful. The level of debt almost doesn't matter in this regard, and player sales could still be essential even if we were millions in profit.

But its understandable that with the mess that we had last year, and the accounts that mirror that period, that there is concern. No one should welcome the level of debt that a club with no assets has. However, it does come down to trust and action speaking louder than words. If we still get promoted despite losing the players in January, then it could be seen to be a better decision than if the season falls apart. If we are able to bring in a new batch of young players on long term contracts like we did with Dickie, Brannagan, Whyte, Sykes, Moore etc, as well as getting established players in (Taylor, Browne, Griggs?), and this is because of the money generated from January, then again we will be heading in the right direction. If a deal is done to purchase/lease land with the view of building a state of the art stadium that services the club and the community, then we will be further forward than we have ever been in my lifetime and we can perhaps dream of what could be once more.

We can't yet judge these actions because they are yet to happen, but they may all happen in the next 6 months by which point the vision of the board may become much clearer. I respect the fact that many will doubt this ever happening, but I hope that some will also respect that I have a different view point and time will show the reality one way or the other.
1, my understanding is that there are two parts to the club, Tiger, Zaki, etc are running the club on a day to day basis working on their project of how to manage the club, aim for their get out scenario and make their money.
The other side is the investors, these people are using the club as a vehicle to get land in or around Oxford with the prime aim of making money, there might or might not be a piece of land that suits their needs, if there was land and the financial benefit to those investors was tempting enough, then the project might go ahead. Without knowing the financial breakdown of any stadium/retail park ( I know some have tried) we can't assume this is going to be an easy ride for the club, I really do not see why people keep pronouncing that a new stadium is key to our future when there is no guarantee it's going to happen and on what terms we will become the tenant.
 
I agree the 'whether' and how the club benefits are unknowns, nevertheless think, and it's one of very few things @Scotchegg and I admit we agree on, the level of debt a. will be nigh on impossible and b. would not have been allowed to rise to the current level without the prospect of a big leisure deal.

We may not like it but, to paraphrase the immortal Bunting on the Alps and Pound's Cantos, there it is - sit and watch it crumble.
 
I really do not see why people keep pronouncing that a new stadium is key to our future when there is no guarantee it's going to happen and on what terms we will become the tenant.
I think that's because it is the only way people can see us getting out of our current situation. Without either buying the current place (and the discussions about who might fund that and why are already on here!) or building a new place, we have only one (realistic) alternative. To sign up to another 25 years at Grenoble Road, paying out a large amount of money in rent and reaping few of the rewards of the stadium, which - as we have seen - is only possible if you have someone prepared to fund the shortfall and/or you manage to produce enough decent players season on season to allow for the 'player trading' model. Which of course, does rather screw the playing side of the club as you are constantly rebuilding the team from a low base.
I am not convinced a new stadium will be built in the near future either, but cannot honestly see how the club can move forward (or maybe even survive in the long term) unless something in our situation changes. You are of course right in that it's not only the building of the stadium but also the terms on which we play there that would be relevant - and we mustn't forget, once the (presumed) retail and entertainment complex was built next to it the football club would have pretty much served it's purpose for the investors. So you'd hope that the club was well protected...
 
I questioned why we hadn't heard from OxVox regarding the accounts and got this reply:

"Sorry Steve, we all run full time jobs and have other things on in life as well as OxVox, so please bear these things in mind when we don't reply immediately. We';; have a members update out this week all being well which will include some info from a recent meeting the FD."

Now I understand they have family's, jobs, etc but if it is too much work for the current group of people to run OxVox then maybe they should allow people who do have the time/energy to run it? Jem had a full time job yet you could rely on a quick response when it was needed.

I'm sure they would stand aside if there were people that could dedicate more time to it. Indeed there are elections at the AGM every year. Difficulty is the lack of people putting themselves forward. Not helped by the regular (over the years) personal criticism of the people that do.
 
We probably shouldn't forget that in the next few years the training ground should be able to bring in some decent money, particularly if they get a 3G pitch and floodlights installed enabling 24/7 community use. I'm not suggesting for one minute that it will clear the debt but it will soon cover the outlay of those additional training ground costs.
 
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We probably shouldn't forget that in the next few years the training ground should be able to bring in some decent money, particularly if they get a 3G pitch and floodlights installed enabling 24/7 community use. I'm not suggesting for one minute that it will clear the debt but it will soon cover the outlay of those additional training ground costs.
You do realise we only lease the training ground and as such have to pay for the privilege to use it (rent), any improvements will be at the clubs cost (debt), I think it will be a few years and a lot of hard work to turn the training ground into a viable money maker giving a decent return, there has been considerable outlay so far and all that need recouping before we turn any profit.
 
You do realise we only lease the training ground and as such have to pay for the privilege to use it (rent), any improvements will be at the clubs cost (debt), I think it will be a few years and a lot of hard work to turn the training ground into a viable money maker giving a decent return, there has been considerable outlay so far and all that need recouping before we turn any profit.

We were paying over £60,000 a year to hire training facilities before having our own training ground. So whilst the training ground has cost a lot, and there will be ongoing costs, we will no longer be giving money away to others just to train. It will also become a hub for Oxford United in the Community which will help reach out to others and develop our social engagement programme. And, in time, we should have the facilities to bring the community in 7 days a week to use the pitches and club house. It will be some time before we see a profit but it will reduce the losses by giving us control over future revenue streams. It might not bring in millions, but anything that improves our finances and our standing in the community has to be a good thing.
 
Looking forward to the agm where shareholders will be presented with full disclosure
 
FD on 5 min fans forum atm
Interesting that he mentioned stadium costs are dependant on success on the pitch.

Cup runs worth around £1.2m extra this season. Need to generate around £4m per season in cup money and player sales to break even. So we can only assume that given the £1.2m from cups and circa £5m in fees for Whyte, Baptiste and Fosu since last summer, we’re going to make a solid profit for the season.
 
Interesting that he mentioned stadium costs are dependant on success on the pitch.

Cup runs worth around £1.2m extra this season. Need to generate around £4m per season in cup money and player sales to break even. So we can only assume that given the £1.2m from cups and circa £5m in fees for Whyte, Baptiste and Fosu since last summer, we’re going to make a solid profit for the season.

Surely that depends whether Brentford & Cardiff paid all up money upfront (unlikely). Usually money is spread over the period of the players contracts or agreed instalments. I'd suggest we should be at least breaking even after this season (increased crowds).

Obviously this is all on the assumption the season finishes as normal however I think clubs could see a massive hit in ticket income due to games being cancelled/behind closed doors.
 
Interesting that he mentioned stadium costs are dependant on success on the pitch.

Cup runs worth around £1.2m extra this season. Need to generate around £4m per season in cup money and player sales to break even. So we can only assume that given the £1.2m from cups and circa £5m in fees for Whyte, Baptiste and Fosu since last summer, we’re going to make a solid profit for the season.

That’s what I said in post #97 regarding the 4M loss.

Though I think it’s dangerous to look at a season in isolation as losing 4 one year and making 2 the next year still leaves the club down 2. We’ve been pretty lucky on FA cup runs and results the last few seasons getting through a few rounds with decent prize money and tv fees.

Much as people hate the EFL trophy the final brings significant cash in. I wonder if our owners would rather us get to a play off final and lose rather than automatic promotion / win play off final?

Also one of the other replies mixes up profit with cash flow so the fact we won’t have received 100% cash up front for Sykes and FosBap doesn’t mean we won’t account for the profit in 2019/20.
 
You do realise we only lease the training ground and as such have to pay for the privilege to use it (rent), any improvements will be at the clubs cost (debt), I think it will be a few years and a lot of hard work to turn the training ground into a viable money maker giving a decent return, there has been considerable outlay so far and all that need recouping before we turn any profit.
We are not paying rent on the training facility are we?
 
That’s what I said in post #97 regarding the 4M loss.

Though I think it’s dangerous to look at a season in isolation as losing 4 one year and making 2 the next year still leaves the club down 2. We’ve been pretty lucky on FA cup runs and results the last few seasons getting through a few rounds with decent prize money and tv fees.

Much as people hate the EFL trophy the final brings significant cash in. I wonder if our owners would rather us get to a play off final and lose rather than automatic promotion / win play off final?

Also one of the other replies mixes up profit with cash flow so the fact we won’t have received 100% cash up front for Sykes and FosBap doesn’t mean we won’t account for the profit in 2019/20.
I’ve thought for a while now that our board would like us to lose a Wembley play-off final rather than be promoted. Makes sense money-wise.
 
I’ve thought for a while now that our board would like us to lose a Wembley play-off final rather than be promoted. Makes sense money-wise.

It doesn't if you go up, get £ms in TV money etc but only spend more up to a breakeven position at most.
 
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