General Wrexham... Great Story or Proof Football is Dead?

[MarkG]

I think Wrexham with their previous history as a league club and with decent crowds "should" be around a similar level to us. League 1, with an occasional venture into the Championship, or flirting with relegation back to League 2.

 

[Essexyellows]

Please stop quoting the Leicester "fairytale" - they cheated (sorry - "genuine differences of interpretation of the rules between the parties".) to get there and just paid the fine. Kind of gets forgotten along the way..

Leicester pay £3.1m to settle EFL dispute

Leicester City are to pay £3.1m to the EFL after settling a Financial Fair Play dispute from the 2013/14 season when the club won the Championship.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[OxShireWest]

I suppose there will be another Netflix series on Wrexham next season so as to have a bigger income so they can bypass rules on spending

This is exactly what people don't realise.

Wrexham will by-pass all financial restrictions by means like this, and by using their own businesses to sponsor the club with large deals to increase revenue massively.

Which btw, is exactly what Man City have done and people hate them for it.

 

[Paul Cannell]

blather

It makes a mockery of the sport.

The 'sport' has been self-mocking for years. Get over it or do something about it.

 

[OxShireWest]

You are tilting at windmills. Look at the Prem - Chelsea's wage bill was reportedly somewhere north of £233m. Bournemouth spent £33m. Both are of course ridiculous amounts to spend - but Chelsea *should* have won the league if money was all there is to it, and surely there is no integrity to that, when one team has spent £200 million MORE than another one.

Is it 'fair' that Wrexham had a huge budget compared to their rivals? No. Is there any professional league in the world where every team has the same budget? Not that I know of. Will two Hollywood actors *keep* pumping money into Wrexham? I very much doubt it. Money has *always* made a difference in football and (how ever much we wish it didn't) always will.

I get that you don't like it (and I suspect most of us would prefer if money wasn't such a factor) - but let's hear how you would stop it happening.

First and foremost, ban owners from using their own, or family members businesses to sponsor clubs. This is regularly used by clubs (Man City, Wrexham themselves) to bypass financial restrictions, increase revenue and subsequently allow them to spend more.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

The problem with that is that for many lower league clubs, their owner/chairman/sponsor has put money into the club and is trying to advertise their own business with shirt sponsorship - it is one of the reasons they do it (and it seems perfectly reasonable to me). If they couldn't do so then they'd be less likely to put money into such clubs in the first place! I am aware that it is a huge loophole, but there's always the law of unintended consequences to look out for...

 

[OxShireWest]

The 'sport' has been self-mocking for years. Get over it or do something about it.

If that's how you see it then i'm not sure why you bother to watch!

 

[Paul Cannell]

No. I expect you're not.

 

[MC Yellow]

This is exactly what people don't realise.

Wrexham will by-pass all financial restrictions by means like this, and by using their own businesses to sponsor the club with large deals to increase revenue massively.

Which btw, is exactly what Man City have done and people hate them for it.

So where do Oxford fit in to all this?

Billionaire owners looking to use the “Oxford” brand worldwide and raise awareness/revenue.

Sponsorship deals from Thailand companies.

In excess of £100 mil investment in new stadium/infrastructure etc

Fans wanting better quality “top 30” players to get us promoted.

Are we really that different?

Would the club lose a huge chunk of its support if we became like Wrexham because fans thought it had sold itself to the devil?

 

[bazzer9461]

So where do Oxford fit in to all this?

Billionaire owners looking to use the “Oxford” brand worldwide and raise awareness/revenue.

Sponsorship deals from Thailand companies.

In excess of £100 mil investment in new stadium/infrastructure etc

Fans wanting better quality “top 30” players to get us promoted.

Are we really that different?

Would the club lose a huge chunk of its support if we became like Wrexham because fans thought it had sold itself to the devil?

tbf we all want that but whether we can get that is another story.
I think the post by @OxShireWest is about clubs using back door methods to achieve this, whether our billionaire owners do the same is another thing.

 

[Cotswolds Cowboy]

Is this the room for an argument?

 

[Big Ron]

This is exactly what people don't realise.

Wrexham will by-pass all financial restrictions by means like this, and by using their own businesses to sponsor the club with large deals to increase revenue massively.

Which btw, is exactly what Man City have done and people hate them for it.

That's not how it works - the Netflix income is a genuine 3rd party income stream. Once that money is received Wrexham can utilise that income as part of their spend. It's not a dressed up loan or an inflated sponsorship deal from an associated company. Reynolds and McIheny don't own Netflix you know - they are receiving a commercial fee as did Sunderland, Tottenham, et al.

Contrary to Bazzer's assertion, they are not using 'back door' methods - if anything, it's a via the clearly opened front door. They invested in the club, secured commercial deals and are then able to make further investment. I see they announced United Airlines as the shirt sponsor - another 3rd party deal, or are you suggesting they own United as well?

As things stand, no one is suggesting they are doing anything untoward, apart from upsetting the likes of you by investing more than the direct competition.

 

[bazzer9461]

But when

That's not how it works - the Netflix income is a genuine 3rd party income stream. Once that money is received Wrexham can utilise that income as part of their spend. It's not a dressed up loan or an inflated sponsorship deal from an associated company. Reynolds and McIheny don't own Netflix you know - they are receiving a commercial fee as did Sunderland, Tottenham, et al.

Contrary to Bazzer's assertion, they are not using 'back door' methods - if anything, it's a via the clearly opened front door. They invested in the club, secured commercial deals and are then able to make further investment. I see they announced United Airlines as the shirt sponsor - another 3rd party deal, or are you suggesting they own United as well?

As things stand, no one is suggesting they are doing anything untoward, apart from upsetting the likes of you by investing more than the direct competition.

the Netflix money stops they have to find alternative income to cover the loss of netflix money

 

[MC Yellow]

tbf we all want that but whether we can get that is another story.
I think the post by @OxShireWest is about clubs using back door methods to achieve this, whether our billionaire owners do the same is another thing.

They are just being commercially savvy and using their profile to maximise return and investment.

I can’t honestly see anything wrong with that.

They got lucky with their owners and are now delivering all of the benefits of a club currently enjoying some success on the pitch and a feel good factor off of it. The whole local community are benefiting, which is pretty much a huge part of our vision to persuade support for our new ground.

 

[MC Yellow]

But when

the Netflix money stops they have to find alternative income to cover the loss of netflix money

If they invest it wisely the success should plug that gap.

 

[Big Ron]

But when

the Netflix money stops they have to find alternative income to cover the loss of netflix money

But seemingly they have done - the United shirt deal, more season tickets in the reopened part of the ground, increased TV revenue, merch, away fans, etc.

 

[SteMerritt]

First and foremost, ban owners from using their own, or family members businesses to sponsor clubs. This is regularly used by clubs (Man City, Wrexham themselves) to bypass financial restrictions, increase revenue and subsequently allow them to spend more.

In the case of Man City, UEFA have rules regarding sponsorship to stop this from happening, sponsorship details are investigated and only what is considered a 'fair' price is counted towards the UEFA FFP rules. I believe that the Premier League have brought something similar in also, with absolutely no link I believe this came in just after the Newcastle takeover.

I don't know what the EFL rules are, but I'm sure there is something similar in place. It's not as simple as an owner going to a club and saying 'my company will sponsor the shirts for £x million'

 

[bazzer9461]

They are just being commercially savvy and using their profile to maximise return and investment.

I can’t honestly see anything wrong with that.

They got lucky with their owners and are now delivering all of the benefits of a club currently enjoying some success on the pitch and a feel good factor off of it. The whole local community are benefiting, which is pretty much a huge part of our vision to persuade support for our new ground.

Let’s hope we spend some money and spend it wisely then

 

[OxShireWest]

So where do Oxford fit in to all this?

Billionaire owners looking to use the “Oxford” brand worldwide and raise awareness/revenue.

Sponsorship deals from Thailand companies.

In excess of £100 mil investment in new stadium/infrastructure etc

Fans wanting better quality “top 30” players to get us promoted.

Are we really that different?

Would the club lose a huge chunk of its support if we became like Wrexham because fans thought it had sold itself to the devil?

I've said in a previous reply that I see a big difference in investment in a club, and spending so much that it ruins the competition.

Investing in a stadium, training ground, local infrastructure etc is also investment in a community, not just a club. I personally detach that from direct footballing activities.

If our owners suddenly splurged on record transfer spending and a record wage budget (what Wrexham have done in NL), then for me personally it would take a lot away from any 'success' that came from that. Of course I'd still be happy, but it wouldn't feel organic or natural, and I'd be more than willing to accept we only gained that success as a direct result of spending sh*t tonnes of money. I certainly wouldn't be trying to paint it up as a romance story and some 'great revival'.

 

[bazzer9461]

But seemingly they have done - the United shirt deal, more season tickets in the reopened part of the ground, increased TV revenue, merch, away fans, etc.

Shame no one thought of that with us then.
If as alleged netflix were paying 500k an episode of course that’s set them up financially, but if Netflix continue to follow Wrexham they will have pumped enough money into them to keep them moving up the league which for clubs who are bigger than them financially seeing Wrexham who are on a smaller attendance they will feel pissed off.
Would I like us to reach the top half of the championship of course I would, but if we did that with a regular financial gift I would worry that one day that stops and we can’t raise similar funds and we end up like Wigan or Bolton.