If they’re anything like the last 3/4 attack minded players he brought in, we’re in big trouble!
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Yep I think this is a massive window for the club and indeed DC he needs to get this right after some of his previous signings which lets be honest are terrible these 3/4 players could be the difference between playoff contention or mid table boredom we have had a really poor season and are only 9 points from the playoffs which is incredible when you think about it.It just highlights how poor this league really is to me.
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We could easily do a Barnsley with the right loans or signings.
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I’m not an accountant, so I don’t really understand what the benefit of posting such a small profit is. There’s the obvious benefits that it makes us look “well run”, but just little old Walsall, turning a measly profit, certain not enough to splash out on players.
When it comes to the playing budget, the club always controls it relative to the turnover very VERY tightly. Rarely shifting more than 2 or 3% up or down, which tells me that if we ever experience a drop in revenue we don’t think twice about cutting the budget accordingly. The club is run, and has been for many years, for one purpose - to pay rent to JWB.
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Doing a ‘Barnsley’!! That phrase has worked its way into the footballing lexicon. How many teams actually do a Barnsley?
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There’s at least one I can think of.
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Based upon the meagre information we get given, yours is the only conclusion that makes sense.
I have no idea how Pomlett expects to raise the cash for the freehold. If the club needs to find six or seven million quid, you look at these accounts and you wonder either what gives or where is the growth opportunity?
If Pomlett’s own pockets aren’t deep enough and he can’t find anybody else to dig deep, the only option would be to approach a bank and see whether our books and the asset itself would be enough to secure a mortgage. But 30 years at around £350k a year leaves a very long tail and only frees up around £100k P.A from the current arrangement which in itself would shrink if we made any capex investment in the ground (e.g the equivalent of another big sign).
The only thing that might help is the aforementioned depth of Pomlett and other directors pockets to loan the club some serious money and reduce the amount we would have to borrow from financial institutions. It isn’t a huge spin of a roulette wheel because the clubs worth would immediately increase by the amount of the value of the land and buildings that would come into the club’s ownership. So say the club is currently worth £2million and the ground worth £7million, if the club took ownership of the ground, the club becomes worth £9million. If you’re Leigh Pomlett and have shelled £2million for the club then for a loan of another £3million securing the freehold means you’ve spent £2m, loaned £3m and in return now own a business worth £9m. A business that owes you £3m and a bank £4m but with £200k in mortgage repayments rather than £459k in rent, a potentially more viable business.
Two big caveats are whether a bank would touch us and offer commercially viable interest rates and whether Pomlett has the wealth or inclination to go an extra mile or ten.
In short, the manoeuvre made by Bonser in the early 90’s will continue to hold us back for quite a substantial time to come.
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It would take a hugely successful window to to do it, but this league is ■■■■ enough that it could happen.
On the other hand, it would only take a slightly worse window than in the summer to end up dropping out of the Football League!
Is it Barnsley, Tone?
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I’m sure Watford did something similar some years ago.
If anyone is interested in this sort of thing, the annual accounts for 1979 to 1984 were randomly uploaded to the Companies House website on Friday… WALSALL FOOTBALL CLUB,LIMITED(THE) filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK
I do find it odd that the 1990 accounts are missing on there given the importance of that year to the club.
They seem to be there now. On page 5.
Basically, any accounts during the tenure of ol’ uncle Jeff are in the top 10 works of fiction of the last 30 years. Allegedly.
The link on there for what is supposed to be the 1990 accounts takes me to the 1989 accounts which are already on there. I assume that is the case for everyone.
You’re right, I hadn’t noticed that.
Isn’t that the link to LAST year’s accounts (2019)? No mention of the 2020 accounts on the official site.