10-04-2015, 05:57
(08-04-2015, 13:05)Ska Wrote: The problem, as ever, is that there'll be no return on investment for the people pumping the money in. The extra money you get for finishing, say, 8th as opposed to 17th wouldn't justify the amounts you'd have to spend on players to accomplish that. The Europa League actually loses most clubs money when they participate, and the pot for winning it is laughably small (I think a couple of million last time I checked).
The ONLY way a club can make big money and get their owners a significant return on investment is by qualifying for the Champions League, which is why it's the holy grail for clubs like Southampton (and, in the past, Villa, Newcastle, Leeds, etc). It's also damn-near impossible to achieve.
Hate to rain on the parade where new ownership's concerned, but unless the new guys are devoted Albion fans prepared to burn money just to create an enjoyable/watchable team for all us supporters, I don't see their priority being anything other than remaining in the Premier League and slowly maturing their initial investment.
Spot on Ska!! There is one exception to the return on investment in football and that is to buy a club down on its luck and get it into the prem!! We were sold a few months back and our new owner is targetting a return to the prem in two years and has promised to spend what is needed to achieve this. If we get there our income will go up from the current 20m or so to the dizzy prem heights of over 100m instantly!! Of course it will cost to get us there but please consider Peace is looking to sell you guys for 150m-200m, we were sold for 37.5m!!!!! I know we have had 15 years of hard times but the potential is there, so rather than spending big money on a team that is just about at its pinnacle spend it on one that can grow significantly for me is the better option!!
And please don't think I am having a go at WBA, I am not, but if we could emulate what you have done over the next few years then our new owner could potentially sell us for a similar amount to what Peace is looking for, that is a return on investment!! There are a number of prem teams who seem to be trying to run the club within its means, teams like Southampton, Palace, Swansea and yourselves are proving it can be done but as you say the real Holy Grail of the Champions League is a pipe dream for 3/4 of the premier league!!