bdu98196 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Anyone read this today in The Herald? Not sure how financial distress is measured as its a bit subjective, but if its right (and who really is surprised by this given the economy and issues clubs have faced over recent years), then the suggestion is that almost half the League are heading into money trouble. https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/23206084.scottish-football-championship-showing-greatest-signs-distress/ I'd guess these are Caley, Morton, Arbroath & Hamilton? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuma Power Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Given the stories we've had in the last week or so in the press, I'd assume one of those four may well be Raith... https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/sport/football/raith-rovers-foreign-investors-linked-with-move-to-buy-kirkcaldy-club-3959673 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derry Alli Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Can't see it being Arbroath, tbh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 The ten team division model means that every club has to prepare for demotion or relegation by half way through the season, so they have to gamble on player contracts well before the end of the season. And it's boring, especially for fans who go to away games. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parsforlife Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 3 minutes ago, welshbairn said: The ten team division model means that every club has to prepare for demotion or relegation by half way through the season, so they have to gamble on player contracts well before the end of the season. And it's boring, especially for fans who go to away games. There is nothing more boring than knowing your season is over in November. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Quote Money launderers targeted football club owner Money launderers targeted football club owner - BBC News 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmouth Strikes Again Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Lot going wrong at Inverness just now. Unsurprising when you see who's involved. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 8 minutes ago, welshbairn said: The ten team division model means that every club has to prepare for demotion or relegation by half way through the season, so they have to gamble on player contracts well before the end of the season. Well no that's just bollocks - most of Morton's squad contracts run down to the end of the season. Then a budget gets set, and the players who weren't dogshite (in theory) get offered affordable terms. It's been that way for years. Sounds like the sort of nonsense that Falkirk FC are peddling to explain their never-ending stint in the seaside leagues tbh. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb123! Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Wouldn't be surprised if Inverness was one of them, Hamilton another possibly 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnydun Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Championship club going into Admin on Friday? Must be Dundee United. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) It's unclear from the article how exactly this report defines financial distress, but if you're talking imminent likelihood of administration there's very little chance it's Morton. On an educated guess based on recent income you'd also look at Arbroath as probably being in the healthiest financial position in terms of income v expenditure of anyone in this division, if you were to factor in the prospect of sugar daddies walking away from other sides (not that this seems to be likely for any of them.) Morton's budget is tiny compared to most of the division precisely because we're living within our means, not because we've faced a sudden shock to income or outgoings that's required drastic budget cuts to keep our heads above water. That does expose us to risk if a significant unforeseen increase in expenditure or hit to income was to occur without external backing to plug the gap, but it also means we're in a safer position than most. There's no worry of a backer walking away and no existing gaps to be plugged over and above whatever unforeseen costs might arise. It's a mile away from the "run at a six figure annual loss in perpetuity and have it covered by a rich person with no plan for what happens if something changes" approach of Morton 2002-20. It's pretty clear that Hamilton are fucked, and relegation could be the end of them with McGowan hanging about. Raith are currently engaging in yet another PR disaster around their finances, simultaneously talking about annual losses that need to stop and signing more players in January. Inverness' "run at a six figure annual loss and hope promotion or something else magically happens to plug the gap without even trying to reduce outgoings" approach can't be sustained forever and while there's no legal liability to the club, you wonder what the practical impact of the concert company going into liquidation will be. For who a fourth club could be, Arbroath and Morton should be fine. Dundee, Ayr, Queen's Park and Cove are all to varying degrees dependent on external backers to cover/write-off losses but there's no indication any of those backers are on the verge of walking, with each having credible reasons to believe they're in it for the long term. Nothing about Partick screams "imminent financial meltdown", with the caveat of not knowing what the recently departed board so desperately wanted to hide in the accounts that they refused due diligence on, but with seemingly constructive moves toward getting real fan ownership in place underway you'd think that should get them more stability and at the very least the fanbase organised to react in the surprising event something was to go badly wrong. Edited December 22, 2022 by Dunning1874 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 7 minutes ago, virginton said: Well no that's just bollocks - most of Morton's squad contracts run down to the end of the season. Then a budget gets set, and the players who weren't dogshite (in theory) get offered affordable terms. It's been that way for years. Sounds like the sort of nonsense that Falkirk FC are peddling to explain their never-ending stint in the seaside leagues tbh. No idea about Morton's finances since the sweetie makers bailed out but it wouldn't surprise me if one year contracts are the norm. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Just now, welshbairn said: No idea Could've just stopped right there tbh. Quote about Morton's finances since the sweetie makers bailed out but it wouldn't surprise me if one year contracts are the norm. One year contracts were already the norm under the old regime and remain the norm under fan ownership too. Although a couple of two year deals were given in the summer. So 'having to gamble on in-season contracts' is clearly not a valid issue, given that Championship stalwarts like Morton (and most other clubs) don't entertain such nonsense. That's left for the jumped-up outfits festering in the division below. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 3 minutes ago, welshbairn said: No idea about Morton's finances since the sweetie makers bailed out but it wouldn't surprise me if one year contracts are the norm. One year contracts have been the norm for the majority of players at this level for about 25 years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland Capital Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 1 hour ago, bdu98196 said: Anyone read this today in The Herald? Not sure how financial distress is measured as its a bit subjective, but if its right (and who really is surprised by this given the economy and issues clubs have faced over recent years), then the suggestion is that almost half the League are heading into money trouble. https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/23206084.scottish-football-championship-showing-greatest-signs-distress/ I'd guess these are Caley, Morton, Arbroath & Hamilton? One of them is us. The club were advised to go into administration in September but chose not to. I alluded to this a few weeks ago but the local press know all about this but have been told personally by Gardiner that if there is any negative reporting from the club finances that access to the club will be cut. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnydun Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Highland Capital said: One of them is us. The club were advised to go into administration in September but chose not to. I alluded to this a few weeks ago but the local press know all about this but have been told personally by Gardiner that if there is any negative reporting from the club finances that access to the club will be cut. I remember you mentioning this before. Doesn't look good. Edited December 21, 2022 by johnnydun 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_M Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 39 minutes ago, welshbairn said: The ten team division model means that every club has to prepare for demotion or relegation by half way through the season, so they have to gamble on player contracts well before the end of the season. And it's boring, especially for fans who go to away games. By half way through the season, Falkirk are usually in the process of assembling their second squad of failures of the season and looking to pay off the first lot, not gambling on their extensions. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tattie36 Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Definitely not Arbroath. We are actually in a very healthy financial position at the moment. Relegation would obviously put a big dent in that but the club is in a pretty great place at the moment… off the field anyway. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNU_Linux Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Awaiting some third rate journo to chime in that this is proof Scotland has too many clubs at national level. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdu98196 Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 9 minutes ago, Highland Capital said: One of them is us. The club were advised to go into administration in September but chose not to. I alluded to this a few weeks ago but the local press know all about this but have been told personally by Gardiner that if there is any negative reporting from the club finances that access to the club will be cut. If only there was a way to increase club funds and boost income, like maybe a concert company for events at the stadium.................. Surprised nobody could see this on the horizon given how well SG history at Dundee, Hearts & Rangers turned out 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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