Bayliss balks at AFC's new relegation budget

[leechy38]

In to nite evening mail!
Baylis equated the proposed budget to paying each player £150 per week next season. And with that budget could be a second relegation next year !

[oldtimer]

The headline is actually "Bayliss balks at AFC's new 'relegation' budget".

Some quotes:

"My initial thought when I saw the budget was that it is a relegation to the Evo-Stik League budget"......."But when I left the meeting we talked about a fresh, different type and maybe a better budget that I wouldn't even say would keep us in the top six or seven Conference North teams, but mid-table. That's what were looking at, and that's how serious the club's plight is."....."He also says it is around £3000 less than the budgets of six mid-table Conference North sides, having canvassed the clubs' respective managers."........"his heart bled over discovering how much each director had dipped into their life savings to ensure the club's survival"....."He also backed their intentions to hold a fan's forum in the near future when they will lay bare the club's recent financial problems......"........."As I say, if the budget was set at the level it initially was, then the club would struggle to get out of the bottom four next season. So it's got to be a realistic budget and one you can compete with. So as soon as that's set and the club knows what it's doing , we can all move on."......."The directors......had enough of putting their own money into the club and I don't blame them. But they've got to find a solution where the club can find its own two feet without ploughing more money in every week."

That's about the jist of it.

[ahippy]

It's just a guess, I think Bales wont take the offer to steer Barrow out of BSN.

[audigex]

24 games in a season
£13 average per person (my guess at the proportion of adults, season tickets, concessions)
700 per game until proven otherwise

220 grand, or near enough
We pay for about 40 weeks?
£5,500 per week
20 players would be £273 per week on average.

That's if our projected gate covered only the squad costs: it assumes that sponsorship covers transport, insurance, general club running costs etc. Does anyone know how much sponsorship we get in a season, and approximate running costs for the club (not including wage budget?) Because if the sponsorship doesn't cover running costs, I can easily see how some of that £5,500 per week can vanish quickly.

[oldtimer]

£220 grand less VAT at 20% = £176 grand.

[John Very Little]

Your budget doesn't add up as our average paying price is nowhere near £13 as around 30% of those who come in are concessions and then we have to knock off VAT so we actually get an average of just under a tenner per person.
In Conf North there are 22 teams so we'll only play 21 home league games.

In previous seasons the gate money doesn't pay the players wages as the club gets income from other areas to subsidise the cost of paying the players (and coaching staff) - Lottery, Cross Bar profit, Membership, Hire of corporate rooms etc. so its not a direct comparison between the gate money and the playing budget.

On the point about the budget I'm pretty sure that a figure of 1100 was mentioned at the start of the season and our average league crowd this season has been 918, I think the difference shows why the board have needed to put their hands in their pockets to keep us going.

[The Chief]

Also bayls wages need to come from somewhere. We need something to boost the coffers....any suggestions?

[Jonty]

At the last AGM one of the Director's told me that £8 per head is used as average per ticket for gate receipts. That was on last season's ticketing prices. so if prices stay the same-

16 squad x £150 x 44 games = £105600

£105600 / 22 home games = £4800 gate receipts required just to cover the playing staff wage bill

£4800 / £8 = average crowd of 600

Then you've got all other costs to add

It'll be £200 000+ in a season. This is why we need to maximise all our income streams.

[Nigel Bamford]

At the last AGM one of the Director's told me that £8 per head is used as average per ticket for gate receipts. That was on last season's ticketing prices. so if prices stay the same-

16 squad x £150 x 44 games = £105600

£105600 / 22 home games = £4800 gate receipts required just to cover the playing staff wage bill

£4800 / £8 = average crowd of 600

Then you've got all other costs to add

It'll be £200 000+ in a season. This is why we need to maximise all our income streams.

Simple question, but do we pay per game or per week?

[Zak]

That's shifted my thinking much further into the 'Bayliss will leave' camp. I would be very surprised if he stays now.

[John Very Little]

The season after Wembley we had home league gate/season ticket income of £246,130 which equated to £8.53 per head but this figure could be varied by the amount of corporate income we receive and other factors (rise in VAT for example that season). However the clubs overall income that season was £722,905.
The gate money isn't as great in the overall picture as some would imagine but clearly less crowds and interest means less earned in other areas and more that needs to be made to reduce the shortfall. The sale of Walker for 45K along with sponsorship income/TV money and cash recouped from loaning players out was desperately needed to get more income that season. That will be lower now but so will other expenses.
In response to NB we pay wages on a weekly basis.
However next season with less travelling and part time training/wages the expenses should fall by quite a lot, its managing our debts and keeping the income flowing that will be the problem. A meeting to explain things on both the football and financial side of things would be welcome.

[HenneysKnee]

Shouldn't have [SwearFilter] money away on tossers like Marc Goodfellow then!

[oldtimer]

Full article here:

http://www.nwemail.co.uk/afc/news/bayli ... rPath=home

[barrowfan]

Seems quite a well balanced article.

I think people have to remember that the budget is for a part-time club not a full time one, where most players will have a full time job and the money they earn at HS will be supplementary to their main income.

Bayles may be right when he says that no manager could work with the budget but I would hope the BOD could test the waters to see if that is correct.

And before anyone starts saying I have a down on DB I don't - I just don't want to see the club overreach itself by being talked into a budget it can't afford.

[Wintergreen]

It looks as though Barrow AFC is going to deteriorate slowly as a result of lack of cash and constant cuts. For two seasons the BoD put all their eggs in the redevelopment basket and when this didn’t happen they seemed totally demoralised and incapable of putting the same time and energy into anything else to move the club forward financially. Come on guys! It’s over! We lost it!

As a business, the product the BoD are trying to sell to the community has a tag line along the lines of 'Come and watch 11 guys from out of town play football with little success’. Hardly motivating for the oh-so-important potential punters of the town. But can we try it another way? What about:
• Appoint Neil Doherty as Assistant Coach
• Neil to provide approximately 5 good local players to the squad
• The squad to train at Lancaster or Kendal – like it or lump it
• Play all players the same rates – out of towners entitled to more in travel expenses
• Get a local team using Holker Street on alternate Saturdays for a fee
• BoD members to establish a dedicated group of volunteers who they delegate to and manage
• More BoD members with business skills and finance to be targeted and approached
• Er, that's it...