Stewart Milne

[capitalsharpie]

i used Hart initially as an example.  The main point is, if you look at the squad during our Euro run and what we have been left with in the aftermath of JC leaving and the close season.  Surely it is better to invest internally when things are going well, rahter than having to start from scratch each season, either with shelling out out for a new management team, and/or for a whole new starting line up because the english third division has come sniffing around our only creative midfieder, who has only been given the worth by AFC of a two year contract.

 

WM alluded to this in the euphoria post Copo with to paraphrase " maybe it's time the board were challenged in a different way to what they have been used to." Meaning keep the players that are doing well for us so the manger can BUILD.  Instead we are once again in AFC board of directors comfort zone of hiring and firing managers on a whim when THE BOARD are challenged, making them look supposedly pro-active and offering minimal money short term contracts.

 

Mark my words, (excuse the pun) when MM unearthes a player of the calibre we want to keep, lets just see if the money will be available to keep them.  Two years time we will be in the same position of having to build a team from scratch. 

 

What costs more in the long run, this constant rebuilding or having a squad that will compete, get to the money spinning positions in cups and eventually into Europe, thereby repaying the increase in wages paid to achieve this?

[Ajja]

i used Hart initially as an example.  The main point is, if you look at the squad during our Euro run and what we have been left with in the aftermath of JC leaving and the close season.  Surely it is better to invest internally when things are going well, rahter than having to start from scratch each season, either with shelling out out for a new management team, and/or for a whole new starting line up because the english third division has come sniffing around our only creative midfieder, who has only been given the worth by AFC of a two year contract.

 

WM alluded to this in the euphoria post Copo with to paraphrase " maybe it's time the board were challenged in a different way to what they have been used to." Meaning keep the players that are doing well for us so the manger can BUILD.  Instead we are once again in AFC board of directors comfort zone of hiring and firing managers on a whim when THE BOARD are challenged, making them look supposedly pro-active and offering minimal money short term contracts.

 

Mark my words, (excuse the pun) when MM unearthes a player of the calibre we want to keep, lets just see if the money will be available to keep them.  Two years time we will be in the same position of having to build a team from scratch. 

 

What costs more in the long run, this constant rebuilding or having a squad that will compete, get to the money spinning positions in cups and eventually into Europe, thereby repaying the increase in wages paid to achieve this?

 

I agree its a lovely idea but we simply aren't in a position to make it work at present. The burden of our debt and the operating costs of the club are such that we cannot afford to increase our wages bill to accommodate such players and we are not able to commit long term to contracts for fear of a drop in revenue if there is no success on the park. Its bit of a downward spiral at present.

 

The idea of speculate to accumulate or invest to get a return are all well and good but when you are a business operating at break-even point and carrying the debt we are you just can't take those risks. Add to that we are operating in a market place where our competitors have more money to spend and you have players and agents dictating the length of contracts with the constant hope they can secure a move to where the streets are paved with gold. Now, we also have to compete with huge swathes being

taken out of our revenue from a reduction in TV money and the risk of lower ST sales and gate receipts due to the recession.

 

Aberdeen FC are in the business of working with the best we have and when any players or managers show any sign of promise we will not hold onto them, its that simple. To believe anything else is just romantic pipe dreams.

[capitalsharpie]

Fair enough Aberdeen are in the position of working with the best we have, but Aberdeen are also in the entertainment business and therefore have to provide a level of entertainment.  We are the ONLY spl team in the city and therefore, if we can not develop the revenue to compete with Hearts, DUFC and others to provide that entertaining product in the "energy capital of europe" then there is something far, far wrong at the higher levels at the club.

 

We may be debt free in say 10 years time, but what use is that to us the supporters and the club itself if we are sitting mid table in the first division?  As has been said before, as a crisis looms (ie relegation), all of a sudden money appears for whichever current manager is on the scene in order to avert disaster.  Lets try another tack: spend the disaster fund on keeping the better players which end up being financially better assets for the club.

 

AFC will always have a level of support that does not seem to diminish below a certain level, no matter how pish we are.

[Ajja]

Fair enough Aberdeen are in the position of working with the best we have, but Aberdeen are also in the entertainment business and therefore have to provide a level of entertainment.  We are the ONLY spl team in the city and therefore, if we can not develop the revenue to compete with Hearts, DUFC and others to provide that entertaining product in the "energy capital of europe" then there is something far, far wrong at the higher levels at the club.

 

We may be debt free in say 10 years time, but what use is that to us the supporters and the club itself if we are sitting mid table in the first division?  As has been said before, as a crisis looms (ie relegation), all of a sudden money appears for whichever current manager is on the scene in order to avert disaster.  Lets try another tack: spend the disaster fund on keeping the better players which end up being financially better assets for the club.

 

AFC will always have a level of support that does not seem to diminish below a certain level, no matter how pish we are.

 

Are the club in control of this though ?

 

I thought we were competing well with Hearts and UTD (when did they last finish above us?) or have we given up on this season before a ball is kicked in the SPL ?

[Reekie_Red]

I thought we were competing well with Hearts and UTD

 

Me too. Utd invested heavily in players last summer. However, despite us having a shite season by most Dons fans accounts, we still managed to finish above the Arabs!

 

There's not actually that much that has changed this season, other than Seve departing, Ifil coming in, and Kerr becoming captain. If McGhee can figure out when 4-3-3 isn't working and switch to a 4-4-2 in a match, I reckon we should be okay this term.

[El Padre™]

Me too. Utd invested heavily in players last summer. However, despite us having a shite season by most Dons fans accounts, we still managed to finish above the Arabs!

 

There's not actually that much that has changed this season, other than Seve departing, Ifil coming in, and Kerr becoming captain. If McGhee can figure out when 4-3-3 isn't working and switch to a 4-4-2 in a match, I reckon we should be okay this term.

 

Just before kick off?

[Slim]

What kind of response do you think dear old Stuartie gets when he goes into his only real interest in life, asking questions about why things are not moving forward?  Do you think he'd settle for "Sorry Mr Milne, we've not replaced the main architect to your empire, nor the site manager for your new project but...... geez til January coz we ken a couple muckers fae Homebase up the road fa used tae sketch up kitchen plans and sort oot the warehoose at the wikends.  They'll dee!".

 

Would he fuck.

 

Well that would certainly explain a lot with regards to the quality of the buildings put up by his company.

 

One thing that doesn't add up for me is that we signed the likes of Severin and Smith on big contracts at a time when we didn't have a high level of revenue.

 

Since then, we hit the jackpot and earned millions from a UEFA Cup run, the proceeds of which we were told would be invested in the playing squad over 3 years.

 

We should at the very least have the wages earned by Severin, Smith and Mair available to strengthen the squad if we assume the Europe revenue that has been deferred is swallowed up by the fall in TV revenue.