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Post by paulayres on May 11, 2011 6:43:28 GMT
It looks like WPL are to back Wilder for a serious promotion push next season. If what is reported on the back page of todays OM is correct then CW "will get the support he needs financially"
Looking forward to seeing the "new" players join the club and a very successfull 2011-2012 season.
Onwards and Upwards as they say.
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Post by Si Bradbury on May 11, 2011 7:50:39 GMT
That sounds exciting.
I am so pleased that the supporters are once again backing the club with the impressive Season Ticket sales and I know an awful lot of people who have yet to renew and intend too. These things help too.
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Post by secondsout on May 11, 2011 8:36:40 GMT
2500 season ticket renewals in the first discounted period apparently.
I think thats awesome. We may even see a slight increase on attendances this season.
As for the money, great! With that and the 12th man fund we may be able to sign some of these big names being spoken about.
Perhaps WPL have abandoned trying to buy the stadium just yet and want to get us more successful on the pitch, thus raising revenue. The stadium price is already set (ridiculously high) so being successful on the pitch wont affect the purchase cost. I know the rent doesnt help but if we have that budgeted for, our revenue is going up, and WPL can still put money in to the playing side then it softens the blow.
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Post by oxfordhateswindon on May 11, 2011 9:24:09 GMT
Secondsout, it was actually over 2,700 before the deadline, very very impressive.
This article has come as a big surprise. It sounds very positive and I'm finally pleased that the owner has come out as an ambitious owner. But I hope we don't overspend, and regret it in years to come. It seems like we will have a great chance next year. I can't want to get a season ticket now.
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Post by Mark on May 11, 2011 10:53:02 GMT
Last year the initial discount period finished prior to the play-off final, so it is not surprising that a lot of people waited to see what league we would be in before renewing.
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Post by grb on May 11, 2011 10:56:56 GMT
Last year the initial discount period finished prior to the play-off final, so it is not surprising that a lot of people waited to see what league we would be in before renewing. Agreed but on the flip side people knew this season that we weren't going up and were having another season in L2 and the sales have been impressive. I think 2700 was a surprise and very pleasing.
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Post by Millman on May 11, 2011 11:04:35 GMT
Its a tightrope that I really hope we are not overbalancing on. This money for Wilder must not be financed against increased debt or further losses.
The big question is then where does an increased budget come from? This season did indeed see great attendances, but do we gamble that they will last next season? Prudence suggests maybe we should not. We must certainly not gamble that attendance will grow next season.
Maybe we have made a profit this season and instead of loan repayments to the owners this will be ploughed back in, that is perfectly acceptable. Other than that the extra money can only either come from increased revenue (if so what?) or reduced costs (again what can we cut).
I greet this whole story with cautious optimism. As ever it raises many questions that I hope KT or WPL will answer regarding the level or risk or debt they are gambling with here. I state again that any investment has to be sustainable and must not be for the sake of increased debt.
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Post by secondsout on May 11, 2011 11:44:46 GMT
Our revenue from games will increase on the basis that we will have a sell out against Swindon and very high attendance against Bristol Rovers and Luton (if they come up). As long as our attendances stay roughly the same across the board, we should increase revenue based on the addition of these three games.
If we are near the top we may also get one or two more "massive" attendance, maybe even sell out games in as well.
Thats not gonna add loads to the transfer kitty but perhaps WPL are looking at that, the fact we made a profit last year, and looking at what promotion would mean to the books.
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Post by Millman on May 11, 2011 11:50:58 GMT
All good points secondsout. However I still think we should temper our expectations of crowd sizes. It is worth remembering that this year has been exceptional and maybe not viewed as the normal level yet. Secondly we all well know that extra budget does not necessarily mean better results. Should we have a poor start to the season we may well be facing average crowds of 6000 - 6500. I would therefore hope that next seasons break even figure is set no higher than 7000.
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Post by grb on May 11, 2011 11:51:09 GMT
Its a tightrope that I really hope we are not overbalancing on. This money for Wilder must not be financed against increased debt or further losses. The big question is then where does an increased budget come from? This season did indeed see great attendances, but do we gamble that they will last next season? Prudence suggests maybe we should not. We must certainly not gamble that attendance will grow next season. Maybe we have made a profit this season and instead of loan repayments to the owners this will be ploughed back in, that is perfectly acceptable. Other than that the extra money can only either come from increased revenue (if so what?) or reduced costs (again what can we cut). I greet this whole story with cautious optimism. As ever it raises many questions that I hope KT or WPL will answer regarding the level or risk or debt they are gambling with here. I state again that any investment has to be sustainable and must not be for the sake of increased debt. I think that there will be very few gambles (if any) taken with regard to the budget CW is allowed. We're not run by Nick Merry anymore and I think WPL have learnt a lot from previous mistakes and will show caution when making funds available.
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Post by banzai on May 11, 2011 11:52:52 GMT
Should be noted that last year's early bird season ticket deals in March were for renewals only i believe. This year new season tickets can also be purchased at a reduced rate in March/April.
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Post by oufcrealist on May 11, 2011 12:06:57 GMT
Its a tightrope that I really hope we are not overbalancing on. This money for Wilder must not be financed against increased debt or further losses. The big question is then where does an increased budget come from? This season did indeed see great attendances, but do we gamble that they will last next season? Prudence suggests maybe we should not. We must certainly not gamble that attendance will grow next season. Maybe we have made a profit this season and instead of loan repayments to the owners this will be ploughed back in, that is perfectly acceptable. Other than that the extra money can only either come from increased revenue (if so what?) or reduced costs (again what can we cut). I greet this whole story with cautious optimism. As ever it raises many questions that I hope KT or WPL will answer regarding the level or risk or debt they are gambling with here. I state again that any investment has to be sustainable and must not be for the sake of increased debt. Pretty much sums it up. There are things in the article that suggest the owner will be prudent whilst trying to increase the budget and give Wilder what he wants. There will be a balance I'm sure. Good for PR if nothing else!
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 11, 2011 12:59:42 GMT
When you see that quote it's a lot more saner than we are giving him all he wants regardless.
It's nice to see a positive message from WPL though.
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Post by Mark on May 11, 2011 13:18:21 GMT
Asked whether funds will be made available to the manager, he [IL] replied: “Our job is to give Chris the support that he needs financially.
“And the way that we do that is by increasing our own revenues, controlling our costs, making sure that we’ve got the profit generated that allows Chris to spend the extra money he needs.”
And Lenagan revealed: “We had a board meeting last week and we have agreed to give him what he judges to be necessary, and still keep Oxford United in a positive position financially.” ------------------------ So a fairly cautious approach which suggests that Wilder's player budget will increase, not from WPL putting more cash in, but by increasing revenues and savings elsewhere. Which seems fairly sensible to me.
Although does it allow any spare if crowds go down? / does it allow fans loans to be repaid? / will we need bank borrowings? / will season tickets get issued earlier and earlier like Bradford do? / what if no decent Cup run income?
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Post by Lone Gunman on May 11, 2011 13:28:10 GMT
A good start to next season will be essential. Attendances may slightly increase but will at least remian as this term, thus justifying an increased spend on the squad. The only problem will come if attendances drop off, though i think we could absorb a small drop given that it would likely be recouped from the sell out games such as swindon and BR.
As has been stated above I doubt there will be any reckless spending as there has been in the past and we know wilder is good at driving hard bargains when he has to. Just because he is being given more money doesn't mean he has to spend it all.
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Post by The Fence End on May 11, 2011 14:46:50 GMT
Good to see the board has the same ambitions as us fans! Let's hope the money is used wisely and we really go for it next season!!
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Post by londonroader on May 12, 2011 16:17:48 GMT
Good PR, but was it the most sensible time to announce this, before signing players!
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Post by ryaniobirdio on May 12, 2011 16:22:00 GMT
Good PR, but was it the most sensible time to announce this, before signing players! Probably best to have kept any news of extra funds quiet. Players and agents try it on enough as it is.
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Post by oxfordhateswindon on May 12, 2011 16:23:03 GMT
Good PR, but was it the most sensible time to announce this, before signing players! I thought the same. Making it clear Wilder has more money to spend wouldn't have gone unnoticed by other clubs and agents. Agree it was good Lenegan said, but disagree with the timing
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Post by Godders on May 12, 2011 17:47:03 GMT
A couple of points. 1. Just because we have a big budget doesn't mean we'll allow ourselves to get held to ransom. 2. I trust the leadership at our club to make any transfer decisions with the best interests of the long term future of the club in mind.
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Post by pidaman on May 12, 2011 18:13:37 GMT
Unfortunately the policing costs for both Luton and Swindon will more than offset the increased gate receipts. I understand that we would earn more from Crawley despite the much lower number of visiting supporters.
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