Mike Garlick says we have £24m in bank

[Lancasterclaret]

My kids take it in turns to come Paul with the one other S/T we have next to me.

I don't recall them having any issues with the ground, the service or even the toilets.

[TsarBomba]

Right, so the biggest way of "improving the experience" is on the pitch no?

I'm all for new experiences and all that, but I'm not seeing craft beer on sale on the concourse being a reason for people to come back.

If we win a lot, we'll get more fans, if we lose a lot, we'll get less.

Sorry Lancaster, but that view point is too black and white.

I have to drive 300 miles for a home game, and I’ve got two young boys.

Regardless of whether we are winning or not, I won’t be coming if I can’t get 3/4 seats together, in a reasonable position. Not being a season ticket holder anymore, I don’t expect decent seats, but also, I’m not going to be on the second to front row getting ****** wet through.

For a start, we need more seating options, and a concourse that’s suitable, with better toilet facilities.

[Claretforever]

In what way do we improve the facilities we have?

I've seen a clip of MCFC fan zone, and it looks amazing. We can't run something like that will only be used once every two weeks

The Man City facilities in their fan zone don’t appear like they cost tens of millions. It’s a permanent bar, so the cost of a small, basic building. There is a permanent toilet block, again probably tens of thousands than hundreds. Then there’s the canopy which is like a tarp material (I think) across metal stanchions.

I posted 2 pictures of it further up this evening.

The only issue with a permanent facility is the reduction of potential car parking spaces during the off season. The costs for running it would be similar to now, very little as a contractor would run it.

The benefit would be cover during the winter or when it’s hammering down, and somewhere to pee without giving up and going into the ground. The ale is much better than the Carlsberg in the ground as well.

[Goody1975]

Our average home crowds (home support) has been quite steady.

2009-10 = 18734
2014-15 = 16380 (**** head decided to give the CFS to away supporters)
2016-17 = 18566
2017-18 = 18804
2018-19 = 18440 (so far)

This could easily be increased towards 20,000 with more available seats (and better quality ones at that).

The main focus should be on what the redevelopment would do for the fans who already attend, you know the ones who had Dave Edmundson rattling buckets at not too long ago.

[Claretforever]

Sorry Lancaster, but that view point is too black and white.

For a start, we need more seating options, and a concourse that’s suitable, with better toilet facilities.

You mean the upside down stand where we have a large concourse for 3,000 fans, and a much smaller concourse for 5,000 fans doesn’t work? I’m shocked!

[Lancasterclaret]

Sorry Lancaster, but that view point is too black and white.

I have to drive 300 miles for a home game, and I’ve got two young boys.

Regardless of whether we are winning or not, I won’t be coming if I can’t get 3/4 seats together, in a reasonable position. Not being a season ticket holder anymore, I don’t expect decent seats, but also, I’m not going to be on the second to front row getting ****** wet through.

For a start, we need more seating options, and a concourse that’s suitable, with better toilet facilities.

No, of course you don't and I fully understand that.

But what are you actually suggesting? An bigger family area which you can't have an S/T in? (would appear to make sense though I don't know how it would work or even how feasible that is)

The wet seats at the front are a problem in most of the grounds I think and I'm not sure what you can do about that.

I know with S/T holders, there isn't a lot of space in the JHU, Bob Lord, JMU but if you book early enough I don't think its that much of a problem (again, not something I'm familiar with having 1 adult and 1 kids S/T)

[TVC15]

My kids take it in turns to come Paul with the one other S/T we have next to me.

I don't recall them having any issues with the ground, the service or even the toilets.

Seriously ? You think the loos are ok to take your children ? I used to hate taking my kids to these when they were little and that was 15 years ago. They have not had any money spent on them at all during this period.
I’m struggling to think of one place who host members of the public that would not improve their toilet facilities over a 15 year period....let alone one that has generated several hundred million pounds of revenue.

Nobody is expecting Man City level facilities but one or two million spent on our facilities would improve these significantly.

[Claret eze]

We basically sell out quite alot apart from rubbish seats that tourists fill in the big games even for man Utd and Liverpool.take a look at any game.

[Goody1975]

Seriously ? You think the loos are ok to take your children ? I used to hate taking my kids to these when they were little and that was 15 years ago. They have not had any money spent on them at all during this period.
I’m struggling to think of one place who host members of the public that would not improve their toilet facilities over a 15 year period....let alone one that has generated several hundred million pounds of revenue.

Nobody is expecting Man City level facilities but one or two million spent on our facilities would improve these significantly.

Exactly.

I had health issues in the past few years meaning the matchday experience wasn't what it was previously, queuing for a two cubicle toilet at half time is horrendous and like was said above, the lack of an accessible toilet is a disgrace, not everyone who requires an accessible toilet is in a wheelchair.

[Spijed]

It seems they get just as wet when it rains at the Etihad:

https://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/thre ... ad.245186/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lancasterclaret]

I've never really thought about it TVC15.

I take them in, I stand with them and I make sure they go in the urinal directly in front of me.

I guess remembering the bogs in the longside or the river of **** at Bootham crescent when I was younger makes me think our bogs are not that bad.

[Lancasterclaret]

Already said no issues with more cubicle and accessible toilets Goody. it makes perfect sense with football fans ages going up due to the cost.

[Claret eze]

I have a season ticket and have a pint at half time(taking turns leaving at 35 mins) to get served.went the fanzone once but didn't bother going in as it was heaving,went the cricket club and spent £21 on 3 drinks at the gin bar rather than go on the concourse before the game.never have a pint before or after the game on the turf it's easier and nicer in a pub or the cricket club..there's 3 of us and we are not the only ones with this match day experience.

[TVC15]

I've never really thought about it TVC15.

I take them in, I stand with them and I make sure they go in the urinal directly in front of me.

I guess remembering the bogs in the longside or the river of **** at Bootham crescent when I was younger makes me think our bogs are not that bad.

Yes and I stood on the Longside aswell 40 years ago many a time watching people decide to go to the toilet on the terraces.....i’m just glad my children never had to witness (or smell !!) that.
I’m talking about a very different time in football though. Football this century is a very different product - not all of it for the better but one thing that has improved is the way the fans are treated...but we have been left behind by many clubs in the top 2 divisions and it’s not clear why given the very fortunate position we find ourselves as a club.

[Steve-Harpers-perm]

I've never really thought about it TVC15.

I take them in, I stand with them and I make sure they go in the urinal directly in front of me.

I guess remembering the bogs in the longside or the river of **** at Bootham crescent when I was younger makes me think our bogs are not that bad.

Nothing would compare to the longside bogs! I took my 3 year old daughter on yesterday was the first time I’d realised how rank the toilets are on the turf!

[Lancasterclaret]

Is that because the cubicle bogs are so bad, or is the ******* animals who can't seem to clean up after themselves?

[Steve-Harpers-perm]

Is that because the cubicle bogs are so bad, or is the ******* animals who can't seem to clean up after themselves?

Bit of both!

[dsr]

Where is there to sit down in the concourse (we aren’t all Lancaster’s age, and many need to get out of the cold at half time)?
Where are the “gender neutral” toilets?
Where are the disabled toilets for those not quite disabled enough to need the new facilities (like people prone to fainting)?
Where is the hot running water?
Why are the first 20 rows soaking wet?
Why do we need to queue for 20 minutes to upgrade a ticket?
Where did the peas go?
Why no decent craft beer inside?

You could go on forever. It is all about standards. Basic standards.

1. Gender neutral toilets aren't necessary. We have toilets for those who pee out of their penis, and we have toilets for those who pee out of the other place. There are no other options. (Well, possibly the odd catheter.) Women who pee out of a penis, can either bite the bullet and pretend to be a man for the purpose of physical activities (such as playing football and going to the toilet), or else they can use the disabled toilets.

2. A row of toilets marked 1-10, use according to degree of disability? Not needed. I dare say there should be more disabled toilets, but there is no need to grade them.

4. Because the wind blows in the wrong direction. Unless the roof is 6 feet off the ground, which would spoil the view for those at the back, the front rows will always get wet.

7. No matter what sort of beer, you have to down it pretty sharpish because you have 16 minutes to reach the bar, get served, drink it, and get back to your seat. No time to savour the flavour. I suspect they wouldn't sell enough of it to justify the cost. Might be worth a try, though.

[bfcwest]

I have a season ticket and have a pint at half time(taking turns leaving at 35 mins) to get served.went the fanzone once but didn't bother going in as it was heaving,went the cricket club and spent £21 on 3 drinks at the gin bar rather than go on the concourse before the game.never have a pint before or after the game on the turf it's easier and nicer in a pub or the cricket club..there's 3 of us and we are not the only ones with this match day experience.

How long has it taken to work that routine out?

Now imagine a Parent and Child coming to their FIRST ever Burnley match after the kid declared to the parent "I'd like to watch Burnley..." (Kids do that whilst we are in the big league you know...) Parent goes on the BFC website and eventually manages to purchase tickets, and then the big day arrives.......Confusing parking, almost none existent around ground experience, grubby concourse, rubbish seats, poor view of the game with fans stood up around you swearing and then shuffling off to the concourse from 25 mins on wards to avoid queues, pissy cold toilets with no usable shitter, sold out of what you wanted to eat at half time after queuing for ages.....generally a rubbish £50+ day out. ............ outcome = Kid quite happy to go back to playing FIFA and watching dodgy streams...

[Claret eze]

How long has it taken to work that routine out?

Now imagine a Parent and Child coming to their FIRST ever Burnley match after the kid declared to the parent "I'd like to watch Burnley..." (Kids do that whilst we are in the big league you know...) Parent goes on the BFC website and eventually manages to purchase tickets, and then the big day arrives.......Confusing parking, almost none existent around ground experience, grubby concourse, rubbish seats, poor view of the game with fans stood up around you swearing and then shuffling off to the concourse from 25 mins on wards to avoid queues, pissy cold toilets with no usable shitter, sold out of what you wanted to eat at half time after queuing for ages.....generally a rubbish £50+ day out. ............ outcome = Kid quite happy to go back to playing FIFA and watching dodgy streams...

Not long 30 years ago.and yes I agree with everything you say.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Exactly.

I had health issues in the past few years meaning the matchday experience wasn't what it was previously, queuing for a two cubicle toilet at half time is horrendous and like was said above, the lack of an accessible toilet is a disgrace, not everyone who requires an accessible toilet is in a wheelchair.

Agree completely.

Many people have a “need” for a cubicle, which are often used up by people queuing for a fag, regardless, there aren’t enough.

People with a whole variety of health issues feel more comfortable in a cubicle. Personally I had a condition about 15 years ago where having a leak made me in danger of fainting. Some people could have had cancer therapy and are weak. Others may have a colostomy bag. None of these people see themselves as “disabled” they just want accessible toilets and as a minimum more, cleaner, cubicles. When our players are driving away in Bentleys it really isn’t too much to demand.

[aggi]

I know with S/T holders, there isn't a lot of space in the JHU, Bob Lord, JMU but if you book early enough I don't think its that much of a problem (again, not something I'm familiar with having 1 adult and 1 kids S/T)

I said earlier in the thread that I got tickets for Spurs 4 weeks in advance and options if you wanted more than one ticket together were the front few rows of the Jimmy Mac lower or James Hargreaves lower wings.

As I said, you (and probably a large number of posters on this board) aren't really the target for this. You've got a decent seat, you'll continue going if we go down, you've got a matchday routine which focuses on the 90 minutes not a day out.

[Royboyclaret]

Wow, just picked up on this thread for the first time since the match yesterday. Unbelievable the number and content of the responses since then.

Proof, if proof was needed, that the BoD made a massive mistake in having just the one informal shareholders meeting in 2012, as this was exactly the kind of subject that would have been raised.

It feels now like the fans simply have no voice and that is how the Board prefer things to be.

[Goody1975]

Wow, just picked up on this thread for the first time since the match yesterday. Unbelievable the number and content of the responses since then.

Proof, if proof was needed, that the BoD made a massive mistake in having just the one informal shareholders meeting in 2012, as this was exactly the kind of subject that would have been raised.

It feels now like the fans simply have no voice and that is how the Board prefer things to be.

The last time the subject was put to him in a forum was the Radio Lancashire one a few years ago, he was asked about ground redevelopment and waffled on about capacity and crowds. Remember this lot listened to Lee Hoos and his famous spreadsheet, you know the one that had more holes in the facts than a cullender.

[Vegas Claret]

We cannot and must not spend 100% (or anywhere near it) of our income on player purchases and wages, if we do we are literally ****** if we go down, as per Bolton and Blackburn.

Every year we stay up we are in a stronger financial position, the fact we have not added in the right areas this year in either transfer window has zero correlation to the long term financial plan and our ability to redevelop (or at least plan to redevelop) Turf Moor.

I'm not suggesting we do, I merely suggesting that better players would attract bigger crowds not new shiny seats

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I'm not suggesting we do, I merely suggesting that better players would attract bigger crowds not new shiny seats

Doesn't always work like that though.

Rovers rarely sold out Ewood, even when they won the title.

[Vegas Claret]

Doesn't always work like that though.

Rovers rarely sold out Ewood, even when they won the title.

which also proves that shiny new seats don't work, maybe it's just the ticket prices nowadays

[GodIsADeeJay81]

which also proves that shiny new seats don't work, maybe it's just the ticket prices nowadays

Rovers had the cheapest season tickets in the PL for years and years.
They even arranged free buses I think for many fans further out.

They still failed to sell out every game.

The PL loses it's allure after a period of mid table dossing,or fighting relegation, it's a guarantee for the majority of clubs.
That's why it was simply bizarre to watch some on here having a gripe about the club being in the Europa league when it's pretty much the only thing that's been different for the club during it's time in the PL, apart from hitting those heights of 7th of course.

Cheap tickets would help for the short term, but it still doesn't ensure a full house and our tickets aren't overpriced really, plus the spread payments with the club is a brilliant option (apart from the direct debit date )

[ClaretRock]

Without thinking too much into it. Its abit worrying we only have 3.9 mil more than in June 17. We haven't had too many outgoings besides players and staff wages and bonuses and if the money has gone into that then how are these other teams surviving. I wouldn't mind seeing what the shareholders are taking from the pot just to make sure they ain't doing a Blackpool which I doubt but something doesn't add up. 3.9mil in almost 2 years in the top league having spent next to nothing on players.

[TVC15]

Without thinking too much into it. Its abit worrying we only have 3.9 mil more than in June 17. We haven't had too many outgoings besides players and staff wages and bonuses and if the money has gone into that then how are these other teams surviving. I wouldn't mind seeing what the shareholders are taking from the pot just to make sure they ain't doing a Blackpool which I doubt but something doesn't add up. 3.9mil in almost 2 years in the top league having spent next to nothing on players.

We spent £30m in the summer and as said above we have no idea as to what cash position Garlick is referring to.
If you seriously think our directors are “doing a Blackpool” then you really have no knowledge over who runs Burnley FC.
If our board wanted to emulate the Oystons they would have done it before now and they would not have a wage bill of upwards of £80m. You do realise that Oyston paid himself a dividend of almost £20m in the year they went up and his son was still operating a wage policy of not paying players during the summer !!

Wait for the accounts and stop worrying. We are in the strongest financial position in our history.

[lakedistrictclaret]

I can only speak for the concourse in the Longside Upper, but I don't think this is any worse than most other away supporters' concourses.

As for seating in the concourse, I can't, off the top of my head, think of any ground with concourse seating.

[Lancasterclaret]

Okay

Suggest that those of you who have made the same observations write/e-mail/phone the club with your concerns.

Regarding the seating issue, not quite sure what you can do there. Unless the Bob Lord is replaced with something like the JH, then I'm not sure where the extra seating with good views comes in, and I'm not sure how you hold it so its not full of S/T holders.

[beddie]

And whilst you at it can you organise hand dryers that blow warm air.

[TVC15]

Okay

Suggest that those of you who have made the same observations write/e-mail/phone the club with your concerns.

Regarding the seating issue, not quite sure what you can do there. Unless the Bob Lord is replaced with something like the JH, then I'm not sure where the extra seating with good views comes in, and I'm not sure how you hold it so its not full of S/T holders.

It’s been raised many many times at meetings with the club. Absolute waste of time emailing the club about issues they are already aware of and choose to do nothing about.

[Lancasterclaret]

Okay, then I reckon you should moan about it on here. That always works!

(If you don't contact the club repeatedly, then they will continue to ignore it, I can't see anything else that you can do)

[TVC15]

Let’s not start a debate about moaning too much on a messageboard LC....I suspect you may not win !!

[CrosspoolClarets]

We spent £30m in the summer and as said above we have no idea as to what cash position Garlick is referring to.
If you seriously think our directors are “doing a Blackpool” then you really have no knowledge over who runs Burnley FC.
If our board wanted to emulate the Oystons they would have done it before now and they would not have a wage bill of upwards of £80m. You do realise that Oyston paid himself a dividend of almost £20m in the year they went up and his son was still operating a wage policy of not paying players during the summer !!

Wait for the accounts and stop worrying. We are in the strongest financial position in our history.

The poster said they “doubt” the board are doing a Blackpool, I suspect they agree with you. I interpreted the post as a grumble about a lack of transparency.

As regards your post, quoted, I would just take issue with the “we”. A chunk of us who are shareholders are “we” in a sense, but the rest of us are just paying customers. Our loyalty is taken advantage of and patronised with the constant “all in it together” publicity coming out of the club’s media team. It is not rewarded (apart from the one off free season ticket which I suspect caught them by surprise when we scraped up). All this cash ends up going into the pockets of a small number of people (mainly the players). “We” are only benefitting if it is spent on us (I don’t count simply being grateful to watch good players, and simply being grateful the club will survive through my lifetime).

[Lancasterclaret]

I don't moan about the club and the team though TVC15!

I genuinely can't see how people can moan about them considering where we are and what we have achieved.

Now on Brexit you have a point!

[keith1879]

How long has it taken to work that routine out?

Now imagine a Parent and Child coming to their FIRST ever Burnley match after the kid declared to the parent "I'd like to watch Burnley..." (Kids do that whilst we are in the big league you know...) Parent goes on the BFC website and eventually manages to purchase tickets, and then the big day arrives.......Confusing parking, almost none existent around ground experience, grubby concourse, rubbish seats, poor view of the game with fans stood up around you swearing and then shuffling off to the concourse from 25 mins on wards to avoid queues, pissy cold toilets with no usable shitter, sold out of what you wanted to eat at half time after queuing for ages.....generally a rubbish £50+ day out. ............ outcome = Kid quite happy to go back to playing FIFA and watching dodgy streams...

This did make me stop and think. But I can remember bringing my daughters on the James Hargreaves upper when they were little and they loved it and came back. I also much more recently brought a friend on who is in her 50s and her previous experience of football was standing on terraces 30 years ago and a recent hospitality trip to OldTrafford. - she absolutley loved the "buzz" in the concourse for the James Hargreaves upper (which a vocal opinion here thinks is a rubbish stand).
I don't think anyone can argue that the toilets couldn't be improved - although even there we have hot water and hand dryers that work which is not always the case in this country.

I seriously doubt that better facilities will attract more than a very marginal number of extra supporters - but surely the Cricket Field stand will soon need to be replaced so perhaps we will see this proposition tested.

[TVC15]

The poster said they “doubt” the board are doing a Blackpool, I suspect they agree with you. I interpreted the post as a grumble about a lack of transparency.

As regards your post, quoted, I would just take issue with the “we”. A chunk of us who are shareholders are “we” in a sense, but the rest of us are just paying customers. Our loyalty is taken advantage of and patronised with the constant “all in it together” publicity coming out of the club’s media team. It is not rewarded (apart from the one off free season ticket which I suspect caught them by surprise when we scraped up). All this cash ends up going into the pockets of a small number of people (mainly the players). “We” are only benefitting if it is spent on us (I don’t count simply being grateful to watch good players, and simply being grateful the club will survive through my lifetime).

I’ve already said I think the club should be spending significantly more money than they do on facilities for the fans....so we agree on that
Where I disagree with you massively is your last sentence. For the vast majority of fans - me included - this is exactly what we are grateful for.
We are seeing a calibre of player and a calibre of teams playing for and against Burnley that for anyone under the age of about 55 / 60 have never seen. If you cannot enjoy and be grateful of that then you are in for some disappointing times ahead i’m afraid. It’s the current owners and board that appointed the managers so they deserve a lot of credit - because many clubs have failed dismally to achieve what we have.

[keith1879]

The poster said they “doubt” the board are doing a Blackpool, I suspect they agree with you. I interpreted the post as a grumble about a lack of transparency.

As regards your post, quoted, I would just take issue with the “we”. A chunk of us who are shareholders are “we” in a sense, but the rest of us are just paying customers. Our loyalty is taken advantage of and patronised with the constant “all in it together” publicity coming out of the club’s media team. It is not rewarded (apart from the one off free season ticket which I suspect caught them by surprise when we scraped up). All this cash ends up going into the pockets of a small number of people (mainly the players). “We” are only benefitting if it is spent on us (I don’t count simply being grateful to watch good players, and simply being grateful the club will survive through my lifetime).

Interesting - having watched our teams at various levels over the years I have no hesitation at all in saying that the ultimate "reward" for me would be to see us win a trophy. The fact that we are now so much closer to this than at any time in the last 40 years is a step to the reward that I crave (and I suspect that I am not alone). Like any entertainment I expect to pay a cash price for it.

[TVC15]

I don't moan about the club and the team though TVC15!

I genuinely can't see how people can moan about them considering where we are and what we have achieved.

Now on Brexit you have a point!

Come on LC - i don’t think many fans are moaning about the great times we are seeing on the pitch. I am not for sure. But that does not mean the club have not got some things wrong...they have got plenty of things wrong and luckily for all of us they have got a lot more right.
It’s well within our financial capacity to improve facilities for fans pretty significantly and at least bring them into this century. We are one of the richest clubs in Europe yet parts of our ground are no better than clubs in the bottom tier.

[Lancasterclaret]

No real argument with that, but I have asked for specifics and how we achieve them.

[TVC15]

Specifics
- Knock down and rebuild every toilet facility with clean and modern facilities which cater for all ages, gender, etc. We need at least 3 times as many - and there is more than enough room in the concourses.
- increase the number of bars and improve technology of pumps (Blackburn have the speedy beer pouring things that Spurs are getting so they are not beyond us)
- increase the number and variety of food places
- increase the number of staff
- increase the number of TV screens
- put some kind of air vent / heating system in
- introduce some seating - round the edges stools for example and also we can accommodate some high tables like many other clubs do.
- lick of paint !

A couple of million would go a long way and some of the above would generate extra revenue and some could also be sponsored...we ain’t talking Trump Towers here !

[Bordeauxclaret]

Specifics
- Knock down and rebuild every toilet facility with clean and modern facilities which cater for all ages, gender, etc. We need at least 3 times as many - and there is more than enough room in the concourses.
- increase the number of bars and improve technology of pumps (Blackburn have the speedy beer pouring things that Spurs are getting so they are not beyond us)
- increase the number and variety of food places
- increase the number of staff
- increase the number of TV screens
- put some kind of air vent / heating system in
- introduce some seating - round the edges stools for example and also we can accommodate some high tables like many other clubs do.
- lick of paint !

A couple of million would go a long way and some of the above would generate extra revenue and some could also be sponsored...we ain’t talking Trump Towers here !

I quite enjoy the genuine surprise of the people behind the bar when people come to order a drink at half time.
I mean if they were expecting people it would make sense to have some pre-poured wouldn’t it, yet game after game, year after year it’s the same.

On the other issues I wonder how many other places would get away with the same facilities over a nearly 30 year span.
Luckily I’m not one who has to depend on the facilities too much but I feel sorry for the ones that do.

[aggi]

The poster said they “doubt” the board are doing a Blackpool, I suspect they agree with you. I interpreted the post as a grumble about a lack of transparency.

As regards your post, quoted, I would just take issue with the “we”. A chunk of us who are shareholders are “we” in a sense, but the rest of us are just paying customers. Our loyalty is taken advantage of and patronised with the constant “all in it together” publicity coming out of the club’s media team. It is not rewarded (apart from the one off free season ticket which I suspect caught them by surprise when we scraped up). All this cash ends up going into the pockets of a small number of people (mainly the players). “We” are only benefitting if it is spent on us (I don’t count simply being grateful to watch good players, and simply being grateful the club will survive through my lifetime).

I'd also disagree with the last line. What's happening on the pitch is the main (but not the only) point of it all. Being able to watch a good Burnley, and top quality opposition, is a huge benefit compared to years gone by. Add to that the fact that we can watch it relatively cheaply compared to a lot of top flight teams and our directors are clearly doing some things right The issue is more the progression, the team is the major part of it but it's not the be all and end all.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is that we've already been making large capital investments with the training ground. Although it may not be that visible to the fans, the club haven't been resting on their laurels.

[Quickenthetempo]

As many have pointed out we will never have a better time to improve things. Looking at other clubs similar to ours the premier league money is just taken up by wages after so many years in the league. Everyone wants paying more.

When the novelty wears off of the big league, it becomes expensive day out or watch at home on IPTV or similar.

We need to keep the matchday experience a good one.

[CrosspoolClarets]

I’ve already said I think the club should be spending significantly more money than they do on facilities for the fans....so we agree on that
Where I disagree with you massively is your last sentence. For the vast majority of fans - me included - this is exactly what we are grateful for.
We are seeing a calibre of player and a calibre of teams playing for and against Burnley that for anyone under the age of about 55 / 60 have never seen. If you cannot enjoy and be grateful of that then you are in for some disappointing times ahead i’m afraid. It’s the current owners and board that appointed the managers so they deserve a lot of credit - because many clubs have failed dismally to achieve what we have.

To clarify my last sentence, yes, I agree, I am grateful for the team I watch and for the survival of the club. I meant “we” in a money sense is different to “we” as a group of fans enjoying the football on the pitch. As I posted earlier in this thread, not only am I grateful but I applaud the Board for their skill in doing so (similar to how I applaud Dyche but still want him to improve in some ways).

My point was that this gratefulness only goes so far. Unless there is a legacy for the fans to enjoy when we are back in the Championship or League 1, we won’t look back on this board as heroes, in fact I would hazard a guess that in 30 years time we won’t remember them at all. That would change if there was a legacy for the fans of the same quality as there is for the players in the form of the training ground. Imagine what that would feel like for them when the time comes for them to retire and look back in pride?

I feel it quite acutely because I know I could design a financial plan to do this whilst still preserving the club as being worth a huge sum of money (thus preserving the shareholder value for the time they choose to sell). I have a little bit of skill at this stuff and have built plans for billion pound developments before now. It feels to me like opportunity is dribbling through the fingers like sand on a beach. The essential components are there now - current turnover, long term turnover protection (parachutes), low interest rates, (presumably) zero debt, high attendances, a good manager and good players. That won’t last. Whoever is advising the club need to grasp this and start advising them to take a 30 year view.

[TVC15]

Would not disagree with the fact that they need a long term plan but the club would no doubt argue that they have one - they are not dummies. It’s just their plan differs from yours and mine.

Our commercial department has never been Premier League standard and we are too far into it to ever think this will change now....unless we were taken over by somebody with a very different approach to running the club than the current board.

So whilst we have our current board I do not expect the level of change you want - and i’m not particularly calling for it either as personally I think there are other social factors surrounding our town which limit our capacity to grow beyond a certain point.

But I would definitely improve the facilities for fans as I have outlined and in addition I would also knock down and rebuild the Bob Lord or Cricketfield stand if we stay up this season....but limit the spend to between £10m and £20m which we could of course capitalise and write off / depreciate over the next 10 years.
Capacity terms I would limit any increase to maybe a thousand extra fans and at least another 500 corporate fans (or a 1,000 if we could). The more corporate we can do the more we can protect the inevitable relegation. Sell / lease our corporate boxes for 10 years - like many other clubs do.

[Lancasterclaret]

Quick question, but with the variety of income that could come in due to relegation, how feasible is a long term plan that doesn't take into account we could get relegated in the first year of that 30 year plan?