The headline figures are that turnover is up, wages are down, commercial income is up and the bottom line profit is just shy of £10 million which isn’t bad at all.
These figures are from last season where we finished 16th in the league and had the Europa League to contend with. In actual fact the figures did show that participation in Europe really wasn’t worth it in terms of finance as the dip in our league form and league position (assuming the Europa League was at least partly to blame for it) failed to be offset by the cash brought in by being in the ugly sister of European competition.
As has been said before, balance sheets can’t be celebrated by football fans so where does this leave us? A lack of incoming transfer activity this season with only two loan deals and the acquisition of a player for the future has been painted by fans as a lack of ambition from the club which is hard to argue with when combined with some baffling statements (cups not important/finish 10th minimum) coming from the club itself. Then you have the cash from the sale of Yohan Cabaye to consider.
The figures for this season (to be released this time next year) should make for interesting reading. If you use our latest accounts as a guide then add on an increase in TV revenue, a likely increase in Premier League prize money, a further increase in commercial revenue and no significant outlay on platers (compared to last season where we signed six players on permanent deals) you can see which way profit is heading. It doesn’t take an accountant to work out it should go up.
But it is what is done with that profit that interests us more than anything. It needs reinvesting in the team. From players to coaches, everything needs improving. If the club do that and show that they are trying they might find that more fans get off their back.
This is where there needs to be a balance between profit and ambition – or investment – but at the moment it’s not clear where the dividing line is. My own opinion is that if there are no shareholders to keep happy with a dividend, and Ashley’s camp is quick to point out he takes no money from the club directly, then what is the point in profit when we still have building to do?
It’s boring for some but please feel free to add your comments below.
Spending money doesn’t necessarily equate to showing ambition. I want new players in but we have been really poor at getting the deals over the line. However, they do need to be right players. There have been some big money signings (other teams of course 😉 ) that have failed to get going. I am happy for us to bide our time on certain players but we must have a solid plan b if those players don’t come on board when we need them. I think that has been our biggest downfall. We have chased players that are still under contract and we have failed to land them and we have been left wanting. We are guilty of putting all of our eggs in one basket on too many occasions. I am not even going to hope that we get it right in the summer, because who the **** knows what is going to happen..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
I wait with bated breath for what will happen to dear old kitty.
By the way, the statement was that cups were not a priority, not that they weren’t important. And what’s wrong with aiming for 10th as a minimum?
Anyhow, I’ve got a game to go to. Must remember to check out the advertisements. lol:
brisvegas(Quote)
Pards getting the writing on the wall early doors.
Lee Ryder @lee_ryder · 1 hr
Alan Pardew warns Toon Army that Newcastle United revamp will be a ‘slow build’ http://bit.ly/1cZHG1p #NUFC
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KIMTOON(Quote)
Or to put it another way, don’t be expecting too much come summer, as if we did 🙄
KIMTOON(Quote)
The problem is that the results whilst they are an improvement on previous years, still show that we made a loss excluding transfers. You are right Toonsy the next set of accounts should be substantially better but my worry is that we don’t have the right structure in place to maximise the commercial revenue (it is significantly lower than before Ashley took over) and also can the current board get deals done in the summer? We need a new chairman and a decent DOF but aren’t going to address it until the summer and may not even do it then.
With the right management structure the club revenue and ability to compete would be much greater. This letter from a fan sums it up -taken from football economy.com
A ‘concerned Newcastle fan’ has responded to our recent posting on the annual results at the football club and we are happy to post his comments which give an alternative perspective:
“I really like your website but have to say how disappointed I was with your ‘Big Profit At Newcastle’ article. I wasn’t surprised to see the local press, and sports journalists in general, regurgitating the club propaganda but I was very surprised to see you do the same. When I saw you’d written something I was expecting some incisive analysis.’
‘The reality is that Ashley is strangling our club. Despite slashing costs to the bone including more admin staff redundancies and cutting the squad to the bone, the club still lost money (before the amortisation magic was worked). This is the third best supported club with all the inbuilt advantages of that, yet Ashley still manages to lose money before you come to the player trading/jiggery pokey.’
‘No surprise from me to see them have the audacity to claim that our Commercial and Matchday revenue is going to drive us forward – but really surprised to see you fall for this. NUFC should be bringing in tens of millions more in Matchday/Commercial but their combined total is £16.3m LESS than the season (2006/07) before Ashley bought the club.’
‘You repeat their boast of a 24% increase in Commercial Revenue, that massively hides the fact it was less than £14m the previous year, it was TWICE that (£27.6m) six years before!’
‘Likewise the talk of Matchday revenues driving us forward, £27.8m this past season but six years before they were £33.6m, all of these figures are also without taking into account inflation and the massively expanded commercial opportunities for PL clubs now. As for Matchday revenue, Ashley’s drive is to make sure bums on seats at any price as a backdrop to his free advertising across his brands, so we have 8,000 in the family enclosure (which in reality is a cheap section and simply branded as a family area) plus most other fans are in long-term arrangements at a fixed price for their season tickets (though thousands have had enough and cancelled in the last month).’
‘We are massively propped up by the TV money and with no commercial team to drive revenue, or desire to do so as it would dilute Ashley’s free marketing, we are knackered. There is no room for expansion/profit except by selling players.”
In subsequent discussion he also made the point that one wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money at Newcastle to make it a really successful club.
I have a number of friends who are Newcastle supporters and I can appreciate the concerns of Toon fans about the Ashley regime. Sometimes when we get financial results we have to report them in the first instance and do more analysis later. There are also limitations about what I can do whilst still pursuing the day job! Nevertheless, I think that the criticisms made by the concerned fan are valid ones.
It is quite unusual for a football club to make any sort of profit, particularly for three years running. But then one can do that by clever player trading. When Charlton were on the brink of establishing themselves as a top club in the years after the Second World War, they were known as a ‘selling’ club. The desire of the then owners to balance the books, laudable in itself, meant that momentum was lost. So I can empathise with Newcastle fans who are widely respected for their dedication.
3hourswasted(Quote)
3Hours ,good post that mate.
KIMTOON(Quote)
That is spot on Aussie. We have the funds available but have a poor record of getting players over the line unless Ashley steps in personally as he was reported to have done in January 2013. We really need a well connected experienced DOF and Chairman and someone to drive the commercial revenue.
3hourswasted(Quote)
Is the price tag for the new academy not included in the figures?
If not, then that’s where some of the profits for next year will go.
Is that a good thing? The academy’s haven’t done much yet.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
3HRs
The executive boxes aren’t all taken and he’s reduced season tickets including the increase of the family enclosure. My sons ticket cost £8 per month.
There’s no glory so the glory seekers stay away. Hence the decrease in match day revenue.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
It’s pointless making a profit if the profits aren’t to be re-invested.
Stuart79(Quote)
3HRS, I believe we genuinely go after the player we really want and if the negotiations break down, the thought process turns to, can we survive without the player we just failed to get. If the answer is yes, then we wait. This is all very well if we stay out of trouble but it is a dangerous game to be playing.
Id rather we didn’t operate this way but it seems the way things are as it stands..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
When he stepped in he did what had to be done and paid what had to be paid in order to put us back on track. This shows that there is absolutely no need for us to have so many issues when signing players that we seem to encounter every window. The fact we got 5 in one go so quick and easily makes a mockery of our constant struggle every window to seemingly be able to land just one and smacks of us possibly not offering a fair price/wage possibly , certainly that seems to of been the case where Cabella was concerned in the last window going off reports at the time. We can get guys in if we really want to , we just choose to tread water and wait too often, which could prove disastrous in the long term as almost happened in the previous season.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Aussie @11 exactly mate.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Kim, your post at 12 pretty much describes what happens if the answer is no, we can’t wait!
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
I’m sure that is right Aussie. I have no doubt we went after players to replace Cabaye, Cabella and Grenier seemed to be the ones we wanted. The problem is we don’t seem to have the expertise (JFK 🙄 ) and the will to get them. It is laudable not to get turned over and by waiting we may get the deal we want but it can store up problems. We have to get 5or 6 in during the summer, maybe more depending on who leaves. Unless Ashley gets personally involved I don’t have a lot of confidence the current management team can get the required numbers and quality ‘over the line’
3hourswasted(Quote)
I agree mate, our negotiating team hardly bred much confidence going into the past two window.. feckin shambles..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Troy I would have no problem with the ticket pricing if we were driving commercial revenue. It is great to keep ticket prices down and ours are certainly a lot lower than many.
As you say if the club was being successful a lot of the glory hunters would be back and we would have waiting lists again. I’m sure prices would start to rise in that case. Not sure how many of our season tickets are on the long term 10 year deal (mine is) but obviously that may prevent a big increase in gate revenue. Having said that you have to have membership with your season ticket and the cost of that isn’t frozen so they could start hiking that I guess.
3hourswasted(Quote)
You can always count on Troy to be a member! 😛
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Look at the Remy situation, a classic example of inept negotiating if ever there was . The fact is Remy needed a PL club to play at to showcase his ability in order to obtain WC selection as has now happened. Now we know he had the rape case hanging over him so all we had to do was say we will loan him pay his wages in full but we have first dabs if we want him and the case collapses take it or leave it. But no ,not us we pay the loan fee and wages so QPR are happy ,the players happy and we massively inflate his value for QPR by showcasing him, exactly other than £2m worth of goals what have we got from this deal? ,it’s a bloody joke of a deal imo and should of been dealt with much wiser.
KIMTOON(Quote)
FTSOASWW 😛
Troy Stavers(Quote)
3HRS@5 – that’s the exact same piece I posted yesterday. Most people don’t realise that revenues have actually decreased since Ash took over. Amazing when other clubs have dramatically increased.
NUFC – THE advertising vehicle for SD – that’s all.
See Pards is now saying he would have liked to get Huddlestone last summer. Fine – he was £5m but somehow we couldn’t afford that. Very impressive player, bossing games. £5m! 😥
georgio(Quote)
They can easily work together, as Arsenal and Spurs and others have shown. The key is to act on the opportune moments. If we had invested strongly after our 5th placed finish, or even got the right players that January, and then done simple things like sorting out Ba’s contract we may well have been able to really get among the top clubs and possibly could have caused trouble for the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool. But certainly Spurs and Everton imo.
As it was we missed that opportunity and spiralled down a bit, we’ve now lost one of our best players and we’ve probably had to give bigger wages to those we bought last January (because they knew we needed them as we were struggling) than we might.
Anyway a lot of that is chance so fair enough we didn’t go for it. But the club is missing two or three top executives/specialists in order to identify players and coaches and set out footballing targets, alongside someone to tie up deals and someone else to get a good marketing team together and increase our revenue. Lower ticket prices is a good thing but are they low because they know we’re unambitious and they can’t charge more or is it out of the kindness of their hearts?
Newkie(Quote)
I don’t know if this is true but this is a comment from the footymad site which gives a different perspective:
1) commercial and matchday down £16.7m from 2006/2007 – sounds horrible doesnt it? then of course those of us who can remember the shpherd tenure can remember that he took the full northern rock sponsorship up front instead of the per season norm. So those commercial figures from 2006/2007 paint a false picture they include a FULL five year sponsorship deal in ONE payment.
2) the follow up from that is in subsequent seasons the (the ashley years) the club recieved no sponsorship from northern rock as Shepherd had taken it all up front. So you see this fan is deliberately painting a false picture.
3) For example if ashley had pulled the same trick as shepherd with the wonga deal the last accounts would have shown at least an EXTRA £18m in commercial dealings.
3hourswasted(Quote)
3hours-is that all true then? That is definitely believable. I guess the year previous would need to be looked at to see if the 2006/7 year was an anomaly or not. But then those years would be boosted by champions league footie, extra games and all that lark..
Newkie(Quote)
I haven’t checked it myself Newkie but the bloke who posted it is normally very good with this side of things. I do remember Shepherd had mortgaged future TV and gate receipts to pay for the likes of Owen, so it could well be right.
3hourswasted(Quote)
Even if it is true Shepherd took the Northern Rock money up front it is still the case that we need to vastly improve our commercial revenue. Do we have a commercial team in place to do that?
3hourswasted(Quote)
Tom Huddleston 😯 😆 shame we didnt get Pardews players. Huddleston and Bent would of galvanised the team 🙄
So Pardew said we will spend in the summer. At least 2-3 players but we havent got Qatar money? it will be a slow build?? how slow, slow death more like… it surely can’t get any slower than it is.
Year 6 of the 5yr plan and we’re starting to build slowly.. 😆
I can’t wait..
mark(Quote)
Huddlestones a good player, He ran the midfield at SJP earlier in the season up against Cabaye, Sissoko and Anita.
Hes also decent from set pieces while weve got our left back taking them. Bent looks like hes shot his bolt though
CC(Quote)
I would have taken huddlestone at 5 mil. If Pardew could get him working hard he’d probably be worth 25 mil! 😆 But it’s not so much a position we need to strengthen. Two strikers at least, attacking mid, winger, back up right back, and trade taylor for a better centre back.
Newkie(Quote)
I remember when Sloppychops was being interview and he had ask Huddlestone to be more physical to become a better player. Huddlestone apparently said, it’s just not my thing to win tackles and be physical??
If he was any good Spurs wouldnt of let him go after he was left out for a while.
He’s certainly no cabaye or tiote & doesnt have the engine of sissoko.
mark(Quote)
I see the Chronicle are reporting that Pardew is going to get only limited funds this summer!!! 😯
Dear oh dear… 🙄
Stuart79(Quote)
How the fuk would the chronicle know that Stuart?
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
No idea. But it’s not exactly hard to believe going off they form.
Stuart79(Quote)
None of us know what he’ll really get yet, I’m reserving judgement until after the window shuts AGAIN. It is worrying though that he’s talking about a slow build, that makes me think a couple at the most in ,one to replace Cabs and another striker. That simply wouldn’t be enough imo as it looks like a fair few will go and we cannot afford to be light again especially if by some luck we qualify for Europe again.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Excellent piece by Mark Douhttp://www.thejournal.co.uk/sport/mark-douglas-could-newcastle-city-6757825glas here.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Try again 🙄
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/sport/mark-douglas-could-newcastle-city-6757825
KIMTOON(Quote)
KIM I just read that,don’t know what I think about it like
icedog(Quote)
STUART Ime with you on very little to be spent,its par for the course going by the last few years
icedog(Quote)
Ice, It’s a very interesting idea, certainly worth giving more than a passing thought to imo. How or if it could be done I have no idea but I could see it possibly working ,it works in Germany I understand.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Ice ,Would you be opposed to it like?
KIMTOON(Quote)
Bring back Greame Souness and Dennis Wise then we would be title contenders next season ?
stem(Quote)
I’m joking, it’s because of Souness we don’t spend much on players.
stem(Quote)
KIM I would agree with anything to get rid of fat pig,I do think it could work,when I say I don’t know what I think about it I meant what other people will make of it,as I said I would go along with anything even if it took 5yr to get the club moving forward
icedog(Quote)
Doesnt it mean hes no good because Tottenham sold him. They are trying to punt Soldado, Lamela and Capoue who are outstanding players six months after buying them.
They also let Caulker and Holtby leave, Both would be excellent signings for us
CC(Quote)
CC I think Caulker will become a england c/h,he was a clever signing IMO.
I see Krul has been dropped from the dutch 33 players,they have chose 3 other keepers
icedog(Quote)
Ice, That’s harsh on Krul like ,Jabba will be fuming mad as that’ll knock a bit off his value 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
KIM the dutch manager hates the toon ever since we beat barca and he got a real bad press about his manner,mind he does have a real bad manner and one of those who knows better than anyone I hope he does not get the spurs job after the world cup which is forecast to happen
icedog(Quote)
I hate know-alls
icedog(Quote)
Ice, Sounds a right petty ****** like 😆
KIMTOON(Quote)
Off topic but is anyone else really pissed off with Ranger constantly referred to as ex Newc player in this rape trial of his when he is actually a Swindon player now?
KIMTOON(Quote)
Right back into the bar now,owr hot out here,need a cool drink. 😉
icedog(Quote)
KIM I it erks on me too,anyway cannot stand guys that treat women like there something to be “used” hope he gets 20 yr plus
icedog(Quote)
Ice@51 ,Don’t rub it in, it’s damp and dull here like 🙁
KIMTOON(Quote)
@Cc. yes, thats true.
I’ve never really appreciated his laid back approach. Decent passer of the ball but he swans around too much for me. doesnt score loads and doesnt like to tackle
mark(Quote)
See Colo is out of the game tomorrow. Gone back to Argentine as there has been a family bereavement
3hourswasted(Quote)
3hours, Don’t think it will effect the outcome mate tbh ,I can’t see a win as Hull have been pretty tight at home lately, gonna be a toughie I reckon and a point would be great.
KIMTOON(Quote)
I would just like to talk a bit about Adam Armstrong. 7 goals in 5 appearances for the England U-17s, 6 goals in 9 matches in the U-21 Prem league. Only 17 years old but with a very bright future. Can we develop him properly? Let’s hope so. At 17 wasn’t Rooney already getting playing time with Everton?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Very disappointed to see Colo will be missing for the Hull match. That means Saylor will probably partner Willo. They have a couple of decent strikers in Jelavic and Long. We will obviously depend on Remy and hopefully Gouffran has a good game. No Cabaye in the middle. No Colo. Hmmm.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Will we play our usual cagey 4-5-1 and pretend it is 4-3-3? Some hoofball if we fall behind early? Sometimes Remy gets isolated and lacks service. That won’t be helped by the absence of Cabaye. How about something new in the way of tactics Pardew? Try 4-3-1-2 with De Jong and Remy up front and Gouffran in behind. Try something new. We need to show some real effort against teams like this.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Enough talk about finances by now I would think. Ashley has been a failure at growing the commercial revenue. How odd for a supposed brilliant business man. The only way he can keep us in the black is by selling players. No apparent football strategy and a manager who constantly has to apologize and waffle.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I hope Yanga M’Biwa starts with Willo. Taylor and Willo together doesn’t work
3hourswasted(Quote)
Let’s have a look at what has happened to Adam Campbell. With St. Mirren he has 2 goals in 8 appearances. What on earth are we doing loaning him to St. Mirren? Is this the best we can do for the lad?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
While Pardew is admiring Huddlestone, I hope he’s casting an eye over his midfield partner at Hull at the moment – Jake Livermore is a decent turn as well IMO and could be bought for around £5m as well I’d have thought.
I also read this morning that Steven N’zonzi is looking for a move away from Stoke – I rate him as well.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I don’t think Pardew has too much confidence in Mbiwa 3HW mate. Was it the Arsenal game where he dragged a player down in the box without even looking for the ball and gave up a pen? I worry about players like Santon and Mbiwa under Pardew.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
What’s happening with Ferguson at Birmingham? Can’t even get a game? When is his loan over? It has been a complete waste of time. Let’s start treating our younger players properly.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Not sure about Livermore Sharpy mate. He doesn’t add much in attack. One goal in 58 appearances for Spurs. A little better with Hull but we need a replacement for Cabaye not an average Prem midfielder. He could replace one of our bigger disasters I’m sure as he has some promise and is still only 24 but not good enough for the starting 11 if we want to progress.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
We don’t look like a team ready to pack it in most of the time but I worry about our younger players and their confidence. Are we a bit of a shambles at the squad level and is it partly because of Pardew? Santon is a shadow of the player who first came to us. Mbiwa plays really well at times but then commits huge blunders. Saylor has definitely regressed. Marveaux is finished it seems. We don’t need to talk about Obertan. Where are the young players that are improving under Pardew? I’m trying to come up with one.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
What about Haidara and Bigi? Have they progressed well? I know both have had injuries but do they look like better players for having come to us or is it too early to tell. Where do they fit into the plans for next season? Bench players? Loan players? What are we going to do with them and who will decide?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
What about Vuckic and Gosling? Surely it’s time to finally make decisions about them? So many injuries between them but what is best for their futures? We have so many players like this on the books. It’s just ridiculous with no upper management to make decisions.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Is anybody actually thinking about the players themselves and what is best for them? Pardew has to mainly concern himself with the senior squad surely? But there seem to be many players who have fallen between the cracks. And if you’re in one of Mike’s cracks you might be in big trouble! I don’t see the emphasis on youth development that Ashley seems to want to brag about.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Well I’ve blathered on enough but I would love to see some of our younger players progressing better.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Another thought. Does the club have a director of player development? Surely if you want to emphasize developing young players you need one Ashley? And I don’t mean a flunky drinking buddy.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Surely Ashley could screen for a Director of Player Development (or have someone with a brain do it) and this would be a positive action he could take with big consequences in the future for the club?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Are you on Speed this evening Geordie2? 😆
Stuart79(Quote)
G2 – I’d sit Livermore deeper with Tiote (but I know you don’t think he’s stopping) and buy a Siem De Jong Grenier to play further forward – or maybe push Anita abit further up coz I think that he looked better there against Villa than he has in the holding role.
Sharpy17(Quote)