Blackburn and Wigan financial losses

K K

keith's curle

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10 Jun 2014
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There are a couple of threads about clubs getting into trouble over finances, but it looks like there are many in the same boat.

From the BBC:

Championship club Blackburn Rovers have reported a £16.8m net loss for their 2017-18 League One promotion season.

The Lancashire side spent 187% of their £9m turnover on wages - which fell by 24% - with owners Venky's injecting £14m to keep the club afloat.

In all, Blackburn's Indian owners are owed £108m in loans, having invested a further £147m in shares since buying the then Premier League club in 2010.

Rovers are 17th in the second tier, 11 points above the relegation zone.

They finished second in League One last season under manager Tony Mowbray to return to the Championship at the first attempt.

Wigan - who finished as champions - last month posted net losses of £7.7m for the same period, while fellow Championship side Bolton have this week been given two weeks to settle an unpaid £1.2m tax bill.


Here's a link: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/47650699

Blackburn have £9m turnover - not profit - and owe £108m to the owners. That's 12x their annual turnover.

It's a good job FFP was brought in to stop clubs getting into trouble...
 
Whilst Rovers don't get great crowds or have an overall large fan base, I'm staggered that they only turnover £9m?

Someone's Commercial department aren't working very hard.........
 
I have very mixed emotions regarding the plight of the teams from the old Lancashire mill towns.
The City fan side of me says Fuck You to the likes of Bolton,Blackburn,Wigan and Oldham etc. They were all queueing up to rip the piss out of City back in the nineties and noughties,when we were at our lowest. And Karma is a woman,don't you know.
However,the football fan side of me realises that some of these clubs are amongst the oldest in the country and are situated in towns that have been in economic decline for years.
And due to the fact that they are all situated in the same county as Manchester,they are very easy to get to for away games.And one or two give large allocations to away fans,which makes it easier to obtain away tickets.
So on balance I think a policy of forgive and forget for past indiscretions (piss taking or banter,depending on your point of view)is the best way forward,and lets hope that one or two of these mill town teams can overcome their financial problems and return to The Premier League.
 
Last edited:
manclad said:
I have very mixed emotions regarding the plight of the teams from the old Lancashire mill towns.
The City fan side of me says Fuck You to the likes of Bolton,Blackburn,Wigan and Oldham etc. They were all queueing up to rip the piss out of City back in the nineties and noughties,when we were at our lowest. And Karma is a woman,don't you know.
However,the football fan side of me realises that some of these clubs are amongst the oldest in the country and are situated in towns that have been in economic decline for years.
And due to the fact that they are all situated in the same county as Manchester,they are very easy to get to for away games.And one or two give large allocations to away fans,which makes it easier to obtain away tickets.
So on balance I think a policy of forgive and forget for past indiscretions (piss taking or banter,depending on your point of view)is the best way forward,and lets hope that one or two of these mill town teams can overcome their financial problems and return to The Premier League.
Click to expand...
You can also give a special mention to Stockport (Cheshire, I know) who for that one glorious season (98/99) were in a division higher than City and now languishing in the 6th division
 
It is time player wages were put in check, it is getting way out of hand at all levels of the game.
 
bluealf said:
It is time player wages were put in check, it is getting way out of hand at all levels of the game.
Click to expand...

You can only do that if you have a draft system. Otherwise players just go to the "istory" (TM) clubs.

Regarding financial losses, the demographic of towns like Blackburn have changed dramatically too, they'd be more successful as a cricket club.
 
bluealf said:
It is time player wages were put in check, it is getting way out of hand at all levels of the game.
Click to expand...

I'd certainly agree that it's a problem for many clubs, along with agent's fees, transfer costs etc. On the other hand though the players may see it differently.
Let's say a club is turning over £10 million (to make the figures easy) and has running costs of £2m, player wages of £6m, and the owner takes the other £2m, but somehow the wages now get halved by a new rule. That leaves £3m that might be used to stop the club getting into difficulty, but the owner is going to pocket the rest, and all of it most years. If you're a player - the one actually doing the work and reason the club is making money - you're going to want a fair share.
Salary caps and other things may make financial stability easier, but they also take away a club's (off field) advantage over it's competitors. Blackburn obviously saw spending money they don't have as a way to get to the money they want. Most owners will do this as it maximises their profits. I can't see most of them wanting change, and especially the higher up the leagues they are.

So you're right, but there aren't going to be enough people interested in change to make it happen.
 
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