HelloCity
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I know the dept was near £100 million but was it unmanagable and would we have had to sell?
How bleak was our financial status before Thaksin took over?
- Thread starter HelloCity
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Wheelsy
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Prestwich_Blue
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When Thaksin took over, our debt involved £40m+ of long term debt involving bonds secured on future ticket income (which cost us about £5m a year in interest and capital), about £20m+ owed to Wardle & Makin (which we weren't paying anything on) and just under £10m we'd borrowed short term against Sky money due at the start of the season.
The problem was that we were paying more cash out than we got in so that there was usually around a £10m shortfall most years. That's why we couldn't buy anyone. Wardle had funded this for a while but just couldn't any longer so we had to sell SWP and then take short term loans to stay afloat, as well as signing Bosmans on high wages, which made our cost base even higher.
Debt is "manageable" if you can at least pay interest out of profits and preferably the capital as well but we could usually do neither. So Richards would have gone probably.
The joke is that when Thaksin took over, there was an assumption that he'd paid off all the debt but all he did was load us with more. We were in a far worse state 12 months later.
The problem was that we were paying more cash out than we got in so that there was usually around a £10m shortfall most years. That's why we couldn't buy anyone. Wardle had funded this for a while but just couldn't any longer so we had to sell SWP and then take short term loans to stay afloat, as well as signing Bosmans on high wages, which made our cost base even higher.
Debt is "manageable" if you can at least pay interest out of profits and preferably the capital as well but we could usually do neither. So Richards would have gone probably.
The joke is that when Thaksin took over, there was an assumption that he'd paid off all the debt but all he did was load us with more. We were in a far worse state 12 months later.
JohnMaddocksAxe
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It was awful.
Just like it was when he left, the daft twat.
Just like it was when he left, the daft twat.
All the players Sven bought were on 4 yearly staged payments. Around the beginning of August we were due to pay for Elano, Petrov, Corluka, and Bojinov. That was why Shinawatra tried to sell Corluka and Ireland on the day we played AC Milan. I reckon we were pretty close to meltdown that day.
I remember the TV coverage on Channel Five with Danny Mills making out he was "in the know"
I remember the TV coverage on Channel Five with Danny Mills making out he was "in the know"
bornblueegg
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Remeber as well this was Before the 'credit crunch'. We would be without a paddle by now
Wheelsy
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Which means by the time we bought Fab Zab, Kompany, and Wright-Phillips, the Arabs were well and truly stumping up the cash.
bornblueegg
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Wheelsy OSC Sydney said:
thank god
mammutly
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gman07 said:
It was secured against 2009 income, principally SKY revenue.
I don't see why we should have loans any more. I was under the impression than unlike last years Thai takeover, that the Arabs did indeed pay off any loans or debts.
Maybe any loans we do still have, we aren't able to pay them off early or something? But it'd seem very strange for some of the richest people in the world to buy a company with debts, and not pay them off.
Maybe any loans we do still have, we aren't able to pay them off early or something? But it'd seem very strange for some of the richest people in the world to buy a company with debts, and not pay them off.