latic12345

I'm not sure why we all get hung up on this. Not many retailers own their own shops. Not many businesses own their own offices. Not many factories are owned by the companies that operate in them. We're no different. There's a property company involved who own the land and the assets and there's an operating company involved who couldn't possibly afford to get the finance to acquire the land or build such assets. Hence someone else funds it and we lease it. It's a very normal arrangement these days. I'm not saying it's good or bad just no different to many other businesses out there, especially those who go through cash issues (as we did 10 years ago) where selling and leasing back assets to solve cash flow is commonplace.

Up and coming.... It kind of looks like a cross between a spoons, a dodgy working mans club and a wine bar... Confused venues are worse than scuzzy venues. I vote for the Coach and Horses.... If I make it....

Whoa there. Slow down. Did you ever think the beer in the Coach & Horses was anything other than rank? That and the reclaimed ham and processed cheese sandwich on stale bread is part of the tradition...

I'm tempted but if I do I'll need to come straight back as out in the evening... No bad thing though

Nope. Not even close. That's a back of the fag packet. An accountant would never be happy with that. I'm just trying to illustrate that people have unrealistic expectations about what money the club needs to stay afloat. We don't have a wealthy benefactor. I'm not Corneys biggest fan. I've always been worried about his and his friends motivations. The fact we don't own the land concerns me. The fact we probably won't own the stand concerns me. However, when running a business you have to make pragmatic decisions. I'm trying to illustrate that what the hierarchy is doing I pragmatic. It's frustrating. As a fan you want the best players to stay. And when they're sold you want a huge figure that you never dreamed possible. You then want that money spent on the team. Pragmatically we're not in that position as a club. We have low selling prices because we need the money. Emotionally I find that as frustrating as everyone else but if I ran oldham athletic (2004)ltd as a going concern I'd make the same decision as Corney today. That's all. And I say that as a fan

So compromise based on your assertion. £70k revenue from club shop. Assume 70%gm. Not so bad for apparel/clothing. Gives you £49k. We'll need 1 person full time to man the shop on normal days plus a few more on match days. Call that 1.2 FTE on minimum wage. That's £12k. Plus a manager who perhaps dedicates 1/3 of their time to the shop. Say the manager ears £21k to make the maths easier (as opposed to £20k). That puts £19k of wages against the shop. Cost of employment is typically 1.5x wages so that's £28.5k. So excluding power, rent and long term stockholding (ill bet there's :censored: loads of that and we don't own the land!) the club shop (generously) makes £20.5k per year in net profit/cash. From my experience in retail this is an incredibly generous figure given we've excluded the main costs. Therefore, I'm interested to see how you think we would only lost £1m if we only included club shop revenue. Treat the club shop as it's own entity. It gives £20.5k to the running of the club and all it's staff. To be clear, for your assertion to hold true you have to show that the clubs costs amount to £1,020,500.

All I'm using is the last useful data point we had which was when we had fans go in to verify we lost £15-20k per week and taking a worst case scenario. Your flippant comment suggests you've no sensible argument behind your comment. Assume for a moment even all season ticket holders get the equivalent of a top. That's 2500 people. Half are kids at £20. That's £25k. Half are adults at £40 that's £50k. So our shop turns over £70k. I'd be amazed if it's hugely more. Good luck with this one. I'm looking forward to seeing your maths

Wow. We've all lost a little perspective haven't we here ladies and gents. In any given year, we've been told previously we lose around £1m. Let's just put this fiscal year (April to March) into the accounts. £1m operating loss 40,000 at Anfield @ £20 is £800k less approx 1/3 cost (not a bad gross margin) is £536k then 45 % is £241k After the cup run (let's add 60k of prize money for good measure) we've got £700k gap to fill this year. Pray tell, any of those who are so critical how you would fill this gap? Let's be certain here, for those financiers amongst you, this is not an accounting gap. This is a cash gap from what we've been told previously. Well, if I were running this business id sell some high value products. This means, from our point of view, Baxter and Tarky (for £350k). The biggest concern gents is that still means £350k falls into the cash loss for the business this year. That's very painful for a £1-2m turnover business. Such a loss year on year is difficult. We do it every year. Therefore, that's the question that needs to be answered. How do we keep going? Where does the financial support come from? If it's cash from SC thats a short term fix and one we are looking to solve. I think our efforts here are solid. Selling our 'best' player (who most would have let go last summer) is the least of our worries

This. I'd much rather be in a proper pub than a sports bar

Great work. I'm really impressed that we've managed to sponsor a player who played for Latics long before Dave made it to the pub. This is quite an achievement...

I'm going to go with 11.37 out of Waterloo. Into Brentford for 12.07 Then I reckon The Beehive (good Fullers pub) on Brentford High Street until 1-1.30 ish then up to the New Inn before missing kick off

He's concerned that will distract him as you nick his *ahem* spending money for the day

No

I'm going to do this. Its going to make my life easier

Well if you're going up anyway... I'll have one ;) What do you mean pick the pub. Its the New Inn before the game and The Griffin afterwards. It's tradition. Just like singing "Come on Oldham" at a corner

It's only an extra £2 on the day. After you've paid your fee for paying by card and then paid for postage its barely worth it. That, and my ticket for Gillingham got lost in the post. Just hassle thats not needed methinks. And we're not organised enough

The good news about St Pancras is that M&S is just below the high speed train lines so we can pick up some belgian lager. A minor fly in the ointment is that these trains have compartments that you can't move between as they split at different stages to go to different destinations. Shall we meet outside M&S around 1140/45?

That's the one I'm intending to get. If I remember last time, there's a couple of pubs near the station. One was alright and had sky sports, the other after the game wasn't as good. Cant remember either names so I guess it's not that helpful. I'm sure Dave will tell us following his 10am reccie

That's impressive. I didnt know they had put tickets on sale for the World Cup in 2015 yet... I think I'm in for this one. Anyone know which train they are getting?

This *insert upwards arrowy thing here* Not able to make it this weekend... Make sure you come over for your London home game (well... your closest London game). We'll get drunk and sing George Michael Christmas songs...

What he said. Plus Josh is excited...

I've forgotten this store (ahem). I think you need to retell it for all to read... Tap has cheap pints to pricey pints. When they're £8 its usually because they're wine strength if not stronger. I am happy to go straight to Coach and Horses but tradition dictates we need a pint near Euston first. Pie and pea supper works for me. Meat and tata with brown sauce for me :-)

Erm.... Meat Liquor. Surely?!? Few tins for the queue... Can I have the 23.46-00.00 slot? He'll make it past midnight and then I definitely win. He managed it at Everton. It's a shocking site but he did make it

True but you've then got 4 stops more on the central line...

Don't listen to this. It's only useful for those who enjoy spending a long time on the tube staring at Boris' latest trains... The quickest way will be the northern line (city branch) to bank and then central line east. Northern line to TCR has been closed at the weekend for a little while now. Don't known if its open next weekend