The Money

Here's and excerpt from today's Guardian about our financial situation. Although it appears we're in good shape, who really knows? Will also post a link to the entire article. Some eye opening stuff in there, for sure.

FULHAM

Accounts for the year to 30 June 2013

Ownership: Owned by Shahid Khan, via Big Cat Holdings, a company registered in Bermuda (tax haven), and Cougar HoldCo London, registered in the UK.

Turnover: 13th in league, £73m (down from £79m in 2012)

Gate and matchday: £12m

Europa League: £0.2m

TV and broadcasting: £49m

Sponsorship and commercial: £11m

Compensation: £0.1m

Wage bill: 9th highest, £67m (up from £62m in 2012)

Wages as proportion of turnover: 92%

Loss before tax: £2m (reduced from £18m in 2012)

Net debt: £1m

Interest payable: £0.3m

Highest paid director: Unnamed, £810,000 (Alastair Mackintosh is the chief executive)

The state it's in: When Rene Meulensteen was sacked as manager after just two months and replaced by Felix Magath in February, his immediate shell-shocked reflection was that Fulham were "freaking out" about the prospect of relegation. The accounts reveal why. In the Premier League, the club the US automotive magnate Shahid Khan bought in the summer was shaped under Mohamed Al Fayed over 16 years into a tidy operation. Yet the club warns of relegation, in the accounts, as its "main commercial risk," saying: "Revenues would fall in the next two years, to a level which would not finance ongoing contractual commitments."

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/01/premier-league-accounts-club-by-club-david-conn

 

Hence all the short term loans and players contracts running out this summer

 

I'm skeptical of these Guardian breakdowns due to the lack of uniformity. The turnover breakdowns don't always add up, although when they don't, they're very close. Sponsorship revenue is shown for some teams but not for others. Is it included in "commercial activity"? It just makes me wonder if there aren't pieces of the puzzle missing. The one thing of interest that it does have across the board is the wage bills.

Our wage bill is telling. It shows that these older players on "free" transfers (I know, they're not really free) aren't saving us money and worse, that we're getting very poor value for money. Everton, with all of their talent, and Newcastle both had lower wage bills. If this isn't an indictment of Mackintosh (or whoever is in charge of finding and acquiring players), I don't know what is. Whether you fire Mackintosh or not, one thing is clear, we need someone new to come in to run this aspect of the club.

 

Even more telling, to me, anway, are the players we've chosen to spend large transfer sums on, reportedly £11 each...Bryan Ruiz and Kostas Mitroglou.