Gibson talks about cutting costs

[VectorBoro 75]

Quite an interesting article/interview with Steve Gibson in the Northern Echo this morning which reveals how the club could have gone into a financial meltdown if he didnt make the cut backs he has done.

 

It still proves that he lied to all the fans in May.

 

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough/5007741.Boro_saved_from_financial____meltdown___/

[starbuy 35]

The thing is VB, what would you want him to say in public? We're desperate for money and we're going to have to sell big time, thus taking away any negotiating platform when it does come to selling players? Or try to keep the level of debt quiet so that you appear healthier than you really are in order to use it as a bargaining chip?

 

I know we'd all love to know what is going on and I'd like to see as much info released as possible. But MFC is a business too and you don't let everyone know the state of your business when it comes to money negotiations do you?

 

I think this is one of the huge dilemmas with football clubs right now, especially ours. We have a club that has to be run as business but also wants to be a figure in the community. It wants fans to be part of the club, but then can't/won't tell everything to those fans.

 

What is the right balance of info to release without jeopardising your business?

[Guest stocktonman]

Fair point starbuy.If you tell everybody you are on your knees the only guarantee is that the vultures will try to get your players on the cheap.

[Downsouth 6,327]

Was an interesting read but why does this come out in a newspaper article first instead of official web site?

 

As long as the measures are really in place to stop the club going under and that there is a plan then we have to accept this as it is so so clear that some club soon will go belly up big style and god knows how much it will cost should we get promoted again

[anonymous-user 3]

Have to agree with all posts.Gibson is as good as Gordon Brown when dealing with the media.& like Cameron forgets what he has said previously.

[sanddancer 1,967]

I`m pleased we still have a club, and yes I agree if you let people know your struggling they`ll take you to the cleaners.

[VectorBoro 75]

Starbuy ... I agree with some of the points you have said but what gets to me is Gibson lying in the first place to the fans about reducing the debt.Back in May he went on record to say that he had reduced the debt to less than £30 million and we could be debt free by the end of 2009 plus we also did not have to sell.Yes he may have done that to keep the vultures away from picking up our players on the cheap but it doesnt take a brain surgeon to work out we had financial problems.All rival clubs have to do is goto companies house and buy a copy of our accounts plus it is well publicised the size of Gibsons wealth.

 

The club had £93 million of debt and Gibsons wealth was listed as £125 million by both Forbes and The Times.Plus everybody could see for many years we have been losing money.

 

If he was lying just so we got decent prices for these players dont you think he has annoyed the paying fans by coming up with this cover up?

[HolgateHero 601]

I think he as annoyed a lot of people VB, me included at the time. We would all have just cause to be furious if he'd said we've only got 30M debt, and then the next thing we hear we are being put into administration with debts of over 90M.

 

Sure, it came at a time when season tickets were going on sale and the 'we don't have to sell anyone' had me believing we'd have a chance of keeping Huth and Tuncs, so was misleading to the fans, but it was probably designed for other clubs to hear too. Fat lot of good it did as we let two cracking players go for peanuts, and have been fleeced by city with johnno too, but it could be seen as him trying to maximising the hand he had dealt himself.

 

As time is passing and the lies stopping I can't help but feel that all he is doing is what he feels is best for the club. Maybe he's wrong at times, but after what is happening at Portsmouth I'm starting to feel it's better the devil you know as it's clear he will do whatever it takes to keep boro in existence, even if it means the odd porkie to the fans.

 

He's doing what he can to ensure we still have a club to support. He's p1ssed us all off along the way, and I'll never like Lamb, but I would take the pair of them over any foreign takeover who might just decide to wind the club up instead of trying to blaze the very difficult trail of balancing the books and getting fans through the turnstiles.

 

The task ahead is one of phenomenally hard proportions. There are very few clubs in the PL who are not operating at a loss. If we can become a championship side challenging for promotion in a sustainable way then I for one will forgive him his discretions.

[Guest Caztib]

Of course, Gibson is correct in much of what he says. Football has gone mad in it's finacial dealings, and a lot of us have said for some time now, Football is in danger of disapearing up it's own real orifice....BUT, till recently, most prem clubs have wanted to do little about it.

 

He talks of falling gates, did he wonder why? when we reached 17000, it suddenly hit him.

 

Did he ever think of ridding the club of Lamb?

 

While some of the problems were not in his power to fix, a lot of his problems, he brought on the club himself.

[bugrit 31]

Well said, HH.

 

You can't blame anyone at the club for putting a bit of spin on things when it comes to selling season tickets, or - as some would have it - deliberately misleading people. It's their duty to MFC. The same is true regarding everything related to the transfer market and you can't blame them for misrepresenting the facts, or even outright lying about whether or not we need to sell players. It's their duty to MFC. The same also goes for the club's financial affairs in general, where it's absolutely vital in these difficult times to keep any potential alarm bells well and truly muffled. It's their duty to MFC.

 

So, what of the club's duty to the fans? Well, they are free to tell the truth about anything and everything that isn't constrained by the need to sell season tickets, wheel and deal in the transfer market and/or keep MFC's financial secrets to themselves. Doesn't leave much, does it? :D

[BoroNut 31]

hes trying to be protective of us, give hiim some slack.

 

he doesn't tell you the truth, because you cant handle the truth!

[Guest Ringoss]

I was very dissapointed with the sale of Huth, especially after Gibson said we didn't have to sell anyone.

 

I can understand though, Gibson was trying to make sure we got the best deal. But he does have previous with this. A couple of years ago, just before the Season Tickets were due to go on sale, he turned round and said there would be some "fantastic signings", and we only brought in Luke Young!

 

When I see what has happened to Portsmouth, Crystal Palace and Cardiff I can honestly say I am glad he is in charge. I just wish we had less "spin" from the man.

[HolgateHero 601]

yes, and we all remember the "top class manager" comment!

 

that can't have been designed to confound any rival clubs either and we all know what happened next...

[Guest Borolegend]

Our problem is we have only got around 16 to 17000 real fans and that is probably pushing it. In order to get people through the gate we have to spend more money than we can possibly take because people are not satisfied with having a club to support any more.

 

Most people are only interested if we are in the premiership and the final part of cup competitions.

 

The fans are constantly moving the goal posts and their expectations are too high. I can remember people saying give us european football and we will come back. I can also remember all the empty seats at the Riverside during those european ties. We cant even half fill the stadium when the tickets are £5 for the early rounds of the domestics cups.

 

The last ultimatum was were not coming back until Southgate goes but yet again Gibson has done what was asked but where are the fans.

 

Why shouldnt Gibson lie to sell tickets when the so called fans are constantly doing the same. We are in this financial mess because Gibson tried to give the fans what they said they wanted. We got our first cup. We stayed in the premiership and had european football but where were all the so called fans. They certainly were not at the Riverside.

 

As long as greedy players are allowed to hold us all to ransome clubs will go bust. They think they deserve the ridiculous money they are paid because of supply and demand and the fact they are entertainers. If they are entertainers then why are we constantly told it doesnt matter how we win as long as win.

 

Portsmouth are in serious danger of extinction yet the very people who could save them are standing by and doing nothing but moan because their bank balance is not swelled by another £50,000 every week. West Ham are sacking people on £50,000 a year when their jobs could be saved by one player working a week for nothing.

 

The problem is most of the players are not educated enough to understand a simple profit and loss account. Most of them are greedy money grabbers who are only out for themselves and care not about anything or anyone so long as they get their slice of cake.

 

It is about time us fans took our game back and we could do it by just not turning up and cancelling our Sky Sports subscriptions. How long do you think it would take before the players, the agents, and the clubs see sense.

 

We have to remember it is just football and life does not depend on it. If the players really are playing for the love of the game then they will do so for a lot less money. I know and fully understand that market forces dictate in the end and clubs need an edge to attract the best players but it is getting to the point where it is just not sport anymore.

 

If we could get back to having a cap on the number of foreign players at a club, and maybe even having to include a number of home grown talent in the team we might reach the point where in time every club in the country can actually win a trophy of some sort. A wage cap will see players really playing for the club they have always dreamed of playing for rather than the club who pay the most.

 

I am quickly losing the love I had of football and judging by the gates so are a lot of people.The game has to come down to reality and the sooner the better even if it means some clubs disappearing. There is a lot of money just sitting in the bank accounts of a relatively few people who dont need to be paid so much. These people have to know that they can save the game and give it back to the working man and still be very wealthy at the same time. The thing is it is up to us fans to let them know the stupidity can not go on. All we have to do is go without football for a few weeks.

[Guest sgtpepper]

Legend I really don't want to argue with your opinions but mate you are so contradictive to last years posts..:D

You must really hate the little fella.

 

Were'nt you the one saying how silly it was to blank The Riverside last season because we would only hurt the club.

Now you say stay away for a few weeks to show your dissapointment.?

 

Back to Gibbo do you want us to believe that Gibbo did all this for the fans of Middlesbrough.

Lets see he started has a clerk in ICI got a lucky break when he was sniffing through the waste bins and spotted a memo that said they would be using private transport for moving their chemicals .

Hence "Bulkhall" then after sweating and saving with his partner in crime O'Neil he then decides after building his shipping empire to listen to the fans of Middlesbrough and donate millions and millions of his savings to rebiuld Boro and give them a team they would be proud of.

 

Get away man.

Do you think we are all has stupid has you believe us to be.

Gibson did this to make his empire bigger and if he had'nt put Larry the Lamb in charge of monies he may well have succeeded.

 

Was it the fans that went out and bought players that were bloody useless.

Costing this club millions of pounds,I won't name names because we all know them.

 

Furthermore yes all players are overpayed and not worth their wages,but it is'nt the players fault its the clubs and the agents.

When have you seen a player sit at a table and negotiate his wages.

Its always his agent and he will strive to get the best deal he can for his client.

The foolish club officials are the ones who give these wages away.

I have 2 family members in the game and I know for definete that they could'nt negotiate their way out of a paper bag.

One is on something like £130000 aweek the other is only on around £40000 aweek,plus bonus's of course.

 

If wages are to be lowered then the FA has to step in and put a ceiling on them.It will never come from the clubs or the agents.

 

One last thing you say Boro have only 17000 diehard fans.

Well what with only a 140000 catchment area and the high unemployment I think that is not a bad crowd.

This is one of the reasons why Henderson did'nt want to move from Ayresome Park because he had done his homework when he and the board saved us in 1986.

All these problems of running costs are again down to Gibbo wanting to be the lord of the manor.

So please when you sit and write your next book,before posting it please check that you are accusing the right people.

 

Its not the fans,its not the players,its really not the agents.

Its the bloody owners of the clubs for overwriting these debts.