20 December 2017 The Star “When we heard the Barnsley story we thought it was too good to believe. We looked at different opportunities in England and nothing got to the finish line. “When we heard what was going on and saw the results both financially and in player investment, it almost looked too good to be true. “As we spent more time with Patrick and his family we realised this is the right club for us because it fits our skill set. This is one of the best run clubs in England.” Although it is the dawning of a new era for Barnsley, the repeated message was “we will not do anything crazy” - but Reds fans will surely be optimistic. The success French club Nice have had since being taken over by the same group has been astonishing - in their first year after taking over, the club were catapulted into the Champions League for the first time in its history - and even more impressively, they did so whilst living within their means. That’s an approach that will resonate at Oakwell, with the Reds’ record of turning healthy profits year on year by scouting players from the lower leagues, developing them and selling them on. Billy Beane - the pioneer of Moneyball, the stats-based approach of finding undervalued assets - is one of the investors, but funds are available in January and boss Paul Heckingbottom will now be eying up his targets. Conway added: “At Nice we dramatically increased the revenue of the club in the first year and with that we complemented the squad. “After our first year investing in Nice the club finished third for the first time in 43 years and made it into the Champions League for the first time in its history. “So we are going to keep a similar model, we are going to balance the budgets. We are not going to go crazy, but we want to grow year after year.” And most importantly for the club, the owners are keen to keep highly-regarded coach Heckingbottom, who is currently in ongoing talks about a new deal, at the helm. Conway said: “We are a big fan of Paul and he’s a big reason why we are here. “It’s a unique story with a local manager at his local club. “We want to help Paul with extra resources. We are confident of success because we can bring resources to the club.”
WTF are the extra resources they are putting in because it's not bloody cash they only take that out.
Interesting that no-one has put up to say we have progressed in terms of these aims/ambitions. We must be a dream (as a fanbase) for these owners.
I think a lot of fans put up with a lot and are willing to overlook things if there are any kinds of success on the pitch. So, a relegation, a quick promotion, a miracle escape and a play-off appearance have generally kept peoples' minds on the pitch. I've always been wary of the 80% mob since day one and have said as much many times. I'd still be wary if they took us to the Champions League final. If BFC stay up this season and seem to be improving again on the pitch into next season I suspect the anti-owner noise will die down a lot or at least be obscured. Just my view. I dont think the average fan is as savvy as a lot of informed posters on here - hope that doesn't sound patronising - I think most simply want to watch a decent match on a Saturday and ownership issues aren't really a big focus.
We did progress. We had a clear identity, a playing squad, coaching and backroom staff all consistent with that. A recruitment team working with the coaching team, at least in January, to improve the team. We threw it all away though, and if/when we do get relegated, the cash position likely means we would need to sell pretty much anything that can sell. We'll be starting over, almost set back to where we were around 2015, but without an owner willing/able to put money in.
Totally agree. You can see this when it turns towards a head coach or manager on here. However, there is no sign of it in the town or in the ground. It's usually when it turns there that the board act. People are content to just watch the games.
They haven't done anything differently to what they set out to do though. It's crap but they've done what they said on the tin.
really? Improvement year on year? Not sure. Improve matchday experience? Light years off. They have robbed the club to pay for the club, I guess, but I don't recall that being part of their manifesto. I'm not a fan of theirs.
They said they wouldn't take a penny out of the club. They boasted that at Nice they set records galore, sold players for ever increasing sums and bought players for ever increasing sums. They boasted of bringing international awareness and growing commercialisation and improving the fan experience. And of course, they talked grandly of the OGC Nice Academy and allowed the suggestion that was what BFC could be in store for. I've never expected them to put money in. I absolutely never expected them to take any out in the way they have at the most damaging time, or been so litigious. Well, threatening to be so litigious. But as Archerfield said, I don't think they are asset strippers. There's not much to strip thankfully. I just see them as incompetent carpet baggers who have taken what was done before and other than sticking an extra year on contracts, haven't changed much at all in 4 years. Well, thats not explicitly true, they've actively encouraged swifter turnover of key personnel, creating more instability and less continuity. In my world, thats crazy. Though I'm sure Conway would disagree.
I'd say their portfolio of clubs shows they are internationally aware. I think eventually we'll benefit from Den Bosch and Thun. We transferred Mcgeehan and Thiam to other clubs. This circumvented FFP. It won't be long before worthwhile players start coming in the other direction.
It's not as easy to bring players in the opposite direction. What we also don't know is who benefitted from the past transactions. Thiam was released, so he was a free agent. McGeehan. How much did Oostende pay, if anything? Did we get an over the top fee, did we waive a fee to benefit Oostende? Was it a fair market rate, but crystallised a loss? Likewise with Schmidt at Esbjerg, We don't know how much of the wages they are footing. There's a general assumption that BFC is their jewel in the crown. I'd say its more thorn than jewel.
[QUOTE="KamikazeCo-Pilot, post: 2854821, member. . Just my view. I dont think the average fan is as savvy as a lot of informed posters on here - hope that doesn't sound patronising - I think most simply want to watch a decent match on a Saturday and ownership issues aren't really a big focus.[/QUOTE] What information makes you more savvy than the average supporter. Patronising like you said.
"We want to grow year after year" was the bit that took my eye. Are we any better off than in December 2017? Then again, does Covid give them a free pass?
"We will not do anything crazy" Well you don't get much more crazy that pissing off the club supporters who you rely on to spend money to keep the club on a good financial footing.
