I write these as an idea, not my entrenched view but just for thought to show what could be done compared to now, which is nothing. I believe NESV could have created a vision for the club and aligned that to a series of principles and a guiding charter. That way the fans and the owners can realign themselves towards a common purpose, followed by resurgence on the pitch.
The first principle would be to a football philosophy such as we see at Barcelona, an obligation to play an attractive game or the Crufyy principle. In our case ‘Pass and Move’, however we might want to define it, there are better qualified than me to do so, but it would set a clear edict to the manager of what is expected, what the fans expect not what he wants. To manage the club you need to have the principles of the club.
- NESV have only paid lip service.
I would also realise that the club is special and it’s the relationship between the local community and the club that creates that special environment, we are not plastic ‘master card’ waving fans from the south or China. Therefore the club should nurture the local community as both a revenue source and a source of players. For example making deals with local companies for ticket allocation, all corporate contracts to be sourced locally, reinvestment into the local area so that the wealth of the club stays in the club and the area. Generate wealth in the area generate income for the club and it stays in the loop.
- NESV are clearly looking at generating wealth in foreign territories, extending the merchandising of power of their Internal portfolio through strategic commercial alignments. We have no commitments for local regeneration, no commitments to the Stadium.
I would democratise the club. I would understand that NESV know business and they will maximise the revenues of the company but footballing matters should be with the fans. I would give Season Ticket holders highest rights followed by Silver club etc etc in bi-yearly feedback rights for voting. I am not suggesting old fashioned yes or no voting but for example rate the manager on a scale of 1-10. If the score came back 7 or 8 average you could legitimately keep a manager. Vote 2-3 then really you would have to consider his position. Weight the vote according to season ticker, silver etc.
- Fantasy land and will never happen but you asked my opinion. But its just an idea, the fans need some proper representation and not phone in on TV shows. NESV have not offered this.
My final point that NESV could commit to a transfer budget. The new FIFA regulations and NESV stated principles, that they will not borrow to spend, means all clubs will know how much money we have to spend anyway. Take a quick look at the balance sheet, any MD of any club you are buying from will be aware of your budget anyway. In a fixed market you cannot inflate prices if you are constrained and all other parties understand your constraints. The market is created by the demand for the available capital shared between the clubs. I.e. if no club had a revenue to profit margin large enough to sustain £80Million transfer fees the price would decline and it’s hard to gazump and inflate when you know what your opponent can bid. The big picture is all clubs will now have one large pot each year for transfers that will need to be divided up dependent on success. If you know Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal have spent all the money and Liverpool are knocking on the door with £10Million then you have a lot less opportunity to push a price up, the existing market is tuned on its head.
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