What's the most important decision for you this summer..

I felt this was worthy of a new topic but apologies to the Mods if they feel it doesn't and want to merge with another one.

I have been thinking over the last few days and wondered what you other people thought regarding what is the most important decision to move us forward this summer.
Now I will give utterly hypothetical figures in these possibilities.

1. We are given a decision on the stadium which ever way they go either in terms of redevelopment or a new build...
Now for arguments sake we get half the money from a naming rights deal would leave us with a big figure still to find for the rest of the cost.. Say. £100 million..
Now let's face it that would come out of a potential transfer pot, from the money from Warrior and SC etc..
This would probably mean a very limited transfer fund this summer of any sales and say a token few million.
This would probably mean 1 or at a stretch 2 players coming into the squad on what we have got now and therefore expecting and needing the current squad to improve and some very smart scouting and signings.
Plus the kids supplementing and adding to the squad.

Or

2. No stadium decision and a big throw at the transfer market.. Not much point really guessing at figures but say the Warrior money, SC money, player sales and a bit extra from the owners.. So say 75 million to have a real go at making the CL and then looking at the stadium with that potential extra income..


And I'll throw this one in here as I'm sure a few think it's viable 

3. A change of manager.


I personally would go with option 1.
We need that to move forward and I would be happy to challenge the squad and manager to improve us on the pitch plus having a season together. And challenging DC and Kenny to find some gems in the market to improve us.
I'd be happy with a slow build up to get us moving forward solidly.

Because lets face it we are not going to get both of the options together, we won't get a new stadium and 75 million to fund the squad. The owners rightly do are trying to run us correctly.


Thoughts?

Option 1.

I'd be happy with a new stadium and say 1 signing ready for the first team.

Clearly a decision on the stadium has the most impact on our club so option one is the clear winner and therefore I would put this massively ahead of all player transfers. A new stadium is guaranteed income the rest is a gamble so this is an easy choice for any rational thinker.

Stadium is the most important decision for in the summer as it will help generate the funds for team strengthening and attract better investment & players.

4 quality players at a decent price too to help launch the reclaiming of the Title.

Stadium.
But then I don't think they should be mutually exclusive either.

If they were the only options then it's option one for me being as it is the only one with a definitive, long-term, objective. Option two, whilst it may give short-term satisfaction, would hold no guarantees and the money 'earned' by C.L. football would be, by far, negated by the cost of a huge spending spree. F**k option three.

We need to be challenging for top 4 next season, Option 2 for me. The bigger players we have, the more we can get from marketing deals.

Definitely option 1 for me and I would imagine that would be the same for most as the long term well being of the club is much more important than any shot term success gained from a big transfer spend this summer.

I very much doubt the costs of a new stadium will come out of the general income of the club.

The financing of a new stadium is far more likely to be as close to a 50/50 mix of sponsorship and a bank loan.

I'm still very much of the opinion that we don't need too many new players.  Just need that little bit of strengthening in the final third.

It would be easy to say option 2 and want a sizeable pot for strengthening the team/sqjad with 3 or 4 new signings, but the stadium issue has dragged on for a while now, so I'll go for option 1.

Although I do agree with JD that the stadium funding will come from a bank loan and a naming rights deal.

Having said that, I'm still hopeful that Anfield can be extended rather than moving to a new site, but I realise that this debate is all hypothetical.

you think we will put some debt back on the club rather than use current sponsorship money etc to find our side of the money?

I do too mate. The proper naming partner cuts down the debt. A portion or all of extra revenue, from increased capacity, pays down the debt at a long-term fixed rate. To be honest, short of a filthy rich, half-mental, multi-billionaire that can be the only way to fund such a project.

That would have been the 'option' which I would have voted for had it been shown.

If we're getting a new stadium then it'll probably cost around 400 or 500 million. We'll probably need to loan half of that. Nothing wrong with debt in this case, it's an investment and should be payed off within a set time. I think though, at least this is what I would do, is set getting back in the top 4 as a bigger priority for now, while researching the stadium. We'll need that CL money to pay off that loan without it affecting our budget too much.

So do people think its reasonable to expect both this summer then?

A good transfer spend and a stadium announcement? Am I being to pessimistic only setting myself for one of the two?

Think the Stadium is the most important thing for us regardless of who we buy we. We have to look after the long term future of the club even if it hurts us in the near future

In reality it wont hurt the transfer budge at all xBooniex, they're completely independant things on a business model. Profits and revenue go towards player investment, funds for a stadium will be generated through a naming partner, investor capital and debt and these will be repaid through the increase in revenue some time in the future.

So do people think its reasonable to expect both this summer then?

A good transfer spend and a stadium announcement? Am I being to pessimistic only setting myself for one of the two?

The finance factored in to facilitate the refurbishment of Anfield or construction of a new stadium falls outside the remit of
the Financial Fair Play restrictrions. Therefor if we can secure and long term loan along with a sponsor, with 50/50 split of
cost, then it is entirely reasonable to expect us to have a few quality signings in the summer.

Given our Warrior and SC deals a minimum expenditure of 50 million wouldn't be far fetched or knee jerking,
but rather an expectation that our increased revenue gets reinvested in the club.
Seeing that we have trimmed the wage bill last summer there should be a good opportunity to challenge
for a few top quality signings in the summer and then adjust the squad based on who wants to leave.

Profits and revenue go towards player investment

Whilst that much is true Luke, so far anyway, it may also be the case that a 'deposit' may be required to secure funding. It's possible (although it may not be the case) that this 'deposit' may be funded from 'profits' rather than further debt.

I can see the 'legitimacy' and rationale of stadium debt but not the rationale behind borrowing £100m plus for players in the chance that we may recoup a portion of it with C.L. qualification. Having said that... we really don't need to go spending 'serious' amounts of money anyhow in my opinion.

'deposit' may be funded from 'profits' rather than further debt.

Or we could get a sponsor to make a large upfront payment.

The finance factored in to facilitate the refurbishment of Anfield or construction of a new stadium falls outside the remit of
the Financial Fair Play restrictrions. Therefor if we can secure and long term loan along with a sponsor, with 50/50 split of
cost, then it is entirely reasonable to expect us to have a few quality signings in the summer.

Given our Warrior and SC deals a minimum expenditure of 50 million wouldn't be far fetched or knee jerking,
but rather an expectation that our increased revenue gets reinvested in the club.
Seeing that we have trimmed the wage bill last summer there should be a good opportunity to challenge
for a few top quality signings in the summer and then adjust the squad based on who wants to leave.

Saying all this then regarding the financing of a new stadium.. Which to be honest I'm very happy to be educated on.. What is the major aspect holding back a decision? I assumed and still do that they are fully researching the true demand of a week in week out bums on seats..
So what's holding back beyond that? Finding the naming partner? I may sound naive but I would still think right now there would be companies out there that would want to be linked with us.. Or is the recession meaning companies are potentially not offering the figure we would like? The banks not willing to lend?

Do people expect a decision this summer or ...

So do people think its reasonable to expect both this summer then?

It's not beyond the realms of possibility P_diddy. The problem only rises when folk expect F.S.G. to borrow huge amounts of money for transfers AND a stadium.

These are huge amounts we're talking here; a fraction of 1% either way, over X amount of time, would cost big time. They have to get it right. The time it's taking would indicate that they're certainly trying to do just that.

Having said that... we really don't need to go spending 'serious' amounts of money anyhow in my opinion.

I'm of the same opinion Bub..

Team first and ....and then back regularly into the CL

Other wise the stadium may not fill if we become another mid table non entity.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility P_diddy. The problem only rises when folk expect F.S.G. to borrow huge amounts of money for transfers AND a stadium.

In my original post that's kind of a point I was trying to make mate which you have nailed..

I was only trying to suggest that the stadium in the short term may affect the spending power in the market and people should maybe prepare for that. You and others have swerved me slightly on that but nailed it on the head there.