My initial reaction towards him was also fairly warm but I have only had the intro video posted online to go on. The only bits I scoffed at, for the want of a better word, was the interactions with his wife (having the bag on standby etc) came across as totally staged and preplanned - but then if you are standing in front of loads of strangers you are going to try and have something that is an easy win to a room full of people.
Other than that, he seemed to come across honest warm and genuine. The “shame on me” quotes I liked as it gave the impression of actual ownership of fixing things he sees as issues.
I’m not overly concerned about him not being a quadrillionaire with a bottomless pot of cash - because his plan seems to be invest to improve and make the club pay for itself.
That does leave a few worries in regards to what happens at that point. who does he sell onto, at what point does he profit from his investment and,
More importantly, what happens if (when going on football averages ) it doesn’t all go to plan and 2,3,4 years down the line we’re still not breaking even.
Proof will be in the pudding. Can’t believe people can say “it’s a yes from me” at this stage. Let’s see if anything actually changes in the next few months. Having said that, it’s not a no either.
Thing is, I’m not sure how much he differs from Hayes in all honesty, who doesn’t seem to be recalled with any fondness whatsoever.
The whole, “I’ll run it like a proper business, sort out the ‘match day experience’” and so on - certainly not a bad aim, but it’s easy to build up those debts when you won’t be the one paying them off.
Hayes could have been worse - I realise Hayes’ whole deal was to push us into the Wasp-o-drome in Booker (did he ever get rid of all that land he bought up around the site?)...but by the standards of failed football sugar daddies, he could have screwed us over a lot more than he did.
Back on topic though, I just think the scope for making a lower league club truly profitable is pretty limited. Especially given Prem attempts to handicap any big fees due to lower league clubs from players signed from their academy (when lower league clubs can even afford an academy).
As others have said, we’re pretty much over the barrel of a gun for now though.
I am sure Mr Couhig seems like a nice guy but a few things concern me. Nothing had been done to improve revenue as yet so why are we increasing spending!? This means we are just racking up more debt to him that we can't pay off. This reminds me of the Hayes 'don't worry about the debt' era. I can't really see any difference to what we have been through before. As Richie put it, the amount of money we will already owe plus the extra built up by Christmas means we will have no choice but to sell and I worry that we will get a bad deal. We have no idea of what will be offered.
It feels like we have basically given the club to him because we were so desperate and didn't really appreciate our worth. I know no vote was rewired for a minority share but I think members should have been consulted before the deal was done because of how much of a one way ticket the deal is, we can't go back now as we can't afford to. I am reminded what @marlowchair previously said, we should have got some independent experts in to help us understand what we are worth, evaluate that there really was no other option and then help us get the best price if sale was the only way forward.
One of the great things about the fan owned model was that people really are prepared to put their time and money in. I certainly don't feel so much like joining the 50 club now if Couhig is just taking ownership. I am not even sure I will go to a many matches, on of the things I enjoyed was the fact that it really was our club.
@colonel_splaffy said:
..... I am reminded what @marlowchair previously said, we should have got some independent experts in to help us understand what we are worth, evaluate that there really was no other option and then help us get the best price if sale was the only way forward.
One of the great things about the fan owned model was that people really are prepared to put their time and money in. I certainly don't feel so much like joining the 50 club now if Couhig is just taking ownership. I am not even sure I will go to a many matches, on of the things I enjoyed was the fact that it really was our club.
As i have previously stated I would love the club to stay fan owned / run however at League level (and given our crowds) I just don;t see how this is possible.
Taking the two points above from your posting.
What we are worth
The easy answer is what someone will pay for us. In terms of assests its not much due to the ground not being part of any deal. the value of the squad is low - no bright young players in the Ibe mould currently.
Also running at a lost year on year would severly reduce the value - and despite what certain posters would lead you to believe breaking even at a smallish, league football club in an expensive part of the country is near impossible
Fan funded
Things like the 500 Club do bring the fans together. Maybe in future something liek the 500 Club could be created to produce funding for a re-introduction of a Youth set-up.
To try and use the generosity of fans year on year to prop the club up is again a bit pie in the sky
As it stand I like what Rob has said / done so far. He seems to be open and honest.
Again as I have previously posted their are the horror stories of owners (Coventry, Charlton, Bury) however they are still in the minority, and some of those owners should have really never been allowed to own a club if the 'Fit & Proper' test actually what it claimed to be
@Keith_Allens_Wig said:
Think he's the man for the job if we are going to sell.
The trust have made it quite clear they want to offload the club, continually overspending and caving in to ever-increasing player wage demands.
There's only so long we can go on like this, so it'll be a yes from me. Not entirely confident that we will get the 75% - I'd prefer to stay fan-owned and spend sensibly, but if there's no appetite for it, we need to sell.
I agree with most of what you say but I’m not sure why you think we’ve caved in to ‘ever increasing player wage demands’. Before MrCouhig came on the scene, Gareth was trying to recruit players with a budget that was below National League level. I don’t think we’ve ever overpaid.
True, certainly not in comparison to other teams, anyway. Football is broken as a whole - what other industry would the employees take out more than they bring in.
In an ideal world, the gate and TV money would cover the players and coaching team's wages and associated costs - such as training ground maintenance, away coach costs etc
Whilst I am a long way from this at the moment, @colonel_splaffy’s comment has reminded me of how I felt during the latter days of Hayes tenure. I did feel a level of disconnect from ‘my’ club for a while as it did seem to be his own ego-project.
This obviously needn’t be the case here but it important to remember that there are a lot of differing views each equally valid to their possessor
@Uncle_T said:
I was warming to him until he signed off a Twitter response yesterday evening with "Go Wanderers". I know it's irrational, but seeing that phrase used unashamedly in a non-ironic manner provoked an immediate and adverse reaction that made me recoil from the screen.
The sooner he learns to use "Come on you Blues", "COYB" or, my favourite, "Come on you Chairboys" instead of that "Go..." nonsense the better.
Got to be better than the current "Wanderers Whatever" moniker, just add a comma and it falls flat.
The sad thing for me is, that our model of fan ownership is how ( or closer to how) all lower league ( and non- league) clubs should be run . If it was, together with wage structures and fixed size squads, may be part time as well, then lower league football could perhaps be sustainable and more of a level playing field.
What a nice chap. Looked like he was having a great time behind the goal today, lads singing his name and all. Hopefully he gets over for another game soon.
If he's to be believed from his interview on 3CR afterwards, he'll be over quite often. Is Pete not going to be even more than that?...
Have to say I'm a big fan at the moment. He articulates a clear plan for the future involving increasing revenues. I was happy to do my part because of the beer tent - I never even try to go into the bar: it always seems too crowded. Queues at food and drink stalls, and in the club shop, may well be one of the next things they try to address. There certainly seemed no shortage of people willing to part with money today.
Just reading through his answers in the Wanderer and seen that we have a maximum of 210 days to pay him back if his bid is unsuccessful. I may have missed something, but I don't think the Trust have mentioned any contingency plan in case it does come to that?
I don't think there is a good one at the moment. I think I heard Trevor say the board were working on that over the next few months. If the Couhigs put in $2m, I don't know we've got a good way to give that back.
Mind, I very much like the way we're going so I'm currently hoping we won't need to. We may have found a close to ideal partner who can help the club become a better place to visit and closer to economically sustainable. Did anyone else know we had lost so much money over the past couple of seasons?
First impressions of the Couhigs is good. They seem genuinely up for making us a ‘ better ‘ club on and off the pitch. Let’s see what the next few months bring . Hopefully more progress and then a positive vote. I’m not sure we have much choice.
It'll be interesting to see how things improve between now and our next home league game. Perhaps yesterday gave the Couhigs an idea of the scale of the problems our matchday experience faces.
I met Rob & Sissy in the Rebellion Tent and bought the guy a beer ( Blonde of course) seemed a really nice guy. I hope it works out for them and us. We have a choice we go forward or backwards. For me it's a nobrainer.
Rob does seem to have the potential to be part of a very rare species: a beloved owner. I was trying to think of others, and I could only think of Leicester and Accrington's off the top of my head, though maybe Delia Smith at Norwich too? I am sure there are a bunch more, but the point is still salient. If he did become someone of that ilk (and I am not so naive as to think it is guaranteed), we would be extremely fortunate indeed!
Comments
The club will be Ivor’s within five years anyway.
He'll be 83 by then @drcongo.
My initial reaction towards him was also fairly warm but I have only had the intro video posted online to go on. The only bits I scoffed at, for the want of a better word, was the interactions with his wife (having the bag on standby etc) came across as totally staged and preplanned - but then if you are standing in front of loads of strangers you are going to try and have something that is an easy win to a room full of people.
Other than that, he seemed to come across honest warm and genuine. The “shame on me” quotes I liked as it gave the impression of actual ownership of fixing things he sees as issues.
I’m not overly concerned about him not being a quadrillionaire with a bottomless pot of cash - because his plan seems to be invest to improve and make the club pay for itself.
That does leave a few worries in regards to what happens at that point. who does he sell onto, at what point does he profit from his investment and,
More importantly, what happens if (when going on football averages ) it doesn’t all go to plan and 2,3,4 years down the line we’re still not breaking even.
Proof will be in the pudding. Can’t believe people can say “it’s a yes from me” at this stage. Let’s see if anything actually changes in the next few months. Having said that, it’s not a no either.
The thing with his wife and the bag was very American. We ought to forgive him that.
Thing is, I’m not sure how much he differs from Hayes in all honesty, who doesn’t seem to be recalled with any fondness whatsoever.
The whole, “I’ll run it like a proper business, sort out the ‘match day experience’” and so on - certainly not a bad aim, but it’s easy to build up those debts when you won’t be the one paying them off.
Hayes could have been worse - I realise Hayes’ whole deal was to push us into the Wasp-o-drome in Booker (did he ever get rid of all that land he bought up around the site?)...but by the standards of failed football sugar daddies, he could have screwed us over a lot more than he did.
Back on topic though, I just think the scope for making a lower league club truly profitable is pretty limited. Especially given Prem attempts to handicap any big fees due to lower league clubs from players signed from their academy (when lower league clubs can even afford an academy).
As others have said, we’re pretty much over the barrel of a gun for now though.
I am sure Mr Couhig seems like a nice guy but a few things concern me. Nothing had been done to improve revenue as yet so why are we increasing spending!? This means we are just racking up more debt to him that we can't pay off. This reminds me of the Hayes 'don't worry about the debt' era. I can't really see any difference to what we have been through before. As Richie put it, the amount of money we will already owe plus the extra built up by Christmas means we will have no choice but to sell and I worry that we will get a bad deal. We have no idea of what will be offered.
It feels like we have basically given the club to him because we were so desperate and didn't really appreciate our worth. I know no vote was rewired for a minority share but I think members should have been consulted before the deal was done because of how much of a one way ticket the deal is, we can't go back now as we can't afford to. I am reminded what @marlowchair previously said, we should have got some independent experts in to help us understand what we are worth, evaluate that there really was no other option and then help us get the best price if sale was the only way forward.
One of the great things about the fan owned model was that people really are prepared to put their time and money in. I certainly don't feel so much like joining the 50 club now if Couhig is just taking ownership. I am not even sure I will go to a many matches, on of the things I enjoyed was the fact that it really was our club.
As i have previously stated I would love the club to stay fan owned / run however at League level (and given our crowds) I just don;t see how this is possible.
Taking the two points above from your posting.
What we are worth
The easy answer is what someone will pay for us. In terms of assests its not much due to the ground not being part of any deal. the value of the squad is low - no bright young players in the Ibe mould currently.
Also running at a lost year on year would severly reduce the value - and despite what certain posters would lead you to believe breaking even at a smallish, league football club in an expensive part of the country is near impossible
Fan funded
Things like the 500 Club do bring the fans together. Maybe in future something liek the 500 Club could be created to produce funding for a re-introduction of a Youth set-up.
To try and use the generosity of fans year on year to prop the club up is again a bit pie in the sky
As it stand I like what Rob has said / done so far. He seems to be open and honest.
Again as I have previously posted their are the horror stories of owners (Coventry, Charlton, Bury) however they are still in the minority, and some of those owners should have really never been allowed to own a club if the 'Fit & Proper' test actually what it claimed to be
@Wendoverman "Out of bounds!" from now on
True, certainly not in comparison to other teams, anyway. Football is broken as a whole - what other industry would the employees take out more than they bring in.
In an ideal world, the gate and TV money would cover the players and coaching team's wages and associated costs - such as training ground maintenance, away coach costs etc
Whilst I am a long way from this at the moment, @colonel_splaffy’s comment has reminded me of how I felt during the latter days of Hayes tenure. I did feel a level of disconnect from ‘my’ club for a while as it did seem to be his own ego-project.
This obviously needn’t be the case here but it important to remember that there are a lot of differing views each equally valid to their possessor
Got to be better than the current "Wanderers Whatever" moniker, just add a comma and it falls flat.
Interesting that the Brits exhort their teams to "come (on)", while Americans command them to "go".
I guess it depends which end you are watching the game from!
At US sports events they do also drop in a "let's" before the "go" as in "lets go Red Sox" as I recall from my time in Boston.
Let's go Wycombe! (LGW) ........... Maybe not.
If I have to say” Go Wycombe” or “Go Blues” to see a successful team I can be converted
We need someone in touch with the everyday English football fan to issue some language guidelines https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/britain/unacceptable-is-a-dreadful-weasel-word-jacob-rees-mogg-issues-rules-to-staff-listing-banned-words-38350230.html
Unfortunately there is a big and important difference between “fan owned” and “fan financed”.
History has proven that the latter is not sustainable and, as a consequence, neither is the former.
IMO we need to bite the bullet and realise external cash / ownership is inevitable unless we want to go out of business.
The sad thing for me is, that our model of fan ownership is how ( or closer to how) all lower league ( and non- league) clubs should be run . If it was, together with wage structures and fixed size squads, may be part time as well, then lower league football could perhaps be sustainable and more of a level playing field.
That's what's already happened, the club is borrowing a couple of million that it can't pay back isn't it?
What a nice chap. Looked like he was having a great time behind the goal today, lads singing his name and all. Hopefully he gets over for another game soon.
If he's to be believed from his interview on 3CR afterwards, he'll be over quite often. Is Pete not going to be even more than that?...
Have to say I'm a big fan at the moment. He articulates a clear plan for the future involving increasing revenues. I was happy to do my part because of the beer tent - I never even try to go into the bar: it always seems too crowded. Queues at food and drink stalls, and in the club shop, may well be one of the next things they try to address. There certainly seemed no shortage of people willing to part with money today.
Had a chat to him in the Rebellion tent - seems a very genuine, enthusiastic and lovely guy.
Just reading through his answers in the Wanderer and seen that we have a maximum of 210 days to pay him back if his bid is unsuccessful. I may have missed something, but I don't think the Trust have mentioned any contingency plan in case it does come to that?
I don't think there is a good one at the moment. I think I heard Trevor say the board were working on that over the next few months. If the Couhigs put in $2m, I don't know we've got a good way to give that back.
Mind, I very much like the way we're going so I'm currently hoping we won't need to. We may have found a close to ideal partner who can help the club become a better place to visit and closer to economically sustainable. Did anyone else know we had lost so much money over the past couple of seasons?
First impressions of the Couhigs is good. They seem genuinely up for making us a ‘ better ‘ club on and off the pitch. Let’s see what the next few months bring . Hopefully more progress and then a positive vote. I’m not sure we have much choice.
Look no further than the end of October for where democratic choice can get you.
It'll be interesting to see how things improve between now and our next home league game. Perhaps yesterday gave the Couhigs an idea of the scale of the problems our matchday experience faces.
I met Rob & Sissy in the Rebellion Tent and bought the guy a beer ( Blonde of course) seemed a really nice guy. I hope it works out for them and us. We have a choice we go forward or backwards. For me it's a nobrainer.
Missy please @johnthehair!
Rob does seem to have the potential to be part of a very rare species: a beloved owner. I was trying to think of others, and I could only think of Leicester and Accrington's off the top of my head, though maybe Delia Smith at Norwich too? I am sure there are a bunch more, but the point is still salient. If he did become someone of that ilk (and I am not so naive as to think it is guaranteed), we would be extremely fortunate indeed!
Tranmere's owners are incredibly popular.