Diogenes
Well-Known Member
Hear me out - this is a bit of a thought experiment and welcome any input.
Does Doug (aka Swiss Tony) actually need, or want us to get promoted?
His plan is clearly to improve the club so that he can sell it.
Is he planning to sell the club to make a profit, or to recoup debts owed to him? Bear in mind that to make any serious profit, needs to spend a lot of money, which is risky business in this game.
I don't know much about the nature of how Doug came to own the club. Is it true that Sisu were in his debt and they paid them off by selling the club to him for next to nothing?
If that is the case, could it not be that rather than getting to the premier league to then sell us as a profit, he is using the club as a vehicle to make back the money previously owed to him?
Think about it - to have a good chance of getting promoted he needs to spend money on experienced players that have little to no resale value. Players that become a very expensive albatross around his neck if we don't go up.
On the other hand, becoming the Peterborough of the championship could be very profitable if we are able to keep buying cheap and selling for a large profit. This could be the happy medium where he recoups his debts without actually having to splash out and risk losing a fortune.
He's done a lot of things that contradict this thesis - ie not selling anyone this summer of value, ie Simms, MVE, Sheaf in his prime value and has spent 40M+ over three windows.
He has also massively improved many aspects of the club. He's set the foundations for a stable future.
I wouldn't be surprised though if Doug came in with intentions of getting up, then realised the high cost/low chance of promotion and quickly realised he has a better chance of making money by keeping us challenging around the POs but with the main goal of becoming a talent conveyer belt.
Thoughts?
Does Doug (aka Swiss Tony) actually need, or want us to get promoted?
His plan is clearly to improve the club so that he can sell it.
Is he planning to sell the club to make a profit, or to recoup debts owed to him? Bear in mind that to make any serious profit, needs to spend a lot of money, which is risky business in this game.
I don't know much about the nature of how Doug came to own the club. Is it true that Sisu were in his debt and they paid them off by selling the club to him for next to nothing?
If that is the case, could it not be that rather than getting to the premier league to then sell us as a profit, he is using the club as a vehicle to make back the money previously owed to him?
Think about it - to have a good chance of getting promoted he needs to spend money on experienced players that have little to no resale value. Players that become a very expensive albatross around his neck if we don't go up.
On the other hand, becoming the Peterborough of the championship could be very profitable if we are able to keep buying cheap and selling for a large profit. This could be the happy medium where he recoups his debts without actually having to splash out and risk losing a fortune.
He's done a lot of things that contradict this thesis - ie not selling anyone this summer of value, ie Simms, MVE, Sheaf in his prime value and has spent 40M+ over three windows.
He has also massively improved many aspects of the club. He's set the foundations for a stable future.
I wouldn't be surprised though if Doug came in with intentions of getting up, then realised the high cost/low chance of promotion and quickly realised he has a better chance of making money by keeping us challenging around the POs but with the main goal of becoming a talent conveyer belt.
Thoughts?