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Blackburn Rovers

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James Milner cost more than Blackburn.:eek:
 

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I'd like to think Wigan would be worth more, but there are some strange circumstances. Didn't the owner die, leaving the club to his descendants, who didn't really want it? I remember that being touted as a fear for Wigan.
 
centrelink1 said:
I'd like to think Wigan would be worth more, but there are some strange circumstances. Didn't the owner die, leaving the club to his descendants, who didn't really want it? I remember that being touted as a fear for Wigan.
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Yeah. I heard that it was being run by his estate since his death.
 
The transaction value was 43mn given the new owners are paying 23mn for the privilege of starting 20mn in debt. Either way it is not a great deal of money in comparison to others.

Jack Walker (former owner) died 10 years ago and the club has been exceptionally well run since but because of its low revenue almost all the funds go on wages so there has been little left for transfers unless we flog one very good player to get three or four others (Duff, Bentley, Warnock, Santa Cruz, etc.). The theory has always been the wage level will match the ladder position at the end of the season. We pay mid to lower table and that is where we finish. Some seasons we can do that with normal revenue others we need to top up from player sales. It is a risky strategy but with no alternative. One transfer mistake could easily see the club struggle for a season which is more than enough to result in relegation and it is only getting more difficult to get promoted.

I can’t see how the new owners are going to suddenly start making money of the club. They might get more sponsorship dollars out of the Indian market but that is hardly enough to match the competition. It will be pretty hard to increase attendances when most of the town goes to the games anyway and you can’t attract new neighbouring supporters given Lancashire has a truckload of teams already and those people would be following other sides if they follow football at all.

The club won’t be better run under the new owners so they will need to be comfortable with using their profits on other business interests to prop the club up – as Uncle Jack did. Although I am not sure how that will affect the newish rules for UEFA competitions – not that it concerns the club now as they need to climb a few rungs of the ladder to be qualifying for those.

The amount required in player purchases to even have a chance of climbing the ladder will never match the additional revenue. So you basically need to be prepared to take a hit even if results do improve.

My first piece of business as a new owner would be a striker (at least one possibly two) and a firm direction to BFS to play two up front or pack your bags. You can’t win if you don’t score and playing a 6-3-1 doesn’t create many chances.
 
Godzke said:
How many clubs in the Championship would cost more than 23m? Most I would've thought. Surprisingly cheap acquisition although I'm not aware of their financial situation. Even then, couldn't be as bad as Pompey's yet that sold for 100m GBP last year.
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L & P touched on some of the reasons why the club was so cheap, but basically there is little prospect IMO to grow the club any bigger than it currently is.

Blackburn is a very small town and itself along with Wigan and Bolton are all within around a ten mile radius of eachother and then you have Manchester and Liverpool close by which takes away potential fans for Blackburn, which limits growth potential of the club.
 
Regarding growth, I remember seeing the odd Blackburn shirt around London during the mid-90's. It's funny how you don't see them anymore......
 
hmmm, I bet you've never even been to London. Maybe when you are old enough to get a working visa you can come visit
 

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