In comparing, you’re assuming Zynex was successful in its first year and a half or so. I’m sure it wasn’t. These things are rarely straightforward one way or the other. And re-building after an “organisational trauma” takes time. Through that process, some things will work and some won’t. Are things better with an engaged owner despite current league position? For me, yes. Is there room for concern, in terms of results and in terms of placements in key areas of the business of the club? Yes and yes.
I was reading this thread thinking that any minute some genius is going to come out with the classic "football is a results business" bullshit. (What, unlike any other business?!)
But well done Charlton Life. We can save that particular treat for another day (or maybe for just 10 seconds after some wit reads this!)
I think there are two specific factors about football that make it harder to run a football club than a business in more or less any other sector.
There are completely arbitrary cut-off points determining which clubs are successful or not. In other businesses, you could be the 4th, 5th, 6th best business in your field and could reasonably expect returns commensurate with that status. In football there is a line drawn behind second place. If you finish in the top two, you've had a successful season and will be rewarded. One of the next four clubs will also be successful. None of the others will be. At the other end of the table the difference in the treatment between the 20th and 21st teams is astounding. The difference in quality between teams in those positions is likely to be quite marginal and yet the team in 20th is allowed to stay for another try, whilst the team in 21st is punished by being forced to compete against less attractive teams who will bring less paying customers. Of course, in all businesses success gives you the basis to be more successful in the future, and failure makes it harder to compete. But it is very hard to think of another industry where there are such pre-determined but arbitrary cut-off points decreeing what is deemed to be successful or not.
The above combined with the obscene amounts of cash available at the very top of the tree create a situation where, just to keep up with the others, teams have to spend amounts far in excess of what would otherwise be reasonable. Just trying to tread water, is a strategy that will ultimately be doomed to failure. Everyone is chasing their tail, trying to achieve riches that are only available to a select few.
Someone above said that the only successful way to run a club is to treat it as a hobby. I think this is true as far as the finances go. Anyone who is going to be successful, needs to risk spending at levels that would be intolerable in any other business. It may be successful, it may not, but like the lottery, 'you've got to be in it to win it'. And that means you've got to be prepared to spend and spend big. Whilst there will occasionally be teams that are successful on shoestring budgets, these are few and far between and their successes tend to be quite short lived.
Where I disagree about running it as a hobby, is about getting organisational structures in place that fit the needs of the business and getting the the right people in to fill positions. It's not good enough having people in place because you like them, because they are related to you or because they have been around the club for a long time. Being a half decent burger-flipper is not sufficient to holding a senior executive position. I think there needs to be a determination and a ruthlessness in running the club that is far beyond the means of the average hobbyist. There are serious question marks at Charlton at the moment about our business leadership, our recruitment processes, our medical staff and our coaching team. Not to mention the playing squad where those questions get answered regularly every match day. We need someone to sort this mess out and with the best will in the world that's unlikely to be anyone running the club as a hobby.
I do genuinely feel sorry for Sandgaard. I hope he can turn things around, but I fear it will take a hell of a lot of hard work and no little cash. I hope he's up for it, but I wouldn't blame him if he wasn't. I cant imagine how many millions I would need to have in the bank before I decided to spaff it on Charlton, no matter how much I love the club. The bottom line is, that football ownership (at least in the sense of trying to run a successful club, rather than rob it) is a mugs game.
Comments
But well done Charlton Life. We can save that particular treat for another day (or maybe for just 10 seconds after some wit reads this!)
- There are completely arbitrary cut-off points determining which clubs are successful or not. In other businesses, you could be the 4th, 5th, 6th best business in your field and could reasonably expect returns commensurate with that status. In football there is a line drawn behind second place. If you finish in the top two, you've had a successful season and will be rewarded. One of the next four clubs will also be successful. None of the others will be. At the other end of the table the difference in the treatment between the 20th and 21st teams is astounding. The difference in quality between teams in those positions is likely to be quite marginal and yet the team in 20th is allowed to stay for another try, whilst the team in 21st is punished by being forced to compete against less attractive teams who will bring less paying customers. Of course, in all businesses success gives you the basis to be more successful in the future, and failure makes it harder to compete. But it is very hard to think of another industry where there are such pre-determined but arbitrary cut-off points decreeing what is deemed to be successful or not.
- The above combined with the obscene amounts of cash available at the very top of the tree create a situation where, just to keep up with the others, teams have to spend amounts far in excess of what would otherwise be reasonable. Just trying to tread water, is a strategy that will ultimately be doomed to failure. Everyone is chasing their tail, trying to achieve riches that are only available to a select few.
Someone above said that the only successful way to run a club is to treat it as a hobby. I think this is true as far as the finances go. Anyone who is going to be successful, needs to risk spending at levels that would be intolerable in any other business. It may be successful, it may not, but like the lottery, 'you've got to be in it to win it'. And that means you've got to be prepared to spend and spend big. Whilst there will occasionally be teams that are successful on shoestring budgets, these are few and far between and their successes tend to be quite short lived.Where I disagree about running it as a hobby, is about getting organisational structures in place that fit the needs of the business and getting the the right people in to fill positions. It's not good enough having people in place because you like them, because they are related to you or because they have been around the club for a long time. Being a half decent burger-flipper is not sufficient to holding a senior executive position. I think there needs to be a determination and a ruthlessness in running the club that is far beyond the means of the average hobbyist. There are serious question marks at Charlton at the moment about our business leadership, our recruitment processes, our medical staff and our coaching team. Not to mention the playing squad where those questions get answered regularly every match day. We need someone to sort this mess out and with the best will in the world that's unlikely to be anyone running the club as a hobby.
I do genuinely feel sorry for Sandgaard. I hope he can turn things around, but I fear it will take a hell of a lot of hard work and no little cash. I hope he's up for it, but I wouldn't blame him if he wasn't. I cant imagine how many millions I would need to have in the bank before I decided to spaff it on Charlton, no matter how much I love the club. The bottom line is, that football ownership (at least in the sense of trying to run a successful club, rather than rob it) is a mugs game.