A23

[GlenSTFC]

1 hour ago, Sir Rebel1965 said:

So this leaves Ashley Smith as the owner of the club. 

As he is the sole owner of A23 Football Group Ltd and Burnham Sports Academy Ltd in addition to STFC(23) Ltd, it would seem as he is funding the club.

However A23 filled there accounts and showed assets of minus £1801 as of 31 August 2022 and Burnham Sports only had assets of £16112 as of 31 August 2022.

So where has the money come from to buy the club?

Also where has the money come from to sign these new players?

This may be why the FA is struggling to approve the formal take over of the club?

We have no assets or own anything so no buying took place more of a taking on the running of the club. Not sure these accounts show their true worth as there are ways around with smart accounting. It could be Ashley or some other individual(s) who are putting funds into the club, or there may be some big sponsorship deal we’ve yet to reveal….

[3spirit]

3 hours ago, GlenSTFC said:

We have no assets or own anything so no buying took place more of a taking on the running of the club. Not sure these accounts show their true worth as there are ways around with smart accounting. It could be Ashley or some other individual(s) who are putting funds into the club, or there may be some big sponsorship deal we’ve yet to reveal….

It still seems a mystery where the funds are coming from to fund our club but they must be there somewhere, as the football club would be 'like a petrol tank running on empty' ie you won't get very far until someone fills up ! 😃

Edited May 29, 2023 by 3spirit

[Reading Rebel]

32 minutes ago, 3spirit said:

It still seems a mystery where the funds are coming from to fund our club but they must be there somewhere, as the football club would be 'like a petrol tank running on empty' ie you won't get very far until someone fills up ! 😃

Our funds to run the club come from the obvious areas.

Season tickets/gate money, food & drink, sponsorship and possibly advertising boards, 500 club, supporters trust chipping in now and again and other bits and pieces like shirt sales. 

Can't think of much else.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Reading Rebel

[Sir Rebel1965]

9 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

Ashley Smith, Kay Lathey and Mike Lightfoot are the owners of the club with AS having the majority share holding.

Did it cost A23 any money to buy the club?

Or did they just take over the ownership and cost of running the club? 

Not sure what you mean by 'wheres the money coming from to buy new players'? presumably we have a playing budget.

 

I did not say "buy" I said sign, which means being able to pay their wages as some won't come cheap.

[Sir Rebel1965]

4 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

Our funds to run the club come from the obvious areas.

Season tickets/gate money, food & drink, sponsorship and possibly advertising boards, 500 club, supporters trust chipping in now and again and other bits and pieces like shirt sales. 

Can't think of much else.

So do these sources of income cover all the cost, I doubt it, as they did not before the takeover as the club was running out of money, so unless there is a massive increase in season tickets and gate money, then the situation will be the same.

And that is not allowing for an increase in the playing budget to be competitive in this league which, if so, would require even more funds.

There needs to be a large lump of cash coming in from outside of the normal income routes to balance the books.

[SloughFlyer]

One assumes that Scott must have been given a playing budget for the season either based on total for the year or weekly to pay players and he is recruiting based on that budget. 

I would also assume that every player playing for us last season, as well as anyone also drawing a wage, were paid in full last season and surely the club must be in a better position moving forwards for next year without anyone putting "individual" funds into the team.

Thus, the club funds itself, regardless of who is in charge.

[SloughFlyer]

5 hours ago, 3spirit said:

It still seems a mystery where the funds are coming from to fund our club but they must be there somewhere, as the football club would be 'like a petrol tank running on empty' ie you won't get very far until someone fills up ! 😃

Where do you think the funds to run the club came from last year or the year before? The funds will be based on budget projections and I'm sure an expectation of a better performing squad thus better crowds etc as we saw at the end of the season.

In addition to the normal revenue streams all clubs have at this level, the A23 academy set up might well yield additional funds, depending on what and whom they produce I guess.

[Reading Rebel]

48 minutes ago, SloughFlyer said:

Where do you think the funds to run the club came from last year or the year before? The funds will be based on budget projections and I'm sure an expectation of a better performing squad thus better crowds etc as we saw at the end of the season.

In addition to the normal revenue streams all clubs have at this level, the A23 academy set up might well yield additional funds, depending on what and whom they produce I guess.

We got our fingers burnt on budget projections last season when forecast crowd numbers went down from 800+ to 600+.

Who knows what our attendances will be next season but with a new owner perhaps we can be reassured that the budget won't have to be cut if things go pear shaped.

 

[SloughFlyer]

On 29/05/2023 at 21:46, Reading Rebel said:

We got our fingers burnt on budget projections last season when forecast crowd numbers went down from 800+ to 600+.

Who knows what our attendances will be next season but with a new owner perhaps we can be reassured that the budget won't have to be cut if things go pear shaped.

 

Either that or whomever sets the budgets looks at a more realistic number than was set last year to start with and then as the season progresses, increase the budget if required.

OR

Perhaps increase the sponsorship to cover the gap in projections from last year to this?

There are multiple ways the club can be sustainable without a massive injection of cash from an individual or business, it just needs executing which hopefully the new owners will be able to do (along with some success on the field as well).

[Reading Rebel]

No supporter knows if our budget for next season is bigger, the same or smaller than last season.

All we can hope for is that our budget hasn't been increased on the assumption that A23 will take over the club because it may never happen. 

As it stands we are two weeks away from the start of pre season and we still don't have new owners.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Reading Rebel

[Mark44]

16 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

No supporter knows if our budget for next season is bigger, the same or smaller than last season.

All we can hope for is that our budget hasn't been increased on the assumption that A23 will take over the club because it may never happen. 

As it stands we are two weeks away from the start of our pre season games and we still have no new owners.

I didn't realise this....I assumed it was all through and we were just awaiting everyone being back from holiday etc before they organised the fans forum piece....certainly everything outwardly wouldn't suggest a problem

[GlenSTFC]

I’m not worried about waiting for the official stamp some are getting in a tizz about! We all know how slow and incompetent the FA are so shouldn’t be surprised it’s taking this long for them to approve it. Do you really think the new owner would go to the expense and all the work that’s been done so far if they thought it wasn’t just a formality? Relax, enjoy that we’re assembling an exciting squad and hopefully will witness a much better season than last.

[Reading Rebel]

On 16/06/2023 at 15:51, GlenSTFC said:

I’m not worried about waiting for the official stamp some are getting in a tizz about! We all know how slow and incompetent the FA are so shouldn’t be surprised it’s taking this long for them to approve it. Do you really think the new owner would go to the expense and all the work that’s been done so far if they thought it wasn’t just a formality? Relax, enjoy that we’re assembling an exciting squad and hopefully will witness a much better season than last.

My point wasn't to do with getting into a tizz about an official stamp, it is to do with being concerned that our budget for next season is based on having new owners putting money in when nothing is official.

BTW if it's a 'formality' as you seem to think then surely we should have we been told this good news. 

It would put a lot of supporters minds at rest.

Unless the club know different nothing is a formality until it's in black and white and been signed off by all parties.

Just to add if the playing budget would be the same regardless of new owners or not then there should be nothing to worry about.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Reading Rebel

[GlenSTFC]

1 minute ago, Reading Rebel said:

My point wasn't to do with getting into a tizz about an official stamp, it is to do with being concerned that our budget for next season is based on having new owners putting money in when nothing is official.

BTW if it's a 'formality' as you seem to think then surely we should have we been told this good news. 

It would put a lot of supporters minds at rest.

Unless the club know different nothing is a formality until it's in black and white and been signed off by all parties.

It’s a formality in terms of the owner isn’t some dodgy sort (look at what’s happening at Reading…) and it’s a case of waiting and being patient. I think we all thought it’ll be done by now but it is what it is, we or the club can’t do much about it! I think I’m right in saying players don’t get paid for pre-season (unless on contract or possibly just expenses) maybe Scott can clear that one up?

[Nathan]

58 minutes ago, GlenSTFC said:

I’m not worried about waiting for the official stamp some are getting in a tizz about! We all know how slow and incompetent the FA are so shouldn’t be surprised it’s taking this long for them to approve it. Do you really think the new owner would go to the expense and all the work that’s been done so far if they thought it wasn’t just a formality? Relax, enjoy that we’re assembling an exciting squad and hopefully will witness a much better season than last.

How many times does it have to be pointed out that, given the lack of information, it's merely an assumption that we're waiting for the FA?

And given what's happened to the club repeatedly in the not-too-distant past, do you honestly blame anyone for "getting in a tizz"?

[GlenSTFC]

10 minutes ago, Nathan said:

How many times does it have to be pointed out that, given the lack of information, it's merely an assumption that we're waiting for the FA?

And given what's happened to the club repeatedly in the not-too-distant past, do you honestly blame anyone for "getting in a tizz"?

It’s upto you if you want to get in a tizz about it, I’m just saying I’m not worried. 

[Nathan]

I hope this is a case of paranoia, but blindly trusting the process and not asking any questions didn't do the club any favours in 1998, 2001 or 2007.

Given the impressive signings and expanded backroom staff, I think it's reasonable to assume that there's a bigger budget. Given no announcement of the takeover, surely it's sensible to ask where the money is coming from?

[Scott Davies]

Morning everyone. It would be daft of me to start talking about the budget, but all I can say is that it’s sustainable which is the most important thing.

Nobody is on stupid amounts of money. With the ‘impressive’ signings like someone mentioned above, we were very fortunate that the players from below wanted to play the next level which we were able to offer them, that meant that these players were able to fit within the finances at a very good price. They were all offered quite a considerable amount more elsewhere at Step 3.

I can honestly say that the new owners who have been working extremely closely with the board since December, have been a breath of fresh air. The work that’s going on behind the scenes is exciting, the communication lines for myself as a young manager are brilliant to have (I speak with them on average 8-10 times a day!).

A number of players have taken pay cuts to remain with us to allow us to have a more evenly spread squad to afford us the luxury of having greater strength in depth, and that’s testament to the lads. My biggest concern last season was that if someone was to get injured then we didn’t always have the quality on the bench to replace them and you could see the drop in performance. A squad with strength across the board is a better squad than a squad with a few superstars and a lesser player to replace them if they were to ever get injured.

Hope this all makes sense. I’ll see if the club can give an update at some point soon. 👍🏼

[Reading Rebel]

On 17/06/2023 at 09:12, Scott Davies said:

Morning everyone. It would be daft of me to start talking about the budget, but all I can say is that it’s sustainable which is the most important thing.

Nobody is on stupid amounts of money. With the ‘impressive’ signings like someone mentioned above, we were very fortunate that the players from below wanted to play the next level which we were able to offer them, that meant that these players were able to fit within the finances at a very good price. They were all offered quite a considerable amount more elsewhere at Step 3.

I can honestly say that the new owners who have been working extremely closely with the board since December, have been a breath of fresh air. The work that’s going on behind the scenes is exciting, the communication lines for myself as a young manager are brilliant to have (I speak with them on average 8-10 times a day!).

A number of players have taken pay cuts to remain with us to allow us to have a more evenly spread squad to afford us the luxury of having greater strength in depth, and that’s testament to the lads. My biggest concern last season was that if someone was to get injured then we didn’t always have the quality on the bench to replace them and you could see the drop in performance. A squad with strength across the board is a better squad than a squad with a few superstars and a lesser player to replace them if they were to ever get injured.

Hope this all makes sense. I’ll see if the club can give an update at some point soon. 👍🏼

Thanks for the update Scott.

The only thing I'll add is that until supporters are told differently the fact remains that A23 are only 'potential new owners'. 

The important point for the club and supporters is that the playing budget is sustainable regardless of the decision from the FA.

 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Reading Rebel

[Sir Rebel1965]

I have to say that anyone handing over money for a season ticket is taking a leap of faith.

There is a lot of window dressing going on, as a "membership" package looks very much like a season ticket.

If the deal on ownership was so good even the FA would have approved it by now.

Still far too many unanswered questions and the silence is deafening.