The quote?
In my brief time here I have come to admire your comments on structure, and planning. However your grasp of the financial dynamics seems less assured.
Your claim that anyone would bin a new stadium in ten minutes rather makes my point.
Your claim of "half the cost for the same revenue" is intriguing. I assume you think that a 58,500 stadium, half new half old, built for say £150m, will generate the same revenue and balance returns as a new one. You would be wrong.
The new half would generate more money than the existing old half. The extra revenue does not count towards FFP. The cost of replacing the old stands in fifteen years ( at which point the old ones will be 40 years old plus) will have doubled, so you need to factor in the extra £10m a year for that.
I always base my judgements on fact, it helps. I never resort to abuse, as it is a poor replacement for reasoned argument ( although I do accept that in the absence of supporting facts, the weak may need to rely upon it).
The new stadium ship has sailed. But how depressing that some struggle with the idea of even replacing the ARE.
Martin Broughton (on the day of the sale to NESV):
"There is definitely a commitment to invest in a stadium and we will finish up with a 60,000+ seater stadium. Where they haven't finalised their view is whether that should be the new stadium or whether there are still opportunities to build at Anfield itself."
Meanwhile we await your 'facts' as to how a new stadium will generate more than the redeveloped ie, how the fans will be able to pay more for the same facilities or more for better facilities or even, how they can pay more at all.
Or in another way, how the fans can pay so much more that they can pay for a new stadium at double the cost and still generate more return for the club.
Or perhaps you are talking about a stadium only for those who can afford Emirates prices. Let's say £90 a ticket minimum. And look at how well that's worked out for the Arsenal.
So, how will a new stadium make more without fans paying more?
The "do nothing" mentality becomes self -fulfilling. Unsurprisingly, it has coincided with a quarter of a century, barren of league titles.
Complaining about unsold seats and our commercial department drumming up business before our new stand is even open demonstrates the negative approach which has cost us hundreds of millions of pounds in the PL era.
It is true, that our inconsistent league form and sporadic Euro appearances of late, will damage our gate prospects. Yet so has our undercapacity as others have scooped up fans who would have come to Anfield. Our underperformance in improving attendance in the PL era is statistical fact.
FSG ( for all their faults) have given us financial stability, and credibility. Klopp has a fine existing pedigree, and the potential to join the pantheon of LFC managerial greats. Investing in a future commensurate to our past makes sense. Giving up, as you advocate, does not.
You cannot resist putting words in other's mouths to suit your argument. Over the years you have been here, your so-called reasoned argument has amounted to nothing but bias and lack of understanding. It has often been abusive.
I have never advocated doing nothing nor is my view of redevelopment or an expanded ARE anything less than positive. No matter how hard you would like to paint it otherwise.
In fact I believe I was the first person after the 2002 debacle to put forward a reasoned argument for redevelopment, including the ARE as an integral part of the plan and the first person to make a direct approach to the then 'MD' of the club (in 2004). Despite the 'impossibilities' (rights of light, not enough space, over Joe's dead body...), I have not ever given up. As a group, giving up is not in our nature.
What I advocated then as I continue to do now, is caution. Because there's nothing that's guaranteed or can be assumed, now or to go on forever. Successful business understands the difference between risk management and playing with fantasy. Seemingly you do not.
I'm pleased to say that the owners are of similar mind. Much of what you see today and almost all of the financial logic behind it is based on my representations to the club. And while you will recall that JWH and FSG have a background in 'gambling' - in hedge funds, casinos even - and so are not completely risk averse, anyone with their kind of successful track record doesn't take foolhardy chances. This isn't fantasy football.
