| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! 09:59 - Oct 3 with 1495 views | steve_g |
Where's the cash gone?
It is a question repeatedly asked over the last few years ever since Blackpool's Premier League dream turned into a nightmare for many fans.
From the darlings of English football's top flight to the bottom of the championship in just three years.
A summer beset with problems; three points in the first 10 games this season ; and repeated allegations the club's owners do not care and are happy to "trouser" the cash at the expense of the team and its loyal fans.Tonight, in a live televised match against Cardiff City many are expected to again show their anger at the Oyston regime and call for the family to sell up. Pool won a estimated £90m-plus windfall when they were promoted to the Premier League in 2010. But fans say little - if anything has been invested back into the team since relegation back to the championship.
Accounts over the last two years show loans paid from the club to a number of Oyston owned companies. This has led some fans to claim the cash has been siphoned off, misappropriated for the benefit of the Oyston family - a claim the pool owner strongly denies. It comes as Oyston confirmed the club is now taking legal action against "five individuals for defamation". In his first interview on football matters for years, Oyston said his family had "always defended the right of the supporters" to "criticise the club and ourselves" even if "it has often been painful and, in our view, often unjustified".
He said "We are pleased the Blackpool fans are so passionate and dedicated they want to make their views known. We know that they want the same as us - success on the pitch." But he hit back at those who have accused the club's owners of being thieves. stating that "certain individuals" had "crossed the line demarcating acceptable criticism",Oyston said "It's simply not true we have asset stripped or misappropriated football generated funds". "If those responsible had examined the accounts of the football group they would have seen we had been building up substantial assets to strengthen and secure the football club over 27 years, protecting the club from debt and producing revenue income and more recently substantial profits for the football group. "we are one of the few clubs in football that have no debts and are in profit".
Asked about the £90m the club got from its time in the Premier League and the subsequent parachute payments after they were relegated Oyston said 47.6m had been spent (between 2010-13 on players wages, bonuses and transfer fees. In 2011 he was paid £11m as a director - in lieu of the money he had put into the club since taking over in 1987. He added that 23.7m often quoted as the cash siphoned off to other companies was used to pay for the development of the stands and hotels.
He said much of the rest has gone on maintenance of the ground and paying stewards and other staff wages over that period. Oyston said when he took over the club in 1987 it owed creditors £827,000 and had losses of £77,000 on the balance sheet. its net assets (the total assets minus total outside liabilities) were listed as -£42,000. In may 2013, the last declared figures, Oyston says the club's net assets were £25m. Oyston said before achieving Premier League status three years ago he never took a salary, a dividend or consultancy payment from the club over a period of 24 years.
Detailing his investment over the years, he said when he took control in 1987 he immediately loaned the club £160,000 to cover bills that needed paying within 12 months. within seven months the loan had risen to £600,000. In 1990 he bought into the parent company of the club formerly Blackpool FC Properties Ltd, which changed its name to Segesta, for £1.34m. At the end of May 2000 he put in a further £4.1m bringing his total investment to £5.5.m. Another Oyston company Zabaxe Ltd, also loaned money to the club (£944,652) as well as time and services of its staff free of charge for such things as accountants, solicitors, architects, secretaries advisors and other staff.
In 2000/01 football season the Oyston family sold the company which published Lancashire LIfe magazine and from the proceeds, used £6.5m to lever £2.5m of further funding fromt the Football Foundation and used this £9m to build the North, North West and West stands. He said revenue from those stands flows directly back into the club. He said "That's my own money and I set aside millions of ponds in profit from those magazines to fund a club most professional advisers said could never pay me back"
He said that in 2006 Valeri Belokon bought 20 percent of the shares of the club for £1.8m and then he together with Oyston financed the building of the south and South west corner stands. More money was needed to finish thes off. And he added he has made a series of other loans to the club in may 2001 to September 2002 of £125,000, in February 2005 of £200,000, in March 2006, £150,000 in May 2006 £60,000 and in March 2009 0f £100,000. He said "I have poured into what had been a bankrupt and derelict club, millions of pounds, from my own money, and also from interest free loans from my own companies, not just to keep the football club afloat but also to build much of what you see in the modern Blackpool Football Club stadium today."
Over the claims the Oystons took out 23.7m from the club to give to other Oyston companies, he said that money was used by the companies for the funding, finishing and fitting out of the stands and units within them as the ground was being redeveloped. Also it was used to buy the Travelodge hotel on Bloomfield Road. He explained Blackpool FC Ltd couldn't financed the stands and paid to finish them off. That money went to Segesta and was then used through various other companies to carry out the work. We had to have separate construction companies to do it. Part was also used to repay loans made to the football group by the Oyston group companies interest free at a time when no-one else would lend money to the football group and without which they could not have continued. Therefore of the 23.7m loaned to Segesta by Blackpool FC, 22.8m has been used to benefit the football group and produce revenue to both BFC Limited and its parent company Segesta.
He said £640,000 loan from Blackpool FC Ltd to Blackpool FC Hotel was used to develop the south stand hotel and was being repaid. All these decisions, he said, would mean the club will survive on its own two feet for years to come. Oyston added: The avowed intention of the directors is to return to the top flight and to have the passionate support of all the fans again. I recognise all this effort and investment over this long journey with Blackpool FC and its parent company will have little or no impact on the fans.
"I know what happens on the pitch is what the fans are really concerned about and it is always my concern too and that is why I have dedicated my money,time and energy to this project because I'm a lifelong fan" | |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 10:09 - Oct 3 with 1474 views | thebigone |
Has Owen bought the Gazette as well? By the look of it he was given a free reign to spout any old bullsh*t and not be asked to justify anything! Shocking journalism from an appalling paper. | |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 10:10 - Oct 3 with 1473 views | OneDaveBamber |
Snippets of truth here and there, but spun so wildly as to be absolutely garbage.
I think it's a poor show he's been given a platform to spout this nonsense. The Gazette should be ashamed for printing it unchallenged. | | | |
| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 10:17 - Oct 3 with 1461 views | WindyMiller |
Totally agree ODB - what was the story with the travelodge - didn't he make huge profits from that? Seems he'll talk about the BFC hotel but not the one across the road. Also does all the money from the ground and offices and hotel really go to the football club?! | |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 10:23 - Oct 3 with 1456 views | BertandErnie |
As a businessman, I don't believe for one second that his financial nouse would not allow him to ploug so much money in to the football club without knowing there'd be a big fat cheque at the end of it all. All this 'I invested my families money' is baloney! He always knew what he was doing - the Premier League was just the unexpected bonus. | | | |
| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 10:42 - Oct 3 with 1442 views | Rusty2Stands |
One word - LIAR | | | |
| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 11:18 - Oct 3 with 1412 views | Lytham_FY8 |
The Gazette should be ashamed, I suppose the timing is coincidence. [Post edited 3 Oct 2014 11:18]
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| "The money has not been taken out of the football club to pay for this hotel, but the money will be borrowed to build the hotel in part or whole"
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 12:06 - Oct 3 with 1388 views | Seasider91 |
After reading the figures about how the club was in debt and had -£42,000 in assets when Owen took over in the 80's it really is remarkable how he's turned the club around to be making money and has £25,000,000 in assets. In 27 years that is the sign of a very good businessman. I say that Oyston will get the last laugh when the likes of Bolton and many other clubs are going down shit creek without a paddle to administration and thus getting transfer embargos for breaching ffp rules whilst we're one of a few clubs (think Evertons another) able to purchase players who would then be cheaper as a result of less competition and a reduction in wage demands as no one would pay the old wages. | |
| "We shall take baby steps up the league" Ian Holloway in July 2009 |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 14:42 - Oct 3 with 1336 views | AllorNothing |
Are you saying he foresaw all this in 1987? Wow, he should be able to win the lottery every week | |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 14:53 - Oct 3 with 1330 views | Lytham_FY8 |
No, he's saying he didn't sink remotely as much in as he claims. | |
| "The money has not been taken out of the football club to pay for this hotel, but the money will be borrowed to build the hotel in part or whole"
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 15:44 - Oct 3 with 1308 views | Rusty2Stands |
If this article was supposed to calm things down for tonight, it's clearly had the opposite effect and fanned the flames.
Judging by some of the comments on the Gazette web site the old scarecrow would have been better off keeping quiet.
Disgraceful by the Gazette as well, to give this liar an unopposed platform. | | | |
| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 16:19 - Oct 3 with 1285 views | seasider13 |
No mention of the money earned on players going out, tv money, playoff final money, club shop revenue etc etc, very slippery of you OO. | |
| No man is rich enough to buy back his past. |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 22:43 - Oct 4 with 1124 views | TwoPhillips |
I think Seasider13 sums it up for me - I accept money has been spent but so much money has come in to this club. My favourite line was about the cost of stewards - was he saying that protests are costing the club money and it's their fault we can't afford new players!! | |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 10:33 - Oct 5 with 1104 views | 1953Original |
Asked about the £90m the club got from its time in the Premier League and the subsequent parachute payments after they were relegated Oyston said 47.6m had been spent (between 2010-13 on players wages, bonuses and transfer fees. In 2011 he was paid £11m as a director - in lieu of the money he had put into the club since taking over in 1987.
If he was given £11m as a director, why were we told it was a tax dodge by Karl and the money would be ploughed straight back in to the club? Seems to me as well as all the other accusations thrown at them, you can throw in financial mismanagement as well!! | |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 10:59 - Oct 5 with 1101 views | Tang67 |
Agree they have invested over the years but £90plus million no way | |
| Poster formerly known as bisphamtang |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 13:53 - Oct 5 with 1077 views | basilrobbiereborn |
Just a quick point of fact on this Original - you seem to be counting the parachute payments twice.
We got £39.1m for our year in the PL, with £48m to follow - a total of £87.1m in all. | |
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| FAO ODB - Gazette article in full ... thoughts?! on 16:03 - Oct 5 with 1038 views | Tang67 |
Cheers Robbie for the correction but I suppose if we add transfer fees received since 2010 we would not be far off £90 million and in no way whatsoever has a quarter of that been reinvested
We should have had the training ground built with the same will dedicated to the hotel and Travelodge and Riga should have been backed
Anyway Friday was best game of the season and hope more of the same for home games going forward and we may survive in this league | |
| Poster formerly known as bisphamtang |
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