Give a dog a bone


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Nice. As for the articles in the Sun, etc., wouldn't it be better for us if our rivals all believe we are skint anyway? Then they might not push us too hard during the summer transfer window.
you know, that exact point came to mind this morning when i woke up

hope it is true
 
Re: Steve Walton - "It's time to start dreaming"

better title than neds give the dog a bone but same excellent article
 
Now THAT'S the sort of thing board members should be coming out with, not threats its all about to collapse.
 
Nice. As for the articles in the Sun, etc., wouldn't it be better for us if our rivals all believe we are skint anyway? Then they might not push us too hard during the summer transfer window.

Wouldn't make any difference. The money men at other clubs understand how the accounts work, so I'd imagine they would have looked at the information that was released and know that we're in a stable position.
 
Re: Steve Walton - "It's time to start dreaming"

What a great read. That's just what we need to gee us up.
Those final comments made me proud to be a part of this club.
If you do not or cannot go to the games, read that and try your utmost to get behind the lads this season.
Thanks for the link.
 
Re: Steve Walton - "It's time to start dreaming"

We will make more profit from the concerts this summer than from the entire season's corporate matchday clients incl all boxes, function suites and black cats/sports bars.
Great credit here to Gary Hutchinson, who does a brilliant job at the club!
 
Can someone please post the article up here?

There you go mate

Walton sheds light on accounts
Chief Executive Steve Walton explains the facts behind the figures given in the club's recently-published financial results.

Sunderland's chief executive Steve Walton has shed more light on the club's financial situation following the recent publication of accounts for the year ending 31st July 2010.

The most recent accounts show an operating loss of £5m, increasing to £25.5m including player trading, with the club adding ten additional players to the squad on a full-time basis, plus three loan signings.

Club owner Mr Ellis Short also converted £19m of loans into shares.

An expert in football finance, Walton ran Barclays Bank's football division before joining Sunderland in 2009 and says the club are in healthy financial position and are continuing to reduce external debt.

He told safc.com: "I'm really pleased with where the club is at this moment in time.

"The headline figures reflect the investment we've made in the squad over the last few years.

"Businesses don't get into difficulties because they don't make profits; they get into trouble because they run out of cash, which is a really important distinction that has to be made.

"We've been able to sustain this because we've been investing in the squad thanks to our owner investing in us, in terms of giving us the cash to support the purchase of players.

"We have a stable position in terms of our ownership and our key management people which is also important from a financial perspective.

"Our external term debt is now less than it's been at any time since the takeover by the Drumaville Consortium and is coming down year on year."

Walton says the headline figure is misleading as much of the loss is attributed to the process of 'amortisation' of transfer fees.

The outlay to acquire a player is spread each year across the term of the player's contract, after which it has zero value in the club's accounts. If the club renews a contract then it gets spread out even longer.

For example, a player purchased for £4m on a four-year contract would be recorded in the accounts as costing £1m per year even though the club's may have paid all the £4m in one amount on signing.

In addition, home-grown players like Jordan Henderson don't appear in the balance sheet at all!

Walton explained: "When you look at the amount which is actually lost in the accounts, most of that is a result of amortisation of players.

"There's a big disconnect between cash and profit. The transfer fees of many of our players appear in the last published accounts even though we paid out the cash for them some years ago"

He added: "It's also important to remember when we buy players we are also buying assets. If we buy wisely then there is a good chance that they will appreciate in value. This is particularly true with a young squad.

"If you look at the most recent accounts the net book value of our players was just over £50m and that was before we spent nearly £20m on Gyan and Sessegnon. By most people's reckoning, our current squad is worth substantially more than that.

"You could probably get something near that figure from two or three players, never mind the entire 25-man squad."

Meanwhile Walton also says that the club's income levels should ensure that the percentage of turnover taken up by wages falls in the current financial year.

That marks part of a planned progression to turn a profit at the operating level and continue the encouraging trend of further reducing external debts.

The continued progression of the club on the commercial side is also important to Walton, who already has a good impression of the financial picture for the next set of accounts.

"The reason I'm comfortable is because I'm aware of what our figures are going to be for this financial year," he said.

"The majority of the numbers are more or less cast in stone. We will be turning over more money this year because the TV deal was better and we've been doing well on the pitch.

"Our wages have gone up again, but crucially the percentage of wages to turnover will decrease.

"We've received some criticism for the figure being above 80% that certainly won't be the case this time.

"We are going to see a journey where we've peaked in terms of the losses and are going forward reducing that loss each year.

"I'm not going to say we're not going to make a loss this year because that's not practical in terms of where we are and our development.

"Times are tough out there. It's important to keep the business in good health and income streams like this summer's pop concerts will help us."

Sunderland are currently seventh in the Barclays Premier League, with Walton and the board working towards establishing the club as a major player in tandem with the efforts of manager Steve Bruce and his coaching staff.

Chairman Niall Quinn has highlighted the importance of increased attendances; something the chief executive says would be a "great statement" to the rest of the division exemplifying the positive strides being made by the club in all areas.

"I personally believe we're a top-ten club now," he said. "We've played some great football.

"Our gates are marginally down, which in my mind is due to the economic climate we're all currently operating in.

"They've certainly been affected less than at some of our fellow clubs and we're still seventh in the batting order of attendances in the Premier League.

"Niall has been very vocal about more people coming to watch us in the stadium, and he's doing that largely from a footballing point of view because he feels passionately the team have a bigger chance of winning games with a big crowd behind them.

"But from a progress point of view, a few more people coming to watch us each week will mean we'll average gates in excess of clubs like Liverpool, which would be a great statement to the football world that Sunderland is a big club which is here to stay in the upper echelons of the division.

"I'm a lifelong Sunderland supporter and we all feel the same way. We never want to dream too much because we've had so many false dawns. Well I think it's time to start dreaming."
 
I've just seen this thread after posting on the other one.
What a great read that was, a real gee up.
It makes me proud to be a fan of this club.
Just what the Doctor ordered.
 
Re: Steve Walton - "It's time to start dreaming"

We will make more profit from the concerts this summer than from the entire season's corporate matchday clients incl all boxes, function suites and black cats/sports bars.
Great credit here to Gary Hutchinson, who does a brilliant job at the club!

Alreet Gary ;)
 
Re: Steve Walton - "It's time to start dreaming"

We will make more profit from the concerts this summer than from the entire season's corporate matchday clients incl all boxes, function suites and black cats/sports bars.
Great credit here to Gary Hutchinson, who does a brilliant job at the club!

He lets the side down though as he has mix of a new romantics and mullet hair do.
 
For example, a player purchased for £4m on a four-year contract would be recorded in the accounts as costing £1m per year even though the club's may have paid all the £4m in one amount on signing.

eg it looks like we are still paying for turner even though we've paid up front. I knew fees were usually spread out across the length of the deal, but i didnt know this was how they were accounted if the opposite happened and cash was paid up front

Ofcourse we shouldn't forget that the figures would have been a lot worse in previous years if we had reported the full amount when we paid it.

It doesn't make any difference though - great statement from Walton.
Who cares what the media say, Sunderland fans know we are in good hands - "time to start dreaming"
 
Steve Walton

Finally someone has come out and explained the distinction between the club's balance sheet and bank balance. Hopefully these comments will stop the press and the barcodes harping on about our £25 million losses, although given the way in which the news has been covered by ALS (intimated as being boring), it most likely wont. Still, they should reassure anyone with a brain.
 
Sunderland's chief executive Steve Walton has shed more light on the club's financial situation following the recent publication of accounts for the year ending 31st July 2010.

The most recent accounts show an operating loss of £5m, increasing to £25.5m including player trading, with the club adding ten additional players to the squad on a full-time basis, plus three loan signings.

Club owner Mr Ellis Short also converted £19m of loans into shares.

An expert in football finance, Walton ran Barclays Bank's football division before joining Sunderland in 2009 and says the club are in healthy financial position and are continuing to reduce external debt.

He told safc.com: "I'm really pleased with where the club is at this moment in time.

"The headline figures reflect the investment we've made in the squad over the last few years.

"Businesses don't get into difficulties because they don't make profits; they get into trouble because they run out of cash, which is a really important distinction that has to be made.

"We've been able to sustain this because we've been investing in the squad thanks to our owner investing in us, in terms of giving us the cash to support the purchase of players.

"We have a stable position in terms of our ownership and our key management people which is also important from a financial perspective.

"Our external term debt is now less than it's been at any time since the takeover by the Drumaville Consortium and is coming down year on year."

Walton says the headline figure is misleading as much of the loss is attributed to the process of 'amortisation' of transfer fees.

The outlay to acquire a player is spread each year across the term of the player's contract, after which it has zero value in the club's accounts. If the club renews a contract then it gets spread out even longer.

For example, a player purchased for £4m on a four-year contract would be recorded in the accounts as costing £1m per year even though the club's may have paid all the £4m in one amount on signing.

In addition, home-grown players like Jordan Henderson don't appear in the balance sheet at all!

Walton explained: "When you look at the amount which is actually lost in the accounts, most of that is a result of amortisation of players.

"There's a big disconnect between cash and profit. The transfer fees of many of our players appear in the last published accounts even though we paid out the cash for them some years ago"

He added: "It's also important to remember when we buy players we are also buying assets. If we buy wisely then there is a good chance that they will appreciate in value. This is particularly true with a young squad.

"If you look at the most recent accounts the net book value of our players was just over £50m and that was before we spent nearly £20m on Gyan and Sessegnon. By most people's reckoning, our current squad is worth substantially more than that.

"You could probably get something near that figure from two or three players, never mind the entire 25-man squad."

Meanwhile Walton also says that the club's income levels should ensure that the percentage of turnover taken up by wages falls in the current financial year.

That marks part of a planned progression to turn a profit at the operating level and continue the encouraging trend of further reducing external debts.

The continued progression of the club on the commercial side is also important to Walton, who already has a good impression of the financial picture for the next set of accounts.

"The reason I'm comfortable is because I'm aware of what our figures are going to be for this financial year," he said.

"The majority of the numbers are more or less cast in stone. We will be turning over more money this year because the TV deal was better and we've been doing well on the pitch.

"Our wages have gone up again, but crucially the percentage of wages to turnover will decrease.

"We've received some criticism for the figure being above 80% that certainly won't be the case this time.

"We are going to see a journey where we've peaked in terms of the losses and are going forward reducing that loss each year.

"I'm not going to say we're not going to make a loss this year because that's not practical in terms of where we are and our development.

"Times are tough out there. It's important to keep the business in good health and income streams like this summer's pop concerts will help us."

Sunderland are currently seventh in the Barclays Premier League, with Walton and the board working towards establishing the club as a major player in tandem with the efforts of manager Steve Bruce and his coaching staff.

Chairman Niall Quinn has highlighted the importance of increased attendances; something the chief executive says would be a "great statement" to the rest of the division exemplifying the positive strides being made by the club in all areas.

"I personally believe we're a top-ten club now," he said. "We've played some great football.

"Our gates are marginally down, which in my mind is due to the economic climate we're all currently operating in.

"They've certainly been affected less than at some of our fellow clubs and we're still seventh in the batting order of attendances in the Premier League.

"Niall has been very vocal about more people coming to watch us in the stadium, and he's doing that largely from a footballing point of view because he feels passionately the team have a bigger chance of winning games with a big crowd behind them.

"But from a progress point of view, a few more people coming to watch us each week will mean we'll average gates in excess of clubs like Liverpool, which would be a great statement to the football world that Sunderland is a big club which is here to stay in the upper echelons of the division.

"I'm a lifelong Sunderland supporter and we all feel the same way. We never want to dream too much because we've had so many false dawns. Well I think it's time to start dreaming."
 
Re: Steve Walton

Great stuff, that. Very nice to have it all clarified a bit.
 
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