Howe - we can be bigger than Arsenal

[Huntley & Palmer]

How can Howe value the club at over £100 million? Villa was sold for £63 million and I would consider our assets to be far smaller than theirs

[SpaceCruiser]

I'd love it, LOVE IT, if we were going to be bigger than the poxy Arsenal.

[Winchester Royal]

Better start saving for those Champions League final tickets then..

[Stranded]

How can Howe value the club at over £100 million? Villa was sold for £63 million and I would consider our assets to be far smaller than theirs

Not sure what Villa actually own though bar Villa Park and their training facilities. Would the value of RFC include the hotel, conference facilities etc?

[Huntley & Palmer]

I think that is why there are two seperate companies, RFC own the stadium, dome, training ground but Madejski owns the hotel. The valuation would take into account the players asset value as well

[T.R.O.L.I.]

I think that is why there are two seperate companies, RFC own the stadium, dome, training ground but Madejski owns the hotel. The valuation would take into account the players asset value as well

Re the hotel - it's also part of a group of hotels (including Kirton's Farm) all owned by JM - far easier to keep things separate that way.

[Jerry St Clair]

I wish Nigel Howe would stop referring to MY football club as a "brand".

[M4 Junction 11]

I think that is why there are two seperate companies, RFC own the stadium, dome, training ground but Madejski owns the hotel. The valuation would take into account the players asset value as well

Re the hotel - it's also part of a group of hotels (including Kirton's Farm) all owned by JM - far easier to keep things separate that way.

There would also be a value for the future potential of the club - what's the potential income for 2007/08 again?

[Stranded]

I wish Nigel Howe would stop referring to MY football club as a "brand".

I know what you mean but that's his job. To help sell the "brand" to potential investors/sponsors and make it seem like a decent investment.

[Tinrib]

I think that is why there are two seperate companies, RFC own the stadium, dome, training ground but Madejski owns the hotel. The valuation would take into account the players asset value as well

Not quite sure that the players assumed value would be included.

Certainly from an accounting perspective, assumed valuations of players are not treated as an asset, due to IIRC, the fact that they can breakdown with injury and be worthless at any given time, lack of form, or just buying a 'duff' player for a overly expensive amount.

However marketing opportunities on players names (a'la Beckham et al) on the back of shirts & merchandise may have an associated worth, to an prospective investor.

[Tinrib]

I think that is why there are two seperate companies, RFC own the stadium, dome, training ground but Madejski owns the hotel. The valuation would take into account the players asset value as well

Re the hotel - it's also part of a group of hotels (including Kirton's Farm) all owned by JM - far easier to keep things separate that way.

There would also be a value for the future potential of the club - what's the potential income for 2007/08 again?

Minimum of £28m based on finishing position of which the total finishing prize pool represents 25% of the total yearly pot. In addition to that 50% of the pot is split equally between all teams, and the remaining 25% is based on TV appearances.

Add into that Cup runs and TV money from that, ticket sales, merchandising, and the final sum is a very tidy amount, and certainly begs the question of how much we will have available to us this year as a transfer budget , given the income from this year and the minimum amount coming to us next season.

It will be interesting if we spend big now, and get the players we want for the upcoming campaign 2007/2008 and the need to improve & rebuild the squad for the next cople of seasons 2008 onwards - (especially if we get a UEFA spot).

[Mad Dog's Ghost]

Bowman's Quiver,

Think in 93 Arsenal were redeveloping the North Bank and ground capacity was less than 24k.

Take a look at the following season. Bet it was pretty near highbury's all seater capacity of 38k.

[Very near...far away]

I always worry a bit when suits start going on about "brand" - it's nearly always a sign that the actual playing football side of things is coming a distant second to the financial side. Granted - money is what the Premiership is all about but it still wrankles.

Although if you look at the clubs with the strongest 'brands' they also have pretty strong footballing traditions, and a lot of trophies - Man Utd, Real Madrid, Celtic, Barcelona, Liverpool....

There isn;t too much mileage in developing a 'brand' and getting relegated, you need to be successful or else no one wants to be associated with you.

I'm get a bit edgy when people start using terms such as 'suits'. You'd think the people who run RFC had just joined us from a management consultancy ! Our senior people have all been there since we were a struggling club at crumbling EP and have seen us through to where we are now. Love them or loath them I think they deserve a little respect - they haven't exactly neglected th eplaying side !

I'm sorry for describing people who wear suits all the time as "suits". I'm sorry for not fully believing in the healing powers of the "brand". Forgive me.

[Behindu]

I'm sorry for describing people who wear suits all the time as "suits". I'm sorry for not fully believing in the healing powers of the "brand". Forgive me.

I think there is a bit in the 'rascist' thread on AE that this fits nicely into !

[Very near...far away]

I'm sorry for describing people who wear suits all the time as "suits". I'm sorry for not fully believing in the healing powers of the "brand". Forgive me.

I think there is a bit in the 'rascist' thread on AE that this fits nicely into !

Uh huh. Yeah. Right.

[SpaceCruiser]

I wish Nigel Howe would stop referring to MY football club as a "brand".

What else would you like to refer to it as?

[RoyalBlue]

Well the club is certainly moving in the right direction towards becoming on of the 'big' clubs.

Not long ago we wouldn't have appeared on the following type of site as one of the top UK clubs:

http://www.newsrecreated.co.uk/acatalog ... ition.html

[Victor Meldrew]

Driving back from Bolton I saw around 20 coaches taking Liverpool fans down the M6 to all points South.That's 20 heading South,never mind the people going in the other 3 directions by land,sea and air.
Can you imagine coaches leaving the Mad Stad in all 4 directions taking fans back home?

It won't happen in my lifetime but we could become a "big" club hated by other fans in the envious way that Liverpool,Arsenal,Man Utd and Chelsea are.
I rather think that we are more likely to become like a Villa,Charlton or Man City ,clubs that other fans tend to be a bit neutral about.
That is of course unless we become a Coventry,Leicester or Southampton-clubs that have new stadia holding more than 30,000 but forgot to build a team when they were building their stadia.

[Huntley & Palmer]

The way I see it, this is the current status quo in the Premiership from a commercial and 'brand' point of view

1st group

Man U
Chelsea
Liverpool
Arsenal

2nd group

Everton
Newcastle
Tottenham
West Ham
Aston Villa
Man City

3rd group

Bolton
Blackburn
Boro
Fulham

4th group

Charlton
Portsmouth
Us
Sheff U
Watford
Wigan

Realistically if we could stay up for a few seasons and the complete ground restructure goes ahead and is successful then there is no reason why we cannot get into that 2nd tier. I think breaking into the first tier is nigh on impossible, you need one hell of a brand to sell which requires history and a clutch of trophies over a very long period.

[SpaceCruiser]

Why can't we start on our history today? If we were to spend the next 60 years being successful, would you think we'd be in the first group by then?