121 replies to this topic

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

I expect our popularity on this board to reach new heights as word of our achievements spread.

[chrisl1]

Halifax even managed to attract a 5k crowd just when they needed it to get their average up to 2.5K.

But Widnes only needed a turnover of £1M. The accounts show one of £2.5M.

[chrisl1]

So a club which has just announced a £1m profit is launching a recruitment drive amongst supporters to raise money to keep Anthony Thackeray?

Widnes is not "launching a recruitment drive". The initiative is from VIQI which is a supporters' organisation totally independent from the club.

[mick wilson]

WOW ......what an amazing turnaround from last season, well done Widnes.

[Bomb Jack]

If these accounts have been Audited then without doubt it is THE Blue print of how to survive in professional sport. Perhaps you would enlighten us all on how it has been done.

Perhaps if any of us fans were also Widnes' Accountant we could do that............

[dallymessenger]

widnes are a shoe in for SL.

clearly they are now ready for SL

watching a game from the halton stadium is so much better than a decaying ground

and ive little doubt widnes will be a strong Sl club, in a few years time in SL theyll be another warrington

this is what progress means in rl

new ground, sugar daddy, good crowds, good revenues

tick all the boxes

[dallymessenger]

I would be very interested in seeing a breakdown of the £2.5m turnover, where they are getting the income from of £50K per week every week of the year, especially when they don't own their own ground.

Call me cynical but when something seems too good to be true......it usually means there's a SL application pending. Halifax even managed to attract a 5k crowd just when they needed it to get their average up to 2.5K.

bit like wakey talking about a new ground every time the licenses are being decided

[cookey]

At different levels,Leeds,Widnes and Workington have shown that it is possible to make a profit from League.Clearlt Clubs have different cost bases,but there must be a blue print somewhere there,for other Clubs to follow/look into.I have far more time for such Clubs,together with others like Hull,Salford,Sheffield,Batley,London Skolars etc,than those who regularly seem to spend more than they have,blame it on a 'rainy day' which they haven't allowed for and seek Legal Protection.Well done to the Clubs who live within there means,at whatever level.

[tonyXIII]

I'd like to add my congratulations to the Widnes club.

A couple of points (positive ones). Firstly, the "recruitment initiative" question. "Why start it when you're doing so well?" seems to be the question. Well, when else would you start it? Right now is the right time. Get the momentum going forward and keep it going forward is the way to go. Too many clubs have got things right and then rested on their laurels only to wake up two years later and find it's all gone #### up. When your crowd has fallen to three old men and a dog, you'll have a real problem with any "recruitment drive." Not that Widnes' crowd will fall, it will keep rising for the foreseeable future.

Second, the accounts. Very good figures. I think I read somewhere that Mr O'Connor was planning to write off some capital spending early in the three-year cycle. If this is true, then the accounts are not such a surprise, more down to good planning. Some figures from the last three or four years might illustrate this?

Anyway, "Well done, Widnes!".

[Wakefield Ram]

A couple of points to clarify.

I live in Wakefield but support Dewsbury (another club which lives within its means as far as possible).

I have no axe to grind against Widnes or their SL bid.

But to make a £1m profit when you don't own the ground means you must make £20K profit per week after paying all the players, coaches staff etc.. is remarkable, every week of the year.

Where has this extra £1m of income has come from compared to last year? No hidden agenda, but it does look too good to be true. Good for Workington on posting a profit, but it is the size of the turnaround at Widnes, which looks too good to be true.

A bit of detail on this headline figure would explain a lot.

Edited by Wakefield Ram, 28 August 2010 - 11:30 AM.

[Hannibal]

Once again we see another positive thread derailed by people with their agenda's who just want Widnes to desperately fail....

That's ######.

Any team of the size of Widnes, with crowds of a similar size, announcing those kind of results would have begged all the same questions.

I look at accounts every day, and I would love to see how you make sense of those figures.

[Maximus Decimus]

That's ######.

Any team of the size of Widnes, with crowds of a similar size, announcing those kind of results would have begged all the same questions.

I look at accounts every day, and I would love to see how you make sense of those figures.

Of course they would.

The tone was meant to be sarcastic as often whenever figures, no matter how dodgy, are questioned people are shouted down for being negative, or having agendas etc. It's usually whenever it involves an expansion club.

I know the figures don't look right, but being out of debt is a positive. I would also question exactly why we would fiddle the accounts to have a turnover 2 and a half times bigger than required. If you're fiddling the accounts then surely you wouldn't do it by that much. When Halifax announced their dubious crowd to meet the criteria, they didn't decide to go for a crowd of 11,000!

[The Parksider]

I have no axe to grind against Widnes or their SL bid. But to make a £1m profit when you don't own the ground means you must make £20K profit per week after paying all the players, coaches staff etc.. is remarkable, every week of the year. Where has this extra £1m of income has come from compared to last year? No hidden agenda, but it does look too good to be true.

A bit of detail on this headline figure would explain a lot.

That's a very fair point indeed, but accounts can often be made to say anything.

The bottom line must be that due to the ground the cost base is likely to be low, and again due to the ground, the strong underlying fanbase in the area, and a likelyhood plenty of away fans will be coming to games, the "fan" income will be relatively good.

Somewhere the club will have a break even. It's said HKR and Bradfords break even is 10,000 fans. Maybe Widnes' will be significantly less and maybe they can break even with Mr. O not having to put a penny in.

Even if he does the "losses" may not be as significant as at other clubs, and he seems keen enough to sustain a long term interest. So whatever the accounts want to say, a nice ground, likely good crowds and someone to make up any shortfall is a position that is better than most SL clubs are in, making Widnes a shoe in.

[Johnny Rocco]

A couple of points to clarify.

I live in Wakefield but support Dewsbury (another club which lives within its means as far as possible).

I have no axe to grind against Widnes or their SL bid.

But to make a £1m profit when you don't own the ground means you must make £20K profit per week after paying all the players, coaches staff etc.. is remarkable, every week of the year.

Where has this extra £1m of income has come from compared to last year? No hidden agenda, but it does look too good to be true. Good for Workington on posting a profit, but it is the size of the turnaround at Widnes, which looks too good to be true.

A bit of detail on this headline figure would explain a lot.

There was £1m spent on the ground in the previous figure thats not in this also a NRC win and a decent average league crowd of 3,808

[carlos]

even with a 3808 average crowd, doing a crude basic calculation, at 3k paying customers at £15 each say = £45000 gate recipts per matchday.say thats 15 homes games = £675000.

So £675000 in gate recepts. Tha tmeans theres some major coroprate/sposnsorship sold to get to 2.5 million. The clubs overheads must be ridiculously low or are tehy playing at Halton for for free.

Its great to make a profit dont get me wrong, but even from a basic accounting point of view , it doesnt add up. In my world (commercial banking) youd be scrutinising those figures with more than a fine toothcomb for money laundering etc!!

[mick wilson]

Of course they would.

The tone was meant to be sarcastic !

How the heck can you say that.

Did you ask the poster , did you, no.


Its all in the mind mate, seek help.

If Fax or another club who yo thought was a thret to Widnes chances of a Licence posted accounts like
that.........that thread woUld be 15 pages long by now.

[Bomb Jack]

The clubs overheads must be ridiculously low or are tehy playing at Halton for for free.

With a member of Halton Borough Council on our Board, we probably do pay a ridiculously low rent.

In my world (commercial banking) youd be scrutinising those figures with more than a fine toothcomb for money laundering etc!!

I'm sure they can be ( and will be ) scrutinised.

[Maximus Decimus]

How the heck can you say that.

Did you ask the poster , did you, no.


Its all in the mind mate, seek help.

If Fax or another club who yo thought was a thret to Widnes chances of a Licence posted accounts like
that.........that thread woUld be 15 pages long by now.

Still not found it then Mick? What a pointless reply.

[mick wilson]

Still not found it then Mick? What a pointless reply.

When replying to a pointless poster I make it easy for them to understand 99.9% get it, your not on that list though.

[Maximus Decimus]

When replying to a pointless poster I make it easy for them to understand 99.9% get it, your not on that list though.

Sorry Mick but writing in the style of a child doesn't mean that everybody understands it.