This might help flesh out what he was saying
“We’re becoming heavily dependent on television revenue and also historically on benevolence, Where you find a problem, it’s generally down to poor management from the top and often the withdrawal of a benefactor.
“I think there is a tendency in all our sports where the management tend to focus on things like buying new players, changing the manager, appeasing the fans and reacting to pressure from the media"
"rather than having a clear focus on growth and creating a surplus which can then be re-invested into the business".
Big help. I can see what he's saying, over spending and over reliance on benefactors fits just about all the problems our clubs have had, so I can see that he's right here. And yes clubs feel the pressure to try to get a decent team on the pitch that can compete and yes they may overspend to do that.
But he doesn't square any circles here. He inherited a club that had a "big audience" (12,500) and a decent "product" (runners up to Wigan premiership and cup finalists 1995). Mr. Caddick built his stand and the facilities that provides the income streams.
He inherited a business that had a good product and had a large market to sell it to.
So he was in an excellent position to make a profit which has now sustained Leeds as the games top club over the last so many years.
But how do Cas, HKR, Salford, London, Widnes, Fev, Halifax, Leigh, Sheffield make a profit if they don't have as good a product to put on the pitch or if they don't have a wide enough market for the game or both??.
He talks about "creating a surplus which can then be re-invested into the business".
Again the question is how do clubs create that surplus?
It won't be by cutting player budgets and letting Leeds, Wigan, Saints & Wire run all over them will it?
