• From: South Australia
  • Registered: 11-11-2004
  • Posts: 2,577

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

Interesting thoughts Mike.

Do you think by using volunteers that you lose a lot of reliability, accountability, sustainability for a small gain in profitability?

For example Sweaty cocks up the books but we can't blame him because after all, he's only a volunteer. Paperboy on the pa calls in hungover 5 mins before the game... and Robbo is the only one who can replace him and Brooksy calls a crisis meeting because the club has only sold 6 tickets to the U2 concert at Hove, but (dare I say it) MBTS pulls out at the last minute because his paying daytime job has sent him to a Hawkwind p!ss up in Milton Keynes.

See where I'm coming from? Its a thin line between frugality and turning the whole shooting match into a cowboy outfit.

Footnote: Having said all that, SCCC does get my extremely judicious talent spotting for free!  :wink:

  • From: Sunny Bognor Regis
  • Registered: 23-08-2004
  • Posts: 7,747

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

With any of us involved it would be like something from Police Academy.

How about making Leigh in charge of stewarding and Sweaty choosing the fashions for the club shop?
We could put SPSL in charge of corporate hospitality and me in charge of the players health and fitness.

Plus we would probably have double the losses we already have with Sweaty also looking after the accounts. If Sweaty's efforts in the NHS are anything to go by he'd having us sharing with Kent at Canterbury in no time at all.

I think it's probably best that we leave it to those who have a rough idea of what their doing.

Next you'll suggest we get a treasurer who works for Royal Bank of Scotland, and maybe even a chairman who used to work there under Sir Fred! :oops:

From 2014 I have doubts that being a Sussex fan will continue to be the best sporting pleasure on the planet.
  • From: Arundel
  • Registered: 25-08-2004
  • Posts: 4,438

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

The Paperboy wrote:

With any of us involved it would be like something from Police Academy.

How about making Leigh in charge of stewarding and Sweaty choosing the fashions for the club shop?
We could put SPSL in charge of corporate hospitality and me in charge of the players health and fitness.

Plus we would probably have double the losses we already have with Sweaty also looking after the accounts. If Sweaty's efforts in the NHS are anything to go by he'd having us sharing with Kent at Canterbury in no time at all.

I think it's probably best that we leave it to those who have a rough idea of what their doing.

Next you'll suggest we get a treasurer who works for Royal Bank of Scotland, and maybe even a chairman who used to work there under Sir Fred! :oops:

ha ha.

i see where you are coming from and in an ideal world i would totally agree ...... however the committee are members too and and have 'a rough idea what they are doing'  but they have made mistakes along the way: tv advertising, telephone system fiasco, pop festival, massive professional fees on the gilligan stand the conference centre which never happened, and of course the pub,  and no doubt others too.

all with the best intentions.

i suppose i am saying maybe the membership as a whole should take a more active role in the non-cricket running of the club.

i used to play cricket with the club's treasurer for bognor  - he is a member like most of us!

we have many professional people in the membership and maybe we could provide some of the services which the club currently buy-in.

tony hale, peter chegwyn  and myself could have saved the club £150,000 on the pop concerts.   there must be architects and others within the membership.

numerous leisure businesses use volunteers to save fees and wages, including most regional theatres, arts centres and many lower division football clubs too. even the prestigious eden project.

the fact is we are losing serious money year on year and there won't be much interest on the cama legacy in the near future  with base rates at 0.50%.

life member - you're stuck with me!

mike-by-the-sea's Website

  • From: Robertsbridge
  • Registered: 20-09-2004
  • Posts: 2,815

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

mike-by-the-sea wrote:

the fact is we are losing serious money year on year and there won't be much interest on the cama legacy in the near future  with base rates at 0.50%.

I have to agree with Mike here. I think that our success on the pitch has masked serious problems off it. Money frittered away on pop concerts and experts fees etc.
I hope Mr Brooks wears a financial controllers hat and really looks at expenditure this year. We HAVE to turn things around quickly.
Good luck Sussex

  • From: United Kingdom
  • Registered: 27-08-2004
  • Posts: 3,445

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

I am very honoured that paperboy would have me in charge of corporate hospitality and not cleaning Wc 's !!!

I do agree with mike in general  the pop concert and all this money going out to decide what to do with the ground has cost us alot of money.

Expenditure is too high and I cannot help thinking having £10m in the bank has masked the problems off the field.

  • From: Fishersgate Maritime Village
  • Registered: 04-11-2006
  • Posts: 10,441

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

well i still think you are being hugely over-optimistic, if you think a series of expenditure cuts will make a significant contribution to the gap between income & expenditure, other than the eradication of the cock-ups that have been mentioned

I dont think volunteer arrangements are sustainable in the long-term, other than on a fairly minor scale, and whilst there can always be savings on expenditure, i dont think these will be significant. I am not saying that this shouldnt be looked at, and im sure it is

You could also say the same for increasing income - but my angle on this is that the clubs assets are under-utilised, and there must be ways of genearting more income from them - i am convinced that this is the key area to focus on

  • From: South Australia
  • Registered: 11-11-2004
  • Posts: 2,577

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

We are having the same problems with our two footy (Aussie Rules - REAL football) teams in Adelaide. One is making lots, the other losing lots. On field success, expenditure on wages, income from sponsorship, ground income deals etc etc are all on a par. Everyone agrees the only real difference between the two is the size of the membership.

Ergo I think the bulk of the CEOs (and everyone elses) time should be spent on one thing....increasing the size of the membership.

  • From: Fishersgate Maritime Village
  • Registered: 04-11-2006
  • Posts: 10,441

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

yes, good point crowie, you only have to do a bit of playing around with figures to realise the potential.

If you got 500 new members - it would generate £78,000 more income

If you raised the current membership fee by say £25 - you would generate £50,000 (im assuming 2,000 adult members).

Food for thought?

  • From: South Australia
  • Registered: 11-11-2004
  • Posts: 2,577

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

Thats not even considering all the extra pints of warm, flat, weak, pommy
p!ss, dodgy tucker, merchandise, curry nights etc etc.

  • Registered: 30-06-2008
  • Posts: 2,364

Re: Sussex announce a thumping £686K operating loss!

Sweatysock wrote:

well i still think you are being hugely over-optimistic, if you think a series of expenditure cuts will make a significant contribution to the gap between income & expenditure, other than the eradication of the cock-ups that have been mentioned

I dont think volunteer arrangements are sustainable in the long-term, other than on a fairly minor scale, and whilst there can always be savings on expenditure, i dont think these will be significant. I am not saying that this shouldnt be looked at, and im sure it is

You could also say the same for increasing income - but my angle on this is that the clubs assets are under-utilised, and there must be ways of genearting more income from them - i am convinced that this is the key area to focus on

Agree with all that. Would just add that focusing on cost cutting is limited - there will be a cost base below which you cant go and still operate effectively. Whereas, in theory, you can increase income ad infinitum.

Also agree that increasing membership plus all the other income members bring is crucial. But how you do this is one of the great mysteries of the modern world. At Warwicks core (non Ashes - based) membership tends to track success on the field. Nothing else seems to move it at all.

The Kookaburra Man