By John Dewhirst
Following the 2002 administration I was appointed to the BCAFC Creditors’ Committee, a formal body that supervised the insolvency process (‘Creditors Voluntary Arrangement’). By autumn 2003 it was becoming abundantly clear that the club was unlikely to meet its obligations under the CVA to repay its creditors and twenty years ago this month I undertook an exercise to prepare a revised financial forecast to provide more clarity over the outlook. The findings highlighted an impending £3m cash shortfall and the rest is history with a second insolvency process the following spring.
By any standard, the extent of the club’s financial difficulties was remarkable and superlatives could not do justice to describe the balance sheet. In 2002 the club had crashed with net liabilities of £36m and despite writing off a considerable chunk of the debts, it was still unable to meet the terms of the CVA. It was an eye-opening experience and the numbers defied financial gravity.
In 2002 the club should have been liquidated but at the time there were desperate attempts to ensure survival at all cost. Even though everyone knew that the CVA was likely to be onerous the attitude was that it bought time. When that time ran out in 2004 there was another desperate rescue with the onus on short term survival as opposed to medium or even longer-term viability. Again, in 2004 the club should have been liquidated and to have avoided another insolvency process (what would have been a fourth, with the first having been in 1983) since then is no mean achievement.
Whilst Julian Rhodes faced ongoing financial pressures he had the benefit of good fortune as well as the appointment of Phil Parkinson and the club continued against all the odds. Twenty years ago the club’s fate was extremely uncertain and few would have believed that it would turn out as well as it did. However Rhodes and Mark Lawn realised that they had taken the club as far as it could go and hence the background to the sale in 2016.
I am not convinced that Stefan Rupp undertook extensive diligence before making a commitment at Valley Parade and that he was likely hoodwinked by Edin Rahic’s confident pronouncements. Like Gordon Gibb before him, Rupp probably acted in haste to secure the privilege of getting involved with BCAFC, which no doubt he has also regretted.
Stefan Rupp bought a football club that had momentum behind it but which remained woefully undercapitalised and the subsequent mismanagement under Edin Rahic served only to expose the club’s underlying financial weakness. In October, 2018 I met Rupp in Munich to persuade him about the damage being done to the club by Rahic. Since the beginning of that year I had been trying to convince him that things were going wrong but he had given Rahic the benefit of the doubt, continually reminding me that in Germany the previous summer the City fans had been singing his praises.
Rupp is not the first business owner to have been duped by a partner and will not be the last. Five years ago he faced a situation at Valley Parade with an impending cash crisis and no money in the bank to pay the wages. In Munich he asked my professional opinion of what he should do and I told him that as an investor he had the chance to cut his losses and move on. I also reminded him that he had the future of BCAFC in his hands and that as a supporter I hoped that he would pay the wages and stand behind the club. His response was that he had a duty of responsibility and that he would do so.
In my limited exposure to him I have found him to be a principled individual and it is worth recalling that he again avoided the chance to cut his losses nearly two years ago when he rejected the WAGMI offer. That decision was very much in the club’s benefit as opposed to his own. He also supported the club during the COVID lockdown rather than shutting down activity completely. In terms of integrity he stands taller than most other chairmen that have been involved at Valley Parade in the fifty odd years that I have supported the club.
Rupp could be criticised for not sinking even more money into the black hole at Valley Parade to make good past under-investment but on the other hand it is entirely rational that he should not do so because he’d never get it back. Behind the scenes however he has spent more on BCAFC than any previous owner and aside from the funding of operating activity he has also invested in pitch improvements and stadium upgrades. In terms of the commercial management of the club I would argue that it is better run now – in relative terms – than has ever been the case historically.
The failure of a succession of football managers has been well documented and I am not going to enter that debate short of saying that since 2018 Rupp has given his backing to managerial appointments that were all popular at the time. He could quite reasonably ask how it has gone so badly wrong and we can all offer our own thoughts on this. Either way, for Rupp to be scapegoated is not entirely fair.
No doubt if Stefan Rupp believed in fairy stories he’d be throwing tennis balls on the pitch on Saturday to ensure that BCAFC could be sold and he could get out. Maybe it’s magic beans that should be thrown on the pitch instead. My understanding is that he is focused on selling the club but the only interest that he’s had is from chancers and time wasters, none of whom would pass the EFL tests for a buyer. He could probably give the club away and write off his investment but still struggle to find a new owner.
We can deceive ourselves that BCAFC is a big club but irrespective it is not an attractive investment proposition given the lack of assets, a tired stadium in need of upgrades, the need to renegotiate an onerous fully-maintaining lease for Valley Parade and negative perceptions generally. It then becomes academic that merger & acquisition activity in the economy at large has currently dried up, impacted by higher interest rates and loss of confidence.
And what of the other scapegoat, Ryan Sparks? I doubt that any of us have faced the sort of vitriol and hate in our jobs that is currently directed at him. Mental health considerations anyone? But he’s not the first CEO at Valley Parade to receive the death threats or the venom. At a human level it has already gone too far and it is not helping him do his job. The guy can be criticised for the lack of communications but in the same situation, if I was him I don’t think I’d be enthusiastic to have my words twisted on just about every occasion he goes public. I can entirely understand the current siege mentality at Valley Parade which has become debilitating and demotivating for Sparks as well as his staff.
In terms of the commercial operations at Valley Parade I actually think Ryan Sparks has done a decent job and there is a good team behind him, all the more creditable for his age. His performance is not entirely as black and white as his critics make out. However if he walked away I doubt that many people would be enthusiastic to take on such a role and expose their family to the stress. Seriously, why would you abandon a well paid job to come to Valley Parade and put up with the crap? Indeed it would probably take a chunky salary to attract anyone and even an interim appointment would likely demand £1,500+ per day which is money better spent elsewhere.
There are arguments for and against a director of football being engaged which is now being touted as the quick solution. For the record I think Ryan needs help from a wider non-executive board to support him at Valley Parade but in terms of the day job it would help him enormously if people simply got off his back.
As regards the planned protests on Saturday I guess that it was inevitable that there’d be some sort of theatrical performance sooner than later. Quite what they will achieve is questionable other than kudos in a social media vacuum and they could potentially make a bad situation even worse. We can all dream about a miraculous rescue by Hollywood billionaires or a Roy of the Rovers turnaround but sadly the chances are slim. We can all agree that a new owner would be best but the immediate prospect of that is pretty slim. Like it or not there won’t be any Rupp Out in the foreseeable future.
The irony is that the club is currently stable from a financial perspective with no third party debt and there is no risk to its solvency. Nevertheless you can’t entirely dismiss a scenario where BCAFC ends up like Bradford Bulls in a perpetual zombie state and the current pathological mood is not exactly helping a much needed reset.
Categories: Opinion
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Championship football. Too early? 
widthofapost.com 
As always Mr Dewhirst brings a dose of reality to the keyboard warriors on Twatter. This article should be compulsory reading for everyone who spreads the poison about Rupp and Sparks, often from afar.
Just for some balance Ian. John doesn’t speak for myself or many other supporters, and I’m not sure who appointed him as the ‘spokesman’ for the club. Who’s dreaming of Hollywood owners for example? Most supporters, would be happy with a bit more communication from the club for a start and some sort of plan. Compulsory reading? It’s the usual guff that Mr Dewhirst writes, when the club is been rightfully criticised.
John accepts there has been a lack of communication from the club and that sporting decision making needs to be looked at so the article looks well balanced to me. If you think providing some financial context is “guff” then fair enough! The financial reality is that our business model provides a slightly better than average budget and it is by no means straightforward to leverage that advantage in the real world (not the virtual/internet). Platitudes about “strategy” and “plans” really take things no further. Setting aside the historical under capitalisation of the club (and I would encourage you to read Johns books and Arnold’s study) the club remains hamstrung by two brief but catastrophic episodes of mismanagement. Richmonds six weeks of madness and the Rahic debacle. You do wonder where we might be now if we still owned VP. That is not to say that there is not room for improvement but protests will only make the situation worse and hinder rather than encourage prospective buyers
I think Mr Dewhirst is much more knowledgeable on the affairs of the club than most of the vitriol spouted by many keyboard warriors.
Perhaps you Mr Calderdale, instead of having a go at him could tell us whether his information is correct, and if not, give us an educated view of the clubs position.
My problem with Mr Dewhirst Paul, is that he always seems to pop up when the club is been criticised and I don’t really think his view is balanced, which gives the impression of been a self-appointed club spokesman. He may be correct around the financial situations that the club have experienced over the years, but I don’t really see how this has any context around current misgivings from supporters around the leadership of the club. The budgets we have had under Rupp appear to have been competitive relative to the division we currently occupy. The issues are much deeper than that and I find it flabbergasting that elements of the fan base don’t see 7 years of regression as a problem and that Rupp is not accountable to a degree. Also, I’m quite interested to see the evidence you have that states protests put off potential buyers? Could you direct me to link to any article that states fact around this statement?
Chris, I am not a self-appointed club spokesman and neither part of the prawn sandwich brigade nor in the pay of the club. Equally, when I went to Munich in 2018 I did so at my expense and in a private capacity because I thought it would be more productive than shouting under a hidden identity on social media.
There is a need for improved communications as I have stated. By the same token there are people who have closed minds and don’t want to hear the inconvenient truths for whom any communication by the club is futile. If you genuinely don’t grasp how the club’s historic financial situation has a bearing on current affairs then that is your prerogative and for you to dismiss as guff but so be it. And as regards the under-performance on the field it doesn’t take a genius to work out the impact of continually changing managers at the drop of a hat. I think that Phil Ideson’s comments below are close to the mark in terms of explaining where we find ourselves.
If only the tennis ball protesters would read this and see the reality of our situation and the danger that Mr Rupp might decide to dump us off, maybe protesters the could put the money spent on the tennis balls back into the club and pay a backroom staff members weeks wages, every little helps.
But unfortunately the band wagon boys don’t get a kick out of that, they would rather pretend we are desirable to some rich ollygart.
Dream on boys even the Hollywood heroes made sure they got a bargain basement deal before they started splashing the cash, so throw your silly tennis balls and you may take momentum out of a good performance like you did at Swindon last season with your flares.
Excellent piece John, in particular thanks for the insight based on your personal experience. I hope this debunks some of the nonsense and helps to end the vitriol surrounding the owner and management, none of which serves any purpose other than to engender instability.
An excellent email as always.
I believe you wrote a similar piece a few years ago on the consistent under capitalisation of the club throughout its history, again a must read.
Those of us who have lived for Bradford City for very many years appreciate the sensible and correct opinions of John Dewhirst.
He brings reality and all City supporters should read this because it is true.
Thank you.
Excellent article John, the social media Rupp/Sparks out brigade won’t like it but it’s reality. There almost certainly isn’t a financial fairy Godmother out there who is able to take the club forward even if Rupp gave it away.
Majority of fans are saying Sparks needs help to make football decisions! The club is raking in over at £8million a season and at least breaking even! Commerically it’s doing well! Remember most football clubs make a loss!
The anger is there because the budget is being spent poorly! It’s a total mis-management! Basic, fundamental decisions being made on the pitch that don’t make sense! Sky Sports claiming we have the 4th biggest budget! With the revenue we’re taking, it won’t be far off that claim!
This article is taking aim at fans who want progression. Take a look at home attendances across the country and City are amongst the lower end of the championship! Yes we have cheap season tickets but attendances would not diminish even with an increase in prices because, guess what, the cheap season ticket deals have increased the number of die-hard fans prepared to follow the club no matter what is served up! If anything the buzz of progression through the leagues will bring more people on board and only increase the average attendance.
And that adds to the frustration of a lack of expertise within the footballing structure within the club alongside a current bloated squad that only needed a few quality signings to add to what we had at the end of the season!
This article comes across as a bit patronising and an attempt to shut down anyone who is apposed to the current strategy in how the club is run. But as I have said most supporters aren’t against the commercial strategy! What they are against of is the inability to get the footballing decisions right, time and time again! What did Einstein say, the definition of madness: doing same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome!
Not patronising – just realism
The thumbs down to this post either way something about our fan base or something about this forum. I think it sums up the general feeling of the fans at the moment pretty well. As for John’s original article it makes some good points from a professional accounting view but then fails to question why under Rupp and Sparks we see ourselves currently 19th and have already had three different managers this season already. Or why 5 of the 7 clubs currently in the automatic and play off positions not so long ago were of national league fame. As for supporting the club during COVID, I didn’t see one club go under during that period, it seems every club was in the same boat so to speak.
As a much maligned fan base we aren’t asking for the moon on a stick, just a football club with apparently ‘competitive’ budget to be able to be competitive on a Saturday afternoon. Not too much to ask is it?
My opinion of Rupp is that he’s a decent guy and we could do much worse, but the football we’re being server up under his reign has to be seen as a failure. As the owner he needs to take his share of the blame for this and plan accordingly. If he’s not interested in running the club then we need someone in place who can deliver better football.
I don’t expect miracles but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re underperforming with the money we have. You only have to look at our bloated squad for evidence of this.
I don’t agree with these protests but it would be naive not to expect such things when the football side of the club is being run this badly.
I agree Ryan Sparks needs help from above. Decisions need to be made, we cannot continue down this aimless path to obscurity.
Best summing up of the clubs current position I’ve seen. No vitriol aimed at others, no my view is better than yours, just an honest take. With what looks like us going on to what will be our sixth consecutive season in league two next after our woeful start, questions have to asked of the running of this club from the top down. No use pretending things are acceptable or this crazy notion of ‘be careful what you wish for.’ I did not wish for 19th in league two with a squad with no balance to it. Only have to look at the progress the likes of Stockport and Notts County have made over the last few years.
That could and should be us.
Yet another informative piece from Mr Dewhirst.
I prefer to hear these words from those who have seen the club’s internal workings than listen to the empty words of any keyboard cowards on social media.
I am frustrated by how the team are performing on the pitch, but I will channel my energy into supporting & encouraging the players on Saturday.
The commercial side, run by Longo & Sparks is making money for the club to put into the team.
Yes, I’d like Rupp to spend money like some clubs but he hasn’t got Disney bankrolling that spending. Rupp has stepped in twice to financially support & seems an honourable individual from the snippets I have read about from trusted sources (not social media).
THANK YOU, John. I am not on social media but have seen comments from other sources which make my blood boil!! So many people know how a football club should be run and how Bradford City are so bad at it. My feelings about Rupp are exactly those you point out and as for Sparks being on receiving end of so much hate and vitriol, is absolutely diabolical. I think those fans have a lot to answer for regarding a quick succession of managers. As for the protests which I didn’t know about, words fail me👹
That’s it Sandra, all the fans fault. All those fans who blew the budget on sub-standard players within an over-bloated squad. All those fans who buy season tickets, and merchandise, and travel away numbers. Words, indeed, fail me.
No one is denying mismanagement of the resources available or poor recruitment/decisions being made, no one is claiming to be happy with 19th in League 2, but the money has been there to do much better, and that’s down to the work of Rupp and Sparks. The blame I do place with Sparks is that he is too quick to listen to the loud minority of fans instead of giving managers time to turn things round (managers who, as John points out, at the time of hiring were popular appointments with decent-strong track records) which is how we have gone through God-knows how many managers/playing styles/squad rebuilds at yet more wasted expense. So yes, SOME fans – for instance the ones who scream for the manager’s head the moment we hit a bit of a bad run, or hurl personal abuse at people who just want what’s best for the club – frankly have as much to answer for as those in charge of the shoddy recruitment.
We have never had a chairman who has bankrolled us in my fifty years of following this club , Richmond gave us two years of alleged glory but at what cost , the club going bust soon after ! We have also had some fantastic managers over the years, McFarland, Cherry , Dolan, McCall, Parkinson to name just a few but all did the business on a shoestring whatever the year , we are where we are it’s our place in the football league until such a time we find that little bit of magic on and off the field,
most of the named managers did the business on small squads and budgets the fans need to get real , not necessarily accept the current situation but get real with expectations our turn will come again but it’s league one in time and maybe championship at the very best
This.We will return as we always eventually have
Excellent article. Well balanced and well written. I have been a supporter for 60 years and seen plenty of ups, and considerably more downs in that time. What JD has written here explains in ‘layman’s’ terms (if I’m allowed to call it that) exactly what the situation is/has been at VP, and without mentioning it directly, says Be Careful What You Wish For…. Supporters are there to support, through thick and thin, and need to get real with their expectations. Sadly Social Media is a scourge we can’t get rid of…! Keep The Faith!
Although this makes sobering reading, it also raises hopes. It appears from John’s perspective that the two individuals running the club, Rupp and Sparks, are rather more sinned against than sinning. I personally have much sympathy with the German owner in that he has a huge tranche of money invested and at hazard. However, that is one of the risks you take if you are in business, especially if you wish to run it remotely and place it in inexperienced hands. In football-loving Germany, one imagines Herr Rupp would be able to find somebody in his organisation who knew something about the game and was capable of coming over for a week or so to appraise. If the owner is not able or willing to come himself, he might at least send a representative from time to time. Perhaps he does. We do know with certainty that he did not speak to his new manager in the two weeks that followed the appointment. That is is not Twitter tittle or Facebook tattle: it is as divulged by the manager.
Whilst utterly deploring the intimidation that the CEO is currently facing, I sense in the modern increasingly hostile world it, alas, almost goes with the job. I cannot begin to understand why any sane person would want to enter the foetid world of social media, let alone someone in the public eye connected with something as emotionally charged as football. There is a suspicion that Sparks has volubly played to the gallery in the good times and been less keen to explain or justify decisions that have palpably gone wrong. This seems regrettably to have stoked much anger and convulsive reaction in the social media. I sense however that elsewhere there is a widespread understanding that Sparks is doing a good job in commercial terms but would benefit with more help with footballing matters.
I’m not sure what conclusion can be reached from John’s hugely informative article. Talk of protests has presumably triggered it being written. Clearly much frustration exists at the moment among those who define themselves as supporters. Not all of them seem to have the club’s best interests at heart. The best antidote is success on the field. We will see on Saturday what’s in the wind.
We should be grateful that we’re not Bury eh? Happy to have a club to support. Proud custodian. Mediocrity is unacceptable. Due diligence. Rotten from the top down.
It seems the elephant not in the room is that we do not own our ground which with 92 plus clubs available in principle for a likely buyer must put anyone off providing a decent offer.
I think Rupp is a decent man in a difficult position but sticking by the club…
I still hanker after a fans ownership but wonder where we would be in the present debate if we ‘owned’ the club, in practise there would be someone who was in someway ‘elected’ to the board who would be a chief persauader – person of significant control
Perhaps I had better beware what I wish for…
Not owning the ground is a red herring. Do the research.
Very few clubs, even some in the PL own their iwn ground and/or training ground.
In fact to some clubs there is an advantage in not owning these facilities.
The lack of assets means that you can’t raise debt by providing security which is a potential disadvantage for an investor. In the case of BCAFC we have an onerous lease coupled with the looming expense of maintenance / upgrading costs which are the club’s responsibility and these again undermine the investment proposition. However further uncertainty arises from the need to renegotiate the ground lease which expires in the next 3 years. Ultimately if you were looking to buy a club you could actually get one for very little. Therefore whilst there are other instances of football clubs being sold where the ground is not owned, in those situations it is likely that other factors enhance the investment case and make it more attractive than a punt on buying BCAFC.
My point being that ownership of stadiums/training facilities has not prevented some clubs to progress. It’s often trundled out as a reason for the lack of City’s success. I realise that from an accounting point of view there are aspects of this which can be of benefit but I have no experience in this so leave it to those who do.
Ownership of a stadium.never scored one goal.
Whilst understanding your point i also have difficulty with it Football Club finances are all gambling the bet been which can stay out of unsustainable debt.Most clubs operate at loss.We have lost the ground due to unsustainable debt.Which took years and a lot of write offs to recovery. We still have not recovered fully.We perhaps never will.If numbers go drastically wrong again not owning the ground is an absolute godsend.We can leave the insolvency we cannot lose the roof over our heads.Depends how much confidence one has in whoever may buy Mr Rupp out.Not many takers other than what chancers? Certainly none with 130 million behind them.That alone gives me confidence in Rupp.Jack had the wealth to underwrite us.So too has Rupp.We need to get the football right income at 7 million is quite good for bottom division.Poor Mr Sparks deserves credit for that number. Not his fault or Rupps we have an underperforming team in 7 years. Though change after change does not help.
It’s not just the fans questioning why Bradford City are failing, it’s the wider football world. Something isn’t working and to suggest we just sit back and accept the situation is condescending. Why shouldn’t fans challenge those who continually fail (on the pitch)? Why can’t there be a long term strategy in place that can be bought into by the fans? I condemn those who are targeting Sparks and Rupp in the strongest possible terms. There’s no place for that.
Maybe the cheap season tickets have introduced a certain element who can afford to pick and choose whether they attend games or not, because the hit to the pocket doesn’t hurt them. If prices were more in line with the rest of the league, maybe the day trippers might stay away and a real core base of supporters more understanding of where the club has come from, would remain.
I think you make very fair points. It is entirely legitimate to challenge how the club is run but that’s not what I am arguing against. At the moment the debate isn’t nuanced but framed simply in terms of Rupp Out / Sparks Out and the charge of anyone who disagrees being called a happy clapper. It isn’t black and white and nor is alternative ownership immediately attainable so yes, it does require a sensible discussion of what is or isn’t working and for the record I think your point about the ticket pricing is valid.
No tennis balls please Saturday.
On the pitch results Drive supporter sentiment so I understand the current disillusionment and I have mixed feelings on SR and you can’t argue with his record. From top of L1 to struggling again in L2.
I’ve learned from the last 4 years observing another EFL club at close quarters that the most important thing about an owner is that he/she makes sure the bills are paid. While the relative sustainability of the club stands out in an era where most clubs plan to lose CV many £millions per year, he has stepped in and made sure the bills are paid when it has been needed. That provides a foundation many clubs do not have, and is a particular risk whenever you have an overseas, distant owner. We should have some level of relief for that.
That being said, out of this necessity of self funding, we’ve built a business model that requires extremely short term thinking.
Commercially we’ve don’t a great job recently of increasing income from corporate partnerships and retail. With most deals multi-year, the more successful we are here, the longer term we can plan because revenue isn’t so tied to season ticket sales.
However because season ticket / match day sales play an outsized role at City in budget setting, we have to make sure that their is hope and optimism come March so that the season tickets sell again and playing budgets can be maintained.
In my opinion this is one of the main reasons why we find ourselves where we are. It has led to the hiring/firing processes, of managers given mostly free reign to use their own methods in search of short term results. Just so long as hope for the future exists when season tickets need to be sold. That’s just reality.
As a result we have no playing identity, and the constant hiring/firing alongside questionable recruitment has led to a very unbalanced squad.
Once again we’re hoping for a Phil Parkinson type stroke of good fortune. Maybe GA is that man, and maybe he isn’t. Time will tell. He’s probably the manager most likely to do a Parky out of the recent hires.
What do we want? A playing identity that runs through all levels and hiring of managers and signing of players that aligns with that. That is the recipe for long term success… but it isn’t built over night.
To do that requires one of two things:
An owner that is willing to fund this model, to the tune of £millions of investment per year
Or, patience for a rebuild (and transparency in comms that that is what we are doing) so that we all buy into it and keep buying those season tickets.
This is the debate we need to have while we wait for a rescue from a rich white knight.
I write all this to say there are no easy answers. It’s not a situation fixed by a few tennis balls. But the situation is crying out for some constructive dialog between owner and supporters before things get even more toxic.
Phil, you hit the nail on the head. The prospect of a new owner or massive investment is slim so it demands patience for a rebuild. In turn that needs constructive dialogue and management of expectations. I’ve been trying to encourage Jason to approach Ryan Sparks for an interview to avoid the reliance upon speculation and hearsay because there are positives in the background that should be put on record. Equally the club needs to fix the communications but frankly it’s understandable how there is a siege mentality at Valley Parade and it desperately needs a reset. As supporters we should be helping the club’s management to succeed but the abuse is hardly going to motivate anyone.
Absolutely. You can’t twist every word ever said for the past 5 years out of context and then expect communications on-demand.
I agree with all but one thing. I’m not sure I agree that many comments have been taken out of context and actually from a CEO there is a requirement to show strength in leadership when things haven’t gone to plan. ‘Leaner, meaner’ in particular there needs to be an answer to how we ended up with a bloated squad.
Phil, your point on the Hard Truth about the need to sell season tickets was an important one and it has led to Ryan maybe overselling our ability. It’s easy to talk then but he does need to stick his head above the parapet now things aren’t going well.
Rather than Jason, a fan with other priorities in life, his own career and family, I think Tom McDermott should use his platform from a Season with Bradford City that the club seem to endorse to make their voice heard.
Rupp has taken a club I was proud of.
On the edge of championship football
And made it an utter embarrassment
I should be ok with that?
The worst thing is I just can’t be bothered with it all
If Rupp doesn’t go we will eventually slide into non league
The bare facts of our fall in grace do not lie
Absolutely bang on. It’s far easier to sling blame and criticism so lord save the ones that take responsibility.
Very helpful article, John. Ideally City would have a chair / board that was more engaged with the business of the club, though. Some of the adverse comments above are drivel. Really hope we can stop sacking managers and support Graham Alexander now.
Great article. It’s important to give both sides and perspective, so I am appreciative or these articles to balance a lot of negative ones. Not picking sides, just saying seeing both sides of the argument is important.
It’s interesting – the Derek Adams interview the other day where he referred to us in the negative light actually had me thinking about this broader topic written, and the sequence of events from 2002. It in itself can be a Hollywood movie…
(Sequence and opinions open to subjectivity)
Savior manager sacked for not finishing mid table in the premier league, crazy spending no plan and relegation. Then administration, owners who are supporters desperately trying to keep the club afloat. Later Another chairman comes who then promptlygoes on the pitch with a microphone, rants at fans and then goes taking the stadium with him. Sell other assets to keep the club Afloat. Another fan joins as chairman, stability for a series of years but they are at their ceiling of where they can take the club. Finally, potential investors come, only for one to be duped by the other, and years of instability, bringing us to potential demonstrations based on just sheer frustration, but we do have two at the helm who are trying their best and have principles. Wow. 21 years in the making.
It’s going to take something as drastic as what started this sequence of events to end it…. Someone with huge sentiment of Bradford City and very deep pockets to get out of stadium rental, which may go up in the coming years and own a training facility that isn’t a school to start with, then update from tired and dated. No one with out sentiment would knowingly sign up for this!
Either way. I am thankful for those over this 21 years who know a lot more than myself and many others and have made personal and financial sacrifices when things keep getting worse, to keep us having a club as we know it today. I am thankful actually that we have responsible albeit not competent (not to be taken as a negative but as the writer notes, our CEO needs help and our owner wants to sell).
Still keeping my fingers crossed for a Hollywood ending to this cycle, and that it doesn’t spiral anymore…and for those younger supporters who don’t have the premier league years in your emotional bank account, stay strong!
John, as usual, has put an articulate and balanced view on matters. It doesn’t mean I agree with all of it but meticulous opinion via channels such as WOAP are welcome in a world of instant reaction.
Sparks in particular has done a commendable job with the club from a commercial perspective which I hope stands him in good stead in his current job but also his future career. But beyond that is where I start to sympathise with much of the anger we have seen lately. We’re a long way into Rupp’s chairmanship and Sparks’ stewardship and there are still two fundamental questions:
1) Can we point to any significant achievements during this time?
2) What are the significant aims for the club?
1) The club appears to operate well from an off the pitch perspective, given the history of the club that John set out this is clearly a strong achievement. On the pitch we basically seem reliant on luck for any sort of success. The summer of 2022 was as positive a period for the club for many years and was completely undermined by two hopeless transfer windows. I don’t think it is unfair to question those responsible for that considering one of them has already lost his job as a result. Firm doubts still remain over Ryan Sparks & Stephen Gent for their ability to operate a footballing function and I believe these doubts were laid bare during the recent managerial search.
2) Given the model that Phil Ideson has nicely depicted, I think anger and concern quickly builds with the lack of any significant aims for the club. Everyone is aware of multiple issues at BCAFC but it would be reassuring to understand what the club’s long term aims are considering we don’t own key assets and have a footballing department that is wholly underperforming. The vision beyond selling season tickets and having a punt at promotion each year just isn’t there unless someone can direct me towards it. And therein is the issue supporters are having with a dormant owner. Its very difficult to defend Rupp when things aren’t going so well because there is zero accountability. Set a 5 year plan, set out a plan for the stadium, give supporters something so they can understand where the club is heading and what it aspires to be. I also think this is why the recent rebrand proposal was poorly received because it didn’t have anything to align with whatsoever.
I have been ranting on for what seems like years about Rupp or Sparks making an all embracing sincere statement about the Shor, Medium and Long term plan.
John, maybe that could be pigeon holed into the lack of communication you allude to.
If this was done whilst we have a new manager in place it could offer him some time and security, a cushion against those reactionary who call for sackings after a relatively few games.
If phrased correctly it could give something that the supporters could ‘buy’ into and accept that Rome will not be built in a day.
I really think and believe that this could be key to the current split between supporters.
Let’s all move forward in a planned direction.
A plan that can be modified going forward but offering a direction which fans and club can move forward together.
The reason it’s not been done is because there isn’t one. End of story. Sell or just survive another year hoping it might get lucky with a manager one day. Problem is that will just lead to a gradual slowing down of momentum and return to the same level within a year or 2. The clubs in Prem Brentford – Bournemouth – Brighton all had a plan and have smashed the levels and sustained their momentum because of it. New owners please – I’ve had my fill of accepting mediocrity. Tennis balls before end of season to raise awareness if nothing else. I mean who outside of BD knows City is for sale really!??
I realise all of that.
My point is that there should be a plan and if this was ‘sold’ to the fans ( like the season ticket campaigns) maybe it would benefit everybody.
Fail to plan= plan to fail.
In my opinion NOW is the best time to do it.
Whilst offering sparks and rupp as mere scapegoats, John fails to provide or offer insight as to where the issues lie.
The club have regressed so far under the stewardship of both, than only two clubs have fallen further down the leagues.
Failure upon failure, false dawn upon false down and still an opening paragraph taking us back to 2004 implying that we should just shut up and be grateful we have a team to support.
This isn’t 2004 anymore, since the there’s been two administrations, debts wiped clean twice, four relegations, 17 managers, and finally new owners, (although one previous owner who placed us into two administrations and oversaw three relegations still sits far too close for comfort). We can’t keep harking back to just being grateful for a club to support.
Two people are currently overseeing one shambles to another. They are not scapegoats, they are culpable. Whether they like it or not the current mess is on them.
If rupp is merely sitting on his investment, then he needs to leave. Who to take over you ask, well no-one would buy your house if no-one knew it was on the market. We need to know what plans Rupp has. No business can be successful by simply being sustainable. You have to speculate to accumulate, and unfortunately far too many clubs are speculating more than us and as such we are left behind. Sustainability will result in year after year of midtable finishes and a slow drop off in season ticket numbers. If he isn’t going to invest, then he needs to do the honourable thing and put the club up for sale.
Ryan sparks, doing a wonderful job commercially. Or is he? Is the well performing commercial and marketing side being superbly run by Davide Longo, and sparks is just getting slapped on the back for that?
You say sparks can’t speak for the risk of his words being misconstrued. John, in all fairness you cannot misconstrue a good number of recent faux Pas.
Leaner and meaner, no room for mediocrity, our number one choice. All statements made by our CEO. That is by no means an exhaustive list either.
He made a snide comment about Derek Adams being given all the tools yet failing to deliver. Ryan Sparks would do well to look in the mirror on the front.
He big’s himself up as having saved us when we were heading for non league under McCall (his words again). Three years later we are one position better off.
Come on John, tell us again what you feel the issues are, tell us the majority of fans are wrong in wanting change. Or it will be a case of telling us again that all the above is pure fallacy and it’s those pesky fans wanting success that are all to blame
Ive commented sufficient above in various replies and can’t add anything else. It’s hardly surprising that the football side has been a failure when we have been swapping managers so frequently. Ultimately the club is run on a shoestring and short of the owner injecting millions you won’t get the investment that we all crave. From his perspective there is no rational reason to commit millions because he won’t get it back – hes already massively under water.
I subscribe to Phil Ideson’s comments above which highlight the short-termism and why the club’s finances dictate it. I don’t think its any more complex than that and it’s futile to try and read more into it.
Equally, the extent to which every pass is analysed and pronouncements of strategic doom are made when the team concedes a goal has become not only tedious but also unhelpful. There isn’t a quick fix and this will be a long haul. As someone said above, this needs patience but by the same token it needs constructive dialogue and communications by the club with the fans. Unfortunately we have reached the point where many people are not wanting to hear the facts and are completely dismissive as if there is some sort of magical solution being denied or conspiracy. You tell me what is the quick fix if I have missed something?
As regards a DoF there are arguments for/against. I fail to understand what MH’s assistant manager was doing – hardly as if he didn’t know the lower divisions for example. Redfearn is now involved so how many more experts are needed. As regards RS being out of his depth on footballing matters I understand that he is being advised on an ad hoc ex-officio basis.
My gripe is that the discontent is framed as a black and white issue. It’s Rupp Out / Sparks Out or you are labelled a happy clapper which is not only simplistic but an insult to those supporters who have followed the club long enough to know that it’s a more nuanced situation. Ultimately however it comes back to finances. The club has been woefully under-capitalised throughout its history and it is the same now. The VP lease is a massive millstone and the cost of ongoing / future maintenance costs raises the question whether the club’s future should be elsewhere. But again how to afford it and again the legacy of the club’s history.
John you and I don’t see eye to eye so I’m not about to attempt to counter anything you’ve said in your article or your comments. One thing though at the end of this comment “raises the question whether the clubs future should be elsewhere”. I’ve been mocked by you and others on this comments board in the past for advocating for a new stadium or a move away from Valley Parade. As you know I work in development management and my Masters dissertation was on urban regeneration and new football league stadia, so I think I can be forgiven for a keen interest in the subject. I think I probably know more about the town planning side of it than the average punter.
I’ve been invited to VP by the current and previous CEOs ostensibly to discuss this very subject, although in both instances town planning formed a mere footnote to the meeting. On both occasions however I also was mocked/trolled on Twitter shortly after with information that could only have been gleaned from said CEOs. As a result I have no time for either and zero sympathy for suggestions their mental health may be affected by “online abuse”. Rightly or wrongly those experiences colour my judgment of their character and professionalism, and their suitability for their role at the club I love.
Long story short, have you changed (or in fact have the club changed), opinion on the viability or suitability of a stadium move? This would either require investment from Rupp or a third party, and would most certainly require support from Bradford Council which has never been an ally of the club, albeit RS spoke encouragingly of improved relationship with the strategic director for regeneration. If the stadium issue is ultimately the millstone around our necks, I do not see how our future can be at VP under this ownership or any other. I’m not aware of land ownership or any current plans for the area but there is some prime building land on Valley Road and, after the railway sidings were turned into a retail park at Forster Square, there is very little flat land left in the city. It’s my view that to not build a stadium in that location would be the biggest of missed opportunities and without it I can see only a continued downward spiral.
You will no doubt give me a dose of financial reality, but there we are.
Leon – sorry, just seen yr comment and my response herewith. The ultimate solution to the club’s predicament is an owner who is prepared to spend millions on the club such that funds are not a constraint. The ideal candidate would be a Bradfordian with more money than sense and a love of BCAFC. Ownership of VP would be ideal. Sadly the chances of both seem pretty slim.
Going forward a big obstacle facing the club is the lease and the inevitable requirement to upgrade an ageing stadium. Needless to say it will divert funds from the core activity and VP may sooner than later be considered a millstone / liability for a club with limited resources.
That said, escaping VP is easier said than done – how would you finance a stadium and where could it be built given land constraints in Bradford. The likelihood of being able to afford an Everton scale development is a non-starter and hence if the club was ever to relocate in BD it is more likely that it would be to a basic, utilitarian stadium.
All of this is theoretical and the club is in no position to undertake such a project. Neither am I convinced that there would be enthusiasm from a developer unless we were successful at a much higher level. Crucially neither is there an obvious site to develop so getting excited about a mega scheme is simply unrealistic. In a worst case scenario it might even require ground sharing outside the district. I am not even sure that Odsal is realistic.
Sadly the club is in a weak negotiating position when it comes to a lease renewal because it is patently obvious we don’t have anywhere else to go or the funds to build an alternative stadium. In all likelihood therefore we will remain at VP but it will continue to be an expensive luxury.
Someone has remarked about the onerous terms of the lease we have signed. The background is that in 2002 everyone was desperate to ensure survival without regard to the medium or longer term viability. This is my point about the historical legacy because the hard truth is that in 2002 the club should have been liquidated and started afresh but no-one wanted to contemplate it. Always easy in hindsight of course.
The relevance of all this to the bigger debate however is that it is too easy to forget the constraints that the club operates under and the fact that BCAFC is very much the prisoner of its history which makes a quick fix all the more difficult – particularly when we also yield to short-termism and sack the manager every year etc.
Seems I can’t reply direct to your reply to me John, but here goes.
Thank you for your considered response. When I met JR he did in fact ask me words to the effect of “what is the cheapest stadium we could build and how much would it cost? Four stands, a pitch and some changing rooms”. I’m not a quantity surveyor so I couldn’t answer, beyond that apparently bowl type stadia especially those with no variation in height of the stands are the cheapest to build. Not exactly my idea of a dream new stadium. FWIW I do not and have never dreamt of an all singing and dancing ground to compare with the best of the new stadia. Character costs money and a simple bowl may ultimately be the only exit strategy if other issues can be overcome.
I did wonder if the point of my invite, particularly from JR, was to try and come up with some sort of bargaining tool to use in conversations with the FL pension fund, but I don’t think my answers gave him what he thought he might get.
It was interesting to note after visiting the new Plough Lane a couple of weeks ago, that the away end at least is not really a permanent structure, rather it’s a posher version of the away end at Gillingham, being constructed entirely of steel. But even that cost £34 million. So I am not blind to the financial realities of a new stadium. I had heard whisper of a new rugby ground on the Richard Dunn site but it’s newly listed status has essentially kyboshed that.
It all adds up to very little hope of change. I maintain my own opinion of the club hierarchy but I can’t disagree with your suggestion of a larger board. We seem to have a handful of “associate directors” who pay for the privilege of entertaining family, friends and business associates on a matchday. Directors are normally appointed because they bring something to the party, and are remunerated accordingly. Without one of us winning the Euromillions it would be interesting to know if there has ever been any interest in purchase of a minority shareholding from someone who could bring some expertise to the table, or whether the club has actively sought out such an arrangement – SR need not sell his whole controlling stake in order to create a scenario where there is more knowledge and experience guiding the tiller. Despite my personal opinion of RS, he is clearly good at part of what is required at a football club, but I don’t believe he is cut out to be a chief executive of a professional football club without sharing the load and it would be encouraging if SR was to explore this Avenue.
I think it’s easy to underestimate the deadweight of that historical legacy and the difficulty of driving meaningful change. I’m happy to go on record that on balance I think RS has done a decent job in the circumstances and with what he’s had to put up with. He’d benefit enormously if people gave him support as opposed to continually looking to fault.
I couldn’t be bothered reading through all of that I’m just happy John’s used a colour photograph!
Ah what a lovely comment from a discerning critic of photography. Sadly it’s not my image but I can’t help feeling that black and white is more suited given the binary mindset of many of our fans.
Cophill Bantam.
At last serious debate.
How many of the ‘vocal’ Facebook warriors could run a bath – never a mind a business (ie. a football club)?
A well written article John. What is telling is Ryan Sparks has done well commercially. What about on the football side? We are in no better position since he started at City. Everyone in football knows what BCFC are all about and Adam’s comments were correct and considered. Today Danny Cowley confirmed that he turned down BCFC for football reasons and not due to personal reasons says it all really.
The real question is what happens next season when the season ticket sales drop off? This will be due to the performances on the pitch and final league position. Will this make Sparks position untenable or will the club sell another youngster to make up the shortfall? Then there’s the question of where does the money go from all the young player sales go? As Johnny Nash sang “There are more questions than answers”.
All said Phil Parkinson and Parkin took us to 5th in League One, a Wembley Cup Final and A FAC QF. He had just short of one full season in 2011-12 first before the recovery began. Mark Hughes almost took City up in his first full season. Graham Alexander and Lucketti need this season to repeat the ground work for a successful promotion season in 2024-25. We should all realise our new management team need our full support right away. I believe HT at Notts County is the beginning of our new era. There is only one way to find out. Support them and the club every day and every week. Come on City. We will return. It properly starts in 48 hours time !
Another thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post. How do we know Sparks has been successful commercially? We do not know the value of any of the deals we have with local businesses and our trade partners. If they were as big and successful as we are led to believe, surely any such money would be reinvested in the team through transfer fees and in improving the team. Don’t believe all the propaganda.
Money raised and partnership deals are also used to cover increased costs and to offset the huge upcoming liability of deferred stadium maintenance related to the upcoming lease renewal.
That being said it is also reflected in an increased playing budget.
We can debate responsibility for what that increased playing budget has bought us but you can’t argue that the success of our commercial operations has driven additional or maintained investment in the team.
Normally Phil in a lease the landlord would/should pick up any general maintenance. Unfortunately it looks like when Rhodes agreed a deal with Flamingo Land this was not agreed in the terms of the lease. Oh dear.
When that lease was signed the club was desperate and not in a position to dictate terms. The focus was on survival (at all costs) rather than longer term viability and the lease was signed. People were thinking with a shorter timeframe in 2002 so unfair to single out the club’s signatory.
Another thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post. How do we know Sparks has been successful commercially? We do not know the value of any of the deals we have with local businesses and our trade partners. If they were as big and successful as we are led to believe, surely any such money would be reinvested in the team through transfer fees and in improving the team. Don’t believe all the propaganda that comes out of the club.
In any other walk of life, if you are continually paying for poor service which gets worse year on year, you complain and seek change. You don’t just sit back and accept it. I find City fans willingness to accept the steady decline utterly baffling. We are heading towards non-league with the current ownership, CEO and head of recruitment and writing articles telling fans to just accept it is counterintuitive.
We can all stamp our feet and say we are fed up but in the cold light of day what’s the answer? The fundamental issue is that the prospect of a new owner is negligible so does that mean we resorting to pressing the self-destruct button and accelerating the decline? Seems equally baffling to me.
You responded to a comment above by stating that when fans are called happy clappers it is an insult to them. You’ve just said that I’m stamping my feet (by which you mean I am being petulant) because I have an different opinion to you. Seems you are equally culpable as those who you were calling out.
The scenarios and solutions are pretty simple:
Scenario 1 – we maintain the status quo and end up in non-league within the next 3 years. I believe it has been said that City will go under if they get relegated, which means Rupp loses any opportunity to get some form of return on his investment. If City don’t go under, there isn’t a cat in hells chance they will return to the football league with the current personnel in key positions – their abject failure to date shows that.
Scenario 2 – change takes place. Ideally that would mean Rupp sells up and an owner with at least an interest in the club and football would be an improvement. However, the reality is we are stuck with him. But we don’t have to be stuck with a failing CEO and a failing head of recruitment. Change can also mean putting some thought into a long-term strategy for the club, and yes, Rupp will have to but some money into it to make improvements. That is what owners of businesses do. He’s clearly been successful in business to date but I’m guessing none of his successes have been achieved by putting under qualified people in key positions because they are cheap, or by not making changes when people are underperforming.
Most key changes through history have come about by people making noise and instigating that change. You might be right, pushing for it might accelerate the decline, but we all know it is coming at some point if the status quo is maintained. But equally, it might not accelerate the decline, seeking change might lead to improvements that halts the decline. Realistically, what is there to lose?
I am not suggesting that you are petulant although I might be inclined to suggest you were naive. We both want a successful club but in the historical context the frustrations of today are not radically different to those of previous generations of City fans.
Let’s say either of us got the keys to Valley Parade and had free rein to make the changes. What would soon become apparent is that there are few things that you can do to have a transformative impact without money. And without a blank cheque your focus soon becomes having enough cash in the bank to pay the wages at the end of the month or pay the rent at the end of the quarter. In any business, without the benefit of operating headroom it is what you have to do before you have the luxury of discussing strategy or five year plans.
The financial position at BCAFC is far more stable than it has been previously but constraints remain. In the absence of adequate capitalisation the modus operandi becomes exactly what Phil Ideson has outlined above.
There has never been someone to bankroll the club at Valley Parade since 1886, let alone since 1903 or in the last twenty years. Stefan Rupp is guaranteeing the existence of the club but it stops short of unlimited funding. I agree with you that we need a new owner. Stefan Rupp would concur but finding one is the issue. Anyone who does the diligence only has to consider the VP lease and future maintenance costs to get cold feet. Ironically, SR likely didn’t do detailed diligence and there might be someone out there with more money than sense who takes a punt although the sort of individual prepared to invest in BCAFC is probably not the investor we’d want in the first place.
It all comes back to money. On the other hand we have already had a major change with the appointment of a new manager. It seems reasonable to give him the chance to get his feet under the table before panicking. The only way that failure will be reversed and there is a better chance of selling the club is if we start winning. To that end the strategy begins on Saturday. On our part the long haul demands patience which is evidently in short supply. If one of us wins the lottery or someone walks off the street ready to throw money at BCAFC the outlook might change. Sad admittedly but realistic nonetheless.
As regards a shit or bust casino approach, having seen the outcome in 1983 and then 2002 / 2004 I struggle to endorse.
I’m really glad you’ve written this, John.
From a financial viewpoint we are a little club with lots of baggage and not a lot going for us. Before everyone gets emotional, by the way, we’re not alone. Many football league clubs fit this description.
At city we must be successful on the pitch to develop anything off the pitch. I think that the off the pitch work done at the club, and that mostly means by Ryan sparks, has been excellent so far. I’d argue he’s probably close to maxing out the potential returns of a league two club barring some freak Hollywood investment that means International brands and tv networks get involved.
Also worth a mention the 32m gbp in 2002 is the equivalent of double that now. Imagine learning today that city have a 64m gbp hole in the balance sheet. That’s how bad it was. And it’s important we remember that.
But the quandary is how to move forward without allowing that to hold us back too much. Well it’s alluded to. We need a lot of luck. Good manager getting good results getting us promoted and getting us access to bigger revenues from tv and bigger attendances from visiting clubs. Cup runs are also needed. So back we are to square one. Let’s hope Graham Alexander and team can somehow miraculously start getting some points on the board asap.
I wanted to also say. This is why it’s no surprise over the last 15 years that it’s the “smaller” non league clubs that attract significant investment. They have less financial and emotional baggage. The burton Albion’s fleetwoods forest greens salfords Harrogates are all easier to get involved in and gain momentum more quickly. To use an old analogy there’s less time pushing against the flywheel to get it moving in these clubs. At city we need five to ten years of hard graft pushing that very heavy flywheel to get it moving then Once it is moving it gathers momentum very quickly
An interesting article and an interesting set of comments. Just an additional thought…
If Rupp wants to sell (which obviously he does), he should think about making the Club more asset rich and therefore more attractive to potential buyers. This doesn’t mean that he has to invest more capital in acquiring the Valley Parade ground freehold though. He could simply negotiate an ‘Option to Purchase Agreement’ with Gibb that could be assignable to any new buyer of the Club to give them the choice of buying the ground should they choose. The immediate cost of such an Option Agreement is minimal and the purchase price could be fixed at a level that is sufficiently attractive to Gibb to incentivise him to enter into the Agreement.
That might be more difficult to do with the Council-owned Apperley Bridge and Woolhouse Grove School-owned training ground. But perhaps Rupp could instruct a professional team of surveyors and town planners (the cost wouldn’t be high) to identify an alternative training ground relocation site (or sites) and negotiate an Option Agreement with the landowner(s). He could even secure the planning permission too (although that would cost a bit more).
That’s what I’d do if I was Rupp and minded to sell…or if I won the Euromillions jackpot and was crazy enough to buy the Club. Every fan can dream, right?!