Chapter 35: Darkness

It's just a League One game, as Portsmouth manager Jim said. Smith's pre-game half-truths were ordinary. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info But the process was not dull at all, and the high score of 5:5 also made this game a tragic color.

The second washed out, an hour passed, and when he came out of the players' tunnel, he could still hear the voices of the fans who had not yet left in the distance, hoarse, unwilling, faintly floating around the stadium. Nishi could have imagined that there were also those silent fans with heavy steps wandering in the night.

A lotus car quietly drove over, and with a slight kill, it stopped beside the second.

Skillfully open the car door and throw your pack into it before bending down to sit in.

McLaren gave a thumbs up and said, "Brother, you are out of school, your theory is right!" Where we're going to eat in the evening, you decide. ”

The second mood instantly improved, looked at McLaren, and said, "I see that you like chicken butts, it's still the Seven Flavors Hotel!" ”

"Wow, this week's salary has not been paid again, and there is no money for refueling the car."

McLaren's eyes widened when he saw the second, and he couldn't help but ask, "Shouldn't it?" How many weeks did you get paid? ”

The second took the money once, thinking that the salary was monthly, and replied: "No, I still got it last month." ”

"That's right, I say? How is it possible to only pay your salary and not pay us? Oxford United is really going to change bosses if it goes on like this. ”

"Tell me what's going on." The second was very gossipy and asked.

"You don't know? What about the Oxford United club owners looking for someone to take over Oxford United? ”

"Why? Now Oxford United can't sell it at a price, so when you invest some money, buy a few better players, and sell them after you are promoted to the Premier League, won't you make a lot of money? ”

"Alas, how can there be such a good thing, and I will talk to you when I will eat, what about driving? Bother! ”

After speaking, McLaren was also a little depressed, and came to the Seven Flavors Restaurant in more than ten minutes.

Boss Sun enthusiastically took the second to a small box near the window, and went down to arrange it without asking the second what to order.

II drank boiled water, McLaren was still beer, listening to McLaren's explanation, II finally knew that Oxford United had reached a fork in the road, and darkness had fallen.

In fact, 1992 was really a great year in the history of English football, and it was a year worthy of being remembered and written about for future generations.

The establishment of the Premier League has opened a channel of interests for clubs in England, which is paved with gold, which is glittering.

This is something that everyone can see, and a fish pond can really be turned into a floating resort. However, not every fish pond can be turned into a floating resort. Now, some fish ponds are impossible to raise fish with peace of mind, and some people are cutting off the water source of the fish pond, and if you don't become a water resort model, you really can't survive.

Oxford United is one such football club.

The English Biomass Recycling Company took over Oxford United at a low price with great interest, thinking that pie in the sky had taken advantage of it. After taking over, going deeper, after a year of operation, the English biomass recycling company was sad. They found that the football club was simply not something they could run well, and if they were not careful, they would lose all their money.

Oxford United had its own stadium, 99 years old, a lot of die-hard fans, there was only one professional club in the Oxford area, and the team was also in the middle of League One, like a shining pearl. The English Biomass Recycling Company spent £5 million in cash to take over the rights and obligations of Oxford United, only to find that everything had changed six months later, when the new season began, and the pearls had turned into rat droppings.

The first is that Oxford United's sponsors have withdrawn, and there is no one left. It turns out that the sponsors signed by Oxford United are basically companies owned by the Maxwell family, which are friendship sponsorships or financial accounts. At that time, the contracts were signed once a year.

The reason why these sponsors signed with Oxford United Club was because they were all part of the Maxwell family group, and they were all family. A contract is a tax-payable contract, signed once a year, the purpose of which is to change the contract amount according to the actual situation and facilitate financial management.

Now, the elder Maxwell passed away unexpectedly, the family economic group collapsed financially, in order to cope with the financial crisis of the Maxwell family group, those sponsors of the Oxford United club team, the companies owned by the Maxwell family, themselves are overwhelmed, how can they have spare money to sponsor the Oxford United club.

The Oxford United club has also been transferred to the English Biomass Recycling Company, and the favor account should not be returned. When the one-year sponsorship contract expired, they all withdrew, and there was no one left. Let the English biomass recycling company say that it is unwilling to sponsor Oxford United club.

Oxford United Club is not a Premier League club, the results are not dead, there is no hype hotspot, the advertising effect is poor, the capital is not proportional to the income, who is willing to give money to Oxford United Club. Sponsors are doing their money for charity, and they can also get a good reputation, and the advertising effect is better than sponsoring Oxford. Unlike the original, those sponsors under the same banner, sponsoring Oxford United can also cope with tax inspections and avoid taxes reasonably.

The English Biomass Recycling Company was caught off guard by the collective withdrawal of this group of sponsors, and how many more were expected to stay? After all, Oxford United is also a League One club, but the reality is so cruel. The Oxford United Club is a plastic flower, which looks so showy, but in fact it can't attract bees and butterflies at all.

After the withdrawal of these sponsors, the new sponsors are not so easy to attract investment. At the beginning of the new season, a large part of the Oxford United club's operating income is gone, and now the club's staff salaries have to be paid from their own pockets, which does not cost the English biomass recycling company to die?

The English biomass recycling company began to attract investment for the Oxford United team, and after more than half a year, there was only one local transport company sponsor of Oxford United, which was still the advertising space of the stadium.

It is so difficult for Oxford United Club to attract investment, and the problem lies with Oxford United itself. The English biomass recovery company is reluctant to invest in revamping the team and making the Oxford United team self-reliant. Oxford United is not a factory, and it does not create value in itself.

The value of a football club's commercial sponsorship is directly and inextricably linked to the team's performance and players. The better the football club and the more football stars the team has, the higher the commercial sponsorship value of the club. There is only such a club that does not need to attract investment, not only that, but the club is also picky, but the companies that are willing to sponsor are still flocking to it.

Profit is everything, because the sponsor of the team is a business, not a philanthropist.

The owner of the Oxford United club, the English biomass recycling company, did not dare to invest money in the construction of the club. After joining Oxford United, not only do you not buy people but also sell people, can the results of the Oxford United team still be guaranteed?

A company is willing to pay to sponsor a football club just for the exposure of the football team. The team's results are good, and everyone is sought after, so as to promote the reputation of the enterprise.

But the current Oxford United is really hopeless, and it will be relegated if it is not good.

In such a situation, what company would dare to sponsor Oxford United? Do you want to give you money and wait for Oxford United to be relegated and ruin your company's reputation?

Isn't that hilarious? Unless the managers of these companies are fools, that's pretty much it.

This is the so-called no diamond, no porcelain work. Can a single commercial sponsorship make it so difficult for the UK biomass recycling company?

The English biomass recycling company struggled to sell Oxford United clubs, and it wasn't just about the team's sponsors!

If it's just a sponsorship issue, the English biomass recycling company is not very difficult, and it is a big deal to invest another one or two million pounds, buy a few players, show the ambition of the club, and fish slowly, after all, football clubs are scarce resources.

The problem now is that the house leak is raining, and the English biomass recycling company is reluctant to invest money in the club, but the reality requires them to pay for it, or a large amount of money.

Just three years after the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy, the British government issued the "Taylor Report" in order to ensure the safety of fans. The government mandated that football clubs must renovate their stadiums, abolish all standing spaces, convert all seats into seats, allow adequate safe evacuation routes, and increase security on match days. This is a mandatory document, which stipulates a time limit, and the first and second league teams are the first to implement it.

Oxford United now need to complete mandatory improvements to stadium safety by the end of 1994, as required by the Home Office's Taylor Report. Oxford United's current manor stadium is just a small stadium that can accommodate more than 26,700 people, and this is still the number of people on the platform.

This is a matter of cutting off children and grandchildren. If Oxford United rebuilds the stadium as required, the stadium can only accommodate 10,000 people, and the matchday income will drop sharply, then Oxford United will not survive in League One at all.

A big stadium is the foundation of a big football club. But if the English biomass recycling company wants to build a new stadium, it will not be able to deal with millions of dollars, and the investment risk is too great.

The Biomass Recycling Company in England is a business, not a charity, but a profit-making company. Buying land, building stadiums, bringing in players, which don't need money. Suppose the English biomass recycling company invests a huge amount of money but does not promote the Super League, it is really a chicken and egg fight. Their money is not a big drain, there is not enough profit, and no company is willing to take this risk.

So, it's a joke that Oxford United Football Club is going to be self-sufficient now. The embarrassment faced by Oxford United, if there is no real ambition and planning, and if it does not invest huge sums of money in transformation, then the future of Oxford United is really bleak.

The second and McLaren chatted and chatted, and felt that the food was not tasty, so they simply left.