Ask Wolves

[JOSWolf]

Campbell too

HE PLAYED 2 MINUTES

Yep. Talented player but hardly a breakthrough playing 2 mins! The Sellars interview was one of the worst I have seen. A complete and utter load of unconvincing waffle, in my opinion. Little wonder it was only 11 minutes.

 

[Steampunk Rules OK]

Listening to Jeff in this interview it's not about " The Project " anymore it's about " The Brand "

That annoys me more than anything we’re not a bloody brand we’re a football club.

 

[Darvo]

It’s all a bit dull and uninspiring.

If things go tits up and we fall through the trap door, Fosun will struggle to get a penny of their investment back.

I really hope they haven’t taken their eye off the one and only ball that matters. This league can be very unforgiving.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

The Sellars comment about Cundle is still annoying me. What a complete and utter load of *******s he was spouting. Didnt want to buy another central midfield player despite having only 3 central midfield players, one who is 35 because they didnt want to stop Cundle coming through. Trouble is Sellars how many times did our head coach trust him to play after the window closed in January? Not many and even when Moutinho was looking jaded towards the end of the season and Neves wasnt fully fit. he still wasnt getting a kick. I like Cundle but the stuff that Sellars is spouting there is a complete and utter load of *******s in my opinion.

The Cundle reference in particular is where every Wolves fan should be in complete agreement. What an absolute load of *******s. Scott Sellars would gain far more respect by coming out and saying it was a mistake not to sign another CM rather than trying to masquerade it as anything else, let alone a positive. How many games did Cundle play in? 2 at most? This is rightfully what fans hate. Being spoken to like fools.

 

[sedgwolf1980]

Forget everything else, we have the most crucial rebuild in modern memory ahead of us and to execute we have no money and I man who genuinely believes having just 3 midfielders at a premier league club is acceptable as it allowed Kevin O’Connor, I mean Luke Cundle, a couple hours game time.

We are on the verge of everything that has been great these last 5 years being undone in just a few short weeks.

 

[wwfc9]

Anyone who’s a glass half empty person I’d suggest either only watch Russell Jones episode or if your ****ed off with what you have heard from Jeff shi go back and watch his and hang on his words instead !! Wolves should make this guy the only person outside of the manager who speaks to the media , his views are much more balanced and his speaking is much thought out , i actually think shi doesn’t understand how his dialect comes across and if you listen to this guy you will be much more optimistic about the future …

 

[Glow69]

Thought the interviews were fine. I can't get too worked up about them. Interesting listen. Let's see what the summer brings.

Beats the Hayward days!

 

[JOSWolf]

The Cundle reference in particular is where every Wolves fan should be in complete agreement. What an absolute load of *******s. Scott Sellars would gain far more respect by coming out and saying it was a mistake not to sign another CM rather than trying to masquerade it as anything else, let alone a positive. How many games did Cundle play in? 2 at most? This is rightfully what fans hate. Being spoken to like fools.

Exactly!

 

[VancouverWolf]

My take was that he isn’t going to pander to bunches of keyboard warriors on social media who don’t like anything Fosun do and criticise everything. Wolves and Shi have tried on multiple occasions to explain what they are doing but it’s too difficult for some to comprehend or it means change which people don’t like as they’d prefer to remain mid table in the Championship, telling anyone who asks that we were great in the 50s.

Wolves were never going to compete if they just focused on the 30,000 regular fans and the 170,000 fans locally. Compare that to the big 6 and a number of others and just focusing on local supporters means that we’d get absolutely no where. We have to grow our revenue and part of that is raising our profile and selling to people beyond Wolverhampton. That’s what Jeff is talking about. Similarly, people say we won’t invest, what he says is that we can only invest so much because of FFP, here and in Europe. To raise the ceiling we need to increase our revenue and that is what they are doing. He also says he wants to be competing at the top but not occasionally but every season. To do that we need more revenue, we need to think long term not just next week. It’s why we won’t spend ££ms on 29/30 year old players with no resale value and pay them fortunes to do so. It’s not hard. We might not get a quick fix but we might get a sustained fix in a few years time without being £100sm in debt.

Great post.

 

[VancouverWolf]

I can't wait to buy my 120 quid wolves pro shirt this coming season, I'm also extremely happy I've renewed my 3 BW upper central tickets. I'm especially grateful that I now get to pay an extra 100 quid a ticket for the privilege of sitting more centrally. Thank you Jeff for the opportunity to increase our revenue so we can afford to challenge the big 6 in 20 years.
I can't wait to not see Neves in old gold next season, I'm glad we are selling him to become more self sufficient and increase revenue.
I'm happy that Guo has made a great profit making us an established PL team. Long may it continue. I'm so grateful.

What great profit?
Would they even make a profit if they sold …….I mean a decent return after 6 years?
I doubt it.

 

[Jayjaywolves]

What great profit?
Would they even make a profit if they sold …….I mean a decent return after 6 years?
I doubt it.

They would most certainly make a profit.

 

[Shergar]

Vinny has come across quite well in his interview, Russell Jones also has the likable gift of the gab backed up by knowledgable facts.

Jeff and Sellars…. well… they wouldn’t be able to give a straight answer if they attended a party during lockdown.

 

[Wednesbury Wolf]

We put the organisation as corporate first.”

Who would have thought we would hear the bloke who is supposed to be running the club say that, absolutely unbelievable.

 

[TibbertonWolf]

So basically Jeff is saying Fosun is an investment company treating Wolves as an investment isn't he? Presumably for that investment to show a positive return it has to stay in the PL as a minimum.

On balance, I probably would take that rather than the "almost" days of the Championship.

I reserve the right to change my mind and have a meltdown at the end of the transfer window.

From what I have watched so far, I do think these individual interviews were better than sitting around a table with everyone bar Jeff looking too intimidated to say anything. I wonder if he was out of shot typing into the teleprompter.

 

[Sirstancullis]

So Barry wants stadium extended, more spending on the playing squad and cheaper tickets for his whole family.

Does Barry ask his boss for a pay rise to work less days a week?

Barry never mentioned any of those things to be fair, just stated that things are more expensive now and the football side of things isn't as good as what it was just a few seasons ago and we seem to be going backwards. Barrys a nice guy and would never tell anyone what else to do with their money no matter how much or little they have. He's enjoyed the craic of football for the best part of 50 years, but recent circumstances have conspired against him and he feels like he's being priced out of football.

He's also retired after working for a welding firm for 50 years on minimum wage, picking up his state pension. So the recent increase to pensioners ticket prices has really hit him hard. His son also lost his job during the pandemic and is going through a messy divorce. He's not having the best of times to be fair. I like Barry it'll be a shame when I don't see him any more.

 

[SuperGran]

What great profit?
Would they even make a profit if they sold …….I mean a decent return after 6 years?
I doubt it.

They bought the club for 30m and put around 200m in net spend
So any thing over 320m would be profit

 

[VancouverWolf]

They would most certainly make a profit.

Maybe you’re right but I doubt it. Here’s why.
Newcastle sold for bout £350m so maybe Fosun might get that kinda money.
But add up all the money they have spent.
Between revenues and expenses, I doubt there’s much difference either way.

BTW….where’s this great profit you mentioned earlier?

 

[sc91]

Such a weird line of thought on only focusing on the further away fans, there are those who are further away that feel priced out by Fosun's current strategy (alongside the cost of living issue), what, do we no longer matter in the grand scheme of things?

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

I thought it was insane when he suggested we had loads of fans in Mexico last year, it even prompted Jonny Phillips to say something along the lines of 'but they're not really fans are they'.

He's doubled down today. It's crazy. They're mistaking followers for fans.

Unfortunately many of us have seen how this plays out. If/When we go down then there will be a lot of backtracking to try and make it alright with the legacy fans.

We will not go down under Fosun. Of that I am incredibly confident. If it ever appears that we may, there will be knee jerk investment

But Wolves is no longer really truly accessible for/aimed at legacy fans like us

So it doesn't really matter.

 

[GavW]

Vinny has come across quite well in his interview, Russell Jones also has the likable gift of the gab backed up by knowledgable facts.

Jeff and Sellars…. well… they wouldn’t be able to give a straight answer if they attended a party during lockdown.

Agree totally everyone came across well even Vinny other than Scott and especially Jeff.

As one of the 200,000 local fans it makes me feel like I've just been fleeced of my nearly £600 ST renewal. The chairman and the staff are more important than me I understand. The e-sports, American and Chinese fans? Really?

We need to look at American, Chinese and Asian players (Hwang) so that they have someone these fans can feel attached to. Just wow what happened to the best player at the best price.

Scott is a puppet as proven by his statement at the end saying he would ask for a large chunk of any sales to re-invest this should be a given ffs.

 

[Steampunk Rules OK]

Wtf is that about

Sarcasm maybe?

 

[Sussex Wolf]

What great profit?
Would they even make a profit if they sold …….I mean a decent return after 6 years?
I doubt it.

Wolves have previously valued the club at £350m when seeking new investors to take a share. I’d be surprised that if the club were sold, it would go for less than this now given our revenue and brand value . If so, that’s more than twice the capital Fosun has invested to buy the club, and improve the squad before we started to finance through Wolves own revenue. That’s better than a 15% per annum return over the 6 years they’ve owned the club. I’d say that’s a healthy return so far.

 

[Rhoswolf]

They bought the club for 30m and put around 200m in net spend
So any thing over 320m would be profit

Maths not your strong point?

Also where do you get the 200m net spend and purchase price from, surely the loan they converted to equity added to initial purchase price is nearer £150m?

 

[clivewolves]

The funniest question of the day for me was -

JP: We’ve had one question in from a supporter saying he’s read that Matt Hobbs is chief scout and Ben Wrigglesworth is chief of scouting, what’s the difference?

SS: Well, I think Matt’s in charge and Ben’s not. That keeps it simple.

 

[sc91]

We will not go down under Fosun. Of that I am incredibly confident. If it ever appears that we may, there will be knee jerk investment

But Wolves is no longer really truly accessible for/aimed at legacy fans like us

So it doesn't really matter.

It's a weird feeling, like meh, they don't really want me there so I guess we move on?

It's such a weird notion to focus abroad when the big 6 here make huge effort in securing support in the country still.

Wolves are just one of many decently supported clubs but to go straight to focusing on the armchair fans at the detriment of 'legacy' fans, just feels, meh.

More efforts should be spent on the homegrown fan because when times are lean, they will keep the lights on.

 

[hollo]

He won't be fed up with 'old fans' if we get relegated. We are the lifeblood of the club. Legacy fans?

 

[Rhoswolf]

It's a weird feeling, like meh, they don't really want me there so I guess we move on?

It's such a weird notion to focus abroad when the big 6 here make huge effort in securing support in the country still.

Wolves are just one of many decently supported clubs but to go straight to focusing on the armchair fans at the detriment of 'legacy' fans, just feels, meh.

More efforts should be spent on the homegrown fan because when times are lean, they will keep the lights on.

Tend to agree, just 2 years with Nuno as manager I really bought into the one pack ideal now I just feel like an unappreciative and non-valued legacy fan with a disconnect from the club I've spent a lifetime following.

 

[sc91]

Tend to agree, just 2 years with Nuno as manager I really bought into the one pack ideal now I just feel like an unappreciative and non-valued legacy fan with a disconnect from the club I've spent a lifetime following.

It's a weird notion where it is said truthfully that we've never had it so good, but damn, even in the lean Championship years it didn't feel this bleh about Wolves.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

I'm starting to wonder if the football is even relevant at all.

Listening to the Russell Jones one, he said there would be many people in China who wouldn't even know we had a football team, they just know us from eSports.

If that is as massive and important as people at the club are saying, with the brand etc. then what does it matter what division we're in?

We think it does because the Premier League has a global audience but if this eSports is bigger, and Wolves are one of the best, then the brand is established in that sector. Therefore, us being in the PL or the Championship is pretty irrelevant.

To me, it sounds like Fosun are running with this 'brand' and if the eSports is successful, the football is pointless.

 

[Jayjaywolves]

Maybe you’re right but I doubt it. Here’s why.
Newcastle sold for bout £350m so maybe Fosun might get that kinda money.
But add up all the money they have spent.
Between revenues and expenses, I doubt there’s much difference either way.

BTW….where’s this great profit you mentioned earlier?

They bought us for 45 million, they earned 195 million in revenue the first season we got promoted. PL prize money and other lucrative deals have paid dividends. If they were to sell, they would definitely make a healthy profit.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

They bought us for 45 million, they earned 195 million in revenue the first season we got promoted. PL prize money and other lucrative deals have paid dividends. If they were to sell, they would definitely make a healthy profit.

They haven't earned any of that money because they haven't taken a dividend, you are literally wrong.

They've put in about £170M so far, and haven't been able to find someone to buy a stake in us despite trying for the last 3 years

 

[VancouverWolf]

I'm starting to wonder if the football is even relevant at all.

Listening to the Russell Jones one, he said there would be many people in China who wouldn't even know we had a football team, they just know us from eSports.

If that is as massive and important as people at the club are saying, with the brand etc. then what does it matter what division we're in?

We think it does because the Premier League has a global audience but if this eSports is bigger, and Wolves are one of the best, then the brand is established in that sector. Therefore, us being in the PL or the Championship is pretty irrelevant.

To me, it sounds like Fosun are running with this 'brand' and if the eSports is successful, the football is pointless.

Good points.
I‘ve said this several times before but it goes over everybody’s head. We don’t know why Fosun bought Wolves.

I don’t think it was as an investment as the returns are pretty small. They could have taken their money and expertise and invested in something they’re familiar with and probably more reliable.

And whatever their motivations were at the time, have those changed?

Does anybody know if Guo still goes to any of the games?

 

[Wednesbury Wolf]

The worst thing about Fosun via Shi admitting the football isn't as important as esports is we've now been captured by this despicable bunch and we're stuck with them, how utterly depressing.

 

[Oliwolf44]

We will not go down under Fosun. Of that I am incredibly confident. If it ever appears that we may, there will be knee jerk investment

But Wolves is no longer really truly accessible for/aimed at legacy fans like us

So it doesn't really matter.

We are paying for the price of success figuratively and literally. If the peak is midtable prem and they go down the route of disneyfication etc then the success aint worth it. Just becomes a soulless corporation which is the way all of football is going unfortunately.

 

[VancouverWolf]

They bought us for 45 million, they earned 195 million in revenue the first season we got promoted. PL prize money and other lucrative deals have paid dividends. If they were to sell, they would definitely make a healthy profit.

Ok but there’s tons of expenses in running a club.
Anyway, without access to more info, I guess we’ll just have to leave it there.

 

[Rhoswolf]

Ok but there’s tons of expenses in running a club.
Anyway, without access to more info, I guess we’ll just have to leave it there.

Accounts including running cost publicly available every year and discussed in depth on here.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Accounts including running cost publicly available every year and discussed in depth on here.

And confirm no dividend ever taken nor consultancy fees charged

 

[Rhoswolf]

And confirm no dividend ever taken nor consultancy fees charged

Correct, nor the intangible value to the Group of the performance of the club in terms of corporate image.

 

[VancouverWolf]

The worst thing about Fosun through Shi admitting the football isn't as important as esports is we've now been captured by this despicable bunch and we're stuck with them, how utterly depressing.

I just hope we can go back to enjoying games like we did our first two season back up……..gawd, they were fun.
Couldn’t wait for the weekend and many times up to watch the 4am starts.

Last two seasons, if I’m totally honest, I watched the games with trepidation.

 

[Jayjaywolves]

They haven't earned any of that money because they haven't taken a dividend, you are literally wrong.

They've put in about £170M so far, and haven't been able to find someone to buy a stake in us despite trying for the last 3 years

I didn't know this!
I'll leave the finances of the club to people with more understanding on the situation.
So as it stands, If Fosun were to cash in, would they have a better chance of making a profit or taking a loss?
I appreciate the input, these things aren't always black and white.