[BalisPen]

We can't move from the Hawthorns it has been home for over 100 years. Expand yes but only after a few issues have been sorted
1 The M5 J1 Island with the A41 In theory the Ground is in a great location right next to the Motorway and on the busy A41 with the Midland Metro down the road and a frequent bus service outside but on Matchdays the M5 is our biggest issue how would this cope with say 30-35K crowds. Unless we ask Sandwell Council and Highways England as a matter of urgency to upgrade J1 but this would cause years of disruption alas J10 which still isn't really finished. You would make the Traffic even worse through Smethwick and Great Barr already.  We could try and ask NX for any spare Preferably Double Decker buses to park outside the Ground  after a match and provide a shuttle to West Brom Town centre. As the 74 is diverted away through Smethwick. We could also ask WMR or the Midland Metro to run Match day Trains or Trams. Train to either Smethwick alight for WCML or Birmingham and Stourbridge/Kidderminster/Worcester non pick up only so stopping but to let people off. Or a Tram from Wednesbury to Birmingham or The Hawthorns to Wednesbury and Birmingham. In theory Wednesbury being the last West Brom fan area anyone like me who lives in Darlaston or Bilston could get the next Tram or walk to the 79.
2) Because of these issues we can't fill our Ground even if we charged £100 Adult Season tickets because people might find getting to the ground is an issue
3) How would we expand you have the Brummie Road and houses to consider unless we tunnel Halfords Lane and part of the Brummie Road over the West Brom bound carriageway.
4) If we were to move where, West Brom doesn't have another Hawthorns peice of land anywhere and if it does it is probably embarked for housing.

The buses to the Albion are a joke.

Ever since a started going up to the Albion the 74 has run from Dudley to the Hawthorns,  but I had to recently had to catch it from West Brom Town centre to the Hawthorns and but just after Desi Junction it diverted and went to Smethwick leaving a lot of irate fans. I was told it happens every match day because of the traffic.

We are making it so difficult for fans not to attend games it is shocking.

I doubt there is the money nor desire to change the junction so i wouldn't be adverse to moving stadium if it helps us grow.

I doubt there are the funds

[BalisPen]

The Wm interview was very insightful.

He states he had already looked into creating relationships with developing world academies before he had thought of buying us.

It, hopefully, he will be going down the route of buying a cheap eu based
ed club which young players will go to as feeder club to get to us.

I think fake Albion have done that too.

It also sounded like he will taking a lot of what his other club Atlanta have done.

He needs to start off with that "state of the Art" training ground first, as SA stated he couldn't even have team meeting there as there wasn't a big enough room there, or maybe that was because of his ego and stomach.

You can see why he invested in us given that Brentford are now being valued at £400m.

[SedgleyAlbion]

The Wm interview was very insightful.

He states he had already looked into creating relationships with developing world academies before he had thought of buying us.

It, hopefully, he will be going down the route of buying a cheap eu based
ed club which young players will go to as feeder club to get to us.

I think fake Albion have done that too.

It also sounded like he will taking a lot of what his other club Atlanta have done.

He needs to start off with that "state of the Art" training ground first, as SA stated he couldn't even have team meeting there as there wasn't a big enough room there, or maybe that was because of his ego and stomach.

You can see why he invested in us given that Brentford are now being valued at £400m.

To be fair the training ground does need investment, but the meeting room comment was due to social distancing rules at the time.

[KnaveofAlbion]

It also sounded like he will taking a lot of what his other club Atlanta have done.

It's Bologna

[NJS]

I feel that moving from the Hawthorns would take some of the spirit from the club.
It's possible to extend the Halfords Road stand over Halfords lane by providing braced stanchions on the other side of the carriageway with traffic going underneath.  This is fancier engineering than the East Stand and would only be cost effective for a fairly large increase in capacity  - more than we can hope for in the near term.

The major problem is the poor rail and road services.  I used drive up from Hants and park near my grandfather's either in Old Hill (hardly any parking) or in Rowley Regis station but many of the trains out to Stourbridge don't stop there.  Surely WM trains could be persuaded to put stopping trains on on match days and evenings?

The same must go for all the other public transport services.

The real problem is when Sky moves a match then public transport can't react quick enough.

[alex1]

I feel that moving from the Hawthorns would take some of the spirit from the club.
It's possible to extend the Halfords Road stand over Halfords lane by providing braced stanchions on the other side of the carriageway with traffic going underneath.  This is fancier engineering than the East Stand and would only be cost effective for a fairly large increase in capacity  - more than we can hope for in the near term.

The major problem is the poor rail and road services.  I used drive up from Hants and park near my grandfather's either in Old Hill (hardly any parking) or in Rowley Regis station but many of the trains out to Stourbridge don't stop there.  Surely WM trains could be persuaded to put stopping trains on on match days and evenings?

The same must go for all the other public transport services.

The real problem is when Sky moves a match then public transport can't react quick enough.

I too would be against moving away from the Hawthorns as you woud lose a lot of the club's character and identity. It would probably end up in one of those identikit bowls where every stand looks the same. 
There is a problem with access on matchday, but that comes from being situated in the middle of a densely populated urban area. However, that's no different to where the majority of clubs in the top 2 divisions are located. They all face the same problems of access and matchday parking. 
Its something Sandwell will have to face up to. I think the only viable long-term solution is to radically upgrade the access by rail and bus, which ultimately means car drivers will have to make way. If it means car drivers having to park further away, then so be it, and I'm a car driver too. 

[BalisPen]

If the 74 doesn't even go past the Hawthorns that tells you everything.

It gives 2 fingers up to the a whole set of budget conscious supporters.

I emailed travel west midlands about this lack of service to their community and their reply was it was always like that  which is total bull as it definitely wasn't always like that.

In the past the bus waited in the queue like everyone else.

I am sure the buses to seal park aren't diverted via Africa.

If this is the kind of treatment we are going to get then sentiment goes out the window, and the fact is we are making it very difficult for fans to attend games, and that is clearly evident with the empty season ticket seats on week nights.

To be honest I don't know why ground development or moving is being discussed given where are  but expecting everybody else to suit I needs (Council etc, etc) is expecting too much.

I have brilliant memories at the Hawthorns and I love the place, but if it meant growing elsewhere in a corrugated steel "identi kit" ground I would take it everything of the day then just stagnating, as long as it makes economic sense and does not jeopardise the future of the club.

Maybe the mere threat of moving would motivate change, as moving kick off from 7.45pm to 8pm definitely isn't working..

[hardtobeat]

I feel that moving from the Hawthorns would take some of the spirit from the club.
It's possible to extend the Halfords Road stand over Halfords lane by providing braced stanchions on the other side of the carriageway with traffic going underneath.  This is fancier engineering than the East Stand and would only be cost effective for a fairly large increase in capacity  - more than we can hope for in the near term.

The major problem is the poor rail and road services.  I used drive up from Hants and park near my grandfather's either in Old Hill (hardly any parking) or in Rowley Regis station but many of the trains out to Stourbridge don't stop there.  Surely WM trains could be persuaded to put stopping trains on on match days and evenings?

The same must go for all the other public transport services.

The real problem is when Sky moves a match then public transport can't react quick enough.

Most trains on that route stop at Rowley Regis

[mr multivac]

I remember in the 60s/70s you used to come out the ground and the buses would be lined up by what is now wickes to take you into Birmingham , then were buses parked down at the top of Richmond road that went through heartwood and onto Harborne , then I think the were the Everton goldlliner? coach's that went to Worcester via northfield and droitwich and no doubt there were just as many options heading in towards West Bromwich it’s not as if the crowds were that big , one thing I do remember as well which doesn’t happen nowadays is as we walked up across the car park past the now long gone throstle club up towards the woodman pub , you could here the singing coming from the Birmingham road .

[Standaman]

I think one of the most telling comments from the WM interview was that he had learnt a lot on Joey Saputo's dime, a reference to his involvement with the consortium that bought Bologna and has run the club with some success for a decade.

There are parallels between the two clubs. Bologna are not one of the giants of Italian football but have a long history and should probably be a solid Serie A club, which they were for much of the post-war period. However they hit hard times in the 1980's even dropping into Serie C for a season before eventually regaining top flight status in 1987. Since they yo-yoed between Serie A & B and again C (that is a lot worse than being in League 1 in terms of relative standard of the leagues).

The takeover happened on their final relegation in 2014 and they were promoted that same season and have remained in Serie A since. Most seasons they have finished in the bottom half of the league but comfortably outside the relegation zone. Last year they finished 9th and currently sit 4th.

Bologna are a club on an upward trajectory. What might Patel have gleaned from his involvement?

Football clubs lose money and bucket loads of it. At the operating level Bologna like most Serie A clubs lose money and profit from player sales closes the gap somewhat but are ultimately dependent on owner finance for their continued well being.
 
Continuity is a surprising theme given the level of churn behind the scenes at most Italian clubs. In the decade since the takeover Bologna have had just 4 managers although this did include Saputo’s Rooney moment when he appointed Filippo Inzaghi (great player less good coach) to an ill fated and short spell in charge.

The role of Sporting Director has had just two incumbents Riccardo Bigon and Marco Di Vaio. The latter was promoted from within and was an ex-player. He had also played for Saputo’s MLS club Montreal.

Recruitment matters. I have often thought that Italian clubs exist largely to trade players in a bewildering merry go round and actually playing games of football is just a distraction. 

Bologna are no exception in terms of activity this year; they have been involved in over 60 transactions in and out of the club, with a net spend of over 30m Euro.

Digging into the details a little there are a few themes. They only spend significant fees on younger players and their current squad is one of the youngest in a league where prominent players often play well into their 30’s. Their recruitment is global from Argentina to Scotland. Many of their players are earning wages that are comparable to those paid in the Championship Jed Wallace for instance would be one of their better paid players.

If our new owner was to use Bologna as a template for running the club we could do a lot worse.

[bradleysrocket]

Bilkul Football WBA, LLC has today paid off a loan previously owed to West Bromwich Albion Group Limited by Wisdom Smart Corporation Limited.

The loan has been repaid in full, including interest.
Announced by the official page. Not sure of the significance if I’m honest.

[buzzingbaggie]

Great news puts money back into the club.

What was the value of this one, believe it £5million (ish).

My understanding is we now owe MSD in the region of £25/30m on terms re-negotiated to be repaid over time by Bikul Football.

£5 million ish owed to the club under review to understand where the liability lies (hopefully Peace as he's a UK resident and more likely to pay it back).

[overseas baggie]

Great news puts money back into the club.

What was the value of this one, believe it £5million (ish).

My understanding is we now owe MSD in the region of £25/30m on terms re-negotiated to be repaid over time by Bikul Football.

£5 million ish owed to the club under review to understand where the liability lies (hopefully Peace as he's a UK resident and more likely to pay it back).

Peace is not UK resident.  He’s resident in Jersey, New Zealand and Dubai I believe.

[buzzingbaggie]

Point taken.

Principle being, Peace more likely to repay than Lai.

[HampshireBaggie]

Confused as to whether Bilkul have paid off a Lai debt to the club, and so we have £5m in the coffers. Or if Bilkul has cleared off a debt that the club was liable for?

[wba_1996]

Confused as to whether Bilkul have paid off a Lai debt to the club, and so we have £5m in the coffers. Or if Bilkul has cleared off a debt that the club was liable for?

Bilkul have paid off the £5m loan that Lai took out from the club to prop up his other businesses.

Effectively £5m back into the club which will go down as profit under FFP.

[HampshireBaggie]

Bilkul have paid off the £5m loan that Lai took out from the club to prop up his other businesses.

Effectively £5m back into the club which will go down as profit under FFP.

Excellent stuff. Although I don’t expect it will find go as far as making a difference on the pitch at least it stabilises the finances a bit in terms of day to day expenditure and managing our MSD debt.

[VANDERLEI]

Excellent stuff. Although I don’t expect it will find go as far as making a difference on the pitch at least it stabilises the finances a bit in terms of day to day expenditure and managing our MSD debt.

It will eventually as it flexes down ffp pressure

[Standaman]

We are losing about £2m a month so £5m plus the interest is a drop in the ocean. However it will help with our FFP position because it was impaired in our earlier accounts it will show up as an extraordinary item in this years accounts (23/24).

The repayment marks an end of an era. The loan was probably the final straw for most fans with regard to the Lai ownership it has finally been repaid and we can start to move on.

[BalisPen]

So the recovery begins with paying off of the first loan.

Another sell out today, too.

Maybe, that stadium expansion/move will needed sooner than we think.

[baggiejohn]

Bilkul have paid off the £5m loan that Lai took out from the club to prop up his other businesses.

Effectively £5m back into the club which will go down as profit under FFP.

I'm sure the accountants will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the wisdom smart loan was taken from the cash assets of the club (a balance sheet sum).
For the last set of accounts, the auditors had written down the loan, (assuming it wouldn't be repaid) & therefore reduced the asset value of the football club/group.
By paying back the loan, Bilkil have restored the asset value to where it was before the loan was taken out by Lai, so not really a profit.

I believe FFP requirements focus on profit & loss, & mainly  a sustainable relationship between wages & income.

[overseas baggie]

I'm sure the accountants will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the wisdom smart loan was taken from the cash assets of the club (a balance sheet sum).
For the last set of accounts, the auditors had written down the loan, (assuming it wouldn't be repaid) & therefore reduced the asset value of the football club/group.
By paying back the loan, Bilkil have restored the asset value to where it was before the loan was taken out by Lai, so not really a profit.

I believe FFP requirements focus on profit & loss, & mainly  a sustainable relationship between wages & income.

The impairment of the loan in the accounts meant that it was a £5m negative adjustment. By it being repaid it means that impairement will be reversed in this year’s accounts, which means a £5m positive adjustment, cancelling out last year’s negative adjustment for FFP purposes.

[beechyboy90]

Pre season in Florida?

[ex coseley kid]

Pre season in Florida?

Ha, should be, shouldn't it?

[gazberg]

No wins yet with our new owner in attendance i think,  hopefully we break that streak on Monday