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Oyston: We Are The Benchmark

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For years when we were climbing up through the leagues, several clubs were presented to us as great examples of the way that our own club should be run. Plymouth. Colchester. Etc.

However, now that the ‘Pool have eclipsed all of those by reaching the Premier League, chairman Karl Oyston is saying that the Seasiders are the club that others should be modelling themselves on… and no, he doesn’t mean that every club should have a Gene Kelly!

Speaking to the Blackpool Gazette, Oyston said:

‘I’m not in the business of proving people wrong, even if that is what has happened.

‘I certainly hope other clubs see this model and run their businesses the same way because it shows everything is possible if you do things right.

‘There are a lot of things we do that are different to other football clubs in contracts and the way we approach things – paying our players less in the summer being one of them.

‘But it has been the bedrock for our rise from League Two nine years ago to the Premier League today.

‘We’ve done that and developed the ground along the way without risking the future of the club, and I think the sooner a lot of people in football wake up to the fact that it is a way to make progress, the better.

‘The model a lot of football clubs have is just not sustainable. You can’t carry debt and risk the club.

‘Clubs aren’t ours to risk and it amazes me that people are so cavalier with them.’

As much as people dislike the Oystons, credit must be given to them for ensuring that the club didn’t hit the financial wall like so many others.

However, there is little doubt that we would not be preparing for a season in the top flight if it were not for the investment from our Latvian president Valery Belokon.

Despite that, our wage bill still only totals £4.8 million per year (or did prior to promotion) – smaller than some League One clubs! And if one stat proves that it’s not how much you have to spend but how you spend it, then it’s that.

I just hope that we don’t go the way of the other examples we’ve modelled ourselves on in recent years… thankfully, with £90 million in our back pockets we should be well set for a bright future.

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2 comments

  • sebanelli says:

    You lucky, LUCKY people! All the best from a fan of the ‘model’ club that got left behind. Chris (in Plymouth).

  • Paul Hu says:

    There’s no doubt that fortune has smiled on Blackpool (re. Olly and the chairman) but if the club has been doing certain things in certain ways for a considerable amount of time then it’s hard to deny that they would have also had a considerable impact.

    Well done… you gits.

    Paul, Plymouth.

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