Park Life

Choking on the salesman's gristle more like.

That's worse than I remembered it. What a Hyacinth. Reeks of delusions of grandeur and gaydonia tibh. Must say Stephen Fry has a lot of catching up to do.

Us parents got a form from the perents eve last night and it's to do allowing 1hr religious edu a week.

Not sure if Stevie is fully aware of this avenue.

For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a "harmony of interests." America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom's vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa'ud family. But the rot at the core of our "friendship" with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens. In Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa'ud's culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those... The real core of the danger and the flood of money is Wahabi Islam based in Saudi Arabia. But the U.S. barely mentions it, never mind acting on it. Strange.

Bet you were all in favour of the bank bailouts.

It's all very well droning on about how much you 'abhor the extremists with every fibre of your body', but by your own admission you feel it would be preferable to give them free reign over Afghanistan than to intervene for any reason. Your description of Islamic terrorists as 'a few nutjobs' is inaccurate and misleading. Yes, a minute proportion of the Muslim population worldwide in terms of numbers, but nevertheless an organised cult that has had success in committing horrific crimes in the West and the Middle East alike, and if it were within their means they would kill 3 million and not the 3000 we remembered recently on 9/11. If their strength were to increase - and if the policies (or lack thereof) you have advocated were to be implemented it surely would - they would use everything within their means to kill as many of us as possible, a fact that you seem ignorant of. You appear to care deeply about the Afghan civilians killed in the conflict against the Taliban/Al Quaeda but less so of those many thousands who were tortured and murdered at their hands. It is ironic that you talk of balance whilst selectively quoting from articles. If anything you appear to have binary vision, as do some of those you're arguing against. Wether we like it or not Islam isn't going to lie down in the face of playstation capitalism that is messing with it all over the planet. There is fear on both sides of this and a lot of innocents caught up in the middle. In the history of the world a system has never beaten a religion and it ain't gonne happen any time soon. The only real alternative is dialogue, but extreme psotions seem entrenched.

Daydreamers.

He could write the whole lot off.

Photoshopped.

Our debt to our owner ... Not sure why people are discussing other clubs being run badly. While there are loads of businesses that manage their debt, it's a very bad practise, especially when it costs millions to service. Yeah it's a tax trick. Also makes the club more saleable ie there aren't any future interest paymetns accumulating to a third party. He's doing this bit the right way for himself and the club.

I started at a Jesuit school run by Catholics from Italy, everything else is a teaparty compared to that.

Both are cunts backed by cunts anyway.

Our debt to MA is 111m, it would have been 30m less if he hadn't got us relegated.

PL DEBT ACCOUNTS FOR 56% of ALL EUROPEAN FOOTBALL DEBT!!! The figures are contained in a new Uefa report into the state of football's finances, and shows the total debt of the Premier League clubs as being €3.8 billion (£3.4b), 56 per cent of the total across Europe. Premier League clubs' assets are €4.3b (£3.8b), accounting for a 48 per cent share of the assets among all European clubs. What is worrying for English clubs however is that the total value of the debt is so close to the value of the assets. In Spain, which has the next highest debt of £858m, the assets are worth £2.5b, three times the value of the debts. In Italy, the debt is £442m and the assets worth £1.3b. Uefa's report, the European Club Footballing Landscape, has looked at the 2007-08 accounts from all 732 clubs licensed by football's European governing body. The 80-page document's analysis of the Premier League reports that many clubs have used their stadiums and grounds as collateral to borrow money. The report accepts much of the debt is linked to the leveraged takeovers by the Glazer family at Manchester United and the Hicks/Gillett buy-out of Liverpool. "Some of the long-term debt is linked to new stadia such as Arsenal's, and in other cases already-built assets provide security for commercial lenders," says the report, adding that the leveraged buy-outs have been "so far acting principally as a burden rather than to support investment or spending". The report did not include the debts of Portsmouth and West Ham because they had not been granted Uefa licences that year due to their financial problems. The report comes after it was revealed that Manchester United's £716m debt is greater than the entire cumulative sum owed by all 36 clubs in the top two divisions in Germany. The German Football League (DFL) clubs' debts total £544m. Uefa president Michel Platini is pushing for a system where clubs in the Champions League and Europa League will only be allowed to spend what they earn. Platini said recently: "The Financial Fair Play concept is very important for the well-being of clubs. "We believe that for clubs to survive they can't spend more than they earn and the executive committee has agreed to introduce regulations to reach this aim."

Manchester United Turnover: £278.5m Operating profit: £91.3m Net debt: £716.6m Interest payment: £68.5m Manchester United's Byzantine finances are essentially a tale of massive profits and massive interest payments. The club's 08-09 accounts showed that the Red Devils paid £42m of interest on their £500m of bank loans. And the interest charge on the "payment-in-kind" loan, secured on the controlling shares in the club of the Glazer family, was £26m. But the PIK loan "rolls up" the interest, so the value of that debt rose to £202m in the year. Last month the Glazer family issued a £500m bond with an interest rate of 9 per cent and maturity date of 2017. The proceeds will be used to pay off the existing bank loans. The bond prospectus also makes provision for up to £70m to be taken out of the club "for general purposes, including repaying existing indebtedness". This is assumed to mean paying off some of the Glazers' PIK debt, on which the interest rate will rise to 16.5 per cent this August. The full PIK debt is repayable in 2017. The recent bond prospectus also revealed that the Glazers lost the club £35m attempting to hedge against a rise in interest rates. Arsenal Turnover: £312.3m Operating profit: £58.8m Net debt: £297.0m Interest payment: £16.6m A pocket of financial sanity. The club's 08-09 accounts show the outstanding value of the bonds issued to finance the building of the Emirates stadium at £244.9m. But this is repayable over a 20 to 22-year term at a fixed interest rate of 5.3 per cent. The club is also paying off some of the principal sum of the bond each year (£5.3m in 08-09), which means that Arsenal, managed by Arsène Wenger, will not be saddled with debt indefinitely. The bank loan taken out by the club with Barclays to finance the Highbury Square apartment complex, on the site of Arsenal's former ground, stood at £137m, with a repayment date of December 2010 and an interest rate of 2-2.5 per cent above the London inter-bank lending rate (Libor). Since then, however, the club has reduced the property bank loan to £47.1m, financed by selling apartments at Highbury Square for a discount. The main financial risk for the club would be a failure to fill the Emirates. Liverpool Turnover: £164.2m Operating profit: £24.9m Net debt: £261.7m Interest payment: £36.5m The clearest possible example of the madness of a leveraged buyout in football. Liverpool's relatively healthy operating profits in 07-08 were wiped out by interest payments on their borrowings from the Royal Bank of Scotland and the US bank Wachovia. Since Liverpool refinanced in the summer, the new managing director of the club, Christian Purslow, has claimed that the club's debt has come down to £237m. West Ham Turnover: £71.6m Operating profit: –£32.8m Net debt: £114.9m Interest payment: £3.0m As the new co-owner David Gold puts it: "a car crash". West Ham's 07-08 accounts showed that they owed £114.9m, more than its annual turnover. The accounts also showed the club had breached covenants on a £35m bank loan. The new repayment date for that loan, from a syndicate of five banks, is August 2011. This is, no doubt, the reason why the Hammers' new owners are urgently seeking to raise £40m from new investors. Fulham Turnover: £53.7m Operating profit: –£2.1m Net debt: £164.0m Interest payment: £1.0m The colossal size of Fulham's net borrowing reflects the debt it owes to Mohamed al-Fayed. The 07-08 accounts show that the club owes the Harrods owner £159m. However, this is said to be unsecured, interest-free and with no fixed repayment timetable. The club also has a £4.5m bank loan from NatWest, secured on Fulham's future broadcasting income and repayable within a year, on which it paid interest of 7.11 per cent. Aston Villa Turnover: £75.6m Operating profit: –£13.1m Net debt: £72.3m Interest payment: £5.7m Aston Villa's 07-08 accounts show the club has a £13m bank loan secured on the club's assets. £2.5m of this is repayable in three instalments each year until 2012. It also has a £10m overdraft. But Villa's biggest debt is to their American owner, Randy Lerner, who has lent the club £49.5m. These loans are repayable in full in December 2016. Villa paid £4.1m in interest in the year on Lerner's loan, on top of £1.37m to service the bank loan. Sunderland Turnover: £63.5m Operating profit: –£2.4m Net debt: £48.8m Interest payment: £0.7m Another club that survives by the grace of wealthy benefactors. The club's 07-08 accounts show that the Black Cats owed £35.2m to their immediate parent company. This was unsecured, interest-free and with no repayment date. The club also had a £13.6m bank overdraft, guaranteed by the owners. Ellis Short, the American businessman who took full control of the club last May, has given conflicting signals over how much he is willing to spend in order to push Sunderland up the table. The latest word is that he wants to reduce the wage bill. Bolton Wanderers Turnover: £52.3m Operating profit: –£5.3m Net debt: £58.4m Interest payment: £3.9m Not a healthy picture. Bolton rely on the backing of their owner Edwin Davies. The latest accounts show that the club owes its parent company £55.9m. Moreover, this borrowing does not come for free: £23m is repayable on demand and has an interest rate of 10 per cent. A further £11.5m is secured on future TV money. The threat of relegation is real – as is the prospect of a financial crunch. Hull City Turnover: £11.2m Operating profit: –£9.2m Net debt: £17.1m Interest payment: £0.4m An accident waiting to happen. The note from the accountants in the club's 07-08 accounts says that if the Tigers are relegated they will need to generate a financial surplus of £23m to avoid meltdown this financial year. And even if Hull survive in the Premier League, they will need to generate a £16m surplus. The accounts also show a £22m bank loan, with £12m repayable within a year. Wigan Athletic Turnover: £46.3m Operating profit: –£17.0m Net debt: £54.0m Interest payment: £1.5m The club's latest accounts make it plain that all that stands between Wigan and oblivion is Dave Whelan. The owner has put £39m into the club in the form of an unsecured, interest-free loan with no fixed repayment date. The club also has an overdraft and bank loan from Barclays of £18.7m, repayable on demand, on which Wigan paid £1.5m in interest in 08-09. The club ran at an operating loss of £17m in that year and the accounts note "further losses are anticipated in 2010 and 2011". Tottenham Hotspur Turnover: £113.0m Operating profit: £18.4m Net debt: £45.9m Interest payment: £8.0m Spurs have gone into debt to build a new training ground in Enfield. The club is paying an annual interest rate of 7.29 per cent on £30m of its borrowings. But it does not have to pay this back until 2024. A planned new 56,000-seat stadium should increase match-day revenues, although it remains to be seen how much the project itself will cost, or the terms of the financing. Stoke City Turnover: £11.2m Operating profit: –£7.8m Net debt: £2.3m Interest payment: £0.5m The Potters' 07-08 accounts showed negligible debt, but do make it clear how dependent the club is on its benefactor, Peter Coates, the owner of the bet365 online betting company. Revenue will have increased thanks to the Premier League TV money. But so will their outgoings. Last summer, the club spent £10m in luring Robert Huth and Tuncay Sanli to the Britannia Stadium. Everton Turnover: £79.7m Operating profit: £6.3m Net debt: £37.9m Interest payment: £4.1m Uncertainty reigns. £27m of the Toffees' borrowings – secured on future ticket sales – are spread over a relatively long period. But the 7.79 per cent interest rate meant that £4.1m of cash left the club in 08-09. The plan to increase match-day revenues by building a new 50,000-seat stadium in Kirkby was thrown into disarray last year when the Government rejected the proposal. Burnley Turnover: £11.2m Operating profit: –£8.9m Net debt: £11.9m Interest payment: £2.7m According to the 08-09 accounts, the Clarets' chairman, Barry Kilby, and seven other directors had the right to claim full repayment of their £6.97m loans out of the club's new Premier League revenues following last summer's promotion. The chairman is aiming for a profit this financial year to improve the club's balance sheet. Portsmouth Turnover: £70.5m Profit: –£17.0m Net debt: £57.7m Interest payment: £6.6m Portsmouth owed £28m to their former owner Alexandre Gaydamak, £18m to their owner, Balram Chainrai, and £5m to agents and other creditors. The club was also being pursued for £7.4m of unpaid taxes by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Administration means a nine-point deduction and just about certain relegation from the Premier League. Now the fight will begin by the club's creditors to get their money back. First in line will be those other clubs still owed money by Pompey. Wolves Turnover: £18.2m Operating profit: –£1.6m Net debt: £13.0m Interest payment: £0m Wolves spent heavily to win promotion in 2007 and the club's 07-08 accounts reflect that. The effort was financed by new owner, Steve Morgan, who is now owed £13m by the club, although this is interest-free. Morgan tried to buy Liverpool in 2004 and says he was prepared to put £70m of cash into the Merseyside club to do so. Looking at Wolves' zero interest bill for 07-08, many Liverpool fans will probably wish he had been successful. Chelsea Turnover: £190.0m Operating profit: –£11.4m Net debt: £511.6m Interest payment: £0.7m Chelsea's 07-08 accounts show the club falling short of its goal of financial sufficiency. The accounts also showed a debt of £488m to its owner, Roman Abramovich. But last December the club released a statement revealing that this had been converted to equity, leaving the club "virtually debt-free". Those same results also featured an exceptional payment of £12.6m to Luiz Felipe Scolari and three coaching staff following the Brazilian's sacking as manager last season. Birmingham City Turnover: £49.8m Operating profit: £13.7m Net debt: £12.0m Interest payment: £0.26m Hope, perhaps, for Hammers fans. Birmingham City's 07-08 accounts reflect the golden legacy of David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady. The accounts are evidence that a middle-ranking club without a ridiculously wealthy sugar daddy can run its finances in a sensible manner. The club's main debt was a £14.7m loan from its parent company, but this appears to be interest-free. Birmingham's new owner, Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung, has a solid base on which to build. Blackburn Rovers Turnover: £50.9m Operating profit: –£6.8m Net debt: £20.3m Interest payment: £0.8m Precarious. The latest accounts show bank debt, secured on the club's assets, projected to increase to £20m. This loan is repayable by May 2012. The estate of the club's late benefactor, Jack Walker, has lent some £6m interest-free. But there does not appear to be an open-ended commitment to fund the club's losses. As the chairman, John Williams, warns in the accounts: "Without external funding we are inevitably moving from a trading club to a net selling club". Manchester City Turnover: £87.0m Operating profit: –£34.2m Net debt: £194.4m Interest payment: £14.4m The normal rules of business do not apply to Manchester City. The latest accounts show a company with a turnover of £87m running at an operating loss of £34m and with an accumulated debt to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi of £194m. Since then, the club has spent £117m on players, including Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez. But last month Sheikh Mansour converted Manchester City's entire £305m debt to him into equity.

What fucking money are we earning? we're losing money hand over fist, we're in 3 times as much as debt as we were in those days of "unsustainable debt" as you like to put it. Thank you, no greater an endorsement could have been given. The 90s, the decade when we were one of the worlds richest clubs. 7th.

Its a no win arguement. with £60M you could easily build a top 6 side. Good manager and very good selective purchases. Every good player doesnt need to be £15M+ However, with £60M spend you could just as easy get relegated with a struggling manager and poor purchases. That's why the PL is so interesting the fine line between top 4/6 and struggling for survival is always moving. The voodoo of getting everything in the right place at the right time is a very delicate chemistry. Fulham had almost everything right, but they are still 200m in DEBT. Even Spurs who everyone crows on about as a well run club are carrying debt of 50m.

Everyone's getting into debt and running at a loss so it's all right? What fantastic logic. What are you laughing at you stupid cunt? Most PL clubs carry massive debt due to the nature of the business model they've all been using and escalating player wages and skyrocketing transfer costs. This upward spiral has occurred cause there is a huge demand and short supply for quality players exacerbated by cut throat competition and PL survival and dispropotionate rewards for the top 4 in the league. Nothing to do with logic, they are just the FACTS. MA wouldn't have bought the club if he had taken a proper look at the outgoing commitments of the venture (debt/intererst/old player transfer costs ongoing). He's been trying to get rid of it the day he reaslised it's burning through money. The old board used THE SAME MODEL as all the clubs we were competing against and also made some huge mistakes, but they really didn't do anything much different to all the other clubs who are carrying debt.

mea Quite scary as well. I really liked it, but now prefer Mullholland Drive which is a real puzzle and melange of themes and kooky in just enough measure. Well, that and Naomi Watts furiously masturbating. It;s a real shame Lynch has trouble getting decent funding these days.

Whale spunk.

Fancy Shalke might do some damage to OL if you want to take a ride on the wild side.

mea Quite scary as well. I really liked it, but now prefer Mullholland Drive which is a real puzzle and melange of themes and kooky in just enough measure.

All PL clubs are in debt bar one - Stoke, last time I looked. It's the nature of the beast, the PL is highly competitive, expenseive but also with high rewards. Average debt at PL clubs runs between 30-50m with the top end perilously high. It is very difficult to remain competitive/not get relegated and with the other hand not spend money on players either, it is more or less impossible. So far as to say, running PL clubs on profit is practically unheard of bar one or two clubs who have been run mind numnbinlgy well for half a dozen years or more. Still MA would have known all that IF HE HAD DONE DUE DILLIGANCE before he took over and had studied the football business model for even ONE DAY.