[老闆] Aston Villa live the American dream …

看板AstonVilla作者awano (有泡泡)時間15年前 (2010/01/30 14:21)推噓4(4推 0噓 0→)

留言4則, 4人參與討論串2/2 (看更多)

(續前文) The twist, though, in this tale of benefaction is that the influx of cash has apparently come in loans from Lerner's US company, on which the club themselves are paying the interest. Yet, nonetheless, the money has brought all the benefits which United fans are protesting the Glazers' debts have drained from United: investment in the team, reasonable ticket prices, good relations with fans. Lerner has, too, demonstrated care for Villa's heritage, by funding the McGregor statue and refurbishing the historic Holte Hotel, and won friends by turning away sponsorship in favour of advertising Acorns Hospice across the Villa shirts. 這個轉折, 像慈善家的神話, 是來自從Lerner美國公司的租借。球隊付利息的方式-這些錢已經帶來所有的好處, 而這些好處正是曼聯球迷抗議Glazer從曼聯所榨乾的: 投資球隊, 合理的票價, 以及與球迷良好的關係。Lerner本身也展現出隊球隊傳統的關心,他贊助了McGregor的雕像以及重新翻修了歷史悠久的當地旅館Holte Hotel (見圖 http://0rz.tw/KT2mM ), 另外也婉拒贊助, 改以Acorns Hospice ( 一個非營利的兒童收容所 ) 的做為球衣的廣告, 廣結善緣。 "He is adored by most Villa fans," says Dave Woodhall, editor of the 20-year strong Heroes and Villains fanzine and a supporters trust board member. "The club has a very open, welcoming approach to the fans, a feeling that we're all in this together, whereas before there was massive mistrust." "他被絕多數的維拉球迷尊敬。" 暢銷二十年的<Heroes and Villain>主編, 同時也是維拉信託基金的會員的 Dave Woodhall這樣說。"這個球隊有著對球迷開放, 友好的方法, 讓球迷覺得球團是與球迷站在一起的; 而在過去, 則是被不信任。 A long-term fans campaigner, no sucker-up to the boardroom, Woodhall describes his season ticket, ￡340 for a good seat in the North Stand, as "ridiculously good value"; it is almost ￡200 less than the cheapest at Old Trafford. 身為一個長久的忠實球迷, 不因為身為主編就有特權, Woodhall描述著他的季票: 北邊看台一個"好位置", 一個球季只要340英鎊是"非常荒唐的好價"這個價錢, 比老特拉福"最便宜"的季票還要少了兩百元英鎊。 "As much as anyone can feel part of a modern Premier League club, I think fans do, at the Villa." "若要任一個人可以感受得到現代化的英超球會, 我相信在維拉的球迷是感受得到的。" Lerner has invested the money in nine steady stages since he put ￡25m into the club on 4 July 2007. A further ￡18m was paid in from Lerner's UK holding company, Reform Acquisitions, in 2007, then between October 2008 and August last year, the most recent, when ￡10m was invested, Lerner brought the fortune poured into Villa to that total, ￡138.6m. 自從在2007年六月將兩千五百萬英鎊放到球隊, Lerner已經投資了九次的金錢。2007年的一千八百萬英鎊是來自Lerner的英國公司 - Reform Acquisitions。以及在2008年十月到去年間, 包括最近的一千萬英鎊, 他總共花了一億三千八百六十萬英鎊。 It is a curious feature of the Premier League's "sugar daddy" era that the takeovers by billionaires have happened after the grounds were rebuilt, so there has been no major money required except for escalating players' wages. At Villa, clearly, the money has gone principally to furnishing O'Neill with the funds to sign what amounts to a new squad, and to subsidise those players' substantially increased earnings. 這是現在英超一個有趣的"給錢大爺" 也就是億萬富翁接手球隊的年代: 球員的薪水也越來越高。在維拉, 很顯然的錢都拿去資助馬丁奧尼爾簽球員組成新陣容, 以及補助在球員增加的薪水上。 "Randy Lerner has allowed Martin O'Neill great control," the former Villa manager, Graham Taylor, says. "All us managers become control freaks to some extent and Martin has that in him; he runs the football side. Lerner, of all the foreign buyers, seems to understand not to interfere; he lets his manager manage." "Randy Lerner給了馬丁奧尼爾很大的控制權。"曾是維拉教練的Graham Taylor說到: "我們教練都會變成掌控慾很強的人, 而馬丁也會。他運作足球方面的事務, 而Lerner 身為外來的買家, 看起來似乎懂得不要干涉, 他讓他的'管理者'去做'管理'的事。" In their most recent accounts, for the year to 31 May 2008, Villa posted a ￡ 7.3m loss, which would have been much worse had the club not recorded a ￡12m profit from selling players. The wage bill more than doubled in a year, to ￡ 50m, and the 2009 accounts, due to be published next month, will surely show more substantial losses, underpinned by Lerner's investment. 在前年五月到去年的財務報表中, 維拉有著七百三十萬英鎊的虧損, 而如果沒算到球團賣球員賣掉的一千兩百萬英鎊, 可能會更糟; 球員的薪水也倍漲到五千萬英鎊。而今年下個月會發表的帳務, 將會有更多的虧損算在Lerner的投資中。 That may be a formula which has Villa fans singing the name of their chairman in approval, but it still puts Villa the wrong side of Uefa's forthcoming insistence that clubs live within their means. Since Michel Platini, Uefa's president, first announced the "financial fair play initiative," which will come into force for clubs in European competitions from 2012-13, Uefa has emphasised that it does not only apply to clubs carrying large debts. 這或許會是維拉球迷為他們(過去的那位)主席一致喝采的行為, 但卻仍讓維拉會和歐足協進行中的行動相衝突。自從普拉丁丁第一次發表"財務公平運作提議", 會在2012-13問用在歐洲賽場, 歐足協強調這不只用在有欠一屁股債的球隊(指曼聯?)。 "It is to stop clubs making losses consistently, and having a backer to pay them off," a Uefa source says. "That way of funding clubs, from outside owners, inflates players' wages, and too often an owner finds he cannot fund the losses any more and the club is in crisis. Only the English Premier League clubs, and clubs in Italy, have this sugar daddy model, and it is not sustainable for football." "這是要阻止球會們持續不斷的虧損, 以及讓他們更好找到贊助者 ( 編按: 奇怪的邏輯 ...)"歐足協這樣聲明著, "這些從外面的所有人, 贊助球會的舉動, 膨脹了球員的薪資 (編按: 所以不是外來的老闆自己給很多就不會就是了?@@a), 而且常常老闆們會發現他們沒辦法補償損失, 球隊就處於危機中指有英超的球會和義大利的球隊有這種給錢大爺的形式, 而這是不被足球界所能接受的"。 Lerner has kept a deliberately low profile since becoming Villa's owner, allowing O'Neill and the players to do Villa's talking, and the club did not want to comment on their financial details or whether there is a plan for them to break even. It requires a close reading of Lerner's company structure to see how the investment is made, coming in loans, at least for the year to 31 May 2008, with Villa themselves paying off the interest. Lerner變成維拉老闆以後, 一直以還刻意的保持低姿態, 讓馬丁奧尼爾與球員們去為維拉發言, 而球會也不想要替他們的財務細節或是否有計畫打破虧損做評論, 這需要詳細的審查Lerner的公司才能了解這些被投注的投資, 以借貸的方式, 至少在到2008年五月那年, 是維拉隊自己去付這個利息的。 The money to Villa is routed from Reform Acquisitions, which borrows it from Lerner's holding company in Ohio. Interest is charged, at 2% above inter-bank lending rates, amounting to ￡4m in that accounting year. Next month's accounts will reveal more recent figures. The ￡4m came from Villa's income, which means that fans buying tickets, however reasonably priced, are paying the interest on Lerner's loans. 這些維拉從Reform Acquisitions拿到的錢, 是從Lerner在美國的公司借貸來的, 租借的利息稍微較同業利率高了2%, 達到4百萬英鎊。這四百萬英鎊來自球迷買的票, 雖然很合理的價格, 但卻是用來繳Lerner從美國公司借的錢。 His approach, then, is harder-nosed than the sporting indulgence most Villa fans believe it to be. Yet they are happy, while United fans are in uproar, because their American buyer has put substantial money in, and treated them with respect. Villa's is an enviable outcome compared to the money-sucking operation orchestrated on United, from the Glazers' home in Tampa Bay. 他的手法, 比很多維拉球迷相信的縱容放縱還要實際些, 但是他們很開心。當曼聯球迷們在怒吼的時候, 維拉的老闆丟了很多的錢進來, 而且用尊重的態度對待他們。維拉是令人稱羨的結果...如果拿來跟Glazer在坦帕灣所成立的吸金機構相比的話(完)。 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 128.248.223.136