gufct
22/01/2007, 10:35 AM
Galway's calculated gamble
Sunday January 21st 2007
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NICK LEESON has been known to gamble, and this year is no exception.
The Galway United general manager is gambling on a full-time professional set-up to ensure that the club's promotion to the eircom League Premier Division is not a one-season wonder - and his directors are hoping that he has got his sums right.
After all, this footballing figures man is no ordinary Joe. Galway's guru has a GUBU background that puts Luciano Moggi in the ha'penny place.
A check on his website discloses that, in 1995, his gambling instincts led to the collapse of Barings Bank (personal bank to the Queen of England no less) and had him sentenced to four years in a Singapore jail where creature comforts weren't on the menu.
His best-selling book on his experiences, Rogue Trader, was filmed by David Frost, with Ewan McGregor in the lead role. While the book helped to pay off Nick's massive (£1½m) legal fees, he didn't make a penny from the film.
In jail, Leeson developed cancer, and his wife left him. Any lesser mortal would have got the message - gambling doesn't pay - but not Nick. The only thing that has changed is the verbals. For gambling, he now resorts to the euphemism 'risk-taking'. Nice one, Nick.
The first time I met Nick was at Leopardstown just after Christmas when we were guests of Paddy Power. An enquiry as to his fortunes on the day received the self-deprecating response: "Not great, what would you expect with my record at gambling."
So, sitting opposite him in the Hotel Meyrick in Eyre Square and quizzing him about Galway's gamble, it was reassuring to note that the brow didn't furrow and leak, or the eyes glaze, and there were no sweaty palms either. Either this was all matter of fact to him, or else he had his poker face on.
Nick, meanwhile, responded by giving me some lessons in life. Apparently it comes naturally when you have been locked up for 23 hours every day for four years. Some things you never forget.
Other things don't mean a thing. Take, for instance, Christmas. When I suggested to Nick that he must have had a nice Christmas having heard the news that Galway had been awarded a Premier licence, his response took a philosophical tack.
"In prison in Singapore, you're fed boiled rice twice a day, and you have to rationalise everything quickly. You are served up fish with about 300 bones in it and you realise that you eat, not for enjoyment, but for survival, and that you can cope with anything. So even at Christmas you lower your expectations. A bit of fried rice and a piece of chicken was the special dinner in prison for Christmas.
"As a result I have found it fairly easy to adapt and to get on with people from all spheres. But, to my wife's disgust, I'm not big into birthdays and big occasions. I enjoy other people enjoying them, but to me it's just another day."
After that, though, it was all facts and figures when it came to Galway's ambitious budget - "doubled from when we were in the first division," as manager Tony Cousins explained.
"I prepare the budget for Galway United," said Nick, "and I can stand over 80 per cent of it, but the rest is a bit of a gamble. Over the year you have to qualify that risk, understand it, and if you don't you have problems."
Yes, but what about that 20 per cent?
"It's one of the most difficult things involved in sport, any sport - the 20 per cent risk is largely what we need to generate in revenue through the turnstiles. We probably have something approaching 18 or 19 per cent of our budget forecast based on that. That's quite high, so we certainly don't want a season like Bray or Waterford had last year."
He then paints a more hopeful picture: "Our first four or five home games will probably sell out, and the Dublin teams, Derry and Drogheda will bring a large number of fans, so we're not necessarily totally reliant on having success this year." Cousins is singing from the same hymn sheet: "We have to make sure that we take tentative steps, not go with a ridiculous budget that we can't afford. We need one that we can improve gradually and that's how I've sold it to the players.
"For me, staying out of the bottom three will be success this season. If you don't have good foundations your house will fall down and I want to build the club so that it can go forward and put a better team on the pitch as it grows."
Leeson then draws on his experience as an after-dinner speaker to illustrate the point. "In the financial world people ask me should there be more or less regulation and I always answer that it doesn't matter; what's important is that you get it right in your own company. Likewise in football, and that's what's happening in Galway. We'll have a tightly run, efficient ship that can sail through stormy waters.
"I don't have any sympathy for other clubs who buy success and run into trouble. I might like the people involved, but they're responsible for their own problems."
He then added a chilling note: "Sometimes a sinking ship should be allowed to sink."
Leeson believes that the licensing process means that the fittest will survive - the financially and structurally fit. "It's a fantastic opportunity to build a league that will prosper, but there are a number of clubs with problems. Everything in the Genesis report has been borne out, and remember, it suggested an eight-team league."
So far, the indications are good for Leeson's budget. Season ticket sales, which account for 15 per cent, are bang on target, with the fixture list expected to give them another push.
On March 2, Mario Rosenstock is the star attraction at the club's ball, with a target of €50,000 plus accounting for another five per cent.
And in a deal with sponsors Aer Arann, football packages will take 66 fans to see Sunderland play Southend on February 17 and meet Niall Quinn and Roy Keane, and on May 5 they will be heading to the Manchester derby.
Leeson, a Man City fan since he was five, secured the tickets for the latter fixture from his great friend, City's CEO Alex McIntosh.
Figures can be made to say anything, as Leeson knows from personal experience, but Galway have a safety net this season. "We have a group of ten directors who have agreed to sign a financial guarantee to underwrite any shortfall, but we hope that won't happen, and it's my job to see that it doesn't happen."
Inspiring them with confidence, no doubt, is the fact that Galway made a profit, albeit a small one, last season
Inspiring them with confidence, no doubt, is the fact that Galway made a profit, albeit a small one, last season.
A large part of this was due to the arrival of Cousins as manager half-way through the season. The former assistant at Shamrock Rovers and Drogheda United showed his leadership qualities by igniting a run that took 30 of the last 36 points on offer.
As a result, Galway's gates were the highest in the First Division, buoyed by two attendances in the 4,000 bracket against Rovers and Dundalk.
Procuring the Premier licence is not an end in itself, according to Leeson. "The requirements for the licence will change," he points out, "so it's a work in progress. At present we don't have the seating capacity we need at Terryland. A new stand is starting in a few weeks and will be ready in May or June.
"The fundamental problems in the league are that the stadiums are not good enough, and the marketing is not right yet. That football attracts less than one per cent of sports sponsorship in this country is an indication that we've got it wrong."
Looking to the future, Leeson has ambitious plans for Galway: "In eight to ten years, Galway United need to be playing in a state of the art stadium that is generating its own revenue. You can't run a business on an asset that only earns money one day out of every 14."
On the playing front, Galway are in year three of their five-year plan. So far they have met their targets, and in year five they want to bring European football back to Galway.
Leeson, who has made a complete recovery from cancer, has settled there now with his second wife Leona Tormey from Kells, his two step-children Kersty (12) and Alex (7) and their own child Mackensey (2½).
"Galway has all the advantages of a big city with none of the disadvantages," he says. "It's a feelgood city, and there are not too many of those."
Galway has been good for Nick Leeson - and he's busy repaying the debt.
Seán Ryan
Sunday January 21st 2007
ADVERTISEMENT
NICK LEESON has been known to gamble, and this year is no exception.
The Galway United general manager is gambling on a full-time professional set-up to ensure that the club's promotion to the eircom League Premier Division is not a one-season wonder - and his directors are hoping that he has got his sums right.
After all, this footballing figures man is no ordinary Joe. Galway's guru has a GUBU background that puts Luciano Moggi in the ha'penny place.
A check on his website discloses that, in 1995, his gambling instincts led to the collapse of Barings Bank (personal bank to the Queen of England no less) and had him sentenced to four years in a Singapore jail where creature comforts weren't on the menu.
His best-selling book on his experiences, Rogue Trader, was filmed by David Frost, with Ewan McGregor in the lead role. While the book helped to pay off Nick's massive (£1½m) legal fees, he didn't make a penny from the film.
In jail, Leeson developed cancer, and his wife left him. Any lesser mortal would have got the message - gambling doesn't pay - but not Nick. The only thing that has changed is the verbals. For gambling, he now resorts to the euphemism 'risk-taking'. Nice one, Nick.
The first time I met Nick was at Leopardstown just after Christmas when we were guests of Paddy Power. An enquiry as to his fortunes on the day received the self-deprecating response: "Not great, what would you expect with my record at gambling."
So, sitting opposite him in the Hotel Meyrick in Eyre Square and quizzing him about Galway's gamble, it was reassuring to note that the brow didn't furrow and leak, or the eyes glaze, and there were no sweaty palms either. Either this was all matter of fact to him, or else he had his poker face on.
Nick, meanwhile, responded by giving me some lessons in life. Apparently it comes naturally when you have been locked up for 23 hours every day for four years. Some things you never forget.
Other things don't mean a thing. Take, for instance, Christmas. When I suggested to Nick that he must have had a nice Christmas having heard the news that Galway had been awarded a Premier licence, his response took a philosophical tack.
"In prison in Singapore, you're fed boiled rice twice a day, and you have to rationalise everything quickly. You are served up fish with about 300 bones in it and you realise that you eat, not for enjoyment, but for survival, and that you can cope with anything. So even at Christmas you lower your expectations. A bit of fried rice and a piece of chicken was the special dinner in prison for Christmas.
"As a result I have found it fairly easy to adapt and to get on with people from all spheres. But, to my wife's disgust, I'm not big into birthdays and big occasions. I enjoy other people enjoying them, but to me it's just another day."
After that, though, it was all facts and figures when it came to Galway's ambitious budget - "doubled from when we were in the first division," as manager Tony Cousins explained.
"I prepare the budget for Galway United," said Nick, "and I can stand over 80 per cent of it, but the rest is a bit of a gamble. Over the year you have to qualify that risk, understand it, and if you don't you have problems."
Yes, but what about that 20 per cent?
"It's one of the most difficult things involved in sport, any sport - the 20 per cent risk is largely what we need to generate in revenue through the turnstiles. We probably have something approaching 18 or 19 per cent of our budget forecast based on that. That's quite high, so we certainly don't want a season like Bray or Waterford had last year."
He then paints a more hopeful picture: "Our first four or five home games will probably sell out, and the Dublin teams, Derry and Drogheda will bring a large number of fans, so we're not necessarily totally reliant on having success this year." Cousins is singing from the same hymn sheet: "We have to make sure that we take tentative steps, not go with a ridiculous budget that we can't afford. We need one that we can improve gradually and that's how I've sold it to the players.
"For me, staying out of the bottom three will be success this season. If you don't have good foundations your house will fall down and I want to build the club so that it can go forward and put a better team on the pitch as it grows."
Leeson then draws on his experience as an after-dinner speaker to illustrate the point. "In the financial world people ask me should there be more or less regulation and I always answer that it doesn't matter; what's important is that you get it right in your own company. Likewise in football, and that's what's happening in Galway. We'll have a tightly run, efficient ship that can sail through stormy waters.
"I don't have any sympathy for other clubs who buy success and run into trouble. I might like the people involved, but they're responsible for their own problems."
He then added a chilling note: "Sometimes a sinking ship should be allowed to sink."
Leeson believes that the licensing process means that the fittest will survive - the financially and structurally fit. "It's a fantastic opportunity to build a league that will prosper, but there are a number of clubs with problems. Everything in the Genesis report has been borne out, and remember, it suggested an eight-team league."
So far, the indications are good for Leeson's budget. Season ticket sales, which account for 15 per cent, are bang on target, with the fixture list expected to give them another push.
On March 2, Mario Rosenstock is the star attraction at the club's ball, with a target of €50,000 plus accounting for another five per cent.
And in a deal with sponsors Aer Arann, football packages will take 66 fans to see Sunderland play Southend on February 17 and meet Niall Quinn and Roy Keane, and on May 5 they will be heading to the Manchester derby.
Leeson, a Man City fan since he was five, secured the tickets for the latter fixture from his great friend, City's CEO Alex McIntosh.
Figures can be made to say anything, as Leeson knows from personal experience, but Galway have a safety net this season. "We have a group of ten directors who have agreed to sign a financial guarantee to underwrite any shortfall, but we hope that won't happen, and it's my job to see that it doesn't happen."
Inspiring them with confidence, no doubt, is the fact that Galway made a profit, albeit a small one, last season
Inspiring them with confidence, no doubt, is the fact that Galway made a profit, albeit a small one, last season.
A large part of this was due to the arrival of Cousins as manager half-way through the season. The former assistant at Shamrock Rovers and Drogheda United showed his leadership qualities by igniting a run that took 30 of the last 36 points on offer.
As a result, Galway's gates were the highest in the First Division, buoyed by two attendances in the 4,000 bracket against Rovers and Dundalk.
Procuring the Premier licence is not an end in itself, according to Leeson. "The requirements for the licence will change," he points out, "so it's a work in progress. At present we don't have the seating capacity we need at Terryland. A new stand is starting in a few weeks and will be ready in May or June.
"The fundamental problems in the league are that the stadiums are not good enough, and the marketing is not right yet. That football attracts less than one per cent of sports sponsorship in this country is an indication that we've got it wrong."
Looking to the future, Leeson has ambitious plans for Galway: "In eight to ten years, Galway United need to be playing in a state of the art stadium that is generating its own revenue. You can't run a business on an asset that only earns money one day out of every 14."
On the playing front, Galway are in year three of their five-year plan. So far they have met their targets, and in year five they want to bring European football back to Galway.
Leeson, who has made a complete recovery from cancer, has settled there now with his second wife Leona Tormey from Kells, his two step-children Kersty (12) and Alex (7) and their own child Mackensey (2½).
"Galway has all the advantages of a big city with none of the disadvantages," he says. "It's a feelgood city, and there are not too many of those."
Galway has been good for Nick Leeson - and he's busy repaying the debt.
Seán Ryan