Not necessarily. Success and being run properly don't always equate in football - particularly in the short-to-medium term.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cosmo
Clubs can be badly run yet do much better than other clubs that are well-run - simply because a philosophical cornerstone of badly-run football clubs seems to be a willingness to gamble on future success. Spending money you don't have, or need to borrow, on the future promise of glory/returns. Well-run clubs don't take such risks.
For example - Leeds United spent 5 years as a Top 5 Premiership club in England, and were less than 90mins away from a Champions League final. At the time no-one realised that this was all being funded speculatively. There were other much better-run clubs in the English Premiership at the time who didn't share that level of success - some of whom were relegated. Eventually the Leeds bubble burst, as gambles often fail - but it proves the point that doing well doesn't always mean you're well run. Just like not sharing success doesn't necessarily mean youre badly run. Clubs with small fan bases could be run exemplary yet never, ever win anything as a result of living within their means.
Also - 'country' clubs have to work harder just to stand still, as they don't have the benefit of location for away fans. I'll guarantee you that Dublin City will receive a higher income from away fans this season than AT LEAST HALF the rest of the Premier Division will. That's got nothing to do with how well run they may be, and everything to do with location. They could be propped-up financially by income from away fans, purely through being Dublin-based.
Now - I'm not saying Dublin City are badly run, as I simply don't know what their finances look like. But there are question marks over them and a number of other Premier Division clubs who people suspect are spending beyond what their fan-base would suggest is appropriate/sensible. Living off hand-outs from wealthy benefactors (e.g. Seery) is not a sustainable means of existence, and could also be considered as evidence of living beyond your means. No doubt Dub City fans will attack me for saying that, but they know as well as I do that there is a lingering suspicion amongst fans on all of this.