Our cuntry cousins are closing the financial gap between the Clubs that was roughly equivalent to the Grand Canyon just a couple of seasons back.

In their recently announced half-year results their turnover for the 6 month period is up to £25.5 million, with profit at £3.5million.
NUFC's last reported 12 month period showed turnover at £45 million, with a £19 million loss that I confidently expect to be reversed this year.
Despite recent contrary sentiment on here, the improvement in the SAFC share price has at least partially mirrored their on-field performances, coupled with their continued fiscal prudence, improving their market value now to around £36 million, compared with ours that is presently around £48 million.

They are closing the gap, and we need to get our bloody act together - for many reasons.

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

Answers

I don't want to labour on about the Mackems but sooner rather than later they will have to make some pretty serious on-field investment. They have reached a stage in the Premiership and their ambitions will dictate how far they can progress.

Major investment in playing staff is a huge gamble, one which we unfortunately know all too well about. Then we will see how well they do!

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

Clarky our half year turnover last year was 36million our full year turnover was about the 45million mark. The last 6months saw a turnover of 9million.

SAFC's apple turnover(mmm, just like me ma used to bake) is 25million the next 6months will be 6.25million I estimate, going on a similar proportion of our yearly turnover pattern. Thus their yearly turnover will be close to 32million.

Remember our turnover last year was in a 36000 capacity, so who knows what our half year turnover will be with the added income of the 52143 capacity!

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

So next time they come over with the old 2-1 jibe we can proudly say "Wor turnover's bigger than yours!"

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

The worry concerning football clubs is the wage expenditure compared to turnover. If anything our wage bill has been reduced but we should have a significant increase in turnover.

Our ratio for wages/turnover was never that bad compared to most clubs and it will certainly get better in the near future. This will increase the stability of the club financially.

Manure's answer to the problem of increasing wages is increasing turnover!!

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

Jonno, Iknow you were using satire in saying 'our turnover is bigger than yours,' to a response of the 2-1 etc.

But the our 'turn over is bigger than your arguement' against the '2-1 defeat' really means is: hey we are a massive club, and yes smaller clubs occasionally beat the likes of us.

As long as I live and the times when we beat the inbreds, I will never go on about 2-1 like what they have done. We dont need to. We dont have this inferiority complex. Sunderland will always have an inferiority complex against the geordie nation from North of the Tees, to Carlisle, to Berwick.

Have we ever bragged about victory like they do?????? NO. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

(But it still hurts damn more to get beat off clubs lower down in the food chain. So god if you are reading: Remember it hurts the geordie nation more, to be beaten of the sunderlanders, than any mackem to be beaten off the geordie nation.)

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

T. Smith,

Thanks for your valuable input - I'd overlooked the fact that the turnover is, of course, heavily skewed towards the first half of the year via ST receipts. I'm not sure what the effect of additional revenue from the new TV contract is this year either.

I would expect our turnover to be up to £55 million this year, possibly even closer to £60 million. With the wage bill having been reduced, player acquisition costs in the black, plus the positive effect of the 'financial engineering' that was undertaken in the last financial year regarding player costs, the Toon finances really should look substantially better than last year.

I'm actually assuming that Douglas Hall has already seen the interim financials, and that was what recently encouraged him to sound so bullish about the future. However, the critical issue at SJP really is being able to keep ST revenue at a high level.

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2001

When are the interim results published?

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

Having a bigger turnover than the Makems is all well and good, but what I want to know is,....When are we going to sign some decent f*****g players?

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001