"Our door remains open"! I'll bet it does Mr Chairman after the debt this club finds itself in yet again thanks to wasting huge sums on disappointing signings! Let's hope we get new investment in before we're forced to sell our prized assets in January.

if he is speaking to the chairman then surely he must be looking at a sizeable investment? if i wanted a few shares the chaiman wouldn't come to see me about it!

Very clever of sanks to criticise the chairmans spending but I don't recall reading any reports that Sanks has invested millions of his own money into MCFC. Its a pity that all these Wardle knockers forget that without him we would be in an even worse position. And for those who decide to bring out the old chestnut David Bernstein invested no money into City - he was an employee - a very good employee but still an employee.

Sanks may not have millions to invest, but if like me he has been a longstanding season ticket holder, he's actually probably invested (aka wasted) thousands. Everything is relative. Has wardle actually 'invested' any money or just loaned it from JD Sports? Has he loaned money or guaranteed loans from others? Did Bernie have the kind of wealth that could have provided meaningful investment? Anyway, this is another stunning piece of investigative journalism from the MUEN, being a selective cut & paste job on the non-story in yesterdays People. Come on MUEN, get your portable reel to reel out of the bottom drawer, get down to COMS and ask some proper questions....

wardle out, new investors in, employing bernstien as chairman, no money for keegan whatsover, pay off keegan, fowler, macmanaman & sincliar and get this club back on track as a progressive once again, that'll do for me.

I'm still baffled by this reported 62 million debt. Yeah we've spent 50 million on players over four seasons, but we must have recouped plenty in season ticket sales,television money, sponsorship, merchandising. It never adds up in my eyes. Perhaps city need to get someone in very quickly, who can balance the books, because the current lot seem to be a bit of a liability with the clubs finances.

Blue Dave Denton, spot on mate Wardle has put his own money into City unlike Mr Bernstein. Dont get me wrong Bernstein did a very good job for City but if you were pumping millions into a business would you want someone else running it? Lets hope Wardle can find some investment we dont want to be selling Shaun or Nico in January.

To be fair to Sanks, I doubt he's got that kind of money!

Some people on this website seem to be so negative, if you want to be negative go to the toast rack with the other people who know nothing about football.
The vast majority of our debt has come about from kitting the stadium and its facilities and is secured on a long term loan. So whilst its never good to be in debt we would have been in the same situation whoever was in charge. Yes Keegan has bought some nuggets but for those of you who only have a memory span of two years. Fact Keegan has won a trophy for us, Fact unlike the 80's and 90's we have actually stayed in the top league 3yrs and counting and even better we stuff the reds two years on the bounce. Tell me which manager has done better for us since the late seventies.
We need investment from somebody with deep pockets but any business person will only invest in a steady ship (No pun intended). Do we really want to go back to a different manager every month? Follow the team, support the team and leave the negativity at the toast rack.
CTID

Well said wakeyblue

Since Wardle has been chairman our club have been on a downward spiral. The sooner Bernstein is reinstated the better. When we wanted to sign the player we needed Van Buyten he couldn't do it. When KK wanted to sign four midfield players in Aug 2003, Wardle didn't stop him. Four midfield players we didn't need and four players that have brought no benefit to the club. Everyone that complains about fans being negative are probably the same fans that never set foot inside the stadium. I'm a season ticket holder and I see my team under performing every week, that's why I'm negative.

Spot on Wakey blue. Is there something about the Yorkshire air that makes us see sense.

I also agree with Wakey Blue. I would take King Kev for a further 5 years to manage the youth talent coming thru. King Kev seems to be convinced now that we have stars in the making in the youth squad. Signings only need to be made for what the youth squad is not producing (which does not seem to be much). Watch the value of our squad rocket as the young players become established.

We desperately need some investment so anybody with a sizable chunk of cash to buy in to the club has to be taken seriously. Bernstein never invested a penny in the club as far as I know but he managed the finances brilliantly and virtually wiped out our last massive debts! I cannot deny that Wardle hasn't invested in the club because he has and he is a true blue. However, when the money went back out again on signings for KK, was it really spent that wisely. Fowler had his first decent match for months on Saturday and has been plagued, allegedly, by a lack of fitness. Sinclair is now out for the season but has only played well in one game since he joined on a long term contract for a siginficant sum! Reyna is out for ages, another injury prone player who rarely looks the part on the pitch. McManaman is constantly injured and this is equally constantly used as the excuse for him being consistently crap when we play him. Now he cost us nothing but is on a high salary of anything from B#24,000 to B#42,000 per week depending on who you believe. That's B#500M if the top end is correct! We sell decent players like Wanchope (goals kept us up and is fit and scoring in Spain) or Elliott (loads of goals and rave reviews for Sunderland) for next to nothing and then we wonder why we are in debt!

Wakeyblue is generally right but where his argument falls down is in KK's signings over the past couple of seasons. These players have been 'disappointing', to say the least, and for their fees or salaries, the club could have expected better. We can't blame Wardle for anything other than backing his manager, though I still think that the club was in a better state when Bernstein was in charge. But whatever, it's the players who have to look at themselves rather than the rulers. A few places higher up the league and the debt wouldn't have been quite so huge.

well said , wakey blue could not have put it better myself

I remember the comments about SWP less than 12 monthst ago from supposed fans (too small, no end product, not comitted).

I look at the current abuse in varying measure given to Mills, Thatcher and Bosvelt.

Then I read the below from the likes of sanks it is obvious that if there's one thing some supposed City fans know even less about than football it's finances.

Debt is secondary to cashflow but none of the below even mention it. Have any of you ever even taken the time to look at a cashflow forecast for City? Could you even read it? Until you can, your comments on the financial precariousness of the club are as worthless as those made by the idiot who sits behind me and abuses Bossie every game.

true ctid

John, Urmston

The board need a game plan sooner rather than later!!
We are not far from being a decent outfit, and with a little fine-tuning, we will progress!
CTID.

like i said last month, it will happen! also wakeyblue is spot on. PS anelka goes in jan

good on you wakey blue, well said indeed!!!!!

Yeah nice one Wakeyblue. If we can just be a little bit patient, there are signs that we have a decent team in the making. No we aren't going to be pulling up trees with the current side, but look at the progress JB and SWP have made over the last couple of years and then imagine WF, BWP and NO in a couple of years. And we haven't even seen Croft, Ireland or Schmeichel yet!!!!

Well said wakeyblue, that Sanks character does actually really talk out of his bottom. I owe B#76,000 pounds to the Halifax but they're not banging on my door for it. Just like City, i pay a nominal amount every month on account of my salary going in to my bank, ie season ticket sales. Sanks, does the nurse know you're out of bed again?

It's getting beyond a joke this worshipping of bernstein. He was a good chairman and good book keeper but exactly how would he have funded the redevelopment of COMS - oh yes - long term loan based on season ticket sales - it was he who arranged the debt not wardle. As for the muppet saying why did keegan buy four midfeilders - well Foe and Bernabia had to be replaced and Berko that great stallwart was only going to play half a season so in effect he bought one extra midfielder. Unfortunatly he chose wrong but then all managers do and its dead easy for us to criticise in hindsight.

Seems I ruffled a few of the blinkered brigade's feathers! Wonder what you'll be saying come January's window? Do any of you; quick to call me childish names have the slightest idea of the debt this club is in? We aren't in Europe and don't really look capable of getting there with the players bought despite being signed at huge expense. Here's a few lines I got hold of about our 'loans' etc used to buy these players, who'll be gone long before the debt is paid off! b" "The last accounts, to May 2003, show City's debts and liabilities totalling B#104m, and since then, the club have taken out a further B#13.7m loan. - Bernstein rolled much of City's debt into the first loan secured on match day and season ticket receipts at the new ground: B#30.3m, for 24 years at 7.27 per cent interest - B#2.18m - per year. - Last August, came the second mortgage, B#13.7m for 15 years at floating interest for three years!" So even Bernstein can't escape if things go belly up and no wonder we won't be able to buy any more players for a while! Ferrari, there is a lot more of it which frightens the life out of me because if we're not careful we will end up going the same way as Leeds. The board took a huge gamble, not only with Wardle's money (and I wasn't just out to slag him off) but mine and yours as well and unfortunately it wasn't spent very wisely was it? I wouldn't mind us being in such a position if we were in the top 6 or so and earning money from European competition but we're not! Proportionately to what I own, I've probably spent just as much money on this club as anyone going up and down the country and buying merchandise in the last 28 years so leave off mate! I have a right to be concerned.

Take a look back to summer prior to 2003/04 season, we had just finished top 10 and the signs were promising. So KK make wholesale changes that he believes will enable the team to push for a place in Europe and the board back him perhaps blinded by the new stadium etc. It backfires, not due to the quality of players introduced (yes Macca, Fowler and Sinclair were once decent !), but more so that they were the wrong players for City. Instead of making subtle introductions KK more or less replaced the midfield, when really he should have replaced Foe and Bernabia only, bought Pauleta instead of Fowler, kept the Goat for another year, replaced Schmiecal properly for the long term, kept Jensen and possibly brought in a right back. That summer was KK's start of it going wrong. I wont mention Vouso or Negoui for now !!!....He then tells everyone he will be gone at the end of his contract when he should have said nothing.....I like KK and he has served us well, BUT he is going to leave and this is going to have an effect on 1)transfer money being made available 2) Attracting new players and investors 3) the current team.
The board should address this issue first to ensure stability, maybe as many have suggested bring in a new younger man now and move KK upstairs for the remainder of his contract.