‘We’ve halved club’s costs’
Sunderland AFC’s bosses have slashed the club’s running costs by more than half since taking over, its new managing director has revealed.
Tony Davison was addressing a North East England Chamber of Commerce Leadership Launch at the Stadium of Light, which also heard from first team boss Jack Ross.
The board had been forced to take urgent action to stabilise the club’s finances, he said.
“We have halved our outgoings,” he told the audience.
“We were a football club with expected costs of £50million and expected revenue of £15million.
“We have worked hard to cut that down to less than £25million and raise revenue.
“We have taken the first steps to make it a sustainable football club. If your outgoings are three times your income, you do not have a sustainable business.”
The club had been working to rebuild links with the community on Wearside, said Mr Davison.
“Everybody, from the board to the coach to the players and the hard-working staff we have here are committed to putting the club back at the heart of the city,” he said.
Jack Ross offered the audience an insight into the ‘brutal reality’ of life as a football manager.
“In the eight months since the start of the season, out of 92 football managers, 30 of them have lost their job,” he said.
“Nathan Jones, at Luton, was the only one to have gone voluntarily.
“That is the brutal reality of being a football manager, especially in the modernday game.”
He outlined the abilities needed for the job – leadership, team building, organisation, strategy, ambition and motivation.
Headded: “You have got to be resilient, you have got to have character, you have got to be charismatic – you’ve got to have something that makes people say ‘I want to listen to him’.”