Great post, spot on! (although the wage bill doesn’t say much)
To put it like this, the last 17 years we have underinvested in our infrastructure. I think 1bn probably is a number that isn’t that far of.
To catch up with that, we are probably 1.5bn short in investing — just in our infrastructure. If you brought in the Red Knights, it’s tough for them to make up for that. It’s not just about running the club properly, it’s the salvage of an underinvested entity that is the challenge. We are basically 3.5bn in debt, 1.5bn owed to the stadium and Carrington, 1.5bn to the squad over 10 years and 500bn to the banks.
If run properly — of course we could have and should have competed. But it’s not getting easier. And for anyone to come in with a 3.5bn deficit to handle, they need to be prepared to invest at least that sum.