Dundee United owner Mark Ogren has found out what many before him have discovered; owning a football club is a great way to lose money.
United fans are right to be very concerned about the situation highlighted in the club’s latest accounts, which show losses of over £2.8 million.
The wage bill of £6.9m in the 2022/23 season was eye-watering and obviously needed to be hugely reduced this season, but the damage done to the balance sheet by such exorbitant outlay is clear.
Ogren faces a dilemma; he wants to sell up, but has an exceedingly slim chance of recouping anywhere near the circa-£13m he’s invested in the club.
There appear to be no high-value saleable assets on the playing staff; only the sale of Tannadice itself, along with Foundation Park across the road, would bring in potentially big money, yet that would still be nowhere near enough to compensate his investment, while it would enrage fans.
United’s owner, should he seek to exit the club, must either be prepared to take a huge financial hit by selling for whatever price he can get or, if the SFA prove amenable to multi-club ownership in Scotland, hope that a deal can be done with one of the big English clubs to take a stake in United.
If he’s prepared to soldier on until he can find someone to take over, it will mean squaring the circle of greatly reducing running costs while also producing a team that can compete at the level United fans expect.
There’s no easy answer to the dilemma and there’s also little point in crying over spilt milk about the mistakes made.
Ogren initially put his trust in former sporting director Tony Asghar to run the club but, after an initial period when things looked bright, they went very sour.
Neither man escapes culpability, but United are where they are; poring over past mistakes won’t solve current issues.
There’s a certain irony in the fact that if it hadn’t been for much-maligned previous chairman, Stephen Thompson, these grim figures would’ve been far worse.
The sell-on clause he inserted when Harry Souttar moved from Tannadice to Stoke City brought in c.£2.5m when the defender moved on to Leicester City last January.
In any dealings I’ve had with Ogren he appears to be an honourable man, but he – like anyone else – is clearly unable to continue haemorrhaging money.
If he can sell the club, any new owner coming in will need to have deep pockets to make United reasonably competitive again at the top level – that’s assuming they can escape the Championship – and have a long-term plan to restore the club’s fortunes.
That won’t be easy.
I know a businessman who has had the chance to buy United on three occasions.
Although he was interested, he told me he could see no way to make it work.
Mark Ogren may have just found that out.
At the club’s forthcoming AGM, he must reassure supporters its future is in capable hands.
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