I completely agree there needs to be a proper financial assessment and plan in place. Like all businesses that should start with an annual forecast and reviewed monthly to see what's working, what's not working and if anything needs to be changed.
Then it needs a proper review at the end of the year and fed back into the next year's planning.
That also feeds into my concerns about a new investor. As a fan owned club, a plan to break even every year is ideal as it gives us the maximum amount of cash flow to run the club without having to worry about dividends or profits for shareholders.
If an investor is expecting a financial returns then decisions could be made that are in the best interests of them rather than the club. There will be some overlap, but not always.
The biggest challenge with a football club is that in many ways it's not like a regular business. It's obviously a lot more difficult to attract customers from a rival product regardless of how attractive you make yours, so expanding your reach in the market is very difficult.
Likewise, you can't really introduce a new product line because football isn't working.
I also doubt there are many, if any, new ideas available as it's difficult to innovate for the same reasons. There are quite a few successful businessmen who have failed at football club ownership because of these built-in restrictions.
As I said, however, I am open to persuasion by a new owner, but I'll want to see all the details of the plan.