Weekend thoughts

After Kent announcing yesterday that they have lost £1.5 million over the last two seasons, comes news that Leicestershire are budgeting for a loss of £300,000 this year. I would be very surprised if they were alone.

Several other counties, including Yorkshire, are expected to follow suit. Warwickshire have spent heavily to little avail and Lancashire are another county who at last seem to have realised that flashing the cheque book doesn't guarantee success. Surrey are perhaps the biggest spenders, but what have they done this season?

If rumours are to be believed, Kent may be set to wave farewell to Rob Key, Martin Van Jaarsveld and Joe Denly, as well as Azhar Mahmood, simply because they cannot afford to pay them what they are worth - or think they are. Key is a likely target for Surrey, who seem set to release Usman Afzaal, while I would be surprised if the overseas batsman who can play in all games for Warwickshire, according to Ashley Giles, isn't Van Jaarsveld. The latter has been an outstanding player for Kent, but no organisation can sustain the level of losses that they are. It makes it all the more strange that they have borrowed from the local Council to make £4 million of ground improvements. One would expect crowds to be lower in the absence of their better players.

As for Leicestershire, they spent heavily on Matthew Hoggard, Brad Hodge and Andrew MacDonald and didn't have a sensational season either. They have yet to announce their full retained list, mainly because of the fall out from the behind the scenes machinations there. Several players at the end of their contracts are believed to be considering their futures and the issues don't look like ending sometime soon.

In its own, perhaps perverse way, it makes you pleased that at least we are run as a cost effective business. Despite moans and groans from the odd fan about spending more, Derbyshire have learned to live within their means and have two good men in charge of financial affairs in Keith Loring and Don Amott. We also have a lot of playing talent and the one thing to come out of the losses of Wagg, Rogers, Peterson, Sadler and Goddard is that it gives John Morris a chance to reshape the club. I know no better than any of you how he plans to do that and I'd be silly to say that I think that we'll be an even better team next season.

Yet the more I read of things happening elsewhere, the more I think that we're not as badly off as a number of other counties. With Worcestershire likely to lose Vikram Solanki and Gloucestershire having their issues to deal with, we can at this stage be reassured that financially we're not doing too badly.

I hate to end on a negative, but I think we've missed a trick with the 140 years DVD at the club. Laudable as the idea is and was, it should have been out to celebrate the start of the 140th season in April. I understand that it may now be previewed at the annual dinner, but I'm not so sure that  doing this at the end of the season is such a good idea, especially one where in the eyes of some fans we have under-achieved.

If it were me (after twenty-plus years of marketing and PR experience) I'd hold the launch back till next April. While they may get a few Christmas sales, there are far more likely when people are passing through the club shop on a regular basis. That won't happen now. Call it the club history, rather than the 140th anniversary DVD and it should sell steadily next year, as we are all filled with the optimism that a new season always brings.

Just a thought...