December 2007
Global Investment in English Clubs Looks Set to Increase - 30/12/2007
Alan Switzer, a director in Deloitte Sport Business Group, has forecast: 'We expect to see further investment in English clubs in 2008 as more Premier League and Championship clubs come under the management of investors from around the globe.'
Uncertainty Undermines Owls - 30/12/2007
Sheffield Wednesday manager Brian Laws made it clear in a Sky television interview last Friday that he thinks that the financial uncertainity at the club is undermining its performance on the pitch...
New Owner At Swindon - 26/12/2007
After three previous failed attempts to purchase the Robins, a consortium headed by Andrew Fitton has finally secured control of the Robins, subject to resolving a few outstanding issues...
Relegation Hits Charlton Hard - 23/12/2007
Charlton's board have had to dig deep into their pockets after the South-East London club was hit hard by relegation from the Premiership. Turnover to June 2007 recorded a fall from £41.9m to £35.9m due principally to the reduction in the Premiership merit award scheme...
Liverpool Stadium Plans Hit Financial Snags - 18/12/2007
The credit crunch appears to be having some impact on Liverpool's plans for a new stadium at Stanley Park. The futuristic designs submitted by a Texan company in July are to be replaced by what chief executive Rick Parry described as a 'slightly downgraded' version...
Man City Dragged Into Thai Politics - 17/12/2007
It is often asked why foreign owners buy into British clubs when they could get a better financial return by putting their money in the bank. In the case of Thaksin Shinawatra, the controversial ex-Thai prime minister...
Cherries In The Red - 16/12/2007
Although they got their first home victory since March yesterday League 1 club Bournemouth continue to be beset by financial troubles...
Blues In The Red - 11/12/2007
Birmingham City's latest accounts show the costs of their spell in the Championship. Pre-tax losses for the year to the end of August were £6.52m...
Swindon In Financial Trouble - 11/12/2007
League 1 Swindon Town are in serious financial trouble. The club owes £2m to HM Revenue and Customs as well as...
Brinkmanship At Coventry - 04/12/2007
Coventry City, £38m in debt and restricted by a transfer embargo, have taken a calculated risk by filing a court notice to go into administration in the hope that a proposed takeover will be completed in the meantime...
Liverpool Tensions Raise Broader Issues - 02/12/2007
The tensions at Liverpool between manager Rafael Benitez, the American owners and the fans are important for the future of a major club, but they also raise broader issues...
Worcester Stadium Row Has Wider Significance - 02/12/2007
We recently ran a piece on the hopes of non-league Worcester City to move to a new stadium in conjunction with a property developer. A local correspondent has subsequently written in to comment...
November 2007
Coventry Deal Near - 30/11/2007
A takeover of Coventry City by Ray Ranson's Sisu consortium appears to be in sight. After two days of intensive talks...
Average Annual Salary Of Top Flight Footballers Tops £1m - 25/11/2007
The average annual salary of a footballer in England's top flight has broken through the £1m ceiling for the first time...
Everton Stadium Plans Face Threat - 25/11/2007
Tesco could face a Competition Commission battle over plans for a £400m development with Everton on Merseyside...
Luton Goes Into Administration Again - 25/11/2007
League 1 club Luton Town has incurred a ten point penalty by going into administration...
Uncle Rupe Blocks Saints Takeover - 25/11/2007
Former Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe will not support the proposed takeover of the club by hedge fund Sisu Capital...
England's Success Has Big Commercial Implications - 19/11/2007
Qualification for the European Championships has big commercial implications as the competition is ranked only behind the World Cup and the Olympics in terms of generating economic value...
Top Clubs Cream Off Best Sponsorships - 18/11/2007
The gap between the rich and poor of English football continues to widen as the top clubs attract the largest sponsorship contracts...
Becks Looks For New Sponsorship Deal - 18/11/2007
David Beckham is looking for two new big sponsorships as the England footballer's earnings from endorsements tumbled by 28 per cent to £11.1m last year...
Price Of Arsenal Bonds Slump - 18/11/2007
When Arsenal football club decided last summer to raise finance by using ticket receipts to issue bonds, it created a new fanbase for itself in the City of London. The deal...
Financial Problems Hit Cardiff - 18/11/2007
Former Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale has been pitched into a legal battle that could force his new club, Cardiff City, into administration...
Fans Website Takes Over Club - 13/11/2007
Fans' community website MyFootballClub has agreed a deal to take over Blue Square Premier outfit Ebbsfleet United (formerly Gravesend and Northfleet)...
Owners Rather Than Players Top Rich List - 12/11/2007
The Football Rich List compiled by Four Four Two magazine reveals that only 14 players are among the 100 most wealthy people in the sport...
Chelsea Poised To Break Into Europe's Top 5 - 11/11/2007
Chelsea are challenging Europe's top clubs on the balance sheet despite their failure to win the Champions League...
New Broadcast Deal For Fizzy Pop Leagues - 11/11/2007
The BBC will screen live Coca-Cola Championship matches for the first time as part of a deal that will double the Football League's income from broadcast rights...
Spurs Face Stadium Dilemma - 11/11/2007
A key element in the quest by Spurs to restore its top club status is the search for a new stadium. Chairman Daniel Levy has asked architects to draw up plans...
Africans Favour Arsenal - 11/11/2007
Figures from African television network GTV suggest that Arsenal is Africa's most popular club...
Is Football Coming Home? - 05/11/2007
England could play host to the World Cup in 2018 after Fifa abandoned its policy of rotating the staging of the finals through its six confederations...
Sports Minister Sticks To His Guns - 04/11/2007
Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe is refusing to withdraw comments about players' wages and ticket prices despite admitting that he got some of his figures wrong and attracting criticism from both Chelsea and Manchester United...
Benefactor Pumps £44m Into Ipswich - 04/11/2007
Ipswich Town's chances of regaining their Premiership status have been considerably boosted by the news that businessman Marcus Evans is prepared to put £44m into the club...
Saints Deal In Danger - 04/11/2007
Southampton could be forced into a fire sale of players in the January transfer window to cut costs and generate working capital if takeover talks remain deadlocked...
Coventry Takeover Imminent - 04/11/2007
A takeover of Coventry City is thought to be imminent as pressure grows on the directors to make a decision on two takeover bids for the debt ridden club...
October 2007
The Price Of An England Shirt - 29/10/2007
Nike's £285m bid for Umbro, a 61 per cent premium to last week's share price, shows how much value the largest sportswear company in the world attaches to the white England shirt...
Kroenke Agrees To 'Lock Down' - 28/10/2007
Arsenal's board have received a big boost in their battle to keep control of the club. American sports magnate Stan Kroenke is ready to align himself...
Hedge Fund Buys Majority Stake In Saints - 28/10/2007
The board of Southampton Leisure, owner of Southampton Football Club, has accepted a bid from a UK investment company valued at about...
Blades In The Black - 28/10/2007
Sheffield United kicked back into the black from a £7.9m pre-tax loss as turnover rose from £27.2m to £45.8m...
Coventry City Under Transfer Embargo - 23/10/2007
Coventry City have been subjected to a Football League transfer embargo imposed after the Sky Blues reportedly failed to meet instalment payments from Leon Best's transfer...
Arsenal Lockdown May Not Be All That it Seems - 21/10/2007
It may look as if a new 'lock down' agreement for leading shareholders has finally secured the future of Arsenal as the only British owned top four club...
Clubs Could Improve Sponsorship Income - 21/10/2007
A study by International Marketing Reports suggests that some clubs could boost their sponsorship income...
Football Shirts Attract Nike To Umbro - 21/10/2007
England's defeat in Russia gave shareholders in Umbro cause for gloom as the prospect of selling millions of England shirts in the 2008 European tournament slipped away...
Spurs Eye White Hart Lane Exit - 21/10/2007
As takeover speculation continues, Spurs has raised the prospect of leaving White Hart Lane for a new stadium in North London...
England Problems Could Hit ITV - 21/10/2007
Despite their commercial success with the Rugby World Cup, ITV may lose out if England fail to qualify for the European championships...
The Decline Of The Football Pools - 15/10/2007
'Doing the pools' was once an integral part of working class life in Britain. Each week the 'coupons' would be completed around the country in the hope of winning a jackpot that would transform a family's life...
Boston Lose Parachute Payments - 15/10/2007
The Football League has withheld parachute payments of £130,000 from Blue Square North side Boston United following the Pilgrims' relegation on the final day of last season...
Agents Threaten To Sue FA - 14/10/2007
Football agents have threatened to sue the Football Association unless it waters down new regulations aimed at eliminating corruption from the game...
Wigan Have Their Day In Court - 14/10/2007
Wigan Athletic chief executive Brenda Spencer says the club's hands were tied over 'unfair' police charges which left the club with a £293,000 bill...
Fate Of Sky Blues Rests With Co-Op - 09/10/2007
The fate of Coventry City now lies in the hands of its main creditor, the Co-operative Bank where it is understood that £18m of the club's £38m debts are owed...
Usmanov Charm Offensive Fails - 08/10/2007
A charm offensive by Russian billonaire Alisher Usmanov designed to win over the Arsenal board and fans seems to have backfired. He aimed to convince fans and directors that he is a passionate fan of the club and not a destabilising influence...
Mansfield Sale Completed - 08/10/2007
Mansfield Town are not one of the most glamorous clubs in English football, but their fans have an intense loyalty to the side. Managing director Keith Haslam has...
Worcester City Plan New Stadium - 08/10/2007
Given its size and relative prosperity - it is home of the famous 'Worcester Woman' median voter - it is perhaps surprising that Worcester does not support a conference or even a Football League club...
Vics Face Extinction - 08/10/2007
Historic Northwich Victoria who once played in the Football League are just two weeks from possible extinction...
Coventry In Trouble After MD Quits - 07/10/2007
Former Coventry City managing director Paul Fletcher has stated that his resignation was due to the failure of the proposed takeover of the club...
Spurs Being 'Fattened Up' For Sale - 06/10/2007
Spurs celebrated their 125th anniversary this week amid renewed suspicions that the club is being 'fattened up' ready for sale....
September 2007
Blatter Renews Call For Quota On Foreign Players - 30/09/2007
Fifa president Sepp Blatter is ready to challenge the European Union to get a quota for foreign players within European teams....
Arsenal: We Would Meet Red and White - 30/09/2007
Arsenal has indicated that it would be prepared to meet Red and White Holdings, the takeover vehicle of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov...
Premiership Wants Clamp Down on Copyright Law - 30/09/2007
The Premiership wants a shake-up of copyright law amid concerns that the government needs to do more to protect the increasingly valuable media rights that football's top flight is attracting...
Scudamore Defends Role of Business in Football - 30/09/2007
There is plenty of complaining about the way in which football has been commercialised, but it is rare for someone to make a robust defence of business involvement in the game but Premiership chief executive Richard Scudamore has done so in response...
Ticket Deal Annoys United Fans - 30/09/2007
A record league cup attendance of 74,055 to see United's youngsters get turned over by Championship opponents but this figure has no relationship to who was actually in the stadium...
Cambridge City Are Saved - 30/09/2007
City will celebrate their centenary next year and now they have won a three-year fight to save the club's Milton Road ground from development...
Halifax Takeover Nears - 30/09/2007
Takeovers don't just happen at the top level of football and the consortium hoping to take over Conference side Halifax Town look like they are nearing their goal...
Second Charlton Sponsor Hits Problems - 25/09/2007
Charlton Athletic took a hit when retail group all:sports foundered, now their current sponsors, Valencian real estate group Llanera, are in trouble...
Farewell (For Now) To The Special One - 23/09/2007
In all clubs managers come and managers go, in some clubs more often than others. Jose Mourinho was a manager at Chelsea for a much shorter period of time than Arsene Wenger at Arsenal...
Coventry City's Future Remains Uncertain - 23/09/2007
Coventry City's Ricoh stadium is superb with its hotel and conference facilities and a great improvement on their former home, however, it has not resolved their financial position...
Arsenal Shareholders versus The Board - 23/09/2007
Arsenal's biggest shareholder diamond merchant Danny Fiszman has said that he has no intention of selling his 24.11 per cent shareholding...
Premiership Transfer Fees Top £500m - 09/09/2007
English football transfer fees rose by two-thirds over the summer, setting a new record of more than £500m compared with the £300m spent in the summer of 2006...
Kroenke May Be Cooling On Arsenal - 08/09/2007
The interest of American sports franchise owner Stan Kroenke in making a bid for Arsenal may be cooling...
Five-A-Side Boom - 08/09/2007
A rise in the number of people playing five-a-side football sent profits shooting up at Goals Soccer Centres...
Umbro Hit By Poor Shirt Sales - 08/09/2007
Sportswear brand Umbro has cut sharply its 2008 profit target on fears that retailers such as Mike Ashley's Sports Direct will order fewer England football shirts...
The Gloves Are Off At Arsenal - 03/09/2007
The gloves are off in the battle for control of Arsenal. A hostile takeover is a real possibility after David Dein sold his shares to a new investment company, of which he has been made chairman, and declared his intention of playing an active role in shaping the club's future...
Formula One Pair Confirm £20m Offer For QPR - 03/09/2007
Formula One chiefs Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore have confirmed their £20m offer for debt-saddled Championship club Queens Park Rangers...
August 2007
Confusion At Spurs Reflects Pressure On Clubs - 28/08/2007
It has been a confused week at Spurs, with the position of head coach Martin Jol being called publicly into question...
Newcastle May Change Hands Again - 21/08/2007
Two months after he assumed control, Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of Newcastle, is discussing a sale...
Football Clubs Not Businesslike Enough - 19/08/2007
It is often stated that football clubs these days are run like businesses. But writing in the Financial Times Simon Kuper argues that they are not businesslike enough...
West Ham To Defend Blades' Compensation Claim - 19/08/2007
West Ham United are prepared to mount a 'vigorous defence' against an unprecedented multimillion pound compensation proceeding brought against them by Sheffield United...
Charlton Athletic Prepare For Takeover - 18/08/2007
Charlton Athletic has hired City football specialists Seymour Pierce to advise it on funding options, including a possible share issue or even a sale of the Championship side...
Cardiff Facing Court Action - 15/08/2007
Cardiff City's main financial backers have initiated legal proceedings against the club over claims that they have not repaid more than £30m in debts...
New Stadiums Boost Club Revenues - 14/08/2007
New stadiums are driving an average 66 per cent increase in football clubs' turnover in their first season at their new homes according to research by Deloitte's Sport Business Group...
Arsenal Bid Rivalry Could Boost Price - 12/08/2007
Arsenal are valued at £432m, but a possible bidding battle between Bernie Ecclestone and Stan Kroenke could push the price up to...
Italian Bidder In Talks With QPR - 12/08/2007
Flavio Briatore, the Italian principal at the Renault Formula One team, is in takeover talks with Queens Park Rangers...
July 2007
Human Rights Group Targets City Boss - 31/07/2007
A leading human rights group has written to the Premier League to challenge the right of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to own Manchester City...
Terry Tops Rich List - 29/07/2007
A new five-year deal signed by Chelsea and England captain John Terry has made him England's highest paid football player...
League Clubs Try To Cut Out Agents - 27/07/2007
Football League clubs spent £8.6m on agents in 2006/7 compared with £7.7m in 2005/6, but during the past six months spending has been cut...
Seagulls Get Stadium Go Ahead - 24/07/2007
Brighton and Hove Albion have been given approval to build a new 22,000-seater stadium in Falmer on the outskirts of the south coast city...
American Investors Seek Premiership Clubs - 24/07/2007
US based property tycoon Daniel Williams is expected to decide before the end of the week whether he will press ahead with a £50m takeover of Blackburn Rovers while William Chang has been engaged in discussions with senior Premier League figures as he looks for an English club to buy...
Top Players Benefit From Tax Loophole - 23/07/2007
Many top Premiership footballers are paying lower rates of tax than the supporters who watch them by making use of a tax loophole...
What Future For Arsenal? - 23/07/2007
Since the prospect was raised of a takover by the American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke and the subsequent departure of influential vice-chairman David Dein, many have written off the club's prospects...
Fanchester Dream May Come Real - 22/07/2007
The dream (or nightmare) of a real club in which fans make all the decisions is not far off fruition. Will Brooks' website myfootballclub.co.uk is not far off raising the £1.375m it needs to buy a football club...
Non-League Teams Hope For TV Boost - 22/07/2007
Non-league teams at the top of the pyramid are hoping for an income boost from the new television deal with Setanta...
Virgin and Setanta Team Up To Challenge Sky - 22/07/2007
Setanta have announced a deal for Virgin Media to carry content from six of its channels, including 46 live English Premiership games, on its cable network...
Everton Plan Stadium Move - 22/07/2007
Everton have revealed their designs for their planned 50,000 all-seater stadium in Kirkby, four miles from Goodison Park...
Police Raid Three Clubs In Corruption Probe - 17/07/2007
The Economic Crime Unit of the City of London Police has raided three football clubs as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in football...
Global Markets Even More Important For English Clubs - 15/07/2007
Foreign markets are becoming even more essential to the economics of English football. It is estimated that Manchester United have 41m supporters in Asia...
Chelsea Link Up With Disney - 15/07/2007
Chelsea have become the 'official professional soccer club of the Walt Disney company'. Although this has led to the inevitable jokes about them being a Mickey Mouse outfit...
Liverpool Seek Success And A Profit - 15/07/2007
Liverpool are hoping to challenge for the Premiership title in the coming season, but there has not been quite the mass injection of funds for players that was hinted at when the new owners took over...
Leeds Future Uncertain - 15/07/2007
The administrators of Leeds United, KPMG, has opened up the sale of the club to the highest bidder...
Blades Relegation Appeal Denied - May Sue For Compensation - 15/07/2007
An arbitration panel has dismissed an appeal by Sheffield United over the Premier League's decision not to dock West Ham points over the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano...
Saints Bid Rumoured - 13/07/2007
Reports have claimed that the state owned Dubai International Capital, the overseas investment arm of Dubai Holdings, have been holding talks about a possible takeover...
Trust Route Is Full Of Pain - 03/07/2007
Supporters' trusts are often seen as the way out when clubs have run into financial difficulty. The club can be taken back into the control of the community rather than being operated for the benefit of business investors. However, a football club has to be run on business lines if it is to survive and succeed...
Logo Ban Could Hit Shirt Sponsorship - 01/07/2007
Football clubs and gambling companies are predicting a black market in children's replica shirts after the gambling industry reluctantly bowed to government pressure and agreed not to allow their logos on the junior kits of the clubs they sponsor...
Legal Challenge To Bates Takeover - 01/07/2007
A deal to allow Ken Bates regain control of Leeds United may face a legal challenge within days. The Bates plan to put him back in charge was supported by three offshore trusts who said they would block other deals, even though they offered creditors a better deal...
June 2007
Blues Bid race Shows Why Clubs Are An Attractive Buy - 28/06/2007
Birmingham City's directors have agreed to sell 29.9 per cent of the club's shares to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung...
Thaksin Seals Deal - 24/06/2007
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected next week to gain the 75 per cent shareholding he needs to win control of Manchester City. The offer values Manchester City at £21.6m plus £60m of debt...
Seventeen Problematic Transfers Found In 'Bung' Inquiry - 18/06/2007
Lord Stevens' report into an alleged 'bung' culture in the English Premiership has listed 17 problematic transfers involving 15 football agents and five clubs...
Blackburn Latest Takeover Target - 14/06/2007
An unidentified American investor has expressed an interest in taking over Blackburn Rovers football club...
Hull Bought For £10m - 12/06/2007
Paul Duffen, a former chief executive of Catalyst Media and a shareholder in bookmakers SIS, heads a southern-based consortium who have bought chairman Adam Pearson's entire stake in Hull City...
City Seek Thaksin Explanation - 11/06/2007
Manchester City are seeking an explanation from Thakisn Shinawatra following reports from Thailand that his bank accounts have been frozen...
Bid Reported For Birmingham - 10/06/2007
Birmingham City could become the eighth foreign owned club in the Premiership (counting Sunderland's Irish owners)...
Why Buy A Football Club? - 10/06/2007
Some financial advisers are now predicting that all twenty Premiership clubs will be under new ownership before the end of the year...
Seadogs Go Under - 10/06/2007
Scarborough FC are set to go into liquidation on Tuesday, to be replaced by a new club four steps lower down the non-league pyramid in the Northern Counties East League...
Sugar Sells Spurs Stake - 08/06/2007
Sir Alan Sugar is to sell his remaining 12 per cent stake in Tottenham Hotspur to majority shareholder Enic for £25m, thus ending his 16-year association with the club...
Magpies Deal Done And Dusted - 07/06/2007
Reclusive sports wear billionaire Mike Ashley is poised to take control of Newcastle United after winning the support of club chairman Freddy Shepherd...
Leeds Creditors' Meeting To Reconvene - 03/06/2007
The meeting of Leeds United creditors is to re-convene on Monday to conduct a recount after the Ken Bates takeover won approval by a whisker...
The Political Economy of Football Analysis of 2007 Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance - 02/06/2007
Professor Wyn Grant takes a look at the latest Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance and analyses the key conclusions made in it...
May 2007
Newcastle Bid Heads For Success - 27/05/2007
Reclusive billionaire Mike Ashley looks likely to secure control of Newcastle United in the coming week...
Several Bids Made For Leeds - 27/05/2007
KPMG, the administrators of Leeds United, have confirmed that they have received several bids for the club...
Top Retailer Bids For Magpies - 24/05/2007
Retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley has launched a £133.1m bid for Newcastle United, having already bought a 41.6 per cent stake in the Premiership club...
Wolves Sold For £10 - 21/05/2007
Sir Jack Hayward has sold Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for £10 on condition that purchaser Steve Morgan puts £30m into the club...
General Electric Hunting For Clubs To Buy - 15/05/2007
Concerned that they are getting left behind in the Premiership takeover frenzy, US conglomerate General Electric is hoping to pull off a big takeover deal...
Championship Play-Off Offers Rich Prize - 13/05/2007
This month's Championship play-off final is the richest prize in the world for a single football match. Deloitte estimate the minimum value at £60m...
Gang Of Four Likely To Fail In Court Challenge - 11/05/2007
Sports lawyers think that the 'Gang of Four' relegation threatened clubs are likely to fail in any court action against the Premiership for its failure to deduct points from West Ham for breaking regulations over the registration of Carlos Tévez...
Charlton Deny Takeover Bid - 09/05/2007
Relegated South-East London club Charlton Athletic have denied that they are the subject of a takeover bid...
Bottom Clubs Threaten To Sue Premiership - 05/05/2007
Four relegation threatened clubs are threatening to sue the Premiership over its controversial decision not to deduct points from West Ham over the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano...
Leeds Try To Wipe The Slate Clean - 05/05/2007
Leeds United have gone into administration, hoping to get rid of their accumulated debts of £35m while allowing the existing owners to effectively retain control...
FA Backs Down In Row With Agents - 02/05/2007
A row between football agents, the Football Association and the Government has led to the FA temporarily backing down, although they have insisted that they are determined to press ahead with rules governing the conduct of agents...
Struggle Continues For Seagulls - 01/05/2007
The saga of Brighton and Hove Albion's search for a new home is the longest in recent English football. It's now just over ten years since the Seagulls played their last game at the Goldstone Ground...
Two Bids In For Tractors - 01/05/2007
As the football takeover boom continues, less successful and fashionable clubs are attracting attention, the latest being Suffolk side Ipswich Town...
Iconic Stadium For Portsmouth - 01/05/2007
Anyone who has sat on the cramped away end in the wind and the rain at Fratton Park knows that it is one of the worst stadiums in the Premiership. But now the club is in Franco-Russian ownership and has unveiled plans for an iconic new stadium...
April 2007
Season Ticket Hike Angers United Fans - 30/04/2007
Manchester United fans have been upset by a decision to increase some season ticket prices by 14 per cent after a 12.5 per cent across-the-board rise last summer...
The West Ham Fine - 29/04/2007
Whether West Ham should have been given a points deduction as well as (or instead) of a fine, and why Tevez was allowed to play has aroused considerable controversy among English football fans...
Under Fire Arsenal Board To Meet Kroenke - 29/04/2007
After making plain his views about American sports franchise owner Stan Kroenke, septuagenarian Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has had to respond to criticisms from minority shareholders about alleged outdated attitudes on the board...
City Show Ransom Bid Yellow Card - 29/04/2007
Manchester City has distanced itself from former player Ray Ranson saying that his bid to buy the club contains 'material' problems...
Microsoft Boss In For Saints - 28/04/2007
The latest US sports franchise owner to be lured by English football is Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. A highly respected individual locally when I lived in Seattle, he is considering an approach for the firm that owns Southampton Football Club...
Footballers Rich List - 25/04/2007
David Beckham remains the world's richest footballer. He and his wife Victoria have increased their wealth by £25m to £112m in the past year...
Supporters Keep Halifax Going - 25/04/2007
Supporters of Halifax Town are keeping the relegated threatened Conference club going while a takeover bid is sorted out...
Three Bidders In For Manchester City - 24/04/2007
Three bidders are apparently interested in acquiring Manchester City, no doubt thinking that it has unfulfilled potential (although that is something that has been said of many clubs)...
The Battle For Control of Arsenal - 22/04/2007
A famous classic film is called The Arsenal Stadium Mystery. I've never watched it, although it's supposed to be one of the best films with a football setting. Perhaps they could do a re-make based on the current battle for control of the North London club...
Euro 2012 Goes East - 22/04/2007
In a big boost for East European football, and what may be a salutary shock for Italy, it has been decided to host the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine...
Dein Leaves Arsenal In Takeover Row - 18/04/2007
Arsenal director David Dein has left the club with immediate effect and ceased to be a director. Chairman Peter Hill-Wood stated, 'We sincerely regret that irreconcilable differences between Mr Dein and the rest of the board have necessitated a parting of the ways.'...
MLS Season Gets Underway - 16/04/2007
The Major League Soccer season in the US has got under way, but with attendances typical of a middle ranking Championship team. Chicago Fire attracted 15,353 to their game with New England Revolution...
When A Minnow Is Not A Minnow - 16/04/2007
Today I was rung by BBC Channel Islands Television and asked if I could do an interview on the fact that the Jersey 'national' side has received a three yearsponsorship deal of £100k...
L'Europe Parle Anglais - 15/04/2007
'Europe Speaks English' was the headline of the French sports newspaper L'Equipe after English sides took three of the four places in the Champions League semi-finals...
More Managers Face Sack, Claims Allardyce - 15/04/2007
Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce has forecast that there could be mass sackings in the Barclays Premiership next season...
United Goes Into The Red - 15/04/2007
The Glazer family's takeover of Manchester United has resulted in a pre-tax loss of £137.7m in the club's holding company...
Scarborough May Survive - 15/04/2007
Former Football League club Scarborough could yet be rescued from closure even though they are still facing a compulsory winding-up order...
Ferencváros Up For Sale - 10/04/2007
One of the most storied football clubs in Europe is up for sale after going bankrupt. Known as Fradi by its fans, the club founded in 1899...
US Tycoon Pays £65m To Buy Into Arsenal - 10/04/2007
US sports team owner Stan Kroenke has bought ITV's 9.9 per cent stake in Arsenal for about £42m, laying out another £23m for the broadcaster's 50 per cent share of Arsenal Broadband Limited...
Premiership Status Benefits Blades - 01/04/2007
The benefits of being in the Premiership are clearly demonstrated by the figures released for Sheffield United for the six months ending 31 December 2006...
March 2007
ITV and Setanta Win TV Deal - 30/03/2007
The BBC's and Sky's eight year grip on the rights for FA Cup and England home matches has been ended by a joint bid by ITV and Setanta that is worth £106m more a year...
Arsenal Shares Hit High - 24/03/2007
Renewed takeover rumours are driving Arsenal shares to a record high. The share price closed towards the end of the week at £6,200, up £900 in a week...
Wolves Make Loss - 24/03/2007
Coca-Cola Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers made an overall loss of £1.16m in the year to 31 May 2006...
US Soccer Looks Forward To New Season - 21/03/2007
Major League Soccer in the US kicks off the new season on 7 April and is looking forward to the arrival of David Beckham at LA Galaxy mid-season...
Liverpool's New Owners Want Bigger Stadium - 17/03/2007
Now that they have completed their purchase of Liverpool, American tycoons George Gillet Jr and Tom Hicks have urged the club to expand the new stadium at Stanley Park beyond the planned 60,000 capacity...
International Investors Target Championship Clubs - 11/03/2007
Foreign investors are increasingly targeting Championship clubs with little or no international reputation for acquisition...
Some Premiership Clubs Cut Ticket Prices - 04/03/2007
Some Premiership clubs are cutting ticket prices, although their initiatives are unlikely to be copied by the biggest and most successful clubs...
Millwall Faces Closure Threat - 04/03/2007
Millwall Football Club has said that it may be forced to close unless shareholders approve a £5 million rescue loan...
Five A Side Football Boom - 04/03/2007
More people may now be playing five-a-side football in Britain than the conventional game...
February 2007
Man City Lose Over £7m In Six Months - 28/02/2007
Manchester City ran up a £7.1m loss in the six months ending November 2006...
Steve Coppell Uses His Economics Degree - 28/02/2007
If anyone wonders why Reading put out a largely second string team against Manchester United in the FA Cup last night, they should remember that, like Arsene Wenger, manager Steve Coppell has a degree in Economics...
Man City Takeover Could Mean More Debt - 26/02/2007
Manchester City could be the next Premiership takeover target with potential American owners among those interested...
Arsenal Make Six Month Loss - 25/02/2007
Arsenal lost £6.2m in the six months ending on 30 November...
Chelsea Losses Down, But Still Lose £80m - 19/02/2007
Chelsea cut their losses by £60m in the financial year to June 2006, but they still lost £80.2m...
Dispute On Shareholder Rights At Galatasary - 18/02/2007
Several investors in the merchandising arm of leading Turkish football club Galatasaray are locked in a dispute with the club's owner over minority shareholding rights...
70,000 Internet Viewers for Sevilla vs Steaua Bucharest - 17/02/2007
The UEFA Cup match between Steaua Bucharest and Seville on Thursday 15th February marked the first time in Spain an entire football match could be followed totally live and free through Internet, mobile telephone and television...
Leicester Deal Is Sealed - 13/02/2007
The much delayed takeover of Championship side Leicester City has at last been completed...
Bardsmen Get Go Ahead For New Stadium - 13/02/2007
Midland Alliance league club Stratford Town can allow themselves a hey, nonny, nonny or two with the news that their £1.89m new stadium development is to go ahead...
Chelsea Go For New Stadium - 11/02/2007
Chelsea have confirmed that they are going for a new super stadium after calling off talks about expanding Stamford Bridge...
Fans Ripped Off Buying Shirts Could Get Money Back - 11/02/2007
An attempt to win compensation for football fans who bought England and Manchester United fans at inflated prices is being made by consumer organisation Which?..
Premiership Clubs To Move Up Money Table - 11/02/2007
Even though the latest 2006 Deloitte Football Money League shows the top English clubs slipping down the order, the results are likely to prove a blip...
Spanish Clubs Top Rich League - 11/02/2007
Real Madrid retained its place at the top of the Deloitte Football Money League, the club's second season at the top, while Barcelona moved up four places to second...
Italian Clubs Play Behind Closed Doors - 11/02/2007
Most Italian clubs had to play behind closed doors this weekend after a government decree ruled that grounds that did not meet new safety standards could not admit spectators. The decree followed the death of Filippo Raciti, a police officer, in clashes between supporters...
Are Arsenal Next For Takeover? - 09/02/2007
Arsenal are involved in advanced talks with a billionaire American sports tycoon, Stan Kroenke, about forming a partnership with Kroneke's Major League soccer franchise Colorado Rapids...
American Soccer Boss Could Save Cambridge - 07/02/2007
The boss of the Seattle Sounders soccer team is one of a trio who is prepared to put £600,000 into ailing Conference side Cambridge United...
American Duo Go 50:50 On Liverpool - 04/02/2007
Tom Hicks, co-founder of the US investment firm Hicks Muse, Tate and Furst is dipping into his personal fortune to provide half the equity for George Gillett's purchase of Liverpool FC...
Spurs May Be Next Buyout Target - 04/02/2007
Tottenham Hotspur are being targeted as the next takeover target for private investors...
Bottom Clubs Most Active In Transfer Market - 04/02/2007
Total spending in the transfer window was over £62m, only £8m short of the record spend in January last year...
Fall In Away Fans At Premiership Matches - 04/02/2007
Premiership attendances look set top the 13 million mark for the fourth time in the competition's 15-year history, representing a one per cent increase on last season...
Platini Victory Is Also One For Blatter - 04/02/2007
The election of former French international Michel Platini by the narrow margin of 27 votes to 23 as Uefa president is as much a victory for Fifa president Sepp Blatter...
Team Pope Sets Sight On Italian league - 04/02/2007
The prospect of a Vatican football team competing in the Italian League has come a step closer. A league of 16 teams made up of seminarians, clergy and laymen studying in Rome will kick off next week. If it proves successful...
January 2007
Angry Sheikh Pulls Out If Liverpool Bid - 31/01/2007
Liverpool's plans for the funding of a new stadium are in turmoil after an angry Sheikh Mohammed pulled Dubai International Capital out of their takeover bid for the club...
Joorabchian Sets His Sights On Fulham - 31/01/2007
Having lost out to the Icelandic consortium at West Ham, Iranian-born businessman Kia Joorabchian has set his sights on Fulham...
Preston Set To Complete Stadium - 31/01/2007
If you visit the National Football Museum at Deepdale, you can take a look at Preston's stadium and see that it has been modernised only on three sides...
Cherries In Crisis - 31/01/2007
AFC Bournemouth chairman Abdul Jaffar has urged support for the consortium that is bidding to take over the club...
Southend Move Forward On New Stadium Plans - 31/01/2007
Southend have moved closer to getting their proposed new 22,000-seater stadium...
Both Non-League Clubs In Cambridge In Trouble - 31/01/2007
Relegation could finish off Conference strugglers and former Football League side Cambridge United according to their chairman Lee Power...
Platini May Have His Work Cut Out - 29/01/2007
New Uefa president and former French international Michel Platini may not find it so easy to take away England's fourth Champions League place as he has promised...
United Profits Triple - 28/01/2007
Manchester United's first financial results since it was taken private by the Glazer family reveal pre-tax profits for the 12 months to June 2006 of £30.8m, almost tripled from £10.8m...
Second Bid For Liverpool - 28/01/2007
Liverpool has received a second foreign takeover bid for the club, this time from George Gillett, owner of the Montreal Canadians ice hockey club...
Big Boost To Terraces Campaign - 24/01/2007
Many fans have been campaigning for years for the return of standing on terraces to top flight football...
Palace Fans Could Lose Ground - 24/01/2007
Three months after buying Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park ground off former owner Ron Noades, Palace chairman Simon Jordan is attempting to re-finance it...
Brentford Fan Puts £3m Into Club - 23/01/2007
Cash strapped Brentford have received a welcome lifeline with fan Matthew Benham...
Premiership Doubles Foreign Media Deals - 21/01/2007
The increasing number of foreign players, managers and even owners in English football has helped the Premier League secure a string of international television deals...
Belgravia Pull Out Of Newcastle Deal - 21/01/2007
Jersey-based investment group Belgravia has said it no longer intends to make an offer...
Torquay's Problems Raise Broader Issues - 21/01/2007
Current difficulties at the Football League's bottom club, Torquay, raise broader issues about how someone is deemed to be a fit and proper person to run a football club...
Collapse Of Weymouth A Familiar Tale - 21/01/2007
Whether it's the Premiership or non-league, it's a familiar tale. An ambitious chairman makes a bid for glory, but the money runs out and the club is left in a worst position than it was before...
Will States Move Revive A Fading Brand? - 15/01/2007
Will David Beckham's move to Los Angeles Galaxy revive a brand that has shown signs of fading?...
FA Hopes To Net £400m In TV Rights Auction - 14/01/2007
An auction for television rights to FA Cup and England home football internationals will kick off next month, amid expectations that the winning bid will easily exceed the existing £80m a year deal...
Wolves Deny Souness Bid - 14/01/2007
The future of Championship side Wolves is confused after Graham Souness claimed that his £20m bid to buy the club had been rejected...
Brentford Face Financial Battle - 07/01/2007
Brentford FC are not just facing a battle to escape relegation from League 1, but also to stay in business...
December 2006
Viewers Like Uncertainty - 31/12/2006
Imperial College London and media buying group Initiative Sport Futures have examined the way television viewers react to each minute of 248 Premiership matches...
Leicester Worth Less - 31/12/2006
Milan Mandaric has made a revised bid to take over Leicester City, but it is substantially lower than the offer made by...
Incomes and Goals Slump - A Threat To The Premiership? - 29/12/2006
A complaint increasingly heard from fans is that clubs outside the top four of the Premiership are increasingly focused on survival because of the increasing costs of relegation and that this leads to negative and boring football...
Charlton See Big Losses As They Spend More On Wages - 28/12/2006
Troubled Premiership club Charlton recorded operating losses of £4.6m and an overall net loss of £8.9m in 2005-6 which were offset by a share issue to directors and the sale of players...
Seadogs Survive But Giant Axe Club Face The Chop - 28/12/2006
It looks as if a former football league club Scarborough is going to survive, but Lancaster City have gone into administration...
Man United Think Chelsea Are Not A Threat Off The Pitch - 24/12/2006
Manchester United thinks that Chelsea are a threat on the pitch but not off according to documents leaked to The Times...
Stevens Criticises FA Over Transfer Deals - 22/12/2006
Lord Stevens has criticised the way that the FA has handled transfer deals, but has been unable to find evidence of wrongdoing that would stand up in a court of law...
Becks Insures Himself For £100m - 19/12/2006
David Beckham has taken out a £100m insurance policy that covers him against injury on the field, disfigurement or illness...
Newcastle In Bid Talks - 19/12/2006
Newcastle United is continuing to hold talks with rival foreign-based investors over possible offers for the club...
Dundalk Fan Invades FAI Headquarters And Threatens Self Immolation - 15/12/2006
Such is the passion for football in Ireland that a Dundalk fan invaded the FAI offices in Dublin, doused the place (and later himself) in petrol and demanded a meeting with FAI Chief Executive John Delay...
Must Everton Move From Goodison? - 12/12/2006
Different versions of the future location of Everton appeared to be coming out of the club after many fans reacted angrily to plans to move the ground out of Liverpool...
Do Academies Face Closure? - 12/12/2006
Premiership bosses are increasingly taken the view that the amount spent each year invested in each academy would produce more immediate results if it was ploughed back into the transfer market...
BT Move Into Television Market - 12/12/2006
There could be even more competition for contracts to show football on television in the future with a new service from BT Vision...
Should Chelsea 'B' Play In The Championship? - 10/12/2006
Chelsea's José Mourinho is no stranger to controversy. Is his suggestion that Chelsea B should be allowed to play in the Championship just another arrogant wind up or a stimulus to a needed debate about the future of reserve football in England?...
Gambling Crackdown Could Hit Sponsored Shirts - 10/12/2006
Four Premiership clubs could have their shirt sponsorship deals threatened after the Gambling Commission announced an investigation into whether links with online gaming companies encouraged children to gamble...
Cardiff Refinancing Deal Near - 10/12/2006
Championship promotion contenders are close to completing a complex refinancing deal which it is hoped will bring Premiership football to the Welsh capital city...
Manchester City Are Next Takeover Target - 08/12/2006
Manchester City have revealed that they are the next Premiership club to be a takeover target, although it is unclear at this stage whether the potential owner is foreign or not...
Liverpool May Choose Gulf State Owners - 04/12/2006
The seemingly endless saga of Liverpool's takeover looks like it is coming to an end with the club becoming the first Premiership club to be owned by the investment vehicle of a Gulf state...
German Fans Willing To Pay €3.7 For Internet Football Match Highlights - 01/12/2006
A survey published by the International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship shows that football fans are willing to pay an average €3.73 for highlight reports and matches via the internet...
November 2006
Seagulls Face New Stadium Delay - 30/11/2006
Brighton are facing further delays to plans for a new 23,000 seater stadium at Falmer after Local Government Secretary Ruth Kelly called for alternative sites to be reconsidered...
Blades Have Plan For Off Pitch Success - 29/11/2006
Sheffield United has expanded its club shop, opened the stadium's restaurant in the evenings and even built a business centre in a corner of the ground...
Do Clubs Know How To Choose A Manager? - 28/11/2006
The revolving door in football management is going round faster and faster and the typical Championship manager lasts little more than a year...
Preston Pay For Promotion Push - 26/11/2006
Preston North End are seeking a future in the Premiership rather than looking to the past, but there is a price to pay for such ambition and the club widened its operating losses from £2.69m in the previous year to £4.18m in the twelve months to June 30...
Rushden Find A Saviour - 26/11/2006
Relegation threatened Conference club Rushden and Diamonds who faced going into administration have found a saviour in the form of former Peterborough vice-chairman Keith Cousins...
Liverpool Considers Two Bids - 26/11/2006
It was recently suggested on this page that Liverpool might be the next Premiership club to be sold to foreign owners and the club is currently in discussions with US sports entrepreneur George Gillett and Dubai Capital International...
Chelsea's plan To Be World Number One - 26/11/2006
Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has outlined the club's plans to be No.1 club in the world by 2014...
Argentine League Football In Crisis - 26/11/2006
Argentina's soccer crisis deepened on Sunday November 19th when fans of Racing Club and San Lorenzo blocked team buses and forced the match between the two sides to be called off...
West Ham Deal Has Broader Significance - 22/11/2006
The acquisition of West Ham by an Icelandic consortium has a broader significance for the future of Premiership football...
Beckham Sees Fall In Sponsorship Income - 15/11/2006
David Beckham's income from individual merchandising activities declined by 10 per cent last year...
Orient For Olympic Stadium? - 12/11/2006
West Ham and Spurs have expressed interest in moving into the Olympic Stadium after the Games are finished, but now relegation threatened League 1 club Leyton Orient are in the frame...
West Ham Deal In Doubt - 08/11/2006
Iranian-born entrepreneur Kia Joorabchian held urgent talks with his main backer in London yesterday in a desperate attempt to salvage his bid for West Ham...
Price Is A Big Influence on Premiership Crowds - 06/11/2006
At a time when there has been a renewed debate about Premiership attendances, some interesting data is presented in a large scale study commissioned by Ofcom...
October 2006
Deadly Doug's Cash Bonanza - 31/10/2006
Football magazine 4-4-2 has been looking into just how much money 'Deadly' Doug Ellis made out of Aston Villa and it is understood that BBC television is also preparing a programme on the subject...
Former Pompey Chairman In Foxes Bid - 31/10/2006
Former Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric looks like he is closing on a deal to buy Championship side Leicester City...
Newcastle Go Into The Red - 30/10/2006
Newcastle FC has blamed its failure to qualify for Europe last season for a slump into the red for the year...
Barcelona Secure €150m Sponsorship Deal With Nike - 29/10/2006
Nike, the world's largest sporting goods company and FC Barcelona, have announced a new five-year sponsorship deal for €150m that both sides hope will take them to number one in the sport...
Premiership Attendances Give Cause For Concern - 27/10/2006
It's a perennial news story every early autumn. Premiership attendances are down. The fans can no longer afford to pay to go and in any case are fed up with overpaid foreign stars. As a result they're all going off to watch the Conference. If that was really a valid argument, everyone would be driving around in clapped out ten year old cars...
Hammam Out, Ridsdale In at Cardiff - 22/10/2006
Sam Hammam has been replaced as chairman by former Leeds boss Peter Ridsdale at Championship leaders Cardiff City...
Sponsor Blows Hit Conference - 22/10/2006
The Conference has been dealt a major blow with the news that Nationwide are to quit as sponsors at the end of the season...
Sylvester Stallone To Head For Goodison? - 22/10/2006
English-born Florida resident Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl has vowed to bring some of Hollywood's top names to Goodison Park after he became the club's second biggest shareholder in a £30m deal...
Deal Reached On Wembley - 22/10/2006
Hopes have been raised by a deal struck between the FA and builders Multiplex which avoids a costly and acrimonious court battle over delays to the construction off the stadium...
Manchester United Lose Two Directors - 22/10/2006
David Gill has been left looking isolated as chief executive of Manchester United after the club announced the imminent departure of both its finance and commercial directors...
Irons In Talks On Olympic Stadium - 20/10/2006
Sports minister Richard Caborn has revealed that West Ham are in 'very serious negotiations' with Olympic authorities about moving into the 2012 stadium at Stratford after the games end...
West Ham To Choose Between Rival Bids - 17/10/2006
West Ham United hope to choose between rival bids for the Premiership club this week...
Just Give Us One Year In Top Flight Says Clarets Chair - 15/10/2006
On Saturday I went to watch Burnley play Hull City and their 2-0 victory gave the Clarets second place in the Championship. In the programme, chairman Barry Kilby wrote...
Palace Coup Secures Their Ground - 13/10/2006
A coup by chairman Simon Jordan has secured the freehold of Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park ground...
Truro Aim For League - 08/10/2006
Helped by a rich benefactor, Cornish club Truro City are aiming for league status in ten years...
Liverpool Court Date With Reebok - 08/10/2006
Liverpool have a trial date next April for their dispute with sportswear manufacturers Reebok International...
Chelsea Hit Back At Real Criticisms - 08/10/2006
Chelsea have hit back at accusations by Real Madrid's president that the club is pushing up European transfer prices...
Barclays Renew Premiership Deal - 01/10/2006
Barclays have renewed their sponsorship of the Premiership, paying a total of £65.8m for the title rights for the three years up to and including the 2009-10 season...
Charlton Consider Stadium Move - 01/10/2006
Charlton have deferred a decision on their proposed East Stand redevelopment and are considering other stadium options according to chief executive Peter Varney...
Olympique Lyonnais Plan Stock Market Flotation - 01/10/2006
Olympique Lyonnais, France's leading football club, will take the first step towards a stock market flotation in the next few weeks...
September 2006
Brazilian Football Clubs Finances Annual Survey - 28/09/2006
In September 2006, Casual Auditores Independentes S/S released its latest annual survey on the financial situation of Brazilian soccer covering 21 clubs and including expert comment from the analysts...
Arsenal Next Takeover Target? - 26/09/2006
With Chelsea and Manchester United already in foreign hands, Arsenal is the most attractive takeover target available...
Chelsea At Threat From EU Plan - 25/09/2006
Chelsea are the club most likely to be hit by an EU plan, endorsed by sports minister Richard Caborn, to relate a club's expenditure to its turnover...
Bung Probe Identifies Fifty Suspect Transfers - 24/09/2006
About 50 transfers out of 362 involving Premiership clubs investigated by the Stevens inquiry have raised suspicions among investigators...
Chances of West Ham Sale Boosted - 23/09/2006
The chances of West Ham being sold have been boosted by the news that secretive Israeli property magnate Eli Papoushado is willing to help fund the £100m takeover....
Liverpool Given Deadline On New Stadium - 23/09/2006
Liverpool have been told to provide evidence of how they will fund their proposed new £180m stadium at Stanley Park or risk losing European funding...
'I Am A Million Per Cent Innocent' Says 'Arry - 17/09/2006
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has responded to speculation that he might be featured in a BBC programme about bungs in football to be screened on Tuesday night by insisting that he is a 'million per cent innocent'...
The Cost Of Being A Fan Is Rising - 17/09/2006
The cost of being a football fan is rising fast. Virgin Money estimates it costs nearly £100,000 to be a fan who supports a club for...
Arsenal Denies Takeover Talks - 17/09/2006
Arsenal is the only 'top four' Premiership club that has not been taken over or become the subject of possible bids...
How Can Spare Tickets Be Sold Fairly? - 17/09/2006
The new online ticket exchange service, Viagogo, that has struck deals with Chelsea and Manchester United, has again come under fire from fans who claim that it is a rip off...
Spurs Linked With Wembley Bid - 14/09/2006
Tottenham have been linked with a possible audacious bid for the new Wembley Stadium...
Gillingham Up For Sale - 14/09/2006
Paul Scally has said that he will step down as Gillingham chairman if a suitable investor makes an approach...
Last Minute TV Deal For Italian Soccer - 13/09/2006
Italy's football season has opened after a last-minute broadcasting agreement was reached between Lega Calcio, the organisation that manages the top two leagues, and broadcasters Sky Italia and Sportitalia...
Why Premiership Clubs Are Attractive Buys - 10/09/2006
Explanations of the current interest in buying Premiership clubs has focused on two factors. One is the new television deal that is worth nearly £700 million a year from 2007...
United Boost Match Day Revenue - 10/09/2006
With Old Trafford's capacity boosted to 75,800, Manchester United's matches against Spurs, Celtic in the Champions League and Arsenal are likely to bring the club their three biggest attendances at the stadium...
Mystery Surrounding West Ham Deepens - 6/09/2006
Not even the most diehard West Ham fan would pretend that Upton Park is a glamorous location. But the high stakes world of international finance is increasingly enveloping the club, leading sports minister Richard Caborn to plead for greater clarity about bidders...
FIFA Decision Opens Up New Transfer Loophole - 6/09/2006
Discontented players may in future be able to transfer to a club in another country but not in their own country following a decision by Fifa....
Conference Attendances Up - 6/09/2006
Conference football is drawing bigger crowds with attendances for the first five games this season reaching a high of 117,363, an increase of 12,000 from the previous year...
Second Bid For West Ham - 4/09/2006
A second bid for West Ham football club, valued by Russian sources at £100m, has been made by Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili who also owns Dynamo Tiblisi...
August 2006
Spurs Face Cup Dilemma - 29/08/2006
Tottenham Hostpur have to deal from a dilemma arising from Uefa Cup draw against Slavia Prague...
Conference Signs TV Deal - 29/08/2006
The Conference, effectively the fifth division in English football, has signed a television contract with new market entrant Setanta Sports...
Most Analysts Optimistic About Premiership Football Business - 27/08/2006
With Randy Lerner acquiring a majority stake in Aston Villa, most analysts are optimistic about the future of the Premiership as a business although there are dissenting voices...
Football Back In Vogue With Financiers - 23/08/2006
One year ago a Sunday newspaper ran a story with the headline 'The game that ate itself', but now football is back in vogue as a sector with investors...
Serious Bid For Newcastle Likely - 20/08/2006
Belgravia Group, a secretive Jersey-based investment group, is thought likely to make a bid for Newcastle United this week...
Will Season Ticket Exchange Plans Hit Touts? - 20/08/2006
Chelsea and Manchester United have claimed that a new season ticket exchange scheme will hit ticket touts, but fans are more sceptical...
More Premiership Clubs To Become American Owned - 16/08/2006
Analysts are forecasting that more Premiership clubs are likely to become American owned after what looks likely to be the successful takeover of Villa by Randy Lerner...
Arsenal To Charge Nearly £100 For Top Matches - 14/08/2006
Arsenal have announced that it will cost £94 to watch Category A matches against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United...
Juve Tries To Secure Its Future - 13/08/2006
The first signs of the financial impact of the Italian referees scandal on Juventus were apparent when it reported a 36 per cent drop in quarterly revenues...
Villa Likely To Become Second American Owned Club - 09/08/2006
The battle for control of Aston Villa may be entering its final phase, commentators agreeing that Martin O'Neill would have hardly gone to the club as manager if 'Deadly' Doug Ellis was to remain in charge...
July 2006
Competitors Line Up To Buy Villa - 29/07/2006
Billionnaire Randy Lerner could be the second American to gain control of a major British football club. He seems to be ahead in the race to acquire Aston Villa...
Power Cut Off At Gills - 24/07/2006
Gillingham Football Club had its electricity cut off last week and it wasn't a question of a shilling in the meter but an unpaid bill of £100,000...
Deadly Doug Saga Entering Final Phase? - 23/07/2006
Living in an area where the leading Premiership club is Aston Villa, I am well aware of the complaints of their supporters about now departed manager David O'Leary and his 'book of excuses' but even more so about chairman 'Deadly Doug' Ellis...
Madejski: I'm Not Ready To Sell Royals - 23/07/2006
Reading chairman John Madejski has taken some stick in the press after reports that he wanted to sell Reading because he could not compete financially...
Stakes In Footballers Up For Sale - 23/07/2006
Hedge funds and private financiers are planning to invest in Premiership players in the same way that they buy stakes in aircraft and works of art...
Glazers Tighten Grip On United With Debt Refinancing - 21/07/2006
Manchester United's improving financial prospects have been reflected in a £660m debt reinfinancing deal...
Supporters' Trusts Are Not An Easy Solution - 19/07/2006
Supporters' trusts are often seen as the way forward for clubs in the lower leagues. They enable supporters to run their own clubs in a prudent fashion, safeguarding them for the community from developers or businessmen with a dubious past...
Football League Attempts Crackdown On Agents - 17/07/2006
The Football League is attempting a crackdown on the amount of money that flows out of the game into the pockets of the agents...
Becks Brand Will Survive - 05/07/2006
David Beckham's company Footwork Productions earned £10.5m after tax during 2004, the last year for which accounts are available...
Ten Years After Bosman - 02/07/2006
Loughborough University staged a workshop on this theme at the weekend with one of the page editors giving a paper on the G-14 group of big clubs...
Setanta Needs Cash To Finance TV Deal - 02/07/2006
Irish pay-TV broadcaster Setanta Sports needs a £200m injection of funds to help pay for the acquisition of live rights to the English Premiership...
Arsenal Refinances Stadium Costs - 02/07/2006
Arsenal has refinanced some of the costs of its new Emirates Stadium in the capital markets. The club is set to pull off a ground-breaking deal to borrow £260m from investors using ticket sales at the stadium as security
Lowe Resigns At Saints - 02/07/2006
Rupert Lowe resigned as Southampton chairman 72 hours before an extraordinary general meeting of the club which would have almost certainly seen his demise...
June 2006
FC Shakhtar To Build First UEFA Class Stadium in Ukraine - 28/06/2006
Savant International will advise FC Shakhtar, the Ukrainian League Champions, on strategic matters for the construction of a new US$250 million stadium designed be the first one in the country designed to meet UEFA and FIFA requirements for 5-star accreditation...
Irish Bid For Mackems Back On - 26/06/2006
The deal to take over Sunderland is back on. In fact, it seems that it was never off, local reports of a wobble being caused by two people who were never full members of the consortium...
Italian Scandal Could Hit Transfer Fees - 25/06/2006
The match fixing scandal that is rocking Italian football could have implications across the rest of Europe...
World Cup Beer Sales At Record Level - 25/06/2006
Ale sales have soared to record levels with a 50 per cent increase during June according to figures from Carlsberg...
League Win £4 Damages Over ITV Digital Affair - 25/06/2006
The ITV Digital affair, which saw clubs getting into financial trouble after spending money which wasn't then available, has ended with...
Newcastle Upset About Owen Compensation - 23/06/2006
Newcastle United are not happy with the amount of compensation they will get from the FA after the injury to Michael Owen in the World Cup...
Mackems Deal In Trouble - 19/06/2006
A £16m deal to take control of relegated Sunderland may be in danger of collapse...
US Hedge Fund Wants To Buy Magpies - 18/06/2006
American hedge fund Polygon is trying to acquire Newcastle United...
Fans Unhappy About About World Cup Ticket Allocation - 16/06/2006
Our World Cup correspondent Angela reports from Nuremberg on discontent among England fans about ticket allocation...
TV Programme Pinpoints FIFA Bribes Allegations - 13/06/2006
Fifa President Sepp Blatter is being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribes pocketed by football officials, BBC Panorama revealed in a programme screened on Sunday 11 June 2006...
German Pay TV Channel Premiere Loses Bundesliga Broadcast Rights - 11/06/2006
Shares in Premiere fell to an all-time low last week after Deutsche Telekom announced it would not use its rights for showing live football via the internet to provide viewing for Premier's pay-TV subscribers...
Blatter Wants 18 Team Premier League - 10/06/2006
Fifa's Congress has endorsed a proposal for Europe's top leagues to be reduced to a maximum of 18 clubs by the start of the 2007-8 season...
Seagulls Form Political Party - 06/06/2006
After being frustrated for years over decisions relating to their new stadium, Brighton fans have registered their own Seagulls Party with the Electoral Commission...
'Big Five' European Leagues Generated Revenues Over €6 billion - 06/06/2006
The latest annual review of football finance from accountants Deloitte shows that the 'big five' European leagues - the top-tier leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - generated revenues of €6.3 billion in 2004/5, an impressive 8% growth on the previous year...
World Cup Should Be Held Every Two Years - 05/06/2006
The World Cup should be held every two years according to a report prepared for the G-14 grouping of top clubs by Hypercube...
Arsenal Deny Any Wrongdoing Over Beveren Deal - 04/06/2006
Arsenal have denied any wrongdoing over allegations by the BBC Newsnight programme that they secretly gave Flemish club Beveren £1 million to act as a 'shop window' for young players...
Premiership Wage Costs Fall - 04/06/2006
For the first time in the history of the Premiership total wages and salaries costs fell in the 2004-5 season...
Crowd Numbers Hold Up Well And Stadia Improve - 02/06/2006
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, points out in their latest annual football finance review, 'Premiership football is more popular than ever...'
English Football In Good Financial Health - 02/06/2006
The publication of the annual Deloitte Review of Football Finance is an event eagerly awaited by those interested in the economics of football. What is clear is that Premiership clubs in particular are in good financial health...
May 2006
World Cup Boost For Retailers - 29/05/2006
World Cup related purchases are expected to boost total UK consumer spending by an extra 50 per cent to £3 billion during the month of the tournament...
UEFA Lead At Half Time In Battle With Clubs - 27/05/2006
A report by a special European Commission task force on the future of football headed by former Portuguese minister José Arnaut...
VAT Tribunal Decision May Hit Clubs - 27/05/2006
Clubs facing losing millions of pounds if the result of a landmark case on agents payments goes against Newcastle United...
Pub Chain To Cut Back On Sky - 27/05/2006
Waning interest in Premiership football and surging subscription costs may push brewer and pub chain Wolverhampton and Dudley to nearly halve the number of its managed pubs showing Sky Television...
200,000 Fans May Not Renew Season Tickets - 25/05/2006
A survey by Virgin Money of 690,000 season ticket holders claims that 200,000 of them will not renew their season tickets this summer...
Watford's Premiership Cash Bonanza - 22/05/2006
It's been dubbed the £40m final and Watford's victory over Leeds in the Championship play-off final has certainly given them a massive cash boost...
Big Shirt Deal For Spurs - 21/05/2006
Spurs have entered the big league of football shirt sponsorship deals with a four year contract worth at least £34m with Mansion...
Italian Football Rocked By Major Scandal - 14/05/2006
Italian football has been rocked by a major scandal centred on top club Juventus with allegations of match fixing...
TV Deal Means New Bonanza For Premiership - 07/05/2006
The new television deal running for three years from 2007-8 represents a bonanza for the Premiership, but may be less good for fans...
Shirt Sponsorship Earnings Soar - 07/05/2006
By June 3rd League 2 club Wrexham will have been in administration for 18 months, the maximum allowed under Football League rules...
Wrexham Hope To Survive - 01/05/2006
By June 3rd League 2 club Wrexham will have been in administration for 18 months, the maximum allowed under Football League rules...
April 2006
TV Auction Goes To Second Round - 30/04/2006
The auction of Premiership television rights is unexpectedly going to a second round on Thursday after BSkyB faced stiffer competition than expected from other broadcasters...
The Key to Bolton's Success - 30/04/2006
Fifteen years ago Bolton were playing at a ramshackle ground and had little to look forward to. Now the club are regular contenders for Europe...
Chelsea On Course To Be World Number 1 - 30/04/2006
Chelsea are on course with their plan to be number one club in the world, according to chief executive Peter Kenyon...
Female Soccer Fans in Iran - 30/04/2006
Iran is divided over the issue of whether women should be allowed to attend soccer matches. At least six senior ayatollahs, including some of Iran's most senior clerics, have issued rulings condemning a decision by President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to allow women to sit in the stands....
Top Clubs Get Their Costs Under Control - 23/04/2006
Premiership clubs seem to be getting their costs under control. Excluding Chelsea, the other seventeen Premiership clubs made aggregate profits of more than £75m...
Crowds and Viewers Stable - 23/04/2006
Predictions of a fall off of interest in the Premiership seem to be premature if the latest figures on television viewers and crowds are anything to go by...
Norwegians Interested In Liverpool - 23/04/2006
Liverpool's attempts to gain outside investment to underwrite its new stadium at Stanley Park have been a long saga, but now the FA Cup finalists have attracted promising interest from Norwegian investors...
£4 Million 'Down The Drain' at Dundee United - 20/04/2006
Grocery millionaire Eddie Thompson has said that his personal spending of £4 million on players for Dundee United has been wasted...
Sky Increases Grip On Premiership Contract - 19/04/2006
The Premiership has told ITV and the BBC that they will have to bid 6 per cent more than rival media groups for rights to show live Premiership football. This will make it even harder for the largest free-to-air broadcasters to challenge BSkyB's dominance...
Manchester United Get Biggest Ever Shirt Deal - 09/04/2006
Manchester United have got the biggest shirt sponsorship deal ever concluded in English football with a four-year £56.5m contract with American International Group...
Clubs Told To Sell Off Stadiums - 09/04/2006
Cass Business School has urged football clubs to sell off their stadiums and turn them into flats because they are a drain on resources...
Pressure Mounts Rupe - 09/04/2006
The pressure on embattled Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe has intensified as it emerged that engineering entrepreneur Leon Crouch had taken a 9 per cent stake in the club's parent company...
Becks Tops The Profit League - 09/04/2006
David Beckham's company Footwork Productions has one of the highest profit margins of any British firm...
Chelsea Deal Will Help Club In U.S. Market - 02/04/2006
The stated ambition of Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is 'to turn the world blue' but one major obstacle in the way has been the lack of the club's presence in the US market...
Spurs and Wolves Report Bigger Profits - 01/04/2006
Spurs have reported pre-tax profits of £4.4m, up £1m on last year...
March 2006
New Liverpool Bid Speculation - 30/03/2006
Prodded by the Takeover Panel, Liverpool have confirmed that they are in talks that could lead to a bid for the club...
Success Of Emirates Stadium Relies On Rich Fans - 27/03/2006
The success of Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium is dependent on attracting sufficient rich fans to buy a range of expensive packages as well as selling additional seats to regular fans...
UEFA versus G-14 - 27/03/2006
A controversial and potentially far reaching court case in Belgium raises tensions between UEFA and G-14...
Dons Had To Go To 17 Banks To Get Loan Deal - 25/03/2006
AFC Wimbledon had to approach seventeen financial institutions before they could close a deal to re-finance their debt...
Premiership TV Revenues Likely To Increase - 25/03/2006
With the long competition law dispute between the European Commission and the Premiership finally formally over, the auction for television rights has started...
Charlton Posts Big Loss - 25/03/2006
An attempt by Charlton Athletic to take the club to the next level, UEFA Cup qualification, by spending on players has ended in no improvement in performances on the pitch and the club posting a big first half loss...
Oxford United Sold - 19/03/2006
Oxford United have been sold to a local consortium headed by Nick Merry and former manager Jim Smith...
It's All At The Co-Op Now - 19/03/2006
The Co-operative Bank has lent more than £100m to seven clubs over the last decade...
Watford Takeover Boosts Premiership Hopes - 18/03/2006
Watford are in the play off positions in the Championships and still have hopes of an automatic promotion place. Their financial future looks brighter after they were acquired in a £6.2m deal...
Rotherham May Go Out Of Business - 18/03/2006
Complete collapses of football clubs have been rare. Those most vulnerable are perhaps smaller northern clubs in economically declining towns near other major cities. Rotherham fits that bill...
Blades Off The Pitch Strategy Falls Into Place - 18/03/2006
Just as their bid for automatic promotion to the Premiership falters slightly, Sheffield United's off the pitch strategy is falling into place...
0-0 Draws To Be Banned? - 17/03/2006
It is usually from the United States that we hear complaints that there are two few goals in 'soccer' and that something should be done about it, for example by making the goals bigger...
Premiership Credit Ratings - 17/03/2006
ICC Credit, a credit reference agency, has produced an alternative Premiership table to illustrate its credit scores...
Is French Football Boring? - 17/03/2006
There are fears, particularly among TV executives, that French football is becoming dangerously dull, and the league have responded by commissioning Michel Hidalgo to draw up a list of proposals to beat the boredom...
Real Madrid President Resigns - 17/03/2006
Real Madrid president, construction magnate Florentino Pérez, has resigned, admitting that there were divisions in the dressing room...
Cash Flows Into Non-League Football - 09/03/2006
One occasionally hears fans saying that they often go to non-league football these days because it's less driven by money and greed than the Premiership...
Rock Star's Boost For Port Vale - 05/03/2006
Los Angeles based rock star Robbie Williams has given a financial boost to his home town club, Port Vale...
Big Losses At Millwall - 03/03/2006
Relegation threatened Championship club Millwall could be forced to sell players after announcing a pre-tax loss of £2.4m for the six month period to last November...
February 2006
A 'Chelsea Village' In Bermondsey? - 26/02/2006
Millwall chairman Peter de Savary is planning a £100m 'Chelsea Village' style development for the area around the New Den...
Fans Have Chance To Take Part In Major Review Of Football - 23/02/2006
Football fans are being invited to contribute to a major review of European football set up by the European Union...
Plan To Get Players To Pay Agents - 20/02/2006
Players may have to reimburse their agents if a plan put forward by Manchester United chief executive David Gill...
Real Madrid's Income Overtakes United - 17/02/2006
The fact that Real Madrid have overtaken Manchester United at the top of the rich list of clubs produced by Deloitte has certainly captured the media's imagination...
Real Madrid Tops Football Club Rich List - 16/02/2006
For the first time Real Madrid has topped the rich list of clubs, as ranked by income, drawn up by accountants Deloitte...
Rotherham Face Closure - 10/02/2006
We've been here before with lower division clubs, but the survival of Rotherham is in real doubt...
Transfer Window Spending Rises in January 2006 - 04/02/2006
Premiership football clubs spent a record £70m in the January transfer window despite the inactivity of previously big spending Chelsea...
Racing Club Warwick Turn £30,000 Into £2,000,000 - 02/02/2006
It sounds like a loaves and fishes miracle, but it has been achieved by Midland Alliance club Racing Club Warwick whose attendance does not always reach three figures...
January 2006
Second Record Loss At Chelsea - 27/01/2006
Chelsea recorded a second record loss for a football team in the year to 30 June 2005 and it was even higher than last year...
Revolt Grows At Southampton - 27/01/2006
With Southampton stuck in the lower reaches of the Championship, fans' dissatisfaction with Saints chairman Rupert Lowe is growing...
United Profits Fall - 23/01/2006
Manchester United saw a 20 per cent drop in operating profit from £58.3m to £46m for the 11 months to 30 June...
Glazers Bring In Their Own Finance Man - 12/01/2006
Malcolm Glazer appoints Ed Woodward as 'chief of staff' to liaise with banks...
Aston Villa Deal Is On... And Then Off Again - 12/01/2006
The Irish consortium interested in taking over Aston Villa insist that the deal is still on despite reports that they do not have enough money to complete it...
Half Of Clubs Change Their Manager Every Season - 10/01/2006
With an average of 40 dismissals a season, almost half the clubs in the Premiership and the Football League now change their manager every season...
Now It's Pompski - 03/01/2006
Less glamorous clubs are sharing in Russian involvement in the Premiership with news that businessman Alexandre 'Sacha' Gaydamak is to become joint owner of Portsmouth...
Cambridge Football Clubs To Merge? - 02/01/2006
Conference and former league club Cambridge United and Conference South side Cambridge City are considering a merger...
Crowd Slump Hasn't Happened - 01/01/2006
Eight Premiership clubs are seeing an increase in crowds this season, although admittedly three of these are promoted sides...
World Cup Hits Problems - 01/01/2006
The World Cup in Germany has hit problems with questions raised about the safety of the stadiums and the opening gala cancelled...
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