Spurs may be doing well on the pitch, but they recorded a big drop in player transfer profits in their results for the six months to 31 December 2009.  They fell to £9.4m from £53.4m the previous year when significant gains were made from the sales of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane.   Revenue for the period was slightly lower at £53.5m (2008 interim £54.8m).   Profit from operations was steady at £4.9m.

14 Premiership clubs have been blacklisted by a credit checking agency, Riskdisk.  Companies trading with them have in effect been advised to withdraw credit.  Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are included on the list which is something of a surprise for three of those clubs.  Arsenal and Manchester United are rated as good risks  Another credit rating agency, Experian, has five Premiership clubs on its 'financial critical' list.

The idea of a football regulator is back on the agenda, and from a rather unlikely source, Conservative shadow culture minister Hugh Robertson.   He advanced the idea on a 'sports ministers special' on Radio 5, citing problems such as the burden of debt and the inadequacies of the fit and proper person test.   The idea was originally advanced by the Football Task Force set up by New Labour when it came into office, but was not taken any further.

Zamaretto Premiership leaders Farnborough have beaten a winding-up order brought by their coach company by settling the debt before the High Court heard the case.  However, unconfirmed reports suggest that all is not well at the club which has had financial problems in the past.  It has been alleged that players have not paid on time.  It is believed that the club may cost about £10k a week to run.  Recent attendances have been insufficient to sustain that level of ex

Portsmouth have been given permission by the Premier League to sell players early subject to certain conditions which essentially mean that they cannot play for another club this season.   Now that Portsmouth have been given their points deduction and are certain to be relegated, the Premier League is taking a more relaxed attitude towards them, although there is still the possibility of additional fines for breaches of the rules.   What the Premiership wants to avoid above

David Beckham has slipped to second place in football's rich list with estimated earnings of £27.3m.  His place is taken by Barcelona's Lionel Messi with earnings of £29.6m.    Five of the players in the top ten play for Spanish clubs, three for Barcelona and two for Real Madrid.  Two play for Italian clubs and two for English clubs: Manchester City's Carlos Tevez is 7th and Chelsea's Frank Lampard is 9th.  These figures, of course, refl

West Ham have launched a joint bid with Newham Council to leave Upton Park and move to the Olympics Stadium in Stratford after the 2012 games.   They have said that the plan would allow athletics use of the stadium, but the running track is an obstacle to allowing football fans close to the game which is what they like and gives a much better atmosphere.   There are also questions about who would pay for reducing the stadium capacity from 80,000 to 50,000.    West Ham are

When people join together in a pressure group to achieve a common aim, it's not unusual for there to be divisions over strategy and tactics.   Some favour campaigning based on rational argument and an appeal to the media, if possible through the use of visual symbols.   Others favour more militant, direct action tactics which they consider will yield quicker dividends than what they see as a 'softly softly' approach.

Spanish football authorities are trying to bring about more restraint in spending by clubs.   The Spanish Football League is trying to introduce a self-regulated system that would limit spending on salaries, transfers and agents' fees to 70 per cent of revenue.  Uefa figures suggest that average club revenues in Spain were €72m in 2008, but their debt was €860m, much of it owed to the banks.

Portsmouth have received more good news after Balram Chainrai, one of the club's main creditors, agreed to drop his claim for immediate repayment if the Premier League brought forward television revenue of around £6m.   The league made it known last week that it was willing to advance tv revenue and even parachute payments that were due to the club if the money was used to pay off football creditors and keep Portsmouth afloat until the end of the season.   The league was concern