"If you want some accessible but informative insight into football then I suggest you couldn't do better than the Political Economy of Football website, which is not only intelligible but comes with the added bonus of being written by Addicks fan Wyn Grant." Ben Hayes - Charlton Athletic programme
Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.
Manchester United achieved record annual revenues in the year to 30 June 2017. Revenues increased 12.8 per cent compared to the previous season to £581.2m, Earnings before deductions for tax, depreciation etc. increased more than 17 per cent to just under £200m. Pre-tax profits increased 7.7 per cent to £39.2m. The improved performance was largely due to higher broadcasting income and Europa League success.
Sunderland fans are understandably disappointed at an indifferent start to the season. Some of them think that owner Ellis Short is ‘asset stripping’ the club in preparation for a sale. They are particularly aggrieved that so little of the £30m transfer fee for Jordan Pickford has been spent on new players.
One can spend millions on a player who then doesn’t live up to his potential, doesn’t fit in with the rest of the squad, causes trouble in the dressing room, gets injured and eventually has to be sold at a loss.
Alternatively, one could spend relatively little on a player who fits into the team well, keeps himself fit and shows more talent than was anticipated.
Outgoing Barnsley owner Patrick Cryne is terminally ill with bowel cancer and does not expect to see the end of the season. His poignant programme notes for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie (actually written by his wife Jean) justifiably attracted widespread and sympathetic attention on the internet and my thoughts go out to him and his family at this time.
At the match against Aston Villa in the 66th minute supporters in all four stands stood with their mobile phones illuminated and sang the name of their 66-year old owner.
Today I submitted a proposal for a book based on this site which has already received an enthusiastic reception from the potential publisher. The book will open with a warning about too much sepia-tinged nostalgia about how football used to be. I watched football in the 1950s and there are many different ways in which it is incomparably better today from the state of the pitches to the facilities for spectators.
Reading FC’s chief executive Ron Gourlay is confident that the club’s majority Chinese owners will be approved by the Premier League as fit and proper persons should the Royals be promoted.
Northampton is a propserous and growing town in middle England, close to the M1. Some of the countryside and villages in Northamptonshire is really attractive and houses built of honey coloured stone attract half the prices they would in the Cotswolds.
After 77 days in charge Frank de Boer has been sacked as Crystal Palace manager and it looks as if he will be replaced by Roy Hodgson.
Some might think that Palace have done very well to stay in the Premier League, but de Boer was supposed to take them to the next level. This involved imposing a different style of play which the squad was clearly unhappy with, or at any rate needed more time to get used to.
Most people would agree that the top two leagues in Europe are currently the Premier League and La Liga. Serie A has slipped back somewhat, in part because of a variety of scandals. The Bundesliga is catching up in the money stakes and the French Ligue 1 has a higher profile simply because of PSG.
However, according to figures from Deloitte, the Premier League’s clubs generated €4.9bn in revenue in the 2015/16 season, whereas La Liga generated €2.4bn. There is a lot of catching up to do and La Liga knows that it is behind the Premier League on the globalisation curve.
From this season the payments made to clubs who have a Scottish FA Cup game televised will be cut by £50,000 from £82,500 to £32,500. The change was approved by the majority of clubs.