WG

Burnham Wants To Break Grip of Premier League Top Four

by

Culture Secretary and Everton supporter Andy Burnham has stepped up his campaign to break the grip of the top four clubs on English football. He wants the Premiership’s revenue to be shared out more evenly among its clubs. He wants smaller squads and compulsory quotas of English players in team line ups. His most contentious demand is for the big four to share some of their earnings from Europe’s Champions League, ranging from £15m to £40m. The money plays a key role in helping them to entrench their dominant position.

Usmanov Upset at Treatment by Arsenal Board

by

Lady Nina, Indian GoonerRussian billionaire steel magnate Alisher Usmanov is becoming increasingly frustrated at his treatment by the Arsenal board. Mr Usmanov and his associates feel that they are being treated like any other shareholder. Red and White Holdings.

Domino Effect of Stockport County Failure

by

Unibond North league side Woodley Sports are on the verge of collapse after Stockport County went into administration last week. The club are owed a six-figure sum, believed to be £150,000, by their neighbours. This formed part of a sell-on clause when former striker Liam Dickinson moved to Derby County. Sports agreed to defer payments from the 20 per cent sell on clause after learning of Stockport’s financial problems. But after administrators were called in, their chance of getting their money has diminished.

Setanta Fighting to Survive

by

Sports broadcaster Setanta is fighting for its life as a new management team holds urgent talks to raise cash and slash the amount it pays for sports rights. The company, which has 1.2m customers and broadcasts Premiership and England international football, faces an uncertain future unless it can raise up to £100m this month from shareholders including private equity firms Doughty Hanson and Balderton Capital. Accountants at Deloitte could be appointed as administrators if negotiations fail.

Match Fixing Allegations

by

Football betting specialists Blue Square are ‘convinced’ some players from both Grays and Forest Green manufactured the result of the final Conference match of the season between the two teams. More than £100,000 was staked on the fixture when Grays beat Rovers 2-1. The majority of the bets were laid at between 22-1 and 25-1 on Grays to be losing at the interval and win by the score at which the game finished. The betting, largely centred in the north-west and in Essex 24 hours before the game, alerted the bookies who suspended gambling on the match.

Arsenal Takeover Battle Edges Nearer

by

A takeover battle at Arsenal FC edged nearer after US sports entrepreneur Stan Kroenke became the club’s biggest shareholder. He leapfrogged Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov by paying a premium for the shares. Mr Kroenke splashed out up to £50m to lift his stake from 20.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent, just short of the 30 per cent threshold which would trigger a full takeover for the North London club. He paid between £8,500 and £10,000 for the shares, which are traded irregularly on London’s Plus market.

FIFA’s 6+5 Policy In Trouble

by

Fifa’s desire to force the controversial 6+5 blow on English clubs, which has been seen as a major threat to the Premiership, has been dealt a heavy blow by the European Commission. It had hoped that the rule, under which six players in every starting line up would have to be qualified to play for the national team where the club is based, could be introduced under a ‘specificity of sport’ provision, giving it an exemption from EU legal rules. Last month Fifa delivered a 200-page report compiled by legal experts in support of its claims.

Stockport County Go Into Administration

by

Stockport County have gone into administration. Their ten point penalty will not relegate them from League 1, but they could lose more points during the summer if they fail to comply with Football League insolvency policy. Stockport were losing about £300,000 a year and were said to owe one creditor £300,000. Their problems were made worse by the fact that they do not own their ground. They were so cash strapped that the cost of policing their last home match was met by Sale Sharks who share the ground.

The Costs of Relegation from the Championship

by

Considerable attention is given to the costs of relegation from the Premiership to the Championship, but relegation from the Championship to League 1 can be equally traumatic. This is particularly the case if you have recently been in the Premiership and it is possible that all three clubs relegated tomorrow (Charlton, Norwich, Southampton) could be in that category. Relegation could cost Norwich City between £5 and £7m. There will be big reductions in television income and probably in gate receipts, although Norwich fans are known for their loyalty.

Serie A Clubs Form Their Own Premiership

by

Italian football clubs look likely to adopt the English Premiership model after 19 of the 20 Serie A clubs voted to break away from the Lega Calcio. The underlying issue is television rights. Serie A clubs sell their rights individually, rather than collectively, which means that the biggest sides such as Juventus or AC Milan earn in excess of £85m for their domestic rights, while smaller clubs, such as Chievo, only receive around £4m. In exchange for this arrangement, Serie A clubs contribute a lump sum to their counterparts in Serie B.