WG

Troubled Times For Dorset Football

by

The top three football clubs in Dorset are facing troubled times. At relegation threatened Bournemouth co-owner Paul Baker, a lifelong Chester City supporter, is trying to sell his 50 per cent stake. He has admitted that he has no more money to put into the club. The Supporters’ Trust have issued a highly critical statement about the financial situation at the club, in particular a plan to sell 2009/10 season tickets well in advance to raise some money. If the club goes insolvent again, fans could lose their money. At Conference side Weymouth the players were not paid in January.

Premiership Money Bonanza

by

Forecasts that the Premiership bubble would burst in the credit crunch increasingly look premature, if not misplaced altogether. The Premier League has secured a record television deal that will be worth almost £1.8 billion over three years. The 5 per cent increase over the last deal will bolster finances of clubs until 2013 when the deal ends. By that time, even on the most pessimistic estimates, the recession should be over.

Platini Determined To Limit Spending

by

Uefa boss Michael Platini is determined to level up the playing field in football by introducing restrictions on spending. He wants to revamp the rules to exclude clubs that failed to meet certain financial requirements from participating in lucrative European competitions. Platini denied that he was targeting Premiership clubs, arguing that many clubs across Europe were in a similar financial position, Nevertheless, the Premiership would be disproportionately affected.

Investor Walks Out On Linnets | King’s Lynn FC

by

Conference North outfit King’s Lynn FC have suffered a major blow with the sudden departure of major investor Michael Chinn who has resigned from the club’s board for ‘personal reasons’. The former Boston United director had pumped in an estimated five figure sum since he joined the Linnets in 2006. Lynn chairman Ken Bobbins revealed that the club have ‘had a couple of big blows recently.

Sky Seals TV Deal

by

Sky has paid more than £1bn to secure its position as the main Premiership broadcaster. The company is believed to have kept its hold on the majority of live games, 92 out of the 138 matches available, by retaining its four existing packages. No figures are known, but it is believed that the company will have paid close to the current £1.314 billion. The Premiership will now go to a second round on the two outstanding packages, an auction thought to involve Sky, Setanta and ESPN, the Disney-owned broadcaster. Under EU rules, Sky is allowed a maximum of five out of the six packages.

Transfer Record Broken

by

Spending by Premiership clubs on new players in the January transfer window has hit a fresh all-time high of £160m according to Deloitte’s sports business group. The amount may still go up because the transfer window was extended because of the bad weather so that deals in progress could be completed, but the total is already well above last year’s £150m. Spending between Premiership teams made up around £105m of the £160m. Manchester City and Spurs have been the two biggest spenders.

Gulls In The Black | Torquay United Post Profit

by

Torquay United, who were taken over by a consortium of eleven local businessmen 18 months ago, turned a £470,000 loss in 2006-7 into a £10,407 profit in the year ended 30 June 2008. That come on the back of a big increase in turnover as the Gulls failed in their attempt to get back to the Football League, losing in the Blue Square Premier play-offs, but went to Wembley for the FA Trophy final and made money from a strong FA Cup run.

Arsenal Can Cope With Loss Of Champions League Place

by

Arsenal’s chances of an assured Champions League place appear to be dwindling, but chairman Peter Hill-Wood has reassured fans about the financial implications. He has insisted that there will be no impact on the mortgage payments on the club’s £360m Emirates Stadium. The club, which made a £36.7m profit last season, need to sustain £20m a year repayments over 23 years to cover the £250m bonds issue which financed the project. Hill-Wood said, ‘There is no denying that it would be a real financial drain on the club if we didn’t qualify for the Champions League next season.

Football In South London

by

Football in South London has always punched below its weight. Or perhaps not. The richer parts of the city are all north of the river and that is where the most successful clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham – have been. Clubs south of the river have enjoyed brief flurries of success, perhaps epitomised by the rapid rise and subsequent collapse of Wimbledon as a London club (the rise of AFC Wimbledon notwithstanding).

Liverpool Deal On The Cards

by

Once again the situation surrounding Liverpool Football Club is confused. Some reports are claiming that talks with a Kuwaiti family who want to buy into the club have broken down over the asking price and how big a stake they would have. However, this could simply be negotiating brinkmanship and does not mean that a deal will not be done. However, one earlier attempt to reach a deal did fail.