"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
Mike Ashley is prepared to lend Rangers £10m, but his offer comes with conditions that are unacceptable to Rangers fans. The Union of Fans umbrella group has asked for a demonstration and boycott at tonight’s match against Hearts in response.
Benefactors have a variety of motives for investing in clubs, often personal prestige. Sir Jack Hayward, who died earlier this week, was a true benefactor for Wolverhampton Wanderers. His motivation was love of the club. He grew up a few streets away from Molineux and used to squeeze under the turnstiles to get into matches free as a child.
Will the fall in oil price lead to tightened budgets at top clubs whose owners derive much of their wealth and income from oil? Among the clubs that could potentially be affected are Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain and Malaga.
It is a big temptation for benefactors of clubs in the Premiership and Football League to try and buy success. In particular, many Championship clubs seek to chase glory through their cheque book, even more so now that financial fair play rules have been diluted. It can all end with an empty wallet and a sour taste in the mouth.
Southampton have a realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League, a privilege that was supposed to be reserved for a small élite of top clubs. They do not have a rich benefactor. So how have they done it?
A lot of it is down to the right structure so that the departure of key personnel can be coped with. The emphasis is on long-term planning and a refusal to be knocked off course.
At the weekend Charlton Athletic’s Belgian owners bid ‘au revoir’ to manager Bob Peeters after a poor run of results. He was the 14th Championship manager to bite the dust this season. In contrast only two managers in the Premiership have been forced out this season, although two have departed of their own accord.
The complex structure of Manchester City’s parent company in Abu Dhabi, the City Football Group (CFG),. In the context of financial fair play (FFP) rules, Uefa is interested in how losses are divided up between the parent company and its subsidiaries.
Today’s edition of The Non-League Paper carries the following advert: ‘Small cartel of local businessmen are looking to acquire or take the majority interest in a non league football club. Ideally in or around the M25 but all responses considered. Our aim is to build a club both on and off the field and try to achieve League Two status.’
Cardiff City fans have won their battle to revert to their traditional blue colours, owner Vincent Tan having finally seen sense. He re-branded the club in red kit because he thought that it would increase the club’s appeal in global markets.
Making Cardiff City a global brand was always going to be a big ask. Playing them in a red kit was never going to make that much difference. It was a bad marketing ploy which damaged the relationship with fans. The Bluebirds were rewarded for the change with their second highest attendance of the season yesterday.
Net debt at Blackburn Rovers is up to £79.8m from £54.5m as the club struggles to comply with financial fair play rules. £56.8m of the debt takes the form of an interest free loan from owners Venky’s.
The club lost £42.1m, although all sorts of adjustments appear to have been made to the accounts. Turnover was up from £26.9m to £30.4m with media income up by £4.2m.