"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
Just how badly Middlesbrough need to get back to the Premier League is demonstrated by their latest accounts. They are not making the biggest losses of a Championship club, but they are reliant on £1m a month pumped in by their chairman and benefactor Steve Gibson. Strictly speaking, it is a loan provided by his company, but it still shows that backing a football club can be an expensive interest.
The latest managerial sacking at Blackburn Rovers is largely the by-product of a power struggle between the club’s global adviser Shebby Singh and managing director Derek Shaw. Singh appears to have the backing of owners Venky’s and is also believed to have taken legal advice which backs his position. Singh and Shaw have not spoken since December.
103 managers and coaches have been sacked this season, the latest to go being Gary Smith at Stevenage. The League Managers’ Association have declared that the scale of dimissals is an embarassment to the game. Recent events at Blackburn Rovers represent an extreme case, but they reflect a broader trend.
It is often argued that it is not possible to make money out of a football club in the sense that most clubs run at a loss as they seek glory, often a considerable one. One way in which could make money is through a capital appreciation of the asset.
No less than 31 managers in the Premiership and Football League have been sacked or left ‘by mutual consent’ this season. My colleague Sue Bridgewater has measured the average tenure of managers and it has declined from 3.12 years in 1992-93 to 1.36 years in 2009-10.
Most people in football, including the football authorities, would like to see the Pompey Supporters’ Trust (PST) take charge at Portsmouth. The club has a particularly dedicated set of fans who have suffered a lot. More generally, it would be a natural experiment that would allow us to see whether a supporters’ trust can work at a ‘big’ club. Lessons can be learned from any problems that arise and how they are dealt with.
Here is an interesting in depth look at what lies behind the negotiations between Manchester United and Nike for the renewal of their contract. The writer asks whether Manchester United could cut Nike out altogether. Having looked at Nike’s strategy, the implication is that they both need each other. They are locked in a symbiotic relationship which is to their mutual benefit, but arguably with downsides for the game as a whole.
Earlier this week we ran a story suggesting that a takeover of Birmingham City was in the offing. This story attracted an unusual level of interest, presumably from Blue fans, although it also appeared in some print media.
Welsh rugby fans are celebrating their win over England yesterday which gave them the six nations title. But is the game being increasingly challenged by football in the allegiance of youngsters? The national team still attracts fanantical support, but attendance at long-established clubs such as Llanelli and Pontypridd has been falling.
Truro City, who have been through a very troubled period, may have to share with Plymouth Argyle next season. It is stated that the ground share would only be ‘temporary’, although this turns out to mean three years. It would face fans with a 107-mile round trip and take the club that aspires to be Cornwall’s leading football team out of the county and across the River Tamar into Devon.