Football is the global business

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Today’s Financial Times devotes one of its special supplements to the business of football which makes a change from features on countries one has scarcely heard of.  The Pink ‘Un asserts that football is the global business.

It quotes football economics guru Stefan Szymanski who says that ‘It’s one of the few games that doesn’t have a specific cultural affinity.  Szymanski argues that ‘Rugby and cricket are so British’ for which one might substitute the British Commonwealth and add in Argentina and Italy for rugby.  

Rangers fans call for merchandise boycott

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The Union of Fans, a coalition of Rangers supporters’ groups, have called on fans to stop buying club merchandise.   They have got accountants to analyse the deal with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct and they consider that it is highly unfavourable to the club.

According to their calculations only 75p of every £10 fans spend on merchandise goes to the club and Rangers received just £2,000 in the last six month accounting period.

The demographics of daring to dream

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Brentford (3rd) and Bournemouth (4th) are the two surprise packages of the Championship so far this season.  At the start of the season, Brentford fans would probably have settled for consolidation in the division with a lower mid-table position being seen as good enough.  Four Four Two forecast that they would be 22nd and one could get 12-1 on them being promoted at the beginning of the season and just 7/2 on relegation.

Grimsby plan for new stadium

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Grimsby Town have announced plans to leave Blundell Park after 115 years.  The new ground at Peaks Parkway, just under three miles away, could be linked with supermarket and housing developments.  The club argues that they do not have a sustainable future at Blundell Park.

An online petition set up by supporters in favour of the move has received over 5,000 signatures, but not all fans are enthusiastic.   Some argue that a new stadium should not be built near a crematorium, hospice and hospital.

The woes of Hereford United

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Investigative sports journalist David Conn takes an in depth look at the woes of Hereford United.   It doesn’t make for happy reading, particularly in terms of the background of the public face of the club, Andrew Lonsdale.   His previous involvement with a non-league club, Feltham FC, apparently involved dumping large quantities of waste on the ground.