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Hyde FC lost their 21st match of the season yesterday, 2-5 at home to Wrexham. They have not won a single match and drawn just three. Under 1,000 people saw them lose yesterday, whereas there were over 8,000 at Luton.
Luton and benefactor club Forest Green have budgets of £2m a year and can afford to pay their players £800 a week. Hyde have to manage on a budget around a tenth of that.
This was a concept that West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady talked about last night on Jeff Randall’s ‘Christmas dinner’ special on Sky TV. She said that one of West Ham United’s challenges was that it lacked the resources to fund the team beneath the team. She also admitted that not being able to score goals was a problem, as was evident in the failure to take chances in the Boxing Day game against Arsenal.
It is being reported by Belgian Television that Charlton Athletic are to be acquired by the owner of Standard Liege, Roland Duchatelet, who made his fortune in microelectronics. He was estimated to be worth €500m in 2011. He acquired Standard Liege for £35m in 2011, but was initially controversial with fans, although they now top the Belgian Pro League.
It is well known that there is a positive relationship between how much a club spends on wages and its performance in terms of points secured. However, it seems that a few extra million spent at the bottom has a greater effect than additional spending at the top.
The three clubs (in order) currently over performing in terms of the amount spent are Everton, Southampton and Newcastle United. The under performers are Sunderland, Manchester United and West Ham.
Vincent Tan, has sealed an agreement to take over the control and management of Bosnia’s Premier League football club Sarajevo. Under the deal, Cardiff will co-operate with Sarajevo, exchanging players and taking part in a football academy, yet to be established, which Tan has said would lure new talents.
According to local media the Malaysian billionaire has pledged to invest three million Bosnian marka (£1.2m). Sarajevo, established in 1946, have faced bankruptcy over millions of marka in accumulated debt.
Arguments about the desirability of nursery clubs are likely to gather momentum in the new year. Some see it as a way of bringing greater financial stability to lower league clubs and as a way of more effectively assisting the development of younger English players. Others see it as reinforcing the dominance of big clubs in the game.
Some top clubs would like to follow the Spanish model of fully fledged ‘B’ teams competing in the lower divisions. However, this would be a step too far for the football authorities and most fans.
Port Vale chairman Norman Smurthwaite has admitted that Port Vale are operating to an over ambitious budget. It required average home attendances of 7,500. The playing budget amounts to £300k a month. Smurthwaite has put in £1m to deal with the shortfall and this may have to increase to £1.2m. Being a football club chairman is an expensive hobby, even in the lower divisions.
Leicester City’s Thai chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, has effectively wiped out the £103 million he was owed by the Foxes in a deal known as a ‘debt-for-equity swap’. In other words he’s exchanged the debt he was owed for shares in the club. The family made their money through international duty free shops.
Port Vale have encountered a number of financial problems in recent years. Their finances are under the spotlight after chairman Norman Smurthwaite told football agents the club is unable to currently pay money owed to them.
Ryman Premier League club Margate FC hope to close to joining the Football League in three years time following a takeover. New owner Bob Laslett is a former Wolves director and heads Chaucer, a global consultancy company based in Kent.
Laslett has provided the funds for the much needed redevelopment of the club’s Hartsdown Park stadium. The work will start in February and should be completed in twelve months. There are also plans for a hotel.