Article Taxonomy: Football Finance

Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.

Can a player use a bus?

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Mrs Thatcher is claimed to have once said that if a man used a bus past the age of twenty-six, he had to be judged a failure.    Some say that the quote is incorrectly attributed to her, but if she didn’t say it, she probably believed it (and also about trains as well), Can a Premiership football use a bus without attracting speculation about what he is doing?

Arsenal write off investment in Park

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Arsenal have written off £5.5m in their accounts to cover the wages of transfer disappointment Park Ju-Young.  He was signed from Monaco on deadline day in the summer of 2011 but scored just one goal in six appearances last season.

He has been sent off on loan to Celta Vigo for a one year, but a £5.5m ‘impairment fee’ in Arsenal’s recently published accounts is thought to relate to him.  This had the effect of reducing Arsenal’s profits for the last financial year to £36.6m, but it gets them extra leeway in relation to Uefa’s financial fair play rules.  

Kettering could be about to fold

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The 130-year history of Kettering Town Football Club could be about to end.  The Poppies were unable to field a team for tonight’s away fixture at Leamington.   Local sources in Leamington suggested that they could only find six players.  Some players have not been paid for September. They fielded a team of ten at last week’s heavy defeat at Bashley.

Leeds United ‘like a young Pamela Anderson’

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Leeds United has been compared to ‘a young Pamela Anderson’ in terms of its assets and potential by the man heading up the proposed takeover.

Fans are keen for the deal to be completed and there have been complaints about how long it is taking, but both sides are blaming the lawyers involved.

Bulls hit financial trouble

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Relegation from League 2 to the Conference has produced financial challenges for Hereford United and part-time football is one of the options being considered.  However, most Conference sides are now full time and such a move could undermine a push for promotion.   The Bulls are currently 12th out of 24 teams.

Another reprieve for Truro City

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It may seem  a bit like the condemned man who has become a fixture on death row being given another short stay of execution, but the latest news about Truro City does offer a slim hope that they might escape extinction.

Mixed news for Ajax

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Ajax didn’t have a great night in the Champions League yesterday, losing 1-4 at home – but then it was to Real Madrid.

However, financially things are looking up for the club, to the extent that they are thinking of delisting from the Stock Exchange.  They are the only Dutch club still there.

Wales, rugby and football

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The Welsh Premier League is a bit of a cinderella in the world of non-league football.   This is reflected in the rather limited coverage it gets in The Non-League Paper and low attendances.   These are compounded by the fact that two of the leading non-league teams in the principality, Wrexham and Newport County, play in the Conference.

The plight of Midlands football

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A few weeks ago we published a story about Aston Villa which made some comparisons with West Bromwich Albion.  A Villa fan took exception, pointing out that Villa still draw bigger crowds, even if they have declined.