It’s getting tougher at the top says Wenger

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Arsene Wenger reflected changing global geopolitical realities and the way they are changing football when he commented at Arsenal’s annual general meeting, ‘Our world is changing quickly. Europe as a continent is becoming poorer, the rest of the world is becoming richer, especially Asia, and these people invest in football in Europe.’ Erck Thohir, an Indonesian billionaire, bought a 70 per cent stake in Inter Milan this week to become the second foreign owner in Serie A.

Walsall announce small profit

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It is always commendable when a football club announces a profit and particularly so when that club is in League 1 where there are not big television revenues, substantial gates or lucrative sponsorships. Walsall face a lot of competition in their catchment areas from Premiership and Championship teams or even another League 1 team with a big support base, nearby Wolves.

Championship clubs under risk from FFP

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A number of Championship clubs are at risk from the Football League’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. By the 2015/16 season, losses in the Sky Bet Championship can be no more than £5m and shareholders are only permitted to invest £3m of their own cash.

Blackburn Rovers are top of the list of the clubs at risk of incurring penalties. Their announced losses for last year were £27 million which included £3.5m on agent’s fees. At the very least they could face a transfer embargo.

Rangers chief executive quits

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The chief executive of Rangers quit today after less than six months in the job, deepening the off-field problems facing the club as it tries to recover from financial collapse. Rangers made a loss of £14m in the 13 months to June.

Rangers said that CEO Craig Mather had left by mutual consent, giving no reason for his departure. He appears to be the victim of a struggle for boardroom control of the club which listed on the AIM stock exchange last December.

Red Bull want to buy a club

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Red Bull want to buy a football club in England. The Austrian-based energy drinks firm are on the look-out for a suitable club, with Anglophile coach Ralf Rangnick, sporting director of Red Bull Salzburg, heading the search.

As well as current Austrian league leaders Salzburg, Red Bull already owns clubs in Germany, New York, Brazil and Ghana. The company’s sporting assets also include two Formula One teams: Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Strange events at Cardiff City

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Unfortunately, some foreign owners treat clubs they have bought as a personal fiefdom and make decisions in the absence of any real understanding of the game or its traditions, especially those of a particular club. It is these owners who then attract all the publicity rather than the more sensible ones who seek to appoint knowledgeable people to run things and then take a step back.

Norwich wipe out debt

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Norwich City FC have wiped out all of their external debt and returned a small profit after tax of £500,000, the Premier League club revealed on Thursday in accounts published for the year end May 31, 2013 (which cover a 13-month period).

This is before the effects of the Premier League’s new television deal show up in the accounts. The £49m the club received for television rights last season will rise to somewhere between £62m and £64m, with an extra £1.25m for every position above 20th the club achieves.

United cut away ticket prices

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Manchester United have announced a reduction in away match ticket prices for this season. After consultation with the Fans’ Forum, the Premier League champions have pledged to reduce the price of every away ticket bought by a United fan by £4, starting with their game against Fulham on 2 November.

The discount will be applied automatically by the club when fans pay for their away tickets and any money that is not used this season will be used with next year’s £200,000 budget to continue the policy.