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Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.
Believe it or not, there is still transfer action north of the border as this interesting analysis shows. Indeed, as crowds fall and television income lags way behind what is available in England, it becomes a financial necessity for Scottish clubs, plus football south of the border is a big lure for players.
Whilst anything could happen in the last 36 hours, and no doubt there will be some down to the wire surprises, this looks like being of the dullest transfer windows ever. The inexorable rise in transfer fees and wages seems to have halted.
Darlington’s stay of execution secured by the Rescue Group comes to an end tomorrow. The extension raised over £100,000 in gate receipts but with debts of nearly £500,000 an investor has to be found.
Doncaster Rovers need new financial backing after two mult-millionaire directors stepped down from the board for unrelated reasons. Dick Watson and Terry Bramall had matched the financial input of chairman John Ryan pound for pound in recent years and the onus is now on him.
Partick Thistle, who have been struggling financially in recent years, have been dealt a new set of blows. Glasgow Warriors, the professional rugby side who currently play their games at Firhill, have decided to move to the Scotstoun Stadium in 2102.
The FA has released a new report, undertaken by Deloitte, which highlighted the financial impact of the FA Cup to participating clubs.
The findings show that a total of almost £650m was generated in prize money, TV payments and gate receipts for participating clubs in the 10 years between 2001/02 and 2010/11. FA Secretary Alex Horne was keen to point out the cash windfall that the Cup provides has an impact for teams at all levels.
Losses at Europe’s top clubs have worsened by 36 per cent, leading Uefa to issue a ‘last wake up call’ to their owners if they are to comply with the new financial fair play rules. If they were to be applied now, more than a dozen clubs could be in breach of them.
The financial troubles of Portsmouth have continued with the serving of a winding up petition by Revenue and Customs. The hearing is set for February 20th, The petition relates to the PAYE for December which is approximately £800k (which gives some idea of the salary bill). Since then a further £1m in VAT and PAYE has become due for payment.
Reading owner John Madejski received roars of approval yesterday when he took to the pitch to announce new investment in the club. He has sold his 51 per cent stake in the club to Thames Sports Investments owned by Russian timber tycoon Anton Zingarevich.
It’s a rare thing when a football club makes any profit, let alone a substantial one, but West Bromwich Albion have done just that. The club made a profit of £9m in the year to 30 June 2011 after a successful first year back in the Premier League which saw them finish 11th. As a result the club was able to reduce its net debt from £10m to £2m.