"If you want some accessible but informative insight into football then I suggest you couldn't do better than the Political Economy of Football website, which is not only intelligible but comes with the added bonus of being written by Addicks fan Wyn Grant." Ben Hayes - Charlton Athletic programme
The annual review of Premier League finances published by The Guardian shows why the majority of clubs were prepared to back rules to rein back spending. £1.6bn, two thirds of total income, was spent on wages in 2011-12, most of that on players.
Business magazine Forbes has been compiling its football rich list since 2004 and for the first time Real Madrid have knocked Manchester United off their perch at the top of the list. It is not that United have stopped growing, simply that Real have grown even faster.
Forbes value the Spanish giant at $3.3bn with Manchester United just behind on $3.17bn. Barcelona are in third place. It is evident that the two leading Spanish clubs are impervious to the troubles of the country’s economy.
In discussion of new markets for Premiership television rights, the emphasis has been on emerging countries in Asia alongside an increasing interest in Africa where GDP per capita is growing rapidly in some countries. Rights are now sold to more than 200 markets.
Despite enhanced parachute payments relegation from the Premier League is a big financial challenge for clubs, particularly if they have spent heavily in a bid to stay up. Relegation clauses in player contracts have become more common and can benefit players as well as clubs, but they are not a sufficient answer.
When I started watching football in the early 1950s, Cardiff City seemed to be an established top flight side. In fact, when I checked back, they spent just 15 years in the top flight, finally leaving in 1962, although they are the only team outside England to have won the FA Cup.
In a surprising but welcome development, it appears that Venky’s, the owners of Blackburn Rovers, are willing to engage in dialogue with the Supporters’ Trust which is something they have been seeking for some time. A personal letter was sent to Blackburn supremo Anuradha Desai and she has replied asking for more information about the Trust’s intentions.
Today’s Times publishes an informative survey of the finances of each club in the Barclays Premier League. Net debt figures at many clubs are high in relation to turnover. But one has to remember that many businesses operate on the basis of a platform of debt. Of course, if insecure debts are divided up, re-packaged and sold on, that is when you get the kind of problems that led to the global financial crisis.
The battle between BT Vision and Sky for the lucrative pub market is intensifying. This will be welcome news to pub landlords who feel that they have been overcharged by Sky. The pub trade has never really recovered from the smoking ban and many pubs have closed.
The war of words between BT and BSkyB over television rights and advertising has intensified. BSkyB described BT as a ‘£22bn gorilla in puppy’s clothing’ in response to BT’s claim that it was like a small dog against the BSkyB ‘rottweiler’. It is possible, however, that consumers could benefit from a price war.
The Barclays Premier League has voted to implement new financial rules from next season. The vote was only secured after chief executive Richard Scudamore wrote to all clubs and Swansea defected from the ‘Gang of Six’, allowing the supporters of the move to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.