Look after the football side argues Liverpool manager

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It’s too early to talk of a crisis at Liverpool.   The club is currently in the relegation zone, but that’s after only three matches and they won’t be there at the end of the season.   However, doubts are increasingly being expressed about whether they can challenge for a Champions League place despite claims from chairman Tom Werner that they have the resources to compete with anyone in football.

Brakes cut playing budget

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The financial challenges being faced by non-league clubs are illustrated by the case of Leamington. Shareholding is widely dispersed among fans and the club is run on a prudent basis.  However, the club admits that it has been a struggle to balance the books in recent years despite a significant increase in commercial revenue.

Truro City in administration

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Truro City have been placed into administration, but the move may have come too late and the club could disappear.   They face a winding up order in the High Court tomorrow from Revenue and Customs for £15,000 before costs and the patience of the tax authorities is running out.

Meanwhile, the club’s players are turning out for free to aid its battle for survival.   However, they said they would not turn out for yesterday’s match against Boreham Wood (which they won 2-0) unless steps were taken to place the club in administration.

The decline of Villa

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Aston Villa have the potential to be the leading regional club in the Midlands, but it is a potential that has not been realised in the last 30 years since they were European champions.

Randy Lerner was welcomed as an owner.  It was seen as an end to the austerity and lack of hope of the final years of the Ellis regime.   Lerner was seen as one of the better foreign owners.  For a time he walked the walk as well as talking the talk.

Last minute frenzy spurs transfer window spending

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Once again it was a last minute frenzy that spurred on spending in the transfer window after a sluggish start.  At £490m the final outcome was marginally up on last year’s figure of £485m, but failed to beat the record of £500m in 2008.

£300m was spent on foreign players.   The ‘trickle down’ effect to the Football League was limited with just £50m spent at that level.

Arsenal’s prudent strategy

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Arsenal have purused a strategy of only paying what they can afford, the problem is that they are the only top club acting in this prudent fashion.

There is two ways in which their strategy could work.   One is the oft repeated claim that ‘the Premiership bubble will burst.’  But we have been hearing these claims for year.  If I had received a pound for every time I have heard it, I would have quite a sum of money.

Modric sale could kick start transfer window

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The sale of Luka Modric  by Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid for a fee of £27.8m, rising to a potential £33.3m, could kick start the transfer window as it enters what is always an increasingly frenzied last week.  Indeed, some commentators have argued that the window should close with the start of the season for the good of both clubs and players.

Conflict of interest at Truro City?

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The Conference and the Football Association are looking into a possible conflict of interest between Salisbury City and Truro City arising from the deal that saved the Cornish club.

The overdue wages of Truro players were paid by CGA Holdings, the company of the chairman of Salisbury City, William Harrison-Allen.  He insisted that he was not investing in Truro City and it was a property deal that had nothing to do with football.

Truro’s ground was bought for £2.28m by Jojo Investments, a company formed in June.  It has one shareholder, a London solicitor.