"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
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has been conducting a series of radio and press interviews setting out the challenges facing the club. On one level, it could be seen as an exercise in reducing the expectations of fans.
Season ticket holders do not necessarily turn up at games for a variety of reasons: family or work commitments or lack of interest in a particular match. Over a season they may miss enough games for it have been cheaper to buy tickets for individual games. But for many the main attraction is an assured seat in familiar surroundings and company.
Portsmouth FC face liquidation once again after Balram Chainrai’s Portpin vehicle withdrew its bid for the club. Portpin blamed the administrators for spending £12m of parachute payments on their fees and payments to players. They also complained about negative criticism and lack of support from the fans of the club.
Simon Hines, the editor of Sponsorship Today, assesses the recent sponsorship deal between Chevrolet and Manchester United:
So why has the new deal broken previous records by such a high margin? The first point to look at is the starting date. By the time the sponsorship starts in earnest in 2014, it will have been four years since the Aon deal was signed, so it is not an overnight doubling. Rights values for major properties are now growing at a rate well ahead of inflation.
One response to having problems in your core business is to diversify into some more promising line of activity. For example, a farmer may decide he can make more from his farm by turning it into a golf course rather than using the land for animal husbandry or crops.
The usual blanket media coverage of football has been pushed aside in the last few weeks by the Olympics. For those so inclined this has given them a chance to drive home their message about the greed and venality of footballers.
Even so, the transfer window has been relatively quiet. With two weeks left, Barclays Premier League clubs have spent only £240m on new players, a considerable decrease on last summer”s £485m outlay.
The crisis at Portsmouth Football Club is a bit like the crisis in the eurozone. It never goes away, it flares up regularly and it never gets resolved. In one case, the future of a currency is at stake: in the other, the future of an historic football club with a dedicated following.
Like thousands of other people, I enjoyed Olympic football at the City of Coventry Stadium as the Ricoh Arena was temporarily re-named for the games. Yesterday, however, Coventry City were in the High Court in Birmingham over the money they owe to Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) the company that runs the stadium on behalf of Coventry City Council and the Alan Higgs charitable trust.
Truro City’s players were paid in full on Friday, one day after the deadline they had set. This means that the club can now go ahead and start its season at Billericay Town next week. The availability of the money suggests that new investors are now on board.
At one time or another most football fans have been to a much hyped match which ends in a rather dull goalless draw. It was a bit like that with Manchester United’s launch on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.