"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 second largest shareholder in Arsenal, Alisher Usmanov, has set out a wide-ranging critique of the strategy of the club’s board after the news that Robin van Persie will not be negotiating an extension of his contract.
Despite some bullish statements, there is a rather downbeat tone to the prospectus issued by Manchester United for its New York listing. Of the 143-page document, 21 pages is given over to risk factors. These cover everything from natural disasters to the idea that the club’s popularity and, indeed, the popularity of football may decline.
Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs have voted overwhelmingly to exclude ‘newco’ Rangers from the competition. What remains unclear is where Rangers will compete next season or whether Dundee or Dunfermline Athletic will take the ‘Club 12’ slot.
Earlier in the day it looked as if the vote would be deferred. It was being argued that a decision cannot be taken until Scottish Football League clubs decide next Thursday whether to admit Rangers.
Manchester United is planning to sell $100m (£64m) of shares in the United States. This is much less than the $1bn it originally hoped to raise through a flotation in Singapore. However, the $100m which is a so-called ‘place holder value’ could yet be revised upwards.
After ground sharing with three other Kent clubs, one time Football League side Maidstone United are set to open their new £2.6m stadium with a match against Brighton and Hove Albion on July 14th.
The club has been helped by a £150,000 five year naming rights deal with the Gallagher Group plus a £150,000 grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund which is the maximum amount that can be awarded.
The future of Truro City is in doubt after new applications for a winding up order were made against the club. They had settled a £51,000 tax bill with Revenue and Customs who had served two winding up petitions on them during the season.
Nearly £650,000 is being demanded by lawyer Chris Lingard, a former business associate of Truro chairman and funder Kevin Heaney. Other alleged creditors include FBT Sports UK claimed to be owed £19,000, Lexlaw Solicitors who say they are owed £1,400 and an unnamed fourth creditor claiming £40,000.
The takeover of Watford FC by the Pozzo family has now been completed. Also owners of Granada and Udinese, they have a track record of success in developing clubs just below the top rank.
Watford fans will be pleased to see the back of Lawrence Bassini from Vicarage Road. He was never popular with supporters at Vicarage Road despite a track record of moderate success. Worries about his background persisted.
Six clubs have now opposed the compromise solution of the ‘newco’ Rangers being relegated to Division 1, Clyde being the latest. Of course with Clyde having one of the larger stadiums in the third division, it could be argued that they have a financial interest in Rangers playing there.
With the problems of Rangers multiplying, can you name six other Scottish clubs that went under? Here’s a blog that gives you the answers and provides some fascinating facts about their history.
Brentford are planning a new 15,000-seater stadium at Lionel Road which lies between Kew Bridge station and the M4 motorway. The 7.6 acre site was first identified as a prospective location for a new stadium in 2002.
It is intended to submit plans to Hounslow Council within a year and to move into the new ground for the start of the 2016-17 season. It would be possible to expand capacity to 20,000 at a later stage.