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Chelsea’s policy of raising ticket prices for Champions League matches has come under some criticism. Apparently there was a strangely subdued atmosphere in last night’s victory at Stamford Bridge over Bayer Leverkusen in front of a below capacity crowd of 33,820. Some fans have even talked of a boycott of the home game against Gent.
After a difficult time for the club, Port Vale has been given a big boost with news of a £5m investment over the next 12 months by American company Blue Sky International. There aren’t many details at present but the total investment is said to amount to £8m.
The funds will be spent on the running of the club, Vale Park (where there is work which is incomplete), a training area and facilities for the local area. An additional £500,000m will be spent on pre-season tours over the next 10 years.
A survey by accounting firm PKF has reinforced concerns about the state of Scottish football finances. Replies from club finance directors revealed that half of SPL clubs struggled to meet payment deadlines for Revenue and Customs last year. The study also showed that many clubs continue to operate under excessive debt levels with 44 per cent requiring shareholder or director guarantees for funding.
Rangers have insisted that their on pitch performance will not be distracted by off pitch speculation about their financial position. In a statement they complained of ‘a whispering campiagn by people determined to damage the club.’ They have said that they would back a police probe into how court papers were leaked.
Amit Bhatia, the vice-chairman of QPR, had admitted that the Mittals would prefer to be sole owners of the club in an interview with the Financial Times. However, the Mittals and new majority shareholder Tony Fernandes are getting along fine, despite a minor difference of opinion aired on Twitter about whether to sign David Beckham.
Blackburn Rovers fans are the latest group of supporters in the north-west to express their dissatisfaction about the way in which their football club is being run, following the protests planned for today at Everton. Rovers fans are thinking of organising their own protest for the home game against Arsenal on September 17th.
No deal has yet been reached to secure the future of troubled Plymouth Argyle. On Thursday Kevin Heaney, the man behind the Gibraltar-based Bishop International bid, told BBC South West, ‘If the administrators will not get the deal over the line on Thursday I will walk away.’ However, subsequently the Truro City owner and property developer has vowed not to walk away.
The Blue Union coalition of Everton FC supporters’ groups is planning a protest march outside Goodison Park before Saturday’s game against Aston Villa. The coalition has reiterated its call for Bill Kenwright, the chairman and majority shareholder, to sell up and leave. After another transfer window that produced little excitement with just three players coming in on loan, a growing proportion of fans is concerned that the club is stagnating under his leadership.<
Retail bonds are a new form of financial instrument that have been resorted to by cash strapped small and medium-sized companies as well as by the John Lewis Partnership. David Walker, partner at Memery Crystal, has advised on a number of the deals and he says that ‘The bond allows companies to connect with their client base or “following” and involve them in the development of their business.’
Using figures from Deloitte this Liverpool fan site makes a comparison between the wage bills of Manchester United and Liverpool and shows that the differences are relatively small over a ten year period. The writer points out that Spurs managed to finish fourth with a wage bill that was £56m smaller than that of Liverpool.