"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
Happy New Year to all our readers. Just to clear up a few points:
The takeover of Charlton Athletic has been completed. Michael Slater is the new chairman. A lawyer by training, he heads up two investment companies in Switzerland but is also chairman of one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, Reflex Vehicle Solutions. Tony Jiminez is an international property developer. He was a vice-president (player recruitment) at Newcastle United and when he left there was linked with a move to Spurs.
The financial situation at Plymouth Argyle has been described as ‘dire’. Perhaps one measure of that is that Peter Ridsdale has been brought in as an unpaid consultant as the Pilgrims attempt to sort out their finances ahead of their court hearing on February 9th. Ridsdale’s role at Leeds United was controversial, but he would claim that he helped to turn Cardiff City into a viable club challenging for the Premiership.
Lower league and non-league clubs in Yorkshire have been hit hard in the pocket by the recent freezing weather. Many have gone for extended periods without the home games that provide vital cash flow. Christmas holiday games can be particularly lucrative and Bradford City estimate that they lost 15 per cent of their annual matchday income when their Boxing Day fixture against Chesterfield was called off.
From The Local – an English language paper in Germany:
The European football association
UEFA has apologized to FC Bayern Munich fans for banning a humorous banner telling supporters of AS Rome to “go home” in Latin during a Champions League match in September.
It was supposed to be completed by Christmas Eve but the takeover of Charlton Athletic could now be concluded in time for fans of the cash strapped South-East London club to raise a glass to the new owners on New Year’s Eve.
The recent bad weather has given momentum to the case for a winter break in English football (the Scottish case is more compelling). Managers, players and fans who have travelled to postponed matches are all creating a massive snowball of support.
Atherstone Town are dropping out of the Step 4 Zamaretto Central league next season into the Step 5 Midland Central. They argue that they cannot afford the cost of travel to away matches which costs them £10,000 a year.
Manager Dale Belford has complained that the Zamaretto Central is effectively a M25 league. There are 12 clubs within a 25-mile radius of the ground of Ashford (Middlesex) Town. The Adders claim that they are losing out on local derbies which would give them an attendance boost.
A few non-league clubs have not survived 2010, but more have pulled back from the brink of extinction. The latest example is Billingham Town after League 1 Hartlepool United withdrew a winding up petition against the Northern League club.
Hartlepool’s reserves play at Billingham’s Bedford Terrace stadium and Pool claim that Town’s former owners entered into an agreement to share pitch and facilities maintenance costs. They were demanding payment of £11,000 and there would also have been court costs of £18,000.
Former Barcelona coach and captain Johan Cruyff is upset with Barcelona because he claims that they owe him £850,000 for his children’s charity. The Johan Cruyff Foundation works with disadvantaged children.
Cruyff said that the foundation had called Barca every week and had got no response. However, the cash strapped club has said that it will pay up by the end of the year.
Cruyff was outspoken in his criticism of Barcelona’s acceptance of a commercial shirt sponsor from Qatar, accusing the club of ‘selling out’.