New effort to sell Notts County

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Notts County chairman and majority shareholder Ray Trew has made a new effort to sell the club.   He has approached local businessman Alan Hardy who has made two bids for the club in the past.  He thinks that the world’s old professional team has the potential to reach the Championship

Trew has had talks with potential buyers from China and the United States and also with a UK hedge fund, but these do not seem to have gone anywhere.

Trew originally put a price tag of £8m to £10m on the club.

New Chelsea kit sponsorship deal

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Chelsea has signed a kit sponsorship deal with Nike worth £900m, the largest of its kind in the Premier League.  The 15-year deal is reported to be worth £60m a year.

The size of the contract reflects the rapid rise in the cost of football kit and sponsorship deals as the international audience for Premier League games has grown.

Chelsea ended its previous kit relationship with Adidas in May.   That deal had been worth £300m over ten years, but the club decided that it was well below market value.   

Spurs want to rename station

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Spurs want to change the name of White Hart Lane station to ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ in time for their move into their new stadium.   They are also exploring changing the name of a section of road leading from the station to the junction with Tottenham High Road.

Spurs are confident that they can secure the change for less than the £12m fee that Transport for London have asked for.   TfL plan to carry out major improvement works to the station including a new entrance and ticket hall.   White Hart Lane has never been an easy ground to get away from.

AFC Telford seek funds

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AFC Telford United are seeking a cash injection of £50,000 to deal with a cash flow problem.  Gate receipts have fallen and some costs have risen.   They also want to change the structure of the club away from control by a supporters’ trust to permit external investment.

They have been something of  a yo-yo club and there is always a trade off between financial prudence and spending on players that might bring promotion and higher revenues.

Second phase of football investment

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We are now into a second phase of global investment in English football, according to Rory Smith, writing in the latest issue of Four Four Two.

He argues that the Manchester City takeover in 2008 was a watershed.   The amount it cost Sheikh Mansour to turn City into a top class Premier League outfit was much more than the money spent by Roman Abramovich on Chelsea.