"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
It’s been one of the most protracted and secretive takeover negotiations in recent football history, certainly in League 2, but negotiations with a mystery Indian consortium that wanted to take over Northampton Town have now been called off.
According to a statement from the London-based consortium, they encountered ‘insurmountable’ problems and complications at the due diligence stage.
The Football Association has agreed a £300m loan facility with three leading banks enabling it to refinance Wembley Stadium. The loan will give the FA more flexibility and enable it to reduce interest payments.
Writing in the Sunday Times yesterday, Graham Souness claims that the five year plan of Fenway Sports Group (FSG) at Liverpool is ‘developing the stadium and then hoping someone in the Middle East or Far East comes along to buy the club on the back of next year’s £5bn television deal. They aren’t too bothered about trophies in the cabinet.’
The two unfortunates blog are rattling through England’s football cities and their attention has turned to Bristol where they have recruited a new writer who is well up to their high standards.
For an outsider the paradox about Bristol is that it has two football clubs. Admittedly, it is a large city, ranking eighth in England, and arguably the regional capital of the south-west. However, it is also in area where the rugby tradition is strong.
Lionel Messi and his father, who is his manager, are to face tax fraud charges and Spanish prosecutors are calling for a 22-month jail term. They deny any wrongdoing and blame a former agent of the player. Of course, even if they were found gullty, this would not necessarily be the sentence that was handed down.
When I was in France last week, French rugby fans were reported to be bemused by the suburban provincialism they encountered when they had to go to Milton Keynes for their game against Canada.
The imminent arrival of Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager is undoubtedly something of a coup for the club and their owners, the Fenway Sports Group. Harry Redknapp suggested that if he wanted a real challenge he should have taken the vacant position at Sunderland. However, turning round Liverpool and restoring the club to its former glories will be no easy task.
When this blog started in the 1990s, there weren’t many others attempting to take a serious look at the economic, business and cultural context of football.
That has all changed, ‘the two unfortunates’ being one example. They take an in depth look at Newcastle United, its relationship with the community and how supporters have been let down by the present regime.
MLS attendances in the United States are up by 16 per cent compared with the same time last year. Some of this increase is down to the expansion teams, New York City and Orlando City. However, it is encouraging that no attendances under 10,000 have been recorded.
Newport County Supporters’ Trust have raised the funds they need to secure control of the club. They now become the fourth fan owned club in League Two alongside Exeter City, Portsmouth and Wycombe Wanderers.