"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
Football stadiums
Chelsea have put in a planning application to redevelop their historic home at Stamford Bridge as a 60,000 seater stadium. Over the years Chelsea have considered moving to alternative sites at Battersea and Earl’s Court.
However, their present location has signiificant advantages, even if the works involved are on a big scale. The planning process itself is likely to extend beyond the end of the season.
Quite what has been happening at Northampton Town is far from clear and may not be for some time as allegations of financial irregularities are not easy to investigate.
However, it appears that the scope of the inquiry has widened and investigative football journalist David Conn tries to get to the bottom of what has been going on.
For a long time Spanish football has been dominated by a duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona. The championship victory of Atlético Madrid in 2013-14, along with their Champions League final, challenged that pattern.
Crystal Palace have agreed in principle a deal with American investors to take a 36 per cent stake in the club. The lead investor is Josh Harris, owner of the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers. Talks have been taking place for some time, but stalled earlier in the year. An agreement is expected by Christmas.
The author of the impressive Swiss Ramble blog has provided another of his in depth analyses of football finances, this time of West Ham United.
With the impending move to the Olympic Stadium, he considers that they are currently one of the most impressive ‘projects’ in European football. He sees parallels with Manchester City’s move to the Etihad, but notes that they are in London in an area that is attracting significant foreign investment.
I always enjoyed my visits to Liverpool when Charlton were in the Premier League. It was one of the most atmospheric, if not the most, atmospheric stadiums in the country.
Now Jurgen Klopp has complained about early leavers. Admittedly, that’s a phenomenon everywhere given transport congestion after games.
Volunteer run Darlington are making good progress with turnover up 18 per cent at £341,000. All debts have been cleared and there is around £300,000 in the bank. However, more help is needed from a wider range of volunteers.
One disappointment is that the club has not moved backed to Darlington and continues to play at Bishops Auckland. Negotiations for a ground share at Darlington RFC continue.
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.
If Coventry City want to build a new stadium to get away from the Ricoh Arena, they need to have their plans in place by December. That is when the Local Plan is expected to be completed and once that it is done it will be more difficult to get permission to build on Green Belt land, as is likely to be needed.
The information commissioner has ruled that the details of the contract under which West Ham United were made anchor tenants at the Olympic Stadium should be revealed. This represents a victory for the coalition of supporters’ trusts from other clubs who have been campaigning on the issue.