Congratulations to Portsmouth on their promotion to the Championship and the fan base that stood by them. Fratton Park is a great atmospheric old style ground. Portsmouth is unique in its status as England’s only island city, largely based on Portsea Island, which is connected to the mainland by a handful of road and rail bridges. It provides the setting for a unique mentality among football fans, with its British Navy base and links to the maritime industry core to the identity of many of the city’s 200,000-plus residents. Theirs is a club who have seen the highs of Premier League and European football and an FA Cup final win in the past 20 years as well as a drastic slide that saw three relegations in four years from 2010, plummeting from the top to the bottom tiers of the English football pyramid. Alongside it, years of financial troubles resulting in two spells in administration saw the supporters take ownership of their club in 2012 before selling to the Eisners five years
Brighton’s pre-tax profit surged from £24m to a very impressive £133m in 2022/23. Revenue increased by £30m (17%) from £174m to £204m, which was the club’s highest ever, while profit from player sales just about doubled from £62m to £121m. At the same time, Brighton managed to keep their costs under control, as operating expenses only rose £4m (2%) to £220m, while they had £2.5m net interest receivable. Brighton’s £133m pre-tax profit was easily the best in last season’s Premier League, ahead of Manchester City £80m and Bournemouth £44m, though the latter was boosted by a £71m owner loan write-off. In fact, Brighton’s £133m pre-tax profit is the second highest ever recorded in England, only surpassed by Tottenham’s £139m in 2017/18 (driven by Gareth Bale’s sale to Real Madrid). Only three English clubs have ever managed to post profits above £100m. Brighton have generated the highest profit in the top flight over the last four seasons with a net £37m. Only two other clubs were