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The cost of going up increases

After Derby County published their financial results for the 2023/24 season, many observers expressed surprise at the amount of money the Rams had lost while securing promotion from League One to the Championship. The bottom line of promoted clubs is adversely impacted by the payment of promotion bonuses, which can be quite substantial, so there is clearly a cost to be paid for teams that go up. As you would expect, the cost of promotion increases the higher the division, so in 2022/23 (the last season where all clubs have published accounts) the average pre-tax loss in the Championship was £27.9m, compared to £9.6m in League One and £1.4m in League Two. Championship to Premier League Five clubs have reached the Premier League in the last decade despite generating less than £20m: Luton Town (2022/23) £18m, Watford (2014/15) £18m, Huddersfield Town (2016/17) £16m, Brentford (2021/21) £15m and Bournemouth (2014/15) £13m. Parachute payments give clubs relegated from the Premier ...
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United's post season trip draws guru's ire

Manchester United are planning to go on a post-season trip to Malaysia at the end of the current season for a money-spinning tour that may earn the club $10million (£7.96m, €9.6m) in revenue. Premier League teams usually travel overseas for pre-season tours, with United likely to return to the United States once again later next summer, but post-season tours are also becoming a trend as clubs seek to maximise revenue streams and comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations, as well as UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. This is a particular challenge for United, who have also been pursuing an aggressive strategy of cost-cutting under the minority ownership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has cut 250 jobs from the club, as well as raising ticket prices at Old Trafford, clamping down on staff expenses and cancelling the annual staff Christmas party. Football finance guru Kieran Maguire comments acidly: ‘I'm sure the players will be delighted, e...
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Merseyside: football's 51st state?

It has been a momentous week for Everton, and for the region as a whole. The Friedkin Group’s takeover means both of Merseyside’s Premier League clubs are now controlled by Americans. Meanwhile, a third, League Two side Tranmere Rovers, could join them if the English Football League (EFL) ratifies a takeover by a consortium led by Donald Trump’s former lawyer Joe Tacopina. In football terms, Liverpool is on the verge of becoming the USA’s 51st state — the name of the 2001 movie starring Samuel L Jackson and Robert Carlyle, which was filmed in the city and used Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, as a backdrop. Everton is a club of contrasts.     Much of their mainly local support comes from some of the United Kingdom’s most economically challenged districts in the north end of Liverpool, near Walton where Goodison Park is located, and the ‘People’s Club’ — as former manager David Moyes christened them — has long taken pride in not being co...
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Good financial news for Newcastle

Newcastle United returned to the Champions League in 2023/24 for the first time in over 20 years, after securing a top-four finish in the Premier League during the previous season.   Off The Pitch’s financial forecast for 2023/24 predicts a record turnover for the club, driven by their significantly improved Premier League performance. Since the Saudi Public Investment Fund took over in 2021, expectations have been sky-high. While the club is now set to report a profit, results on the pitch have begun to decline.  Under Mike Ashley’s ownership, the club prioritised financial prudence, often reporting profits but consistently underperforming on the pitch. Now the risk of repeating a similar pattern is beginning to emerge. In recent years, Newcastle United have become one of football's compelling stories, transforming from a club battling mediocrity to one challenging the elite. With substantial investments following their...
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Ratcliffe injects £100m into Manchester United

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has agreed to inject $100mn into Manchester United, cementing the billionaire’s influence at the English football club.  The move completes the $300mn worth of funding into the company pledged by Ratcliffe when he agreed a year ago to become a co-owner alongside the six Glazer siblings who still have majority voting control.   The $100mn, which will reinforce the club’s balance sheet, has been earmarked for infrastructure investment rather than signing players in the transfer market, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.  After the latest capital injection, Ineos will hold almost 29 per cent of Manchester United shares, according to people familiar with the matter.  Ratcliffe has already put money towards improving the club’s training facilities, and he has wider ambitions of renovating Old Trafford or building a new stadium altogether. Under Ratcliffe, Man United has made redundancies and slashed other costs in order ...
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Offers for Valencia would be considered

Valencia club president Lay Hoon Chan says the club is not up for sale but that owner Peter Lim would study any offers received. Lim, 71, is one of Singapore’s richest men and took over at Valencia in 2014. He has become deeply unpopular with a large majority of the club’s supporters and his ownership has been the subject of protests from Valencia’s fan base in recent years. Supporters had hoped Lim would restore the club, which thrived domestically and in Europe during the 2000s, to prominence after taking over in 2014. Yet Valencia’s ownership have continued to cut costs in recent seasons with diminishing returns on the pitch and their planned Nou Mestalla stadium has yet to be finished. On Thursday, Lay Hoon added that work at the new stadium would resume on January 10 — believed to be a necessary step towards any future takeover of the club. Valencia have not finished higher than ninth in any of the five seasons since and are 20th in La Liga with just two wins from th...
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Swindon up for sale

Struggling Swindon Town have been put up for sale according to football finance guru Kieran Maguire:  https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/24806982.football-finance-expert-says-swindon-town-put-sale/ It is uncertain whether the claimed haunting at the training ground identified by current manager Ian Holloway has been resolved. Swindon fans have been through the mill and they deserve a better future.
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