The Political Economy of Football V2

Ange Postecoglou has accused Tottenham Hotspur of thinking they are “one of the big boys” but never acting like an ambitious club during his two years in charge.   Postecoglou, 60, said Tottenham are the “antithesis” of their “to dare is to do” club motto, citing a lack of ambition in the transfer market. S purs won the Europa League under Postecoglou but finished 17th in the Premier League last season, losing 22 matches, their most defeats in a league campaign since 1934-35.   Speaking on the  Stick to Football  podcast, Postecoglou said: “Tottenham as a club were saying  ‘we’re one of the big boys’ and the reality is I don’t think they are, in terms of my experience over the last two years. When Arsenal need players, they’ll spend £100million on Declan Rice. I don’t see Tottenham doing that ever.” “When you walk into Tottenham, what you see everywhere is ‘to dare is to do’. It’s everywhere. And yet their actions are almost the antithesis of that, right?” ...

There is in general an approximate relationship between a club’s budget and  on pitch performance, but there are always outliers who do better or worse than the figures suggest.  Brentford are the classic example of over performance. For me Brentford are epitomised by someone I know who has lived in the same house in Acton all his life and been a loyal Bees supporter.    Other options are, of course, available in West London: two in the Premier League and one in the Championship. The following analysis presents highlights from the latest analysis of Brentford by the authoritative Swiss Ramble who reckons the club are at a crossroads given recent ownership changes. The reality is that despite significant increases in wages and transfer spend, Brentford are still operating with one of the lowest budgets in the division, so they have done very well to flourish in the top flight.    It should be acknowledged that there has been much growth at Brentford, g...

In the least surprising news of the day, Tottenham Hotspur have sacked head coach Thomas Frank.  Spurs are working through a few contingency plans as they look to replace Frank, who leaves the club 16th in the Premier League. Tottenham have won none of their last eight league games and just two from their last 17. They are five points above the relegation zone. Poor performances and results in the Premier League meant the controlling Lewis family seemingly had no other choice but to part ways with the Dane, who has left Tottenham in a genuine relegation battle with 12 games of the season remaining. Nevertheless, I do think there are far deeper structural problems at Spurs than the manager. Frank is well regarded and should find another role.

The New York Times has taken an in depth and interesting look at why apparently solid mid-table clubs like Wolves eventually fall out of the Premier League. My view is that they tell half the story.   Statistical analysis shows that there is a strong correlation between spend on players and success.    You can fit a reasonable linear two variable regression lin to the data. Of course, there are outliers, clubs that punch below or above their weight: at the moment, Brentford on the positive side and Tottenham Hotspur on the downside. However, I think the Premier League is essentially an oligopoly, i.e., competition is controlled for the benefit of a few producers.    The big six or maybe seven ensure that they remain at the top financially and in other terms.    Insurgents are tolerated to an extent because they make the competition look more competitive than it actually is, but are eventually sent packing. In 2018, Stoke City and West Bromwich ...

Releagted from League One, Cambridge United have submitted their latest accounts reports football finance guru Kieran Maguire. Revenue was   £9.2m up 11%.    There was a parallel increase in wages of 11 per cent, total was £6.6m so they are 72 per cent of revenue.   Operating loss was £3.7m up 45%.      Borrowings £2.9m (mainly to group company);   Total losses over the years amount to £14.0m. Relegation led to a loss of £1n in commercial income. CEO Alex Tunbridge highlighted the ongoing modernisation programme but said that the fall in commercial income ‘further highlights the challenging financial landscape in the lower leagues at a time when the new Football Regulator is getting up and running. ‘’Although we were relegated the Club has continued to prioritise sustainable progress and development both on and off the pitch. We conducted a Football Review during last season to strengthen the football op...

The works team was once a common feature of football in the UK, particularly at the non-league level, including my non-league club Lockheed then AP Leamington and still referred to as the Brakes. My father as a non-league footballer thought that works clubs were particularly difficult to play against given that their players were given cushy jobs in the factory and plenty of time off to train. As implied by the club’s name, Philips Sport Vereniging (Philips Sports Union), the electronics giant Philips has close ties with PSV Eindhoven.   Indeed, the club started out in 1913 as a works team for employees of the conglomerate. It has extended its sponsorship of the club to 2031, covering stadium naming rights and participation in an innovative cooperation with four other Dutch companies under the Brainport Eindhoven name, which features on the front of the shirt. The Swiss Ramble has undertaken his usual forensic analysis of the club’s accounts; much more detail is available on ...