The Political Economy of Football V2

The dismissal of ‘Linkedin Liam’ solves one problem at Chelsea, but one has to ask why he was appointed in the first place.  Most Chelsea fans would acknowledge there are far deeper problems under the current ownership. Do the owners really understand what is involved, particularly emotionally, in running a top football club?    As was remarked on Radio 5 this morning, it’s hardly the same as turning round a ball bearings company in Wisconsin.    Nevertheless, the owners clearly think they will eventually be able to cash in on their investment. So let’s step back and see what the Swiss Ramble has to make of their 2024/25 accounts from his Zurich fastness. Chelsea’s strategy has been far more reliant on player sales than any other major English club, so they have generated an impressive £859m from this activity in the last decade. In this period, they made more than £100m on four occasions. They made £273m in the three seasons since BlueCo got involved, w...

The departure of Baroness Karen Brady from West Ham has seen other departures following, with Nathan Thompson, the executive director, stepping down with immediate effect. Financial director Andy Mollett will retire at the end of the season. Tara Warren, Brady’s trusted No 2, resigned from her role as executive director in December. In light of Brady’s exit, sources with knowledge of the situation say Sullivan has no plans to step down and remains fully committed. The 77-year-old, who owns 38.8 per cent of the club, and Kretinsky who owns 27 per cent (via 1890s Holdings), are in the process of purchasing shares from Vanessa Gold — the daughter of the late David Gold. She inherited 25.1 per cent after his passing in January 2023. The deal is expected to be completed in a month’s time, which would bring Sullivan and Kretinsky to just over 40 per cent each. The pair also have a joint-option to purchase more of Gold’s shares. “This must now be a turning point — not a rebrand,” said...

Chelsea’s defeat at Brighton last night places their European hopes in even greater jeopardy.   Fans have been eager to criticise the coach, but there are deeper problems. Next month marks the fourth anniversary of the arrival of an ownership group who need Chelsea to be worth a lot of money if they are to make a success of the most brazen deployment of private equity strategy football has ever seen. Four seasons of new ownership have seen almost £2 billion ($2.7bn) spent on new signings as BlueCo undertake the most aggressive player-trading strategy in football. Financial regulations have been skirted at home and breached abroad. A second club, Strasbourg, have been added to the group. Players and coaches have been ferried between the two clubs at pace. The over £4 billion committed to the project has been added to with borrowings that don’t show on Chelsea’s books, accruing interest at significant rates. The fate of the club’s home ground, an impediment to higher earni...

Baroness Karen Brady has stepped down as the vice-chair of West Ham United.  the timing is hardly ideal, coming at such a vital stage in the season. Brady put her announcement back 24 hours to avoid disrupting Monday night’s match against Crystal Palace, although it is hard to imagine any game will feel less than crucial from here given the relegation fight. Media speculation suggests that there may be a new role for her with the Premier League, FA or elsewhere in football, although many fans would not welcome her. Brady, 57, has been in the role for 16 years and is credited with leading the negotiations to secure West Ham’s move from Upton Park to the 62,500-seat London Stadium in 2016.  She has also become a major Premier League power broker, and her departure from the club marks the end of a business relationship with the joint-chair, David Sullivan, that dates back almost 40 years. She persuaded Sullivan to buy Birmingham City and it was a groundbreaking mo...

If the dark cloud of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ horrific season has one grim silver lining, it is that they have had plenty of opportunity to prepare for the worst. In fact, for the past few months, the powers that be at Molineux have been planning for the inevitable. It should be noted, however, that the highly competitive Championship is different from the top flight and adjusting after seven years away will be a challenge. Now, with relegation finally certain, interim chairman Nathan Shi and the rest of the Wolves hierarchy have the chance to prove that the rare luxury of time has not been wasted. Their challenges are many and varied, but the key aims include: Managing a huge summer of squad changes, with sales needed to help bridge the income drop created by relegation Taking advantage of risky January sales by ensuring the bulk of Edwards’ new squad is in place for the majority of pre-season Winning around angry fans and persuading back former ...

Protests have been fairly rare at Chelsea, and demonstrations against the current ownership — particularly one held before a home game against Brentford in January — have seemingly struggled to settle on a single message. But on Saturday evening it was clear, held up on a huge white banner at the front of the march by Chelsea fans and supporters of sister club Strasbourg: ‘BlueCo Out’. “We’re very disillusioned with the direction that the club is going at the moment,” said David Cook from NotAProjectCFC, the organisers of Saturday evening’s protest. “The best way to unify (the fanbase), really, I think at this point, is to push the message of BlueCo out. I don’t have any faith in them at this point, and I think we’re left with no other option.” Protesters’ complaints on Saturday varied. Some sported signs highlighting heavy spending, and multiple fans were unhappy with player recruitment. The ownership’s focus on youth is coming under increasing scrutiny, with suggestions recently ...