No football fan can be happy with what has happened at Derby County, but it is a blatant case of financial mismanagement. Championship clubs too often overspend in the hope of trying to reach the Premier League, but Derby have also tried to bend the rules. The Athletic has been speaking to people with knowledge of the club’s financial position and they have not been very upbeat. “It’s 50/50 they get liquidated,” said one source, while another said: “I can’t see how they get out of this — they’re ****ed.” The picture they painted in such depressing tones was one of a club that is worth less than nothing. Much less. They said any prospective buyer would need to shell out more than £50 million simply clearing Derby’s debts before spending a penny on rebuilding the club and putting a competitive team on the park. This is because the club has football creditors, who must be paid up to £10 million in full, as well as secured debt of £20 million owed to an American private equity f
The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the latest annual accounts of Manchester United, once again deploying his in depth knowledge and forensic analytical skills. The pre-tax loss was up from £21m to £24m, as revenue dropped £15m (3%) from £509m to £494m and profit on player sales fell £11m to £7m, while expenses rose £16m (3%). Operational decline offset by interest swinging £39m from £26m payable to £13m recoverable thanks to forex gains. Net loss after tax rose £69m from 23m to £92m, due to April 2023 increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25%, which meant that United wrote down the value of a US deferred tax asset, as it is no longer expected to give rise to a future economic benefit. This is a non-cash impact. The main reason that revenue only fell 3% was £115m (82%) increase in broadcasting to £255m, mainly due to return to Champions League, which compensated for COVID driven reductions in match day, down £83m (92%) to £7m, and commercial, down £47m (17%) to £232m. As a s