The Political Economy of Football V2

For over a century, Bromley was the definition of a “local” club. They were staples of the Athenian and Isthmian leagues, originally ‘amateur’ leagues.  As an amateur club, they won the first FA Amateur Cup to be staged at Wembley in 1949. Even when they became semi-professional, those were the types of divisions where the tea is hot, the terraces are concrete, and the players often have day jobs.    Now after 132 years in the shadows of London’s giants*, the Ravens have been promoted as champions to League One. The turning point wasn’t a sudden influx of oil money, but a slow build-up of professionalism and stability.   Owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves, who made his money in the printing and technology sectors, became majority shareholder and chairman in 2019. Since then, they have secured two promotions as well as winning the FA Trophy against Wrexham in 2022. The Club’s transformation is a tale of having a clear identity, with strategic ownership, smart recruit...

When I started watching football in 1953, the visit of Wolves to The Valley was very much to be feared.  With Billy Wright as captain, they were one of the country's top clubs.   There have been many ups and downs since then, but I cherished my occasional lunches with a lifelong supporter who sadly eventually passed away at an advanced age. It doesn't take a genius to work out what has gone wrong recently, but the Swiss Ramble provides a forensic analysis of what has gone wrong using the 2024/25 accounts and his own extensive and unrivaled data set, more can be found on Substack.   Some highlights below. Last night I was watching the gripping conclusion to the world snooker final from Sheffield.  When the young Chinese challenger won, the representative of the equivalent sporting body from China made sure that he was wrapped in the Chinese flag for all the photos.   No doubt the sporting body is approved by the Communist Party. I have only been to...

A consortium led by U.S. businessman David Storch has completed a takeover of Sheffield Wednesday, who are now out of administration and will start next season in League One without a 15-point deduction. The new owners were confirmed ahead of Wednesday hosting West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the Championship season at a sold-out Hillsborough. The hosts won the game 2-1, just their second league victory of the season, to take them back to zero points after two separate deductions totalling 18 points. According to the English Football League (EFL)’s insolvency rules, clubs that fail to exit administration without paying all creditors at least 25 per cent of what they are owed, usually receive a 15-point penalty. The EFL’s board, however, has the power to waive this sanction, and the Storch consortium made it very clear to the league that it would not proceed with the takeover unless the board agreed to exercise this discretion. So, the deduction has been suspended, subje...

This informative article points out that promotion to League One would actually worsen the finances of Swindon Town.  Clubs in that league make an average loss of £5m.  A play off run (now unlikely) would bring £1m to the Wiltshire club, but that is much less than current losses:  https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/26067738.league-one-promotion-impact-swindon-town-finances/ It's a brave man who buys a lower league EFL club.

Southend United boosted their revenue last year through the play off final but still ended up with a £1m+ loss.  Finances are forecast to deteriorate this year with the Shrimpers failing in the difficult task of escaping the National League while overheads will increase (as the case at almost all football clubs, ndeed utilities may cost even more because of the conflict in the Middle East:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gvzm9vqyro

Is he a semi-detached owner, asks the New York Times? It is coming up to a year since Henry last watched a Liverpool game in the flesh. Henry is 76, so regular transatlantic flights are perhaps more challenging. But throughout FSG’s 16-year tenure, the pattern has largely stayed the same, with Henry only visiting Anfield once or twice a season. There was a reason fans chose a picture of Henry with his fingers in his ears to display on Saturday — his lack of engagement means chief executive officer Billy Hogan effectively acts as his representative on earth, a conduit between the levels of management below him and the tier of ownership above. Hogan has left a generally good impression on supporters who have worked with him in the past due to his responsiveness. Senior executives elsewhere in football have formed the view that FSG rate him extremely highly, but it is also very clear he is there to do a job for them. Though he is viewed as intelligent and well-mannered, he alway...