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Shock sacking at United

Manchester United staff have been left stunned by the “brutal” dismissal of the club’s long-serving head of team operations as part of the restructuring by Ineos at Old Trafford. On a day when it emerged that further redundancies are planned, with more than 100 staff now at risk of losing their jobs, The Times has revealed the shock decision to part company with Jackie Kay after almost 30 years serving the club. Kay, from a United-supporting family, has worked at the club since 1995, initially as executive assistant to David Gill, the former chief executive, before taking charge of first-team logistics for more than a decade at the Carrington training ground. She was promoted to head of team operations in October 2023, only a few months before Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos became co-owners, and was a hugely popular figure with the players as well as a succession of managers. One insider described Kay as “the oil in the machine”, the conduit beyond the manager and the players. ...
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Football in the far south-west

The English county of Devon is in the spotlight, with two of the best three teams in the country making the long journey south-west in the FA Cup fourth round. I lived in Exeter for two years and never felt more disconnected from football.   For some, rugby union is more synonymous with the area than football — the Exeter Chiefs won the Premiership in 2017 and 2020 — but dig beneath the surface and look beyond the stunning coastline, popular tourist hotspots and cream teas and you will find an area that has forged its own footballing culture. Devon’s two English Football League (EFL) clubs have never been in the top flight and neither have won a major trophy. Plymouth are bottom of the Championship, while Exeter are 18th in League One. Torquay United have a proud heritage but are now in the National League South, the sixth tier, after falling on hard times. Devon is the fourth-biggest county in England by area, but it is sparsely populated.    The fact Dev...

Can Stoke break out of their malaise?

Stoke City’s 2023/24 financial results covered a season when they finished 17th in the Championship, which means that they have now finished in the bottom half of the table six years in a row since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018. Recent results are in stark contrast to their time in the top flight, when they finished 9th in three consecutive seasons up to 2015/16. Stoke’s vice-chairman, Richard Smith, said, “I don’t think we’ve made any secret of the fact we want to get back into the Premier League. We spent 10 years there but we’ve been out of it for a while now and we’re very keen to get back up there.” To that end, Stoke have been among the bigger spenders in England’s second tier, but to no avail. They are backed by the wealth of bet365, but have been constrained by the need to comply with the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability regulations, though it’s also true that they did not make the most of the parachute payments they received after relegation.  ...

Concerns over Hibernian finances

Losses of over £7m are worrying for a club of Hibernian's size and there are clearly some underlying problems at the club:  https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/latest-hibs-news/hibs-grotesque-finances-leave-dark-stain-and-no-easy-fix-for-embattled-regime-amid-ps71m-loss-4 980975 The finances have deteriorated over the years and the club is frank about the challenges that it faces:  https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24919757.hibernian-football-club-accounts-lay-bare-deterioration/ One issue is that players appear to have been overpaid in relation to performance.   The wages to turnover ratio is at a high and worrying level for Scotland.

City in new legal clash with Premier League

Manchester City have mounted another legal challenge against the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules. I am not a lawyer, but I have published on competition policy in the past and it is always been my view that the rules of football leagues, in particular the Premier League, may not be compatible with competition law.    At least they need to be tested in court to see whether a de facto cartel is operating. One thing is certain: expensive lawyers are making a lot of money out of both the Premier League and individual clubs, not least City.    The Premier League's legal bill last season was £48m, six times the budget and a lot of that was spent on City who have deep pockets. Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, informed the top-flight clubs on Thursday that the reigning champions have initiated a fresh arbitration challenge to the amendments that were voted through in November.   Masters’ letter to clubs, which w...

League One is a three way fight between wealthy owners

A three-way fight for promotion between a New York hedge fund, a Kazakh billionaire and two Hollywood actors has fuelled a record transfer splurge in English football’s third tier, as wealthy team owners look to get ahead of tighter financial rules taking effect this summer. The 24 clubs in League One have spent almost €56mn this season — more than the total for the past eight seasons combined — according to figures from data website Transfermarkt. Table-topping Birmingham City, owned since 2023 by US hedge fund Knighthead Capital, has spent more than €35mn, equivalent to about 63 per cent of the league’s total spend. Birmingham City smashed the League One transfer record last summer to sign striker Jay Stansfield from Fulham for €17.8mn. The club is also responsible for the next two most expensive signings in the division: Christoph Klarer at €4.15mn and Willum Thór Willumsson for €4mn. Huddersfield Town, owned by US businessman Kevin Nagle, spent more than €3mn on forward Joe Tay...

Financial rules constrain January transfers

Over recent years, Manchester City have tended to sidestep transfer business in January, where pressures and fees are typically heightened. Yet their behaviour in the opening weeks of 2025 indicated a club attempting to salvage their season via the market. And those efforts came at a cost.   In the region of £178million was spent on City’s four new additions, making it a significant window for Pep Guardiola’s squad. Only once before, when Chelsea went all out in January 2023 to sign Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and more in a £270million spree, have any club made a greater financial commitment at the midway point of a season. Barcelona, who signed Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in 2018, had been the only other club to ever go north of that £100m mark during a winter window. That level of business also made City the clear outlier of another circumspect January across the Premier League. Their spending roughly accounted for 44 per cent of all incoming business...