The Political Economy of Football V2

Chelsea hope that a big club such as Paris Saint-Germain will come in for Antonio Conte this summer. This would save them a significant compensation bill. Under the severance terms of his two year contract Conte is entitled to be paid for up to another year until he gets another job, or the difference between his old and new salary if he returns to work immediately. PSG would be one of the few clubs able to match Conte's salary of £9 million and he is on their shortlist to replace Unai Emery, who is expected to be sacked at the end of the season. Chelsea would also be obliged to pay off the nine Italians on the back room staff if they sack Conte.

Kieran Maguire of the Price of Football has tweeted about the reliance of clubs on broadcast income. '£59 of every £100 of income comes from TV, but for the top six clubs it is only £41 and other clubs £81. Expect a major war in the summer once promotion/relegation sorted and Big Six push for more TV money for themselves.' Of course, any change would need the backing of two-thirds of Premier League clubs. The difference in the reliance on television revenue for bigger and smaller clubs is striking. The top five in terms of reliance on television income are: Bournemouth, 91 per cent; Watford, 88 per cent; Burnley, 87 per cent; West Bromwich Albion, 86 per cent; Swansea 86 per cent. The bottom five are Arsenal, 47 per cent; Chelsea, 45 per cent; Manchester City, 43 per cent; Liverpool, 42 per cent; Manchester United 37 per cent. The low figure for Manchester United reflects the success of their commercial operation.

Watford chief executive Scott Duxbury is confident about their financial situation, but in reality their accounts for 2016/17 show a mixed picture: Reason for optimism? Revenue was up from £95m to £124m but, as is the case for most Premiership clubs, this was almost entirely due to increased television income from the Premier League. It is the second lowest revenue figure of the 15 top flight clubs to have reported so far. 88 per cent of their income comes from television, but this is a typical figure for Premiership clubs outside the top six. There was a modest increase in pre-tax profit from £3.6m to £4m, but there would have been a £18m loss if it had not been for player trading, in particular the £20m sale of Odio Ighalo to Chinese club Changchun Yataiai. Gino Pozzi's business model is based on discovering rough diamonds and selling them on for profit and either Doucoure (attracting big interest from top clubs) or Richarlison may be sold on in the summer too keep the club...

There is some controversy about how far parachute payments distort competition in the Championship which in many ways is a de facto Premiership 2. This article looks in some depth at their effect: A level playing field? Looking at teams promoted over the last five years, there is an almost fifty-fifty split between those with parachute payments and those without. However, the promoted teams had a net spend of £5.18m on players in their last year in the Championship whereas for those not promoted the net spend was £1.1m. For some time I have been puzzled by the failure of Leeds United to gain promotion. Admittedly, there have been some ownership issues and a constant search for the right manager. But Leeds is a prosperous regional capital in (having just come back from a short stay in Yorkshire) in 'God's own county'. Whatever the explanation is, it is not the absence of parachute payments or a failure to splash the cash as the net spend at Leeds is £9.75m. There is...

Chinese investors 5USport have sold their 60 per cent stake in Northampton Town back to the club's directors: Shares sold The principal explanation given is overseas investment restrictions and the Chinese authorities have certainly clamped down on speculative investments in football clubs. However, despite references to 'some progress' it was never clear how linking up with a League One club was going to help 5U's educational offering in China.

The owners of the three Championship clubs promoted last year spent £600m in the pursuit of promotion to the Premier League. One can see why they might do so. The accounts of Burnley for 2016-17 show a profit of £500,000 a week. Turnover went up from £40m to £121m. 87 per cent of Burnley's income came from broadcasting, an even higher figure than for most top flight clubs. At £104m it was over twenty times matchday income. Commercial income went up from £2.7m to £6.2m, but this was still a relatively low figure for a Premier League club. £50 was spent on wages for every £100 of income, hitting the Deloitte target exactly. In the previous financial year the ratio was 96 per cent. Wage costs still went up from £34.3m to £55.5m, but were offset by rising income. £42.8m was spent on player acquisitions, offset by just £1.6m of sales. It is worth noting that the Clarets paid the lowest wages of any Premier League club last season and are currently 7th in the division.

This Sunderland blog takes a look at Sunderland's financial worries as relegation to League One looks likely. It points out that the latest set of accounts show the club losing £3m a month which is more than some League One clubs lose in a year: Concerning finances It is noted, 'Ultimately, Sunderland will likely have to turn over a massive number of players this summer if we are to quickly and effectively restructure the club’s worrying wage situation in order to avoid any potential FFP sanctions. In an attempt at explaining just how bad Sunderland’s wage issues are, note that Jack Rodwell’s yearly salary is more than several League One sides’ total annual wage bill.' The writer concludes, 'Ultimately, relegation to League One for Sunderland will be an absolutely enormous issue. With eye-watering debts of over £100 million as per the 2015/16 accounts, and losses of over £32 million per year, the club will undoubtedly have to continue to slash costs at a phenomenal ...

Bournemouth earned millions of pounds more revenue last season because they played 'an attractive brand of football' that secured them more live TV appearances, according to the club's accounts for 2016-17. The club had 13 live TV matches last season, compared with nine the season before. Each game is worth £1.1m in 'facility fees' which are paid as part of the Premier League's distribution of TV money. The club made a profit of £363,000 a week in 2016/17. 91 per cent of income came from TV. The club paid £52 out in wages for every £100 of income in 2016/17, a very healthy ratio. Bournemouth's turnover increased by £48.6m to £136.5m. The club received £15.8m in fees for playing on live TV compared with £8.8m the previous year. Kieran Maguire of the Price of Football noted, 'AFC Bournemouth owed it’s Russian & American owners £53m interest free via their British Virgin Island and US Investment vehicles. Contrasts with West Ham owners who have c...

The accounts of Blackburn Rovers for 2016/17 do not make for happy reading with the effects of years of the Venky's regime all too evident to see. There have been £225m in losses over the years under their stewardship. You could buy a lot of chickens for that. Rovers were still in the Championship in 2016/17 and 45 per cent of their income came from media. This is anticipated to fall from £6.7m to £1m this year. In the preceding year it was £13.5m. Total income for 2017/18 is estimated at £6m. Last year the club was losing £262,000 a week. Match day income was slightly down at £3.3m. Commercial income fell from £5.06m to £4.47m. This is a reasonably good figure in relation to comparable clubs. The club has a £12m overdraft and owes £95m to Venky's. Since the club was relegated from the Premier League under the Venky's their borrowings have risen from £25m to £113m. They spent £147 on wages for every £100 of income in 2016/17, a worryingly high ratio.

New West Bromwich Albion chief executive officer Mark Jenkins has been shocked at what he found in terms of the state of the club's finances when he returned to the club. The club is going to need an overdraft facility for the first time in ten years. There is no more money for wages and a risk of breaching financial fair play rules: Need for sound business management This is in spite of a profit before tax of £39.7m, up from £1m, being recorded in the 2016-17 accounts. Turnover increased by £39.6m (40.3%) to £137.9m. Profit includes the sale of Saido Berahino.

Portsmouth's accounts for 2016-17 show an operating EBITDA profit (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation) of £86,000. There was an overall loss for the financial year of £492,000 (after depreciation and amortisation, including non-cash items such as Fratton Park). Turnover was £7.5m, down from just over £8m. Turnover fell by just over half a million pounds largely due to first round cup exits compared with the receipts of £660,000 achieved in the previous year. The Football League Basic Award increased from £1.15m to £1.43m. Ticket sales were the biggest source of revenue at £3.86m, but fell from £4.87m the previous year. Hospitality income remained at £1.1m, but with increased net profitability from outsourcing the match-day kiosks operation. Sponsorship and commercial income increased by a further £250,000 to just over £1m as the re-engagement strategy with the local business community gathered pace. Just £60k came from broadcasting income, a sta...

Hartlepool United is to be sold by owner John Blackledge for £1 this week to a consortium led by businessman Raj Singh. Further staggered payments will be made over the next 12 seasons Mr Blackledge put nearly £2m into the club and will not see most of that money again. Singh is a controversial figure with Darlington fans from his time as chairman. He placed the Quakers into administration during the 2011-12 season before they were liquidated. The takeover news comes after Hartlepool Borough Council agreed to loan the club £77,000 this week so they can pay this month's wage bill.

This week eighteen of the 36 clubs from the top two divisions of the Bundesliga voted to retain the so-called 50+1 rule where the controlling stake of any club (50 per cent plus one share, at a minimum) is owned by its members, which means its supporters. 3,000 supporter group across the country signed a petition to retain the system. Of course. there are still those who are pressing to get rid of it. Martin Kind, the president of Hannover, will continue to fight 50+1, while the Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge thinks the rule is a 'luxury', outdated in the modern world. The system does not prevent dominant clubs. Bayern have won the last five league titles by at least ten points and are 17 points clear this season with seven matches remaining. Bayern's annual income of €587.8m (about £515m) dwarfs that of Dortmund (€332.6m), which in turn dwarfs that of Schalke (€230.2m), which in turn dwarfs that of Borussia Monchengladbach (€169.3m). However, tha...

Newton Heath were the predecessor club of Manchester United and were admitted to the Football League. The first annual meeting of the shareholders of the company was held at the end of May 1893 in the New Congregational Schoolroom. (2017 figures are produced using the Bank of England inflation calculator). The club had debts of £314 (£38,357 in 2017 prices), but this was accounted for by the fact that they had been paying off old liabilities. If it had not been for these extraordinary charges, there would have been a profit of £220 (£26,875). The total receipts for the year amounted to £3,769 (£460k) of which was £2,951 (£360k) was gate money. Total staff costs were £2,094 (£255k). This amounted to a 55 per cent wages to turnover ratio, not far out of line with the 50 per cent ratio recommended today by Deloitte. Hotel and travelling expenses were £407 (just under £50k). The Chairman said that ‘the net result of their year’s working was that they were putting £130 (£15.9k) i...

Bristol Rovers have reported a £3m loss in 2016-17 despite turnover increasing to £6.2m. However, nearly £1 million of this loss was money that had to be written off because of the aborted University of West of England stadium project. The Al-Qadi family remains fully supportive of the country's only Jordanian-owned club: Bristol Rovers Player and staff costs amounted to £5.04m or 81 per cent of turnover, a relatively high figure. There was also a substantial increase in administrative costs.

The majority stake in York City has been put up for sale after the Supporters' Trust rejected a proposal to sell the remaining 25 per cent to the majority owner Jason McGill. It is understood that there are two interested bidders: Club for sale

Southampton recorded a £43.7m profit in 2016-17, but the outcome was affected by player trading payments: Saints accounts Turnover was up by £60m to £182m, but £52.5m of that was broadcasting revenue from the new Premier League deal, emphasising the importance of avoiding relegation. Broadcasting income accounts for 78 per cent of income, although that is not untypical for a Premier League Club outside the top six. Commercial revenue was up by 27 per cent, but that was from a low base and it accounts for 8.5 per cent of income overall. Boosting this is a challenge for a club that lacks a major global profile. Player wages went up by 29 per cent, but the wages to turnover ratio fell slightly to 62 per cent which is not too far out of line with the recommended level of 50 per cent.

Senior officials responsible for the development of the London Stadium have admitted that they 'got it wrong' over the design of the retractable seats that have become one of the biggest contributors to the stadium's financial problems. The £8m cost of removing and reinstating the retractable seats each summer could have been avoided, the London Assembly's budget monitoring committee was told yesterday. David Edmonds, the former chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said that the seats were one of three big issues facing the stadium. The others were failing to secure a naming rights partner (not surprising given all the problems that have been encountered) and being unable to attract more events to the venue. Edmonds also admitted that the LLDC was forced to give into West Ham United's demands during negotiations to rent the stadium as they were the only bid left. 'West Ham were very hard, very tough negotiators,' he said. He also admit...

Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the sale of AC Milan to Chinese businessman Li Yonghong: Investigation It follows three “reports of suspicious transactions” transmitted in recent months by the Bank of Italy financial information unit to the Guardia di Finanza — the Italian police force that deals with financial crimes — Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported. There have been doubts about the financial stability of the consortium that bought the club using offshore funds. The club is also in trouble with Uefa for breaching financial fair play regulations.

Relations between West Ham and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) seem to have deteriorated since the Moore Stephens report, commissioned by London mayor Sadiq Khan, which predicted a £140m loss over ten years. Sadiq Khan is clearly unhappy with the deal reached by Boris Johnson. The club are already involved in a lengthy court case with the LLDC over expanding stadium capacity, but now there is a new dispute over services they say were promised to them. The club have asked for draught beer to be provided in all stadium bars, but the LLDC insist that West Ham should pay for the pumps. West Ham pay the £150,000 licence fee to show Sky Sports on televisions inside the stadium, but some of the screens carry LLDC adverts. The LLDC wants compensation if they are displaced. West Ham say the LLDC should pay for the hosts/hostesses in the directors' and corporate boxes, but the LLDC say the club should pay. West Ham want to replace the green cover that goes over the ru...

The 2016-17 accounts for Bolton Wanderers and their parent company show the impact of relegation from the Championship: Financial results. Bolton are, of course, now back in the Championship and have every hope of staying up, although they are operating on one of the lowest budgets in the Championship. Former owner Eddie Davies wrote off an eye watering £198m of debt, but there is still £22m of hard debt remaining. This includes £10m left in by Eddie Davies. Relegation saw turnover slump from over £24m to £8.3m. The most important factor here was the decline in broadcasting revenue from £12.9m to £1.7m. Gate receipts fell marginally from £3.3m to £3.1m. Operating losses went up from £8m to £12.9m. On the more positive side the wage bill of £12.6m was down by £6m. In 2011 it was £56m. The wages to turnover ratio of 63.4 per cent was lower than fifteen Championship clubs in 2016/17. In 2013 it was well over 100 per cent. Expenditure on sales and administration was cut by £4m...

It is difficult to get as much information about lower league clubs from Companies House filings as they are allowed to produce 'exemption accounts' which give less detail. I am therefore reliant on Kieran Maguire of the Price of Football for tweeting about Colchester United: '[They] owe over £19 million to Jobserve who, along with Aspire Media Group, have underwritten the club’s total losses of £23.5 million and are keeping the club afloat. Rent will be about £150k a year from 2018' The club lost £58,000 a week in 2016/17. Colchester is a prosperous and growing centre, but there are good travel links to London and many incomers undoubtedly support London clubs in the Premier League. The attendance at the U's home game last Saturday was 2,772.

Cardiff City (Holdings) Limited filed their annual accounts on line at Companies House yesterday where they can be read free of charge. They run to 34 pages and you probably need an accountancy qualification to make full sense of them, but I will try and pick out some highlights. Like all clubs seeking to access the promised land of the Premier League, Cardiff City reported big losses but they are backed by their owner Vincent Tan. Loans from overseas shareholders (principally Vincent Tan) amounted to £115m. It is stated, 'the Group has the support of the controlling shareholder and consequently, liquidity risk is no longer a significant factor for the Group.' The operating loss for the year ended 31 May 2017 was £18.35m. To put it another way, the club was losing over £400,000 a week. Revenue was down from £33.2m to £28.7m as a result of the reduction in parachute payments which are such a key element for many Championship clubs. Accumulated losses to 2017 were £139m. ...

There will be a special meeting of York City Supporters Trust on Thursday when 910 members will vote on whether to hand over the Trust's 25 per cent shareholding to JM Packaging. This is the business owned by York chairman Jason McGill. As part of the deal the Trust would retain one golden share and some of their existing rights until the move to the Monks Cross Community Stadium, scheduled for June 2019. The Trust will retain rights restricting transfer of ownership of the club to certain people and the option to acquire shares if Jason McGill/JMP wish to sell in the future. The golden share will protect the club's name, colours, badge and location of the home stadium. McGill has agreed to use any funds from the sale of Bootham Crescent for the benefit of the club. JM Packaging will receive no more from the sale of the ground than the aggregate amount that has been put into the club by his company. Since 2003, JM Packaging have injected £4.3m into the club and will produ...

The Football Observatory has published data on which players have accumulated the greatest value add between their transfer fee (which could be zero for Academy players) and their current value: Who has gained most value? Harry Kane tops the list, but Mohammed Salah in sixth place deserves a mention. Surely a very smart and popular acquisition by Liverpool. There is a search facility for the big five leagues, so you can look for those players who have lost value.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has taken a close look at the accounts of Wolverhampton Wanderers. He no longer posts his findings in a blog, but tweets them, so I have selected a few highlights. His general tone is positive, in particular noting that Wolves should not have financial fair play problems given that one can deduct Academy and other expenditures amounting to some £6m. He states, 'Under former owner Steve Morgan Wolves were very prudent, making profits 6 times in 7 years. Fosun have a very different strategy: “increased expenditure both on and off the pitch is essential to ensure Wolves are able to compete with other clubs of a similar size and ambition.”' 'In fairness, almost all Championship clubs lose money as they gamble on promotion. That said, Wolves £23m loss is the 2nd largest of clubs that have reported to date in 16/17, only below Brighton £39m (including £9m promotion bonuses).' 'Revenue has fallen 61% (£37m) since relegation from the Prem...

As they prepare to face Southampton in the FA Cup this afternoon, it is a good opportunity to reflect on Wigan Athletic's extraordinary story and take a look at their finances. The club was elected to the Football League in 1978, displacing another Lancashire club, Southport, after an initial tied vote. Dave Whelan took over at Wigan in 1995 and helped direct the club's rise from the fourth tier to the Premier League a decade later. Under his guidance, Wigan enjoyed eight years in the top flight and won the FA Cup in 2013. It has been agreed in principle to sell the club to a Hong Kong listed company. International Entertainment Corporation (IEC), an Asian hotel and casino operator, has been in takeover talks. Its chairman Stanley Choi is a poker champion who has tried to promote the game in Asia. IEC said in a statement: 'The proposed acquisition, if materialised, represents a good opportunity to diversify the income stream of the company and broaden its revenue ba...

Scottish football is in good financial health suggests this report authored by finance expert Kieran Maguire: Scottish clubs A key indicator is that the Scottish clubs examined spent only £53 on player wages for every £100 of revenue, very close to the recommended level of 50 per cent. This compares with an average of £67 in the Premiership and a mouth watering £101 in the Championship. The article singles out Kilmarnock for praise, managing to make a profit on a small turnover (they have been helped by the return of Rangers to the top flight which boosts attendances). There is, however, a big discrepancy in revenue: Celtic earn £18 for every £1 earned by Kilmarnock. The article is just about leading clubs. Those in the lower divisions have budgets equivalent to non-league clubs in England.

Premier League clubs are divided over what action should be taken against Wolverhampton Wanderers if they are promoted to the top flight. A number of clubs feel that the fact that a subsidiary of Wolves's owners Fosun, owns a 20 per cent stake in super agent Jorge Mendes's company Gestifute is clear evidence of third party influence and believe that the rules should be tightened up. Perhaps they should be, but it is hardly fair to apply them to Wolves retrospectively. Others are more relaxed about the situation, not least because many rely on the Portuguese agent for players and are reluctant to challenge his influence. Any action against Wolves would have to be backed by 14 clubs and would need the support of the FA. Wolves have not breached the rules on third party ownership, as there is nothing in the existing regulations to prevent a club from taking a share in a player agency. The FA and the EFL signed off Wolves's links to Mendes after Fosun's takeover in 2...

After Chelsea's defeat by Barcelona, only two Premier League clubs are left in the Champions League. However, the ones that were knocked out have received a big financial boost. All these figures are provided by the Swiss Ramble, but I have written them up as he tweets them rather than consolidating them in a blog post. My admiration for his mastery of the complexities knows no bounds. Champions League revenues come in two forms: television pools and prize money. Because of the BT deal, the UK has the largest television pool (€154m). In comparison, the German pool is worth €66m. Italy has the second largest pool. The amount received by British clubs up to the Round of 16 (Manchester City and Liverpool will receive more) was: Chelsea €65m Manchester City €63m Tottenham Hotspur €61m Liverpool €56m Manchester United €39m (reduced because of entry via the Europa League) Celtic €32m Clubs elsewhere in Europe, receiving more than €50m: Juventus €80m Bayern Munich €62m Real...

All the following comments about Leicester City are based on a series of tweets by the knowledgeable Swiss Ramble. As he is not blogging any more, I am bringing together some of the highlights. There is no doubt that winning the league title and then getting to the quarter finals of the Champions League had a transforming effect on Leicester City. They are now 7th in terms of revenues in the Premier League and 14th in the world. Revenues have increased by £200m since their promotion in 2014. Of the twelve Premier League clubs to have reported their 2016/17 figures so far, they have recorded the largest profit to date before tax: £92m, up from £16m. This is the highest profit a club has ever made in the Premier League. However, a note of caution is necessary. These figures are unlikely to be repeated this year. In 2016/17 they received £70m in broadcasting income from the Champions League. They received more than Real Madrid as the broadcast pool is larger in the UK. On the dow...

There seems to be an emerging consensus that the best way to hit back at Russia is to hit back at assets and funds held by Russians in London which, it is claimed, have in many cases being acquired illegally and are being laundered in London. Why nothing has been done about this before now is another question. Matthew Syed is a highly respected football journalist, but I do think parts of his article in The Times this morning are exaggerated. The headline reads 'Spy case could spell trouble for Abramovich.' The article starts in rather melodramatic fashion with someone being beaten to death in Russia, but later on speculates about a strong British version of the American Magnitsky Act which, it is suggested, could place Roman Abramovich's assets in jeopardy as the state would be able to determine 'whether assets owned in Britain were paid for with ill-gotten cash.' 'If our legislators have the courage to draft a rigorous clause ... it is not just Abramovic...

Wolves just need to get promoted this season, not just for the obvious reason, but also to avoid any financial fair play penalties. Kieran Maguire of the price of football has taken a detailed and forensic look at their accounts and that is his conclusion: Wolves

Managerial turnover in the Premier League continues to increase, but much of it consists of a merry go round of the same group of somewhat shell shocked middle aged men moving from one club to another. Southampton hope to recruit Mark Hughes which makes more sense than some of the appointments as he has never been relegated with any of the clubs he has managed. Alan Pardew, despite his high reputation, is something of a relegation specialist. Hughes does not want a contract just until the end of the season, but a longer deal. Southampton pride themselves on youth development and playing attractive football, neither of which really could be said to be a strength of Hughes, but he is a safe pair of hands. The recruitment process is being led by vice-chairman and former Charlton manager Les Reed and director of football operations Ross Wilson. A Saints fan texted me this morning: 'Think new owner needs to look at all of Les Reed's recent managerial decisions. Lot of Southamp...

Charlton manager Karl Robinson has said that the takeover of the club might not take place until the summer or next season: Completely up in the air Robinson is clearly getting exasperated, but so are many fans as they look forward to the departure of unpopular Belgian owner Roland Duchatelet. Two bids had been deemed acceptable, although it has been unclear how the choice would be made between them. One is believed to be an Australian consortium and the other is closer to home. The matter is supposed to be in the hands of lawyers, and no doubt there are complications. However, the club is currently without a chief executive and lacks clear leadership.

Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust are unhappy with the prices being charged at the club's new stadium, seeing it as a missed opportunity: Season ticket prices Only nine areas are priced below £950 and the fifteen pricing points offer a complex system that conceals the extent to which prices have increased. Many fans have told the trust that they will be priced out and groups of fans that have sat together will be scattered across the stadium. There may be sell out crowds in the first year, but this could be difficult to sustain.

The finances of Queens Park Rangers have had something of an Alice in Wonderland quality to them in recent years with sums of money apparently appearing and disappearing at a whim. However, Kieran Maguire has taken a close look at the latest accounts and it now appears that some stability has been restored, although the question of a £40m financial fair play (FFP) bill remains unresolved: Boys Don't Cry QPR have argued that FFP is illegal (which I think it could be under competition law, but I am no lawyer). The Football League insists that clubs who want to play in its competition have to abide by the rules (although whether one can have rules that violate national or European law is a moot point). Maguire sums up: 'QPR have done well in 2016/17 to get their house in order. The final league position reflects the cost cutting at the club, which has continued this year. It looks as if the largesse of the past has been replaced with a more cautious approach to managing the cl...

Announcing this week that Bostik Premier Staines Town for sale, chairman Matthew Boon said: 'Non-League, especially at this level, is completely unsustainable. Unless there is help from above, I can't see how it can be sustainable. The outgoing costs, as they always have been in Non-League football, far outweigh what is coming in. But I think that gap is growing.' To some extent it does depend on whether a club is run prudently or whether caution is thrown to the winds in pursuit of promotion. Worcester is a growing and prosperous city and should be able to support a top level non-league club, as it once did. Worcester City are now in the Midland League and could be forced to go 'fully amateur' next season. They dropped two levels at the end of last season to cut costs. Club accounts revealed losses of £290,000 in the financial year to May 2017. It wiped out more than half the club's cash reserves. It is estimated that there will be £150,000 available ...

Tottenham Hotspur have announced season ticket prices for their new stadium. There will be 42,000 seats for season ticket holders, twice the number at White Hart Lane. The stadium capacity is 62,000. The cheapest tickets come in at £745, £397.50 for seniors, £595 for a new category - young adults (under 22) - and £397.50 for juniors (under 18). That gets you 19 Premier League home matches. The cheapest adult season ticket this season at Wembley was £695 and at the last season at White Hart Lane the cheapest was £765, however that did include two cup matches. The most expensive season tickets at the new Spurs stadium come in at £1,995, the most expensive in the Premier League. At Wembley, the most expensive was £1,700 for a Club Wembley Category 1 ticket in the middle tier on the halfway line. In White Hart Lane's final year, the most expensive season ticket was £1,895 but again that included cup matches. There are also £2,200 tickets that give access to a private bar and compli...

The controversy over events at the London Stadium rages on with parts of the British public seized by 'one of its periodical fits of morality' of which the original quote said 'We know no spectacle more ridiculous'. Fans shouldn't invade the pitch, but they have to be very angry to do so and it is worth trying to understand what lies behind that anger. Mark Walker of the West Ham United Independent Supporters' Association writes in The Times this morning. I appreciate that there is no generally accepted spokesman for West Ham fans, indeed this is part of the problem. They are the only London team, so I am told, not to have a supporters' trust. He says: 'West Ham are the only Premier League club that won't engage meaningfully with their fans. One of the key frustrations of supporters is that their voices are not being heard. What does the club fear?' [As a Charlton fan, I can sympathise with a situation where the owners won't engage i...

Miguel Delaney had an excellent article in The Independent this week discussing the toxic situation at West Ham and it is well worth reading the whole article: Toxic atmosphere However, this extract gives a good idea of some of their grievances: 'Among the concerns that have been brought up in recent meetings between fan groups and the club are: the ongoing situation with the move away from the Boleyn Ground, to a stadium they feel is not fit for football; who is actually running the club, given co-chairman David Sullivan’s recent illness and co-chairman David Gold’s age; how much money is actually being invested in the team; what kind of process exists for signing players; ticket prices; media comments by the owners; appropriate recognition of the club’s history; stewarding – where it was cited that one wears a Charlton Athletic jersey under his jacket; Boxing Day home fixtures; the memorial garden at the Boleyn; “amnesties” for supporters ejected from the stadium and not charg...

Wolves are in a strong position to win the Championship, but some of their rivals have taken exception and have claimed that Wolves are breaking EFL rules. A written complaint has been made by several clubs, an unusual step. Essentially there are two issues. One concerns Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes. The Chinese owner of Wolves, Fosun, has a stake in Mendes's company Gestifute. Other Championship club chairmen have questioned how Wolves have been able to afford and sign players, many of whom are linked to Gestifute, from some of the biggest clubs in Europe. The Wolves head coach, Nuno Espirito Santo, is a former goalkeeper who was Mendes's first client, and remains close to him. The written complaint was discussed at a meeting of the EFL board on Thursday. 'It was agreed that the EFL executive will meet with the management of the club to reiterate our requirements and those of the FA and will report back to the board.' Wolves would have to demonstrate that an...

An overseas private equity firm is reported to have put in a bid for Blackpool: Fans are concerned There are two reasons for fans to be concerned. First, what has happened at Coventry City does not suggest that overseas private equity firms make good owners. What is in the deal for them? They won't be doing it for benevolent reasons. It also appears that they may want to lease Bloomfield Road rather than buying the stadium. This may make good business sense, but the fans do not want any continued involvement by the Oystons in the club.

Arsenal had a convincing 2-0 victory over AC Milan away in the Europa League last night. Admittedly, this was not the AC Milan of old. They are beset with financial problems and they had hardly any players with top level European experience, rather some players who had not made the grade in the Premier League. Arsenal could, of course, falter in the return leg at the Emirates. Even so, a win is a win. However, Arsenal supporters are unforgiving if one is to judge by the representative of Arsenal Supporters Trust interviewed on Radio 5 this morning. Wenger has to go in the summer, no ifs, no buts. In the words of Theresa May, nothing has changed. The AST spokesman pointed out that there were increasing numbers of empty seats at the Emirates. However, if these are season ticket holders who don't turn up, Stan Kroenke isn't losing any money. If they decided not to renew, there is a long waiting list for the seats. The point I am trying to make is that this will be a busi...

Newcastle fans at a reserve game at Sunderland It's unusual to see such a big turnout at a reserve fixture, but it reflects the rivalry between these two clubs. The traditional reserves have been replaced in large part by the under 23s and they were the subject of a feature article in The Times last Saturday. The insertion of under 23s into the Carabao Cup has not gone down well with fans and it is a relief that the final will be played between two first teams. Let's start with the traditional reserves. They were a mixture of players returning from injury, fringe players and young hopefuls. Crowds were sparse, particularly as it was often difficult to find out where they were being played. I was sent by Charlton to cover an Oxford United v. Charlton reserve game, turned up at their old ground at Headington, only to find it was being played at Witney (Wendy Toms was the referee). Four Four Two magazine had a nice feature on the reserves in February 2007 entitled: '...

Paris Saint Germain, the team constructed to win the Champions League, are out of the competition. What should they do now? Throw more money at the club, regardless of Uefa's financial fair play rules, or recognise that assembling a group of talented players is not enough (albeit Neymar was injured and apparently collecting French state sick benefit). A team also needs a collective fighting spirit, as this interesting commentary from the New York Times recognises: The bill but no prize Football might look like an attractive and rewarding way of exercising 'soft power', but it is not as easy as it looks.

As they prepare to face Arsenal on Thursday, AC Milan's finances continue to cause concern. Uefa are far from happy with the financial stability of the Chinese consortium that acquired the club from former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi: Murky finances Perhaps even more significant, alarm bells are ringing in China. The Chinese authorities do not want their country to suffer any reputational damage from profligate spending overseas. The South China Morning Post has commented: 'AC Milan are owned by Li Yonghong, whose Rossoneri Sports Holdings took over in April last year in a convoluted deal worth US$860 million. Li has been reported to be bankrupt – which he dismissed as "fake news" in his Chinese New Year message to Milan fans – and Italian newspaper Corriere della Sere has said that the club risks being sold on Chinese e-commerce site Taobao. That is unlikely to happen even if Li’s finances are as dire as feared. Instead the club will likely go un...

West Ham turned a £4.8m loss into a £43m profit in 2016-17, but this mainly because of additional television revenues and player sales. The club has admitted that the profit figure would have been much the same if the club had stayed at Upton Park: West Ham The sale of Upton Park produced a profit of just £8.7m. They had 52,000 season tickets renewed, ticket sales were up by 6.3 per cent, retail up by 2 per cent and the community and sponsorship departments increased revenue by some 35.7 per cent. Anecdotally, I know that some disillusioned Charlton supporters living in Kent have taken advantage of fast rail travel to Stratford to support West Ham. I have now read the accounts in more detail. These are available free of charge online at Companies House. Please note that the figures relate to the year ending May 2017 and do not include what the club regards as 'significant investments' in players in the summer transfer window. Turnover was £183.3m, up from £142m. Profit f...

In the latest development in the tragic story of Dulwich Hamlet, now top of the Bostik Premier, a subsidiary of their adversary, property developer Meadow, has registered the trademarks 'Dulwich Hamlet Football Club', 'The Hamlet' and 'DHFC'. It means that the club are barred from using their name on correspondence and on all online activity. Meadow owns and operates the club's Champion Hill Ground, receiving all gate money and only handing any money after covering its costs. Meadow executives told the club last month that it was no longer 'financially viable', despite good attendances for that level of the pyramid. Attendances have regularly been around the 1,500 mark and sometimes higher. The club has been presented with a bill for rent of £121,000. Unless it is paid by March 23rd, a winding up petition may be served. Through his affordable housing company, Rio Ferdinand made a £10m bid to buy the ground last year, but it was rejected by Mea...

Dulwich Hamlet are a popular and well-supported non-league club playing in the Bostik Premier League. They have been caught in the middle of a dispute between Southwark Council and Meadow, a property developer. Their property developer landlords have now served notice on them which would lead to immediate eviction (their next two games are away): Eviction The club issued the following statement: 'Yesterday evening, the club were served notice that our license to play at Champion Hill would be terminated immediately. We are consulting with solicitors on the matter, as we feel they do not have legal grounds to serve such a notice. This comes on top on the £121,000 ‘back rent’ bill we were served last week, as reported by The Daily Mirror .' 'Meadow have not been in touch with the Club directly, and have only communicated through their solicitors. This seems to be their preferred method. We urge Andrew McDaniel and Peter Bennison to try and act with some level of courtesy...

The latest accounts for Exeter City have come out. They are in the small company format, so there is limited information, but they lost £792,000 in a year. However, they only owe money to the Supporters' Society who are an industrial and provident trust and the sole owners. One challenge for Exeter is they are in a city with a very successful rugby union side. The surrounding area has a high retired population who may not be inclined to come to matches and/or have allegiances to up country clubs. Accrington Stanley are having a very successful season, but they are sandwiched between a Premier League club at Burnley and Blackburn Rovers that fell on hard times, but are now reviving. A Burnley fan tells me that some of their fans do treat Accrington as a second club if they want to see a game when the Clarets aren't playing. In 2016/17 they had the lowest average home attendance in League Two at 1,699. The figure for Exeter was 4,166. Lower league clubs are very reliant ...

88 per cent of Arsenal fans polled by the Arsenal Supporters' Trust want Arsene Wenger out in the summer with only seven per cent wanting him to stay another year. The findings will be presented to chief executive Ivan Gazidis before the game against Watford on Sunday: Wenger out Wenger will, however, resist any attempts to make a dignified exit this summer and may have to be sacked. He has never broken a contract in his career. Wenger has now lost the support of key directors of the club who think that Wenger should be moved on. However, the key decision maker is majority shareholder 'Silent' Stan Kroenke whose main concern will be the business case relating to his English franchise. Ray Parlour has suggested that nothing will change at the Emirates while the finances are healthy: Money comes first. Much will depend on what his son Josh, also a director, tells him. He has spent a fortnight at the club and has now returned to the States. Gazidis has made some new ...

Non-league clubs often find themselves in financial trouble because their revenue streams are often uncertain and vulnerable and players want the going rate or more. The temptation is to over spend in pursuit of promotion. League clubs may offer a rival attraction. Directors may be asked to dig into their own pockets, but they are not always that deep. Lowestoft Town have run into serious problems. The Trawlerboys, who play in the Step 3, Bostik Premier, have cited a big drop in attendance figures as one reason for their difficulties. The Blues were relegated from the Conference North two seasons ago and are currently on a poor run of league form, having won just one in 12 Bostik Premier games. They are currently fourth bottom in the table. Only the bottom side is relegated to Step 4. The club has issued the following statement: 'As you all may be aware, Lowestoft Town FC has been experiencing financial difficulties all the way through the season. It has now come to a point wh...

Baliffs have been seen outside Blackpool FC's Bloomfield Road stadium. It would seem that minority shareholder Valeri Belokon has started recovery action against the Oystons. The EFL has invited Blackpool supporters and other interested parties to a meeting to discuss concerns about the club: Invitation. EFL chairman Shaun Harvey has admitted that communication has been poor between the league and Blackpool. The Blackpool Supporters' Trust see the meeting as the first step on a long road to effective change: Meeting. They want an independent regulator for English football. The Tangerines lost £42,000 a week last season. Gate receipts, which are important in the lower leagues, were hit by fan boycotts. Their latest accounts show a loss of £2.2m in the season they were promoted back to League One in 2016-17, up from £1.7m the previous year.

Kieran Maguire doesn't hold back when he describes the plight of Coventry City, the first inaugural Premier League team to be relegated to League Two. He states: 'Their finances over the last decade, under a series of opportunists, asset strippers, charlatans and scumbags, have suffered a similar decline.' His full analysis can be found here: Too much too young Coventry City don't own the Ricoh Arena and are very much at the mercy of rugby team Wasps who have only given them a twelve month extension of their tenancy and take most of the match day income. Wasps have marketed themselves very cleverly in the area. The prices they charge are very reasonable. My next door neighbour and his wife go frequently and find it a friendlier atmosphere than a football game. During the week Wasps players can be seen in the coffee shops of up market Leamington Spa. The bigger issue is what one can do to protect fans against feckless owners? Blackpool fans have called for an ...

Championship clubs often spend heavily in an attempt to obtain access to the riches of the Premier League. Sheffield Wednesday faltered in the play offs in 2016/17 and lost £21m in the process. Kieran Maguire provides a forensic analysis of the club's accounts which shows once again how important (and distorting) parachute payments can be in a de facto Premiership 2. However, he points out that the owning family are very wealthy so they can spend more if they wish to. There is little risk of the club going into administration: Play to win Wednesday appointed Belgian lawyer Katrien Meire as chief executive. She was deeply unpopular at Charlton, but maybe she has learnt enough to do a better job for the Owls.

Jeff Stelling has asked potential investors to step in to provide money to save Hartlepool United. The Sky Sports presenter has warned that time is running out if they are to avoid liquidation. Writing in this morning's The Non-League Paper Stelling says that it is unlikely that the club will be able to pay wages at the end of the month and that will mean administration. This would mean a points deduction for the club and almost certain relegation from the National League. A Teesside businessman has come up with some money and Stelling has put in a little: 'We've had promises from USA, Canada and England, but when you ask people to show their money it falls silent.' Stelling admits that the club has had a huge playing staff on ludicrous contracts, and also an over large support staff. It makes me relieved that my National League North club is run on a prudent, break even basis. Stelling reckons that the club needs £2m over three years to break even. That's a...

Championship clubs lose money hand over fist, but Preston North End have more modest losses, although any increase in income is invariably paid out in wages: Preston The 'Baron' concludes: 'PNE have shown it is possible to survive with relative ease in the Championship without spending huge sums of money. At the same time they have achieved that by spending every penny they earn on player wages, and relying on an owner to cover the remaining costs of running the club. They have significant debts due to the owner of about £30 million, but it’s unlikely that there will be a request to repay these sums.' The question remains will they be perpetual nearly men, or will they have a chance at the play off lottery?

Chelsea will have to pay considerably more than the £11m rent that Tottenham Hotspur are paying this season if the club want to move there while Stamford Bridge is being redeveloped. Chelsea will not be moving until 2021, the year in which they were originally planning to open the rebuilt stadium. Twickenham is one option, but rugby bosses have ruled this out in the past, some egg chasers regarding it as sacrilege: Oval balls only The London Stadium is another possibility, but that would mean a ground share with another club.

The chairman of Peterborough United has sold a 50 per cent stake in the club to two Canadian businessmen. He will continue as chairman. R. Stewart Thompson and Jason Neal, who have been actively looking at ownership of an EFL club for the past two years, have both joined the Posh board. They will hold their shares through a Canadian business, Kelgary Sports and Entertainment. Dublin-born MacAnthony was the youngest owner of an English club, at 30, when he took Posh over from Barry Fry in September 2006. He had previously tried to buy Woking and AFC Wimbledon, after earning his fortune through property development in Spain. Neal has been described as a 'veteran mining investment banker': Career R Stewart Thompson (Randy) has been described as a builder of companies, angel investor and leader of Canada’s largest and most active angel group. He is currently invested in seven companies and has been working in the start up venture space since 1992 when he started the first I...

Burnley are the only Premier League Club with majority English shareholders, but that may change soon. The club is the subject of a £180m takeover bid from rival American and Middle Eastern investors. The club have signed a non-disclosure agreement with a US media company and prepared a prospectus for several other groups, including one from the Middle East. Negotiations are at an early stage and a preferred bidder has not been identified. However, the club is an attractive prospect as Premier League status is seen as secure for next season, as are revenue streams for the next four years. The club has quite a complicated ownership structure. Chairman Mike Garlick holds 49.3 per cent of the shares, former chairman John Banaszkiewicz holds 27.5 per cent and the remainder are held by small shareholders. On my visits to Turf Moor, I have always enjoyed the rather traditional feel of the ground and hopefully that will not change.

Leicester City are hoping to have another go at Champions League qualification after an excellent set of financial results. It should be noted that these come from a club press statement and there are no detailed figures for analysts to drill down into. The club states, 'The earning potential afforded by the Club’s first appearance in the UEFA Champions League helped yield record pre-tax profits of £92.5m (2016: £16.4m) – the long-term reinvestment of which, under the guidance of the Srivaddhanaprabha family and its King Power Group of Companies, will be a catalyst in the Club’s growth and its pursuit of further sustainable success. Turnover for the year increased to £233m (£128.7 in 2016), owing largely to the Club’s outstanding performance in progressing to the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals, further than any other English club that season. The addition of European competition to the fixture schedule also boosted ticket revenue by 42 per cent, despite a third consecutive...

Sometimes I wonder whether Arsene Wenger or Theresa May will be dislodged first. Both insist that they are strong and stable, but both look increasingly vulnerable. Manchester City are rampant at the moment, but there are still a lot of questions that emerge from last night's defeat. It may be that the first time a decision about his future is out of Arsene Wenger's hands. Arsenal have drawn up a list of names in the event of having to make a managerial change. Josh Kroenke, the son of majority shareholder Stan, has been in London the past week. Admittedly, this was a long planned visit, but he will be able to update his father on the mood at the Emirates. If Wenger does manage the difficult task of qualifying for the Champions League via the Europa League, he may get a reprieve. He is nothing if not obstinate and he won't go quietly.

As a neutral in the Premier League I have been greatly impressed by the quality of Liverpool's play this season, the pace and the sheer audacity and skill of some of the goals. They just need to tighten up defensively. Their latest financial results look positive, although twelve months is in some respects an artificial reporting period and does not include recent signings: Record profit However, the key point is that they have the backing of the ownership group and will be able to make the signings they need in the summer. Some of the fundamentals in terms of revenue streams are looking good. It will take a few days to provide a more detailed analysis, but in the meantime I congratulate Jurgen Klopp. I find Anfield to be a particularly atmospheric ground and I always have in my thoughts what happened at Hillsborough and the way in which they were let down by the authorities.

So opaque is Charlton's takeover statement it might have been drafted by the Vatican. Two purchasers are prepared to pay an acceptable price for troubled League One club Charlton Athletic: Price agreed The South-East London club is owned by Belgian multi-millionaire Roland Duchatelet, originally as a part of a European network of clubs which reflected thinking in the European Commission at the time. Fans have demonstrated against Duchatelet, who has only been to one game at The Valley, both in SE7 and in Belgium. Charlton's latest statement on the matter was issued by the one English director left on the board, Richard Murray. It was so cryptic and opaque it could have been drafted by The Vatican. The matter is now in the hands of lawyers, but it is not clear how a decision will be made in favour of one purchaser or the other, or whether they might come together in a consortium. A bid from a Scottish consortium was withdrawn, but there have been persistent rumours that...