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The sad plight of the Sky Blues

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 independent regulator and that is certainly something I will discuss in the book Moving the Goalposts I will be writing for Manchester University Press. But if an owner is financially sound, what constraints can one set on the way they run the club?

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