The Political Economy of Football V2

Controversial Charlton Athletic owner Roland Duchatelet has demanded that the English Football League buy the club: Owner's demand Among the reasons he cites to justify this extraordinary and unprecedented request are changes in financial fair play rules, 'sometimes criminal' fan protests and fake news.

Manchester City has signed the biggest commercial deal in its history, a shirt sponsorship deal with Puma worth £600m over 10 years. It's a marked increase from City's current six year deal with Nike worth roughly £20m a year. In the Premier League City Football Group's deal is behind only Manchester United's £75m a year with Adidas, while broadly matching Chelsea's £60m a year deal with Nike. Puma is spending big as it seeks to break the dominance of Nike and Adidas in the global sportswear market. Football club deals are particularly valuable because sportswear brands typically keep the lion's share of retail sales. The contract covers all the clubs in City Football Group except New York City as Major League Soccer has a deal with Adidas covering all the top tier clubs in the States.

A BBC correspondent has undertaken a research based analysis in an attempt to answer this question: Taxing issue The analysis focuses on corporation tax and does not take account of the tax that players pay on their often considerable incomes. Premier League players paid £1.1bn in tax in 2016/17: Tax bill. As far as the Premier League is concerned, it was found that 'The amount Premier League clubs paid represented an effective payment rate ranging from 9%-15% over the four years, below the level in force across the UK of 19-21%.'

Having secured an extended lease on the City Ground Nottingham Forest plan to redevelop the stadium and the surrounding area. The resultant stadium would be the largest in the East Midlands with a capacity of 38,000. The current capacity is 30,445: New City Ground Work will be undertaken on all four stands. The last time any major work was done on the ground was in 1994.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has taken an in depth look at Middlesbrough's recently published accounts. Here are some of his key findings. Following relegation the club moved from a pre-tax £6.9m profit to a £6.4m loss, as revenue halved from £121m to £62m, though profit on player sales was up £4m to £15m. After tax, the decline was even steeper (from £11.5m profit to £6.6m loss), due to prior year’s £4.6m tax credit. Boro have only made a profit once in the last 10 years (£7m in the 2016/17 Premier League). In that time they have accumulated £125m of losses. Last season’s £6m loss was significantly lower than the £32m record deficit of two years ago, though this included promotion bonuses. Although the £6m loss is obviously not great, it’s not that bad if you consider that four of the Championship clubs that have published 2017/18 accounts had losses of £25m or higher. For a long time they did not make much from player sales, but they were boosted by £15m profit on player s...

In an extraordinary interview with Talksport, unpopular Charlton Athletic owner Roland Duchatelet has said that foreign investors should stay away from English football. He also said that protesters should stay away from him after properties belonging to him in Belgium were vandalised: Interview transcript

Rotherham United made loss of £27,000 a week in 2017/18 pre player trading. Profit of £790k on player sales (possible sell on clause?) helped offset these losses. Income was down 24% in 2017/18 following relegation to League One. It would have been a bigger drop except owners increased sponsorship from £1m to £3m. Relegation saw a reduction of £4.8m in funding from the EFL and solidarity funding. Match day receipts were more or less steady. Total income was just under £10m. Average league attendance was 13 per cent down on the previous year but this was largely due to a 64 per cent fall in away fans in League One. There were nearly 6,000 season ticket holders and this year there are over 6,000. Biggest costs for Rotherham were wages of £6.3m which fell by over a quarter after relegation and rent of £1m to owners which fell by 18%. Kieran Maguire of the Priceof Football notes, 'Rotherham seem to have good control over wages as only spent £64 on wages for every £100 of income. ...

Owen Oyston, the owner of Blackpool, has been removed from the club's board along with his daughter by the receiver: Board changes There have been over 20 indications of interest in buying the club.

Leeds United may be sold if they do not win promotion to the Premier League: Leeds could be sold Owner Andrea Radrizzani would find it difficult to fund another season geared towards promotion and prized playing assets would have to be sold. Radrizzani pumped £14.5m of his own money into Leeds during the 2016-17 season, as revealed by accounts announced last April, and it is believed he put another £16m in for the 2017-18 campaign.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble takes a look at the recently published accounts of Queens Park Rangers. The club's loss significantly increased by £32m from £6m to £38m, largely due to booking a £20m FFP fine (for previous misdemeanours); a £15m reduction in the parachute payment driving a £17m (35%) decrease in revenue from £48m to £31m; and profit on player sales down £7m to zero. The £38m reported loss is not the worst in the Championship, as it is just below Cardiff City’s £39m (including £23m promotion payments), though it is obviously significantly impacted by £20m exceptional item for the FFP settlement: a fine of £17m plus the EFL’s £3m legal costs. All three QPR revenue streams were down. As well as broadcasting slumping £15.1m (43%) to £20.2m, due to the lower parachute payment, commercial fell £1.2m (17%) to £6.3m, while gate receipts were £0.3m (6%) lower at £4.9m. Few Championship clubs earn big money commercially, but QPR £6m is only around mid-table for the divisio...

Notts County face a risk of slipping into administration unless a buyer for the club, currently bottom of League Two, can be found: Club at risk Chairman Alan Hardy took out of a loan from his interior design company, Paragon, to buy the club. It is believed to be around £6.5m. Now, Paragon is facing the real prospect of going into administration in the next couple of weeks - the company has stopped work on a number of contracts and told customers they hope to catch up in March. If the business does bring in the administrators, they are likely to call in the debt from the football club - casting huge doubt over Notts County's finances and future.

Chelsea's policy of frequently changing managers has in many respects paid off, but it also has its limits. It has encouraged a culture of a strong dressing room with players willing to defy the manager as the Kepa incident illustrates. The enforced absence of Roman Abramovich through visa restrictions means that there is less of a strong guiding hand on the tiller. The events at the Carabao Cup final are, however, less significant than the threatened transfer ban, although appeals by both Chelsea and the FA mean that it may not come into effect in the summer. However, the effects are potentially serious for Chelsea, given the need to refresh an ageing and under performing squad and the likelihood that Eden Hazard will join Real Madrid in the summer. A transfer ban could also make the job of coaching Chelsea less attractive to top managers. Fifa's disciplinary committee found that Chelsea broke the rules on hiring foreign minors on 26 occasions. As a result, the club has...

The prospect of a takeover at Bolton has been welcomed by manager Phil Parkinson: Takeover would be fantastic news A statement released on Sunday morning by Ken Anderson confirmed that an agreement to sell his stake in Wanderers’ parent company, Burnden Leisure how now been struck. It is understood that the Future Ventures consortium headed by Parminder Basran and Sharon Brittan could now take control of the club by next weekend. Entrepreneur Jeff Thomas is also involved. Basran is the founder of investment firm VGC Partners and runs a private equity fund backed by Eduardo Savarin, one of the co-founders of Facebook. The Championship side are scheduled to appear in the High Court on 20 March after being issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue & Customs. However, hopefully due diligence can be completed soon and EFL approval secured by then.

Yeovil Town's prospective new American owner, who owns a minor league baseball team, intends to make watching the club 'the most exciting experience in English football': Ambitions Good luck with that, although Glovers fans would certainly welcome an improvement on recent form. However, foreign owners sometimes find that clubs are harder to turn around than they anticipate. Roy Couhig, who runs his own legal firm in the United States, will head up Feliciana EFL Limited which is taking control from current chairman John Fry. Fry has been at the helm at Huish Park for 23 years, guiding the club from the Isthmian League to a season in the Championship in 2013-14. The deal is subject to approval by the English Football League. It is understood Couhig will buy 92% of Yeovil Town Holdings Ltd which owns the football club, Huish Park Stadium and surrounding land.

Cardiff City lost £654,000 a week last season in the Championship whilst securing promotion to the Premier League or £175m to 31st May 2018. Cardiff were reliant on the final year of parachute payments in 2017/18 which represented over 62% of income. The Bluebirds paid £137 in wages for every £100 of income in 2017/18 as the wage bill increased by 67%. 60 per cent of revenue came from broadcasting, 26 per cent was commercial and 14 per cent match day. Cardiff bought players for £14 million and had sales of about the same amount in 2017/18. The club spent £35 million in the summer 2018 window on players and borrowed £28 million from a new lender. Cardiff have outstanding loans, mainly to Vincent Tan, of £74 million. Interest is due on the loans at 7% but was waived last year. Vincent Tan effectively wrote off £79 million of loans to Cardiff City by converting them into shares. Championship losses likely to top £400 million in 2017/18 and this is with the 'benefits' of FF...

Manchester United's share price rose by a further six per cent in trading in New York yesterday. The value of the club has increased by $650 million (£500 million) since Mourinho was sacked in December. The increase is partly due to the impact of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, showing that a new manager can made an impact off the pitch as well as on it, and in part due to takeover rumours. The total value of the club is now $3.49 billion. The Saudi takeover rumours, involving a supposed £3.8bn bid by the Crown Prince, have been denied and there is no reason to believe that the Glazers have any plans to bail out: Takoever bid denied Manchester United subsidiary company (Manchester United Ltd, Red Football Ltd, MU Finance Ltd, Manchester United Football Club Ltd) accounts were published overnight. The most interesting figure is Ed Woodward’s pay up from £2.6m to £4.15m. Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball notes, 'Since Ed Woodward took top post at Manchester United in 2013 the high...

Coventry City have been given a deadline of March 5th to say where they will be play their home games next season. If they cannot provide an answer, an extraordinary general meeting may be convened to consider their future in the Football League: Football League want an answer Coventry City and Wasps rugby club remain at loggerheads over agreeing a new tenancy at the Ricoh Arena after Coventry's hedge fund owners Sisu saw their call for a judicial review into the 2014 sale of the Ricoh rejected in October. Sisu claimed Coventry City Council undervalued the stadium by £27m and, in November, stated their intention to appeal the rejection. Wasps have previously stated they will not discuss a new tenancy while legal proceedings continue.

Arsene Wenger believes that Tottenham Hotspur's stadium rebuild will not adversely affect Spurs in the way that the move to the Emirates affected Arsenal on the pitch because there is now much more television money available, hence the transfer budget does not need to take a hit: Spurs won't suffer The opening date of the new stadium remains uncertain, indeed there continue to be doubts about whether it will open this season. The March 17th match against Crystal Palace has now been postponed after Roy Hodgson's men advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals which will be played that weekend. That means Spurs will not have a home game to offer as a stadium opener until April at the earliest, nine months after they intended to move in.

The Football League will work with the receivers of Blackpool to ensure that the club is able to fulfil its fixtures for the rest of the season. They have also stated that a 12 point deduction for entering receivership is not mandatory, the particular circumstances have to be considered: Blackpool Blackpool Supporters' Trust do not yet feel able to lift their boycott of home games: No suspension yet

Middlesbrough's accounts for 2017/18 show that income was halved following relegation but they could still have the highest in the Championship when other clubs publish. Boro lost £388,000 a week last season excluding player sales, which is not excessive in the Championship where not a single club made a profit and total losses are likely to be £400m. The importance of broadcast income and parachute payments were highlighted as they make up 75% of Middlesbrough's total revenue in 2017/18. Matchday income fell 17% as crowds drop from 30,400 to 25,500. This is still in the top half of the table. Middlesbrough wage bill fell 25% following relegation but still high by Championship standards with average wage £23,000 a week. The club paid out £75 in wages for every £100 of income mainly due to the benefit of parachute payments. Average in Championship is £105 wages for £100 income. Add in transfer fee costs and Middlesbrough spent £118 on players for every £100 of income la...

Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball takes an in depth look at the recently published accounts of Sheffield United: Blades. Commenting on the Championship in general, he notes, 'Having to compete against clubs with the benefit of parachute payments as well as some with rich benefactors means that wages are high, and losses are common.' He concludes, 'Sheffield United have done extremely well to be at the top end of the Championship on a relatively low budget with owners who are reluctant to put in further cash until their dispute has been concluded. Realistically losses of about £10-12 million this season are likely to be the case, but the sale of David Brooks should offset some or all of them. How long the club can rely on player sales to balance the books in a division that generates higher losses than any other in Europe is uncertain.' Credit has to be given to Chris Wilder and his team for getting on with the day job, making smart loan signings and ignoring th...

City Football Group, ultimate owners of Manchester City, are to add a third tier Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu as the seventh club in their global portfolio. Based in Chengdu, the club has a 42,000 seater stadium: City's global reach Club executives had considered acquiring teams in the Chinese Super League but were put off by sky high valuations at elite Chinese clubs few of which are being run profitably. Instead, CFG hopes to build the Sichuan Jinuniu team with the aim of being promoted into China's top division, while also using the club to find and train young players capable of taking part in Europe's leading leagues. The group will jointly acquire the club alongside China Sports Capital. a group co-founded by China Media Capital who hold a stake in CFG. It is believed that the fee for buying the club was in single digit millions. Thirteen per cent of City Football Group is owned by Chinese investors. With an office in Shanghai, CFG clearly attach importance to t...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has used his forensic skills to examine the recently reported financial results of Liverpool. He notes, 'A core part of Liverpool's business model is that they have become a club that sells well. In the last four years, they made a hefty £261m from this activity with only Chelsea £272m ahead of them. For more context, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United only made £158m, £108m and £43m respectively.' Liverpool have made a profit four times in the last five years, amounting to £204m over that period. The preceding five years (2009-13) saw total losses of £176m, so there has clearly been 'a stable and sustained improvement in the club’s financial position over recent years.' Recent profitability has also benefited from the absence of exceptional charges in the last two years. These had increased costs by £113m in the decade up to 2016, mainly (unsuccessful) stadium development expenses £61m and compensation for sacked manage...

North Ferriby have been handed a winding up petition regarding an unpaid debt concerning a payment due for pitch maintenance. The debt is believed to be about £8,000 and the petition is due to be heard at Hull County Court on March 15th. Owner Carl Chadwick is believed to have travelled to Wembley last week to argue his case for re-naming and re-locating the club. However, the hearing had to be adjourned. The Northern Premier League have opposed the plan.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has taken an in depth look at the recently published accounts of Watford FC. The club made a pre-tax loss of £32m, compared to a £4m profit in the prior year, despite revenue rising 3% (£4m) to a record £128m, as profit on player sales fell from £22m to £3m. The £32m loss before tax is the highest of the ten Premier League clubs that have to date. The books would have been balanced if the Richarlison sale to Everton had gone through earlier. This is first time Watford have lost money since returning to the top flight, having made £4m in both previous two seasons. Previously, they tended to make (small) losses. However, rather than indicating an underlying problem, it shows the influence that player sales can have on the bottom line. The £4m revenue growth was mainly due to £3m (3%) increase in TV to £109m (Premier League distributions) while commercial rose £1.3m (13%) to £11.4m and match day was up £0.4m (5%) to £8.0m. Revenue has grown by an incred...

Manchester United reported record second quarter revenues of £208.9m in the quarter to 31st December, a rise of more than 17 per cent from the same period last year. The main reason behind the increase is the start of a broadcasting deal signed by Uefa for clubs in the Champions League. Profits in the second quarter were £37.6m broadly level with the same period last year. This amounts to operating profits of not far short of £500,000 a day. Commercial revenues, an area of great strength for the club, rose close to 1 per cent to £65.9m, while matchday revenues increased nearly 6 per cent to £39m. It looks as if Manchester United will be first EPL club to break the £300 million a year wage bill as wages for first six months hit £154 million. Liverpool were £264m in 2018 and Manchester City £263m. Getting rid of José Mourinho and his coaching staff cost £16.9m. Mourinho payoffs from Chelsea and Manchester United for being sacked three times add up to £51 million (the amount from R...

German football will avoid the media rights ceiling hit by the Premier League, according to the Bundesliga's chief executive, who revealed record revenues. Of course, in a sense all that tells us is that the Bundesliga has more room for growth, having lagged behind in the past. The collapse in 2002 of Kirsch Group, the German media empire, in part due to debts associated with sports rights contracts, made local broadcasters resistant to paying large sums for live sports, but as competition for pay TV subscribers hots up in Germany, that reluctance is fading. Pay TV penetration is a lot lower than in the UK. Revenues from media rights deals jumped a third last year to €1.25bn, boosted by the start of a four year €4.6bn domestic television deal with Sky Deutschland and Eurosport. Overall revenues at Germany's top 18 clubs were €3.81bn, an increase of 13 per cent over the previous season. The results make the Bundesliga the richest division in world football after the Premie...

Blackpool have been put into receivership by the High Court, forcing owner Owen Oyston to pay ex-director Valeri Belokon the £25m he is owed. The ruling could pave the way for a takeover, but the English Football League must now decide whether to dock the League One club 12 points. There are thought to be two groups interested in buying the club, one of which is fronted by Paul Stewart, the former England and Blackpool player.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has taken a look at the accounts of Atletico Madrid covering their first season in their new stadium. Profit before tax increased from €5m to €12m (after tax down from €5m to €4m), as revenue rose €31m (11%) to a record high of €313m, though profit on player sales fell €20m to €16m. The main driver of the revenue increase was the move to the new stadium, as match day rose €17m (37%) to €62m and commercial was up €17m (22%) to €93m. Broadcasting slipped slightly to €158m, as lower Champions/Europa League distribution offset higher money from La Liga. Revenue has grown by nearly €200m (160%) in just five years from €120m in 2013 to €313m in 2018, largely from TV €107m (split between domestic TV deal and Champions League), then commercial €55m and match day €31m. Revenue mix: TV 50%, commercial 30% and match day 20%. However, the revenue gap to Real Madrid €751m and Barcelona €690m continues to grow and is now €390m-450m. On the other hand, Atletico are ...

Sheffield United lost £200,000 a week in 2017/18 despite promotion to the Championship. Player sale profits helped offset these losses. Income was up 76% to £20 million mainly due to much bigger solidarity payments from Premier League, TV monies from EFL & higher attendances. Sheffield United losses of £10m are about mid table by Championship standards. Total losses could exceed £400 million for the division in 2017/18. Sheffield United wage bill was up 90% to £19 million. Club paying out £95 in wages for every £100 of income. This is well above the recommended level of 50 per cent, although it is far from unusual in the Championship. The average figure for the division is £99. The player wage bill more than doubled. Since 2011/12 Sheffield United have spent £97 on wages for every £100 of income. Sheffield United spent nearly £4 million on new signings in 2017/18. Player sales were £8.5 million and that figure doesn’t include David Brooks to AFC Bournemouth as sale took place ...

Mauricio Pochettino has said that it will be 'tough' for Tottenham Hotspur to move into their new stadium this season. The Premier League want Spurs to play at least five games at White Hart Lane this season, but whether this will be possible depends on what happens in the FA Cup: Delays drag on Attendances at Wembley have been falling with only 29,164 watching the game against Watford.

Liverpool has posted the biggest ever profit recorded by a football club after the run to the Champions League final and big player sales. Revenue was £455m in the year to May 2018 and the pre-tax profit was £125m, up £85m from a year earlier. The figure beats the £92.5m profit achieved by Leicester City in 2016-17. However, clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Bayern Munich made at least £100m more in revenues than Liverpool last season. Media revenues were £220m, up £66m from a year earlier. Commercial revenues were £154m, up by £17m. Match day revenues were up £7m at £81m. Liverpool made a £124m profit on player trading, in part through the sale of Coutinho to Barcelona for a reported £142m. The club's wage bill rose from £208m to £263m, in part because of one off player bonuses. This overtook Manchester City's wage bill by £3m. This represents an acceptable 57 per cent of turnover. Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball comments: 'A note of...

Lincoln City have published their first set of accounts since promotion back to the EFL. Income was up 13% compared to 2017 mainly due to solidarity payments from Premier League (worth about £650k) and EFL TV deal (£450k) which makes up for less progress in FA Cup than previous year. Lincoln lost £20,000 a week in League 2 compared to a profit of about the same in the National League, the previous season helped by promotion and FA Cup run. They had mainly lost money in the National League. Most clubs in the EFL are loss making. Making losses most years means either borrowing or shareholder investments to bankroll the losses. Lincoln have relied upon shareholders, including supporters, to buy shares each year to keep the club going. The absence of external loans is good news. Lincoln's overall costs up by 88% in 2017/18 which was the main cause of losses made. Player costs key issue but other overheads seemed to shoot up too. Lincoln paid out £84 in wages for every £100 of incom...

Full accounts from Hibernian for 2017/18 show income up 25% to £9.6 million as a result of record attendances at Easter Road and the increased prize money associated with the Premiership. The club reported a profit before tax of £0.2m compared to a loss of £0.3m the previous year in the Championship. The main expense for clubs is wages and these increased by 17% to an estimated average of £2,400 a week. Wages still under good control at £56 for every £100 of income which is at lower end of the SPFL. Good wage control saw Hibs reverse the previous season losses. Hibs player spending was moderate by SPFL standards at just over half a million. The wages to turnover ratio reduced to a satisfactory 56 per cent. Player trading resulted in a loss of £0.5m at the end of the year compared to a gain of £0.5m in the previous year. One person who has done well at Hibs last season is the highest paid director who saw pay package rise by 51% to £208,000.

It's hard for a football club to make a profit outside of the Premier League and Wigan lost £150,000 a week in 2017/18 when being promoted from League One. Wigan's income has fallen 88% since the club was in the Premier League. Parachute payments ending in 2018 caused a 73% fall alone compared to the previous season in the Championship. Wigan have had losses of £30 million since relegation, despite parachute payments and so have sold players at a profit of £28 million to offset these losses. Wigan broke even the last season they were in the Championship but had benefit of parachute payments to soften the blow of being in that division where total trading losses were nearly £400 million. Wigan's wage bill of £11.7 million in League One compares to the average in the division of £6.1 million. As they sought promotion, Wigan paid out £176 in wages in 2017/18 for every £100 of income. This compares to an average of £89 in League One. Wigan's TV income had fallen fro...

China and the United States now own more than 30 per cent of the world's top football clubs: Football ownership The US is a clear leader as the largest single nation, accounting for 18 per cent of top 100 and 23 per cent of top 30. While this figure is boosted by the US ownership of most Major League Soccer (MLS) franchises, US organisations own a quarter of Premier League teams along with clubs in Italy and France too. China is the next biggest country for ownership with 13 per cent of the top 100. Europe combined accounts for 28 per cent of the ownership of the top 100 clubs, with the UK as the biggest individual nation at seven per cent, behind Russia and Germany who both account for five per cent.

There are growing concerns that Tottenham Hotspur may have to stop at Wembley for the rest of the season. The club had been working towards an opening against Crystal Palace on March 17th but that weekend clashes with the FA Cup quarter finals and Palace may still be involved. The next home game is against Brighton on April 6th and then Huddersfield Town on April 13th. A decision to stay at Wembley for the rest of the season would have to be taken by the Premier League board. The club has to stage two large test events at the stadium before they confirm an opening date.

Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball takes an in depth look at Swansea City's finances: Soul Train Maguire comments, 'Swansea are in a tricky position, they have not invested in the playing squad since relegation and are using player sales and parachute payments as a means of generating cash. Matchday prices have been reduced to try to ensure that attendances do not fall significantly but the club appears to be budgeting for life as a Championship club rather than gambling on a quick return to the Premier League.' 'The club’s business model in the Premier League was a dangerous one, spending more on wages than their peers worked for a while, but some poor managerial and player choices had led to a fire sale and a desperate need to get players off the wage bill now the club are in the Championship.' 'Kaplan and Levien’s motives for running the club are mysterious. They appear to want Swansea to be self-financing, which is understandable to a degree, but havi...

The chairman of Swansea City, Huw Jenkins, has resigned. He has held the role since 2002. The club's Supporters' Trust had called for him to go: Resignation Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball commented, 'The club was losing £400,000 a week in the Premier League and reliant upon player sales to balance the books. Swansea's losses mainly due to high wage bills, club paying £78 in wages for every £100 of income, add in transfer fee and figure rises to £96 so little to pay the other bills. Much higher than other Premier League clubs so will be worse in the EFL.' In the Premier League 'Swansea, like many non 'Big 6' clubs, very dependent upon TV money, which represented £86 of every £100 of income. Matchday prices were low and relatively few corporate/hospitality seats sold, so earn less from this source.'

Bolton Wanderers are close to a takeover by a UK based consortium. Unpopular owner Ken Anderson has been the subject of fan protests: Takeover close The Lion of Vienna Suite commented: 'Anderson has been trying to sell the club for the past year and admitted in January that he does not have the financial power to keep the club running. After a troubled three-year rein that has been punctuated by a series of financial problems and scandals on and off the pitch it would be some rare good news for the fans (and players) if this deal were to go ahead.'

Paul Greatrix of Nottingham University has an interesting blog post on a little discussed subject, the relationship between universities and football teams (there is also a link to an interesting earlier post on university sponsorships of teams): Universities and football Given that some universities are the biggest employers in their areas, could they be the modern equivalent of the fast disappearing works team? As the example of Team Bathn showed, there are limits to how far the football authorities will let them progress.

Notts County are already forecast to lose £3m this year. If they drop down into the National League and lose associated television rights, they will take a further hit of £450,000 in the first year and £1m over three years: How did the oldest club become football's biggest basket case? An Australian consortium are reported to be interested in buying the club: Takeover