'Fans' friend' Broughton sets out his Chelsea stall

Consortium front man Martin Broughton talked to Radio 5 this morning about a bid for Chelsea that is said to be favoured by the Government.

Former British Airways chairman Broughton was credited by government officials with rescuing Liverpool from a dire financial situation under George Gillett and Tom Hicks and then facilitating the arrival of Fenway Sports Group in 2010.

Future prospective director Lord Coe, also a lifelong fan, is seen as a 'good egg' because of his Olympics work.  He is a former Conservative MP and was an aide to former Tory leader Lord Hague.   Coe has advised Chelsea on strategy ín the past and enjoys a good relationship with key personnel at the Bridge.

Broughton said, ‘ It’s a fan led consortium, I’ve been a fan since 1965, I have a passion about it.   We put together a group of like-minded, highly capitalised people to keep it at the level it is today.’

The Interviewer read out the club’s impressive record under Roman Abramovich asking ‘that is the continued trajectory?’    Broughton:  ‘That’s where we want to stay.’

The interviewer aske where is money coming from?   ‘We could buy the club tomorrow, the money is coming from around the world.’   [This is perhaps understandably vague about who the backers are].    Broughton referred to the Tracey Crouch route requiring involvement of ‘community’ fans.

[The only known partners are Creative Artists Agency, a global talent management agency and Evolution Media Capital, a sports advisory and financial partnership].

The interviewer asked about the return, pointing out that the club just about breaks even after £1.5bn put in the outgoing owner.    Broughton said they were not looking for dividends but for long-term capital growth.  [This makes sense]. The value of the club will go up over time.   Even if one member of the consortium decides to sell their share.

Broughton: ‘This is very largely equity based, we will use a little bit of debt, there is the stadium issue.'    He set out the three familiar options: moving; demolition and rebuild; gradually rebuild.   ‘All three are expensive and complex.   There’s no easy answer.’  The interviewer pointed out that this would limit the return.

Broughton said they had talked with the Supporters’ Trust.    The fans wanted a golden share and a shadow board as recommended by Crouch.  A seat on the board was a possible alternative.   [In my view and experience that doesn’t work well because of commercial confidentiality issues which limit feedback to fans].

The interviewer raised short term concerns about a exodus of players.   Broughton: ‘ Funding is there immediately.  Don’t know how long the process is going to take. [Early April is a target date, but it will probably take longer].  Tuchel is a star.   I am a fan.’  The interviewer said this depended on how Tuchel looked at the situation.

Do they have the readies?

My concern if I was a Chelsea fan is that the Broughton consortium may look squeaky clean and fan facing, but do they have as many readies as some of their competitors?   Backed by Clearview Capital, the Boehly Group appear to have more funds at their disposal than any other bidders.  In this respect look formidable and would be able both to secure key players and fund the much needed development of Stamford Bridge.

However, their declared provisions for fan involvement are less well developed.  Chelsea fan Lord Daniel Finkeltstein would be appointed to the board.   He is a former aide to Conservative leaders including Dave Cameron so The Times columnist at least ticks that box.

Why so many American bidders?

The Financial Times Scoreboard comments: 'don’t discount the pull and prestige of west London, home to Chelsea’s home stadium of Stamford Bridge, and a far more attractive location to finance types than the north London homes of city rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. In the words of one well-connected source, the question isn’t really why America’s 1 per cent want to buy a Premier League team: “It’s like a house in Nantucket — how do you not have one?”'

I think it's more to do with the fact that sports franchises rarely come on the market in the US and those that do are often problematic expansion franchises.   If a top six club becomes available, it's bound to attract interest.