The Political Economy of Football V2

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews Swansea City’s 2020/21 accounts, when they swung from £2.7m pre-tax profit to £4.6m loss. Revenue fell £22m to £28m (lower parachute payment & COVID impact) and profit on player sales down £5m to £12m, largely offset by big cost reduction. They swung from a pre-tax profit of £2.7m to a loss of £4.6m, as revenue fell £22m (45%) from £50m to £28m and profit from player sales dropped £5m (30%) to £12m, partly offset by total expenses reducing by £17m (26%) and £3.3m insurance claim. Loss after tax was £4.1m. The main reason for the £22m revenue decrease was broadcasting, which dropped £17m (44%) from £39m to £22m, mainly due to lower parachute payment, though COVID also drove reductions in match day, down £3.0m (63%) to £1.8m, and commercial, down £1.8m (31%) to £4.1m. Although a loss is rarely good news, the £4.6m deficit was one of the better results in 2020/21 with five clubs posting losses above £20m. As chief executive Julian Winter sa

Clubs building new stadia face rising interest rates and a significant increase in construction costs, but bigger teams should have few problems securing capital. Sport finance experts tell Off The Pitch global interest rates, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine are raising the cost of materials, labour and borrowing for large infrastructure projects. Last month, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack said the club's new stadium was likely to cost between £70 million and £75 million, up to £30 million more than was estimated five years ago. Cormack blamed "construction inflation" for the increase. The Scottish Premiership club hope to move into the stadium by 2025. Dutch Eredivisie club Feyenoord have also abandoned plans for a new stadium, blaming "through the roof" prices for building materials and rising mortgage interest rates. Greg Carey, a managing director at Goldman Sachs with almost 40 years' experience in stadium and infrastructure financing

Though Todd Boehly’s name headlines most coverage of the Chelsea deal, the money mostly comes from his partner, Clearlake Capital. The private equity firm’s funds are contributing over 60 per cent of the deal’s equity and hold equal ownership rights. Co-founded in 2006 by billionaires José E. Feliciano and Behdad Eghbali, Clearlake is one of the fastest-growing buyout firms in the world with a strategy of buying niche industrial, consumer and software companies and growing them by bolstering profits and striking acquisitions. It manages more than $75bn in assets, of which $25bn was taken in over the past year. Since 2020, the firm’s deal machine has kicked into overdrive, striking more than 100 acquisitions, becoming one of the most active buyers of midsized companies in the US. Feliciano and Eghbali grew close to Boehly who was looking for a financial partner to bid on Chelsea, a team he’d been looking to buy for years. Clearlake will be an active co-owner, seeking to expand C

 Manchester United have announced financial results for Q3 of 2021/22, incorporating the first nine months of the season (July 2021 to March 2022), so these are boosted by the return of fans to the The club have reported operating losses for the past two seasons, so it is no huge surprise to see another deficit in the first nine months of 2021/22. That said, the £44m operating loss is significantly more than the £0.5m lost in the same period last season. Interest payments and dividends Although it has fallen from its peak, the annual interest payment of about £20m is still a lot higher than every other Premier League club except Arsenal £34m (£32m break fee for debt refinancing) and Spurs £18m (new stadium).   United have now paid an amazing three-quarters of a billion pounds in interest since the Glazers leveraged buy-out, while the debt owed is virtually unchanged at around £600m. Interest went from went from £18m receivable in 2021 to £31m payable in 2022, an adverse movemen

Tottenham Hotspur announced on Tuesday afternoon that they have agreed a £150 million capital increase from majority shareholder ENIC. In effect, this is Spurs’ owners putting £150 million into the club’s bank account in what is a major show of strength ahead of the summer transfer window opening. It’s the owners’ first cash injection since 2004, and is being labelled a “statement of intent” by football finance experts.  This is a huge break from how Tottenham have operated throughout the ENIC era, which started when it bought Alan Sugar’s stake in 2000. Throughout that time, Spurs are proud of the fact they have operated on a strict profit and loss basis — with no big benefactor injections — and always staying within FFP guidelines. They have had to compete with Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea and Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City, as well as building their £1.2 billion new stadium, without that level of external help. So this is a serious change in direction in terms of the funding of

The Premier League season is over, so who have been the winners in terms of prize money asks football finance guru Kieran Maguire. For domestic broadcast deal 50% of the sum is split evenly, 25% based on 'facility' (number of times chosen by TV) & 25% on final league position, with bottom side getting 1 share and top 20 shares. For every one match over 10 each side chosen by the broadcasters it works out as about £950k extra per match. For every additional place higher in the PL it works out as £2.41 million (based on his assumptions, could be a wee bit higher or lower when final figures published). Putting it all together, Manchester City earned £161.3m and Norwich £100.3m. Some clubs (Newcastle, Spurs, Villa, Everton, Leeds) finished higher in the prize money table than the league table due to popularity with broadcasters. Such is the nature of reward in the Premier League, that Brighton v West Ham, which on the face of things was a dead rubber for the home team, ea

Working from his Zurich base, the tireless and authoritative Swiss Ramble has been estimating the financial value to Liverpool of winning the Champions League. His model suggests that Liverpool have already earned around £102m (€117.6m) for reaching the Champions League final. This comprises participation fee €15.6m, prize money €66.3, UEFA coefficient €22.7m and TV pool €17.1m less COVID rebate €4.1m. However, their Champions League earnings this year are restricted by their third place finish in last season's Premier League, which means they only receive 20% of the first half of the TV pool. Champions League money is also deflated by their low UEFA coefficient (relative to other English clubs). It is based on performance in UEFA tournaments over last 10 years, so adversely impacted by not qualifying for Europe in three years.     It will improve as early years drop off. If they win the Champions League, they would receive an additional £4m (€4.5m), which is the difference b

The Swiss Ramble responds from Zurich to requests about how much Rangers earned for reaching the Europa League final.  His estimate is £17m (€19.3m) TV money.   They would have got another €4m if they had won the final. This compare to Celtic’s £9m (€10.5m) for group stage plus Conference League knockout round. Celtic’s earnings boosted by having a higher UEFA coefficient payment (€3.4m) than Rangers(€0.9m), as they are ranked higher based on performances in UEFA tournaments over the last 10 years (Celtic 38th vs Rangers 98th). Figures will be updated after this season. In addition, both clubs' revenue will include money for additional gate receipts and bonuses in commercial deals, partially offset by higher variable compensation for players and other staff.

The £4,25bn sale of Chelsea to the Todd Boehly consortium is going to be signed imminently.  Roman Abarmovich has met government 'red lines' over the sale. There are still major hurdles to overcome in Europe as it has not been given the green light by the European Commission or the Portuguese government.   Abramovich is a EU citizen via his Portugal passport. One official said the negotiations has been like 'whack a mole' with new issues arising just as old ones were resolved.   Chelsea's complicated ownership structures have made the process difficult. Chelsea's future would be at risk if deadlines for participating in the Premier League and the Champions League were not met.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the latest accounts of Newcastle United. This was the last set of accounts under Mike Ashley’s ownership, as the club was acquired in October 2021 by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (80% stake), as well as PCP Capital Partners (10%) and RB Sports & Media (10%). The pre-tax loss reduced from £26m to £14m, despite revenue falling £13m (8%) from £153m to £140m and profit on player sales dropping £24m to £2m, as operating expenses decreased £51m (25%), mainly due to change in accounting date. Loss after tax narrowed from £23m to £12m. The Ashley effect The club posted profits in seven of last 10 years, the only exceptions being 2017 (Championship) plus 2020 and 2021 (COVID), adding up to £48m over this period. That’s impressive from a financial perspective, though the Toon Army would have liked to see more of that money on the pitch.   Ashley’s focus on the bottom line is very well illustrated by Newcastle reporting the 5th highest a

Burnley face big challenges following relegation.  No more Premier League TV money, which made up 90 per cent of the club’s revenue in the latest set of accounts. A significant portion of the £65 million loan taken out to purchase the club is now due in the coming weeks. The finances are a worry. There has been a turnover in staff behind the scenes and the status of the academy is unclear. There will be relegation wage cuts and player sales. Cornet’s £17.5 million release clause is active and Nick Pope and Weghorst, with the World Cup approaching, will no doubt be seeking moves. Discussions will be held regarding Dwight McNeil’s future. All eyes are on owners ALK and chairman Alan Pace for what comes next. They have spent 18 months shaping the club in their image, making improvements to the stadium and installing their core group of staff, but on the pitch, they have gone backwards. They have had many doubters, those who question the leveraged buyout, about their football knowled

After six months of talks, Investcorp is out of the running to buy AC Milan from Elliott Management.  This leaves rival bidder RedBird as the main contender.   The reason behind the collapse of the talks remains unclear.  However, RedBird has apparently made a superior offer. Any deal would be announced after this weekend's title decider.  RedBird holds a minority stake in John Henry's Fenway Sports Group, but this would be their highest profile investment in a sports club. The club is back in Deloitte Football Money League rankings in 19th place for the first time since 2017-18.  Revenues were €216m in the 2020-21 season. 

From neutral Switzerland, the authoritative Swiss Ramble casts a judicious eye over the complaint about Everton’s spending made to the FA by Burnley and Leeds United. It is difficult to know how this will play out, though it does look like Everton have a case to answer. Leeds United and Burnley have asked for an independent inquiry, which they want to be fast-tracked, though it is debatable whether the Premier League will make a quick decision. The Premier League Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) rules allow a £5m loss a year, which can then be boosted by £30m equity injection, giving allowable losses of £35m a year. This works out to £105m over the 3-year monitoring period.     However, the Premier League have relaxed the regulations in order to help neutralise the adverse impact of COVID, so the 2022 monitoring period will assess the seasons 2019/20 and 2020/21 as a single (average) period. This is important, as it means that Everton’s loss over the adjusted three-year

Burnley and Leeds  have written to the Premier League  over a belief Everton  seriously breached financial rules. Both clubs wrote a letter to the governing body asking whether the Premier League investigated Everton, who lost £371.8 million over the last three years, what the outcome of the investigation was and if they intend to impose any sanctions. Premier League clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105 million over three years as part of the profit and financial sustainability rules. COVID-related losses can be written off. However, Leeds and Burnley have pointed out that Everton's pandemic-related losses were more than three times that of other similarly sized clubs. Everton said £170 million of their losses in their annual accounts were related to the pandemic. Aston Villa, for example, put their own figure at £56 million. The Goodison Park club also only generated £14 million a season from matchday income before the pandemic and the forced closure of football stadiums. I

Real Madrid has struck a €360m deal with investment group Sixth Street and US entertainment group Legends to develop concerts and other events at its Bernabéu stadium.   Real Madrid is in the process of installing a retractable roof and pitch in its 81,000 capacity stadium. The Bernabéu lags behind major US stadiums for the amount that fans spend per visit.   Legends will work to enhance its VIP hospitality and the club museum. As part of a 20 year deal a new company will be set up to manage the stadium.   Proceeds from the new business will split 70 per cent to Real Madrid and the rest to Sixth Street which has a majority stake in Legends.  Real Madrid weathered the pandemic better than many other European clubs, posting combined net profit of €1.2 million across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.

The chair of the Commons culture, media and sport committee has said that there is a game of chicken going on between the Government and Roman Abramovich over the sale of Chelsea.  Julian Knight predicted, 'Things will go down to the wire.' Government officials are demanding a 'legally watertight' guarantee that Abramovich will not lay claim to roughly £1.5bn of the sale proceeds.  The club borrowed the sum from a Jersey entity linked to Abramovich. Officials fear that a 'gentleman's agreement' is not enough to prevent the Jersey vehicle, Camberley International Investments, from attempting to be repaid.   The identities of the ultimate beneficiaries of Camberley are unclear but government officials suspect that it is set up for people linked to Abramovich such as his children. Abramovich and his allies have denied that he wants the debt to be repaid.  They said the full amount would go to a charitable foundation. Mike Penrose, former chief executive of Unic

The presidents of  Brazil’s six top-flight clubs — Flamengo, Corinthians, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo, Santos and Red Bull Bragantino — have proposed a breakaway league, to be run by the clubs themselves rather than Brazil’s creaking federation, the CBF. They promised better organisation, a slicker commercial structure and, via a revenue-distribution model that would mark a major departure from the usual tooth-and-nail partisanship, a brighter financial outlook for all. They called it the Liga do Futebol Brasileiro — Libra for short. One encouraging sign is a new ownership model that has been thought up specifically for football clubs, promising to make them more corporate, more sustainable and even — whisper it quietly — profitable. Another is the recent influx of foreign investment into Brazilian clubs. John Textor, the co-owner of Crystal Palace, acquired Botafogo earlier this year; Miami-based 777 Partners have taken a controlling stake in Vasco; Red Bull has put significant resourc

The takeover of Chelsea has run into last minute problems after the government clashed with Roman Abramovich over the terms.   Ministers are concerned that Abramovich has upped his demands in the last few days. The fundamental issue is Chelsea's complicated ownership structure and the determination of ministers that every penny from the sale is allocated to good causes.  Abramovich's side have earmarked the money for an independently administered charity for victims of the war in Ukraine.   Ministers want the £2.5bn to be held in an escrow account until they are convinced that a charity is equipped to securely manage the money. According to government sources Abramovich is not matching his verbal commitments on the sale with acceptable legal undertakings.   The special licence only runs until the end of May and the dispute could threaten Chelsea's ability to operate. May 31st is the deadline for registering for European competitions while the Premier League issues shares fo

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the latest accounts of Burnley FC. In December 2020 a majority (84%) shareholding in Burnley was sold to Calder Vale Holdings Ltd, in turn owned by Velocity Sports Ltd with Alan Pace the ultimate owner, though long-term local owners Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz remain at Turf Moor as directors. The Clarets had been debt-free for many years, but the new owners put in very little of their own money, instead acquiring the club via a leveraged buy-out, placing £65m debt on the club (from MSD Holdings) & using £37m of club’s own cash balances, similar to the Glazers. Although the £65m loan is only due to be repaid in December 2025,that depends on the club remaining in the Premier League. If Burnley do not avoid the drop, a “significant proportion” has to be repaid shortly after relegation with more due if no immediate promotion. This has understandably caused concern among supporters, as this would likely mean having to offload some

National League standards are higher than in League Two, it is argued, but their players are vulnerable to being poached:  https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2022/may/14/football-best-academy-players-can-be-poached-for-nothing-non-league?fbclid=IwAR0eh_1hkwB8j6eyz3k_kur5WroT3osr81ojmKcM2ttoAY4Fob-yYjaY0GI

Multi club ownership (MCO) notionally offers a broad array of benefits: cost-savings, knowledge sharing, player development. To its opponents MCO is an assault on club heritage and traditions, poses huge questions about sporting heritage and even makes clubs “slaves” to bigger interests. Research carried out by Play The Game last October found that 156 clubs from around the world are part of 60 MCO groups. This has increased in the past 8 months. For example, 777 Partners – one of the most prominent MCO groups – have added Standard Liege and Vasco da Gama to its portfolio already this year, and have just this week bought a French club – of which more later. Play The Game argued last Autumn that “the phenomenon raises new questions of governance for everyone from international football federations to clubs, players, and fans.” Its report came shortly after the Italian federation, the FIGC, clamped down on MCOs. This followed Salernitana’s promotion to Serie A last summer. The Salern

Chelsea are the latest club to strike a deal with a cryptocurrency platform to improve their revenues.  From next season WhaleFin, a platform for trading and lending cryptocurrencies,will be a shirt sleeve sponsor in a £20m deal. Manchester United agreed a training kit sponsorship with blockchain company Tezos in Febrary. Manchester City have a global partnership with crypto exchange OKX.  The global reach of Premier League clubs makes them attractive partners for cryptocurrency firms. Commercial revenue is of particular importance to Chelsea because of Stamford Bridge's relatively limited capacity.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble comments on the finances of clubs in the Championship play offs, noting that Sheffield United relates to Premier League (£115m revenue) and Huddersfield Town had a higher parachute payment in 2020/21, The figures emphasise how well Luton Town have done to reach the play-offs (revenue £13m, wages £14m and squad cost £5m).   Huddersfield's £44m revenue will be lower in 2021/22, as parachute payment is smaller in 3rd year after relegation. £25m wages probably down as well. Nottingham Forest only have £18m revenue, but their £37m wage bill was one of the highest in the Championship for clubs without parachute payments.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble investigates the latest accounts of Paris Saint-Germain.   They were acquired in 2011 by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), making the club by far the richest in France and one of the wealthiest in the world. The pre-tax loss increased by €100m to a club record €225m, despite revenue rising 2% to €570m. Wage bill up 21% to €503m, the highest in Europe (before Messi’s signing last summer). Clearly, all football clubs have been significantly hit by the effect of the pandemic, but the €225m pre-tax loss was one of the largest in Europe, only surpassed by Barcelona’s awful €555m and Inter €239m. Indeed, Man City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all posted small profits. Partially due to COVID, the pre-tax loss increased by €100m from €125m to club record €225m, despite revenue increasing €10m (2%) from €560m to €570m, as €55m profit on player sales turned into a €5m loss, whi

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the accounts of Sheffield United for 2020/21 when they were relegated from the Premier League. Pre-tax profit fell from £19m to £10m, as revenue dropped £28m (20%) from club record £143m to £115m and profit on player sales decreased £3m to £1m, partly offset by operating expenses falling £21m (17%). Net interest payable was up £1.7m to £2.5m. The Blades are one of only four Premier League clubs to report a pre-tax profit to date, only surpassed by Wolves £145m (including £127m loan write-off) and Leeds £26m. This is the second year in a row that they were profitable (£29m in total).   They only made a profit on one other occasion since 2008, though £31m in 2014 was due to McCabe writing-off £35m loan before partnering with the Prince. The £19m loss in 2019 was impacted by promotion bonus. This was the second year under new owner Prince Abdullah after the High Court ruled that Kevin McCabe had to sell his 50% share to the Prince. This also

Peterborough United think they could still avoid relegation as Reading face the possibility of a further points deduction:  https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/football/peterborough-united/why-there-is-still-a-bit-of-hope-peterborough-united-can-avoid-relegation-this-season-3684927

Todd Boehly was at Chelsea’s game with Wolves and looked as sick as the proverbial parrot when Wolves pulled back from a 2-0 deficit to win 2-2. American sports franchise owners reckon that clubs like Chelsea are undervalued in relation to their potential.    They certainly cost a lot less than a MLS franchise and there is thought to be plenty that can be down to bring in more cash flow. Boehly would not be as carefree with spending as Abramovich. Chelsea have accumulated £1.5 billion of debt under his ownership, although the Russian has made it clear he doesn’t want the sum repaid. Sources talk about the consortium running Chelsea similarly to how Fenway Sports Group operates at Liverpool.    FSG still makes major transfers, but works far more within the club’s means. People talk of a very data-driven man, someone who believes in the analytics of a player. While it is not new in football, the suggestion is Chelsea will not necessarily be chasing the most expensive names but lo

Oldham Athletic ended their stay in the EFL with a 3-3 home draw against Crawley and 'strong measures' taken against its supporters.   When a club has to do that you know that something is badly wrong:  https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/oldham-athletic-protests-abdallah-lemsagam-23880703 The club has a debt of £5.2m and a £500,000 HMRC bill looming.  Revenues will decrease in the National League. Independent supporters' group Push the Boundary fears the club will disappear unless hapless owner Abadallah Lemsagam sells up.   He's asking for £6m but all he owns is the club badge and a squad of players relegated from League Two.  He doesn't own the ground or the training ground. Push the Boundary's site is here:  https://pushtheboundary.co.uk/ The particular challenge for Oldham includes local demographics and the number of clubs in Greater Manchester, including two leading Premier League clubs.

It’s not every day that investment bankers give the “cold shoulder” to one of the world’s richest men.  But merchant bank Raine Group   refused to entertain a last-gasp offer for Chelsea   from Jim Ratcliffe, founder of petrochemicals company Ineos, who has lined up £4.25bn to acquire and fund the football club. Instead, Raine has gone with US financier Todd Boehly and investment firm  Clearlake Capital , backed by Swiss billionaire  Hansjörg Wyss . So why did Ineos’s “British bid, for a British club” fail to make the grade?   For starters, Ratcliffe was late to the party. Too late, it would appear, having dodged the formal process that opened when oligarch  Roman Abramovich   confirmed he was selling the west London club soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. It doesn’t help that Ineos has a history of questioning if Chelsea is worth the money, baulking at an asking price of more than £2bn in 2018 when Abramovich ultimately opted against selling. Ratcliffe also turned down the oppor

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire discusses why yo-yo clubs between the Premier League and the Championship are stuck in a kind of purgatory.   Maguire argues that we have a Premier League 1.0 and a 1.5:  https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/norwich-fulham-football-purgatory-premier-league-finances-1615476 One way to change things would be to phase out parachute payments or at least substantially reduce them.  One could make low interest loans available for clubs in genuine financial difficulty after relegation.

Chelsea have agreed sale terms with the Todd Boehly consortium.   They will pay £4.25bn for the club and £2.5bn will go into a frozen bank account to be used for charity:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61360374 Clauses described as 'anti-Glazer causes' referring to the leveraged buy out of Manchester United have been inserted in the agreement. These will stop the new owners from paying dividends or receiving management fees for a ten year period.   There will also be a limit on the amount of debt the club can take on.

Gerry Cardinale's Redbird Capital Partners is in talks to acquire AC Mlan, challenging asset manager Investcorp in a €1m+ takeover battle.   Investcorp's period of exclusivity to seal a deal has come to an end. Current owners hedge fund Elliot Management are keen to sell and a deal could be concluded within weeks. Elliott took control in 2018after Chinese businessman Li Yonghong defaulted on high interest loans used to buy the club the year before. AC Milan have not won the Serie A title since 2011, but are currently top of the league with three games to play. This year the club returned to the Deloitte Money League for the first time since 2017/18, taking 19th place with 2020/21 revenues of €216m. Redbird took a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group which owns Liverpool in March last year.  They own outright Toulouse FC, recently promoted to Ligue 1.

League One is littered with clubs who have fallen from the grace of Premier League membership over the last 30 years — Wycombe in beechy Bucks are one of the exceptions to that rule.   Historically, High Wycombe was a home to the furniture industry, hence their nickname.  The setting of their ground, albeit reached through a trading estate, is impressively rural. They were only promoted to the Football League for the first time in 1993 and have spent the majority of the time since flitting between the third and fourth tiers, before reaching the Championship for the first time in 2020-21. The average attendance for their home games at 10,000-capacity Adams Park this season is under 6,000. The gap in resources compared to Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday, who will contest the division’s other play-off semi-final, is more like a chasm. American businessman and lawyer Rob Couhig completed a takeover of the club from the supporters’ trust in February 2020 and travels from New Orlean

A series of further complications have arisen in the sale of Chelsea: the late intervention by Sir Jim Ratcliffe; doubts about the Abramovich loan; and the retention of existing key figures associated with Abramovich in club management.  The special licence from the Government expires on May 31st and a failure to secure a deal by then could complicate transfers for next season. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has undertaken a PR initiative by giving an interview to BBC TV from Madrid (wonder why he was there?}  He insists that he has had 'productive' discussions with government (Nadine Dorries?) on his late bid. He once again points out that his is the only 'British' bid which is one way of characterising residence in the tax exile haven of Monaco.  He said his bid was late because one had to think carefully about acquiring a 'national asset' like Chelsea.  Asked why he did not try to buy the club he had originally supported, Manchester United, he said it was not for sale. Ro

MK Dons still divide fans.   Some see them as a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern game, others argue that it is time to bury the hatchet.  AFC Wimbledon are back in their own ground near their spiritual home, albeit potentially two divisions below the club some call the Franchisees. The view of the club as the EFL villains is increasingly generational, with younger football fans reflecting more kindly on the club’s recent achievements than those who remember what happened to Wimbledon 18 years ago. “We’ve been labelled,” says Ross Duffy of the MK One podcast. “If you compare us to Sunderland or Sheffield Wednesday, our fanbase isn’t as big, the attendances show that (their average of under 10,000 this season is less than a third of Sunderland’s). But it doesn’t take away from the fact that we are a tight fanbase. Whether you transitioned with the move from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes is a whole different story [I think very few did], but having a massive fanbase doe

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reports from Zurich:  'After this week’s semi-finals, I estimate Liverpool have earned €118m from the Champions League. They would receive an additional €4.5m if they win the competition. After their dramatic exit, Manchester City will still get €108m, while Chelsea and Manchester United are due €90m and €77m respectively.

Burnley face a significant loan repayment over the next year if they are relegated this season, reports The Athletic. ALK Capital took over the club in December 2020 via a leveraged buyout, borrowing a substantial fee from MSD Holdings — which was due for repayment in December 2025.   From the club's official accounts the value of the loan was confirmed as £65 million. As it stands, Burnley only have to pay interest on the loan. However, the document also explains that dropping out of the Premier League would move the repayment schedule forward — with a significant proportion of the capital loan value required shortly after the end of the football season. Burnley are currently 16th in the Premier League but just two points clear of the relegation zone.   I hope they survive as I have always enjoyed my visits to the atmospheric, old style Turf Moor.   One Burnley fan invited me to celebrate his 60 th birthday (a 2-0 win over Hull in the second tier). That would be a signifi

Fulham celebrated promotion and the championship with an emphatic 7-0 win over promotion hopefuls Luton,.  They have played some great football this season, but this is the third time Fulham have been promoted in the last five seasons and on the previous two occasions, they dropped straight back through the trapdoor. Owner Tony Khan has made his reputation in football as a forward-thinking analyst whose Boston-based company, TruMedia Networks, has established itself as one of the big-hitters in the world of sports data. This is Khan’s expertise. His use of analytics underpins everything at Fulham, particularly when it comes to determining transfer targets. Khan is also the co-owner and vice-president of the Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as being the co-owner, founder, president and chief executive of All Elite Wrestling and being involved in various other work ventures.    It’s a lot of commitments. Khan’s firmly held belief is that the clubs with the most sophisticated data proc

From his Zurich fastness, the authoritative Swiss Ramble notes: 'Last week's Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid was very exciting with only one goal separating them. This is not surprising from a financial perspective, as they are very close in terms of revenue, wages and squad cost.   Revenue is just £4m apart, although City’s squad cost is higher. ' 'In stark contrast Liverpool are much more powerful financially than Villarreal, as the Reds have 4-5 times as much revenue, wages and squad cost as their Spanish rivals.'

Charlton's Danish-American owner Thomas Sandgaard has denied that the League One club is up for sale:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/hilarious-charlton-owner-thomas-sandgaard-reacts-to-claim-that-club-is-up-for-sale/ Andrew Barclay, who has expressed an interest in the SE7 club in the past, has tweeted that there is a tension between the continued ownership of the stadium by Roland Duchatelet and the operating club being in the hands of Sandgaard. However, he sees this as part of a more fundamental problem in the lower leagues which he doubts the proposed independent regulator will fix.

Norwich City now face the challenge of getting back to the Premier League and surviving once they are there.  Is it too difficult for a club not in a big city without a benefactor owner?  Burnley have found it an increasing struggle. Wages will now reduce significantly. Some players will leave, others will need to be sold if there is to be a significant budget available for a squad rebuild. Smith’s influence on both that and Norwich’s development from here is set to grow in light of this season’s failings and Webber’s mountaineering ambitions. By earning promotion via the play-offs last summer, Brentford set Norwich a challenge. Norwich have failed to match the Londoners’ level, despite having so much more experience to draw on. Everyone at the club would do well to come up with the answers to that failure. There are surviving foundations too. Season-ticket sales remain healthy despite a seven per cent price rise and the likes of Idah, Omobamidele and 19-year-old forward Jon Rowe

Karren Brady sets out the case against having an independent regulator of football on the grounds of damage to the Premier League by 'meddling' politicians.  Somehow she manages to drag Stoke City into the argument, a misplaced example that doesn't prove anything one way or another:  https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-ffp-karren-brady-7025974 One thing that is clear to me is that the regulator should not be a serving politician.  As for damage, some might argue that the Premier League has caused a lot of damage itself - as well as some achievements.  The details of the regulation proposal need to be scrutinised carefully, but attempts by the Premier League to derail the idea in principle have already failed.

The Swiss Ramble has been busy in his Zurich fastness over the weekend diving into his data base to review the finances of the clubs that backed the European Super League. A year ago 12 clubs announced a European Super League (ESL) before fan protests led to a humiliating climbdown that happened   just days later. However, the factors that drove the 12 clubs to this deeply unpopular move largely remain. It’s still all about money: a combination of fear and greed. [I would add that we may get an ESL by other means through changes to the Champions League, although Uefa seems to be backing down on giving automatic places to clubs with high Uefa coefficients, i.e., historic ‘big’ clubs that have faltered recently like Manchester United]. There is little doubt that many of the 12 Super League clubs continue to face serious financial problems. To some extent, this helps explain why the “dirty dozen” would seek more revenue, but that certainly does not excuse their horribly ill-conceive