Skip to main content

Can promoted teams survive?

There is an increasingly stark trend of teams going up to the Premier League coming straight back down, almost as if sides need a specialist in the Championship and another in the division above.

49ers Enterprises — the investment vehicle controlled by the San Francisco 49ers and the majority stakeholder at Elland Road — didn’t set out to run a Championship team. It sought a top-flight acquisition but changed its plans after Leeds were relegated in 2023. Two seasons in England’s second tier have been expensive, largely because Championship clubs are money pits. In 2023-24 alone, Leeds lost £60million ($80m).

Promotion, though, means Premier League revenue, which in turn creates big opportunities, just as it did when Leeds last went up in 2020. If recent briefings are accurate, the 49ers will press the button on the long-overdue stadium development soon (see earlier story on progress). Leeds have a long summer now in which to reorganise their squad, ready for the sharp jump in levels.

The threat of relegation will be very real again. They learned that lesson two years ago and the Premier League has been no less forgiving since. But Leeds suit England’s top flight. I’m one of the people who think the division is enhanced by their stimulatingl presence. 

Thirty-five miles to the west of Leeds, another promotion party broke out last night. Burnley are heading back up, too, driven by their own owners from the United States. It’s taken them just one year to right the wrong of relegation.

Burnley’s shareholders, among them ex-NFL star JJ Watt, were probably more philosophical about the threat of time in the Championship when they bought in. 

Of course, it could be the team that comes up through the play offs that has the real struggle.   If all three promoted teams are relegated (and I think that at the very least Leeds will stay up) pressure will grow to cut back the number of relegated teams to two.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more