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American owned clubs do well

American investors have not always had an easy life in English football. From Manchester United to Arsenal to Chelsea, US owners have often been the target of fan protests. Even now, “Glazers out” still rings around Old Trafford.

But on the pitch, clubs led by Americans are in the ascendence. Liverpool, owned by Fenway Sports Group, won the Premier League, pipping runners up Arsenal (part of the Kroenke family’s sporting empire).

Leeds and Burnley both fought it out for the league title tin the Championship. Leeds is owned by San Francisco-based 49ers Enterprises, Burnley by ALK Capital. Their promotion will bring the number of clubs in the top flight with US shareholders to at least 12, depending on who joins them via the play-offs.

Then there’s League One, where Birmingham City are rounding up a record-breaking season in which they notched up 105 points with one game to go and won 43 games across all competitions. It should not come as a big surprise — the club’s hedge fund owner Knighthead Capital has also shattered spending records along the way. Wrexham, owned by the Hollywood actor duo of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, are also going up.

And there are still US hopefuls in the FA Cup final (Crystal Palace), in the Champions League (Arsenal and Inter Milan), the Europa League (Manchester United) and the Europa Conference (Chelsea and Fiorentina).

Is it purely coincidence? Quite possibly. US investors have been flooding into European football for several years, meaning American-backed clubs are simply more likely to win because there are more of them.

New ownership is also a moment to bring in operational change. We may be seeing the fruits of those endeavours ripen, as clubs get slicker on transfers and bring in more data analytics.

But there’s another possible reason for the rising American tide. US sports have long operated under strict spending rules — either via a luxury tax or hard spending caps. That requires a lot of discipline, a rigorous grasp of the numbers, and a business plan that stretches several years into the future.

So as the Premier League and Uefa enforce tighter financial regulation across football, it stands to reason that those with experience in balancing budgets could gain an advantage over time. Liverpool’s owners have years of experience running the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise, while the Kroenkes have enjoyed success with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA and the Los Angeles Rams NFL team.

Elsewhere, there’s much talk about the end of US hegemony. The trend in football appears to be moving in the opposite direction.

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