The Political Economy of Football V2

Relegation threatened Blackpool have reported increased losses compared with the preceding season:  https://www.footballtradedirectory.com/blackpool-report-43m-loss-as-league-one-clubs-face? Auditors have issued a formal warning about the club's ability to continue as a going concern linked to one of the directors facing criminal proceedings in Hong Kong:  https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/25985039.blackpool-fc-finances-losses-deepen-owner-trial/

Until I read a long investigative report in this weekend's Financial Times magazine, I wasn't up to speed about recent events at Blackpool Football Club.   I was familiar with how Tangerine fans had suffered under the Oyston regime, but I assumed that things had settled down even if performances on the pitch had been a bit up and down. What I didn't know was that the current owner, Simon Sadler, was facing criminal charges for insider trading in Hong Kong and might put up the club for sale. Sadler is the typical 'local boy made good' from humble origins who bought the club and stadium for £8.2m, partly because he felt guilty about leaving home and making so much money.   He set up 'a hedge fund in Hong Kong and established himself as one of the most powerful players in a niche of global finance.' The article is written by the Pink Un's Asia financial correspondent and it is clear that she is not familiar with the world of football, despite some local col...

Blackpool have submitted their 22/23 accounts: Revenue £17.3m up 13%.  Wages £13.5m up 16%. Underlying loss was £3.2m. Player purchases £1.7m. Player sales £3.3m, giving a small surplus. Blackpool losses low by Championship standards, which average £20m before player sales.   Blackpool have cash in the bank, losses over the years less than £10m. All three main sources of income for the year were up.    Main costs player related. Amortisation (transfer fees spread over contract up 50%. Average first team wage was £6k a week, half that of Championship average.   Highest paid director £334k Blackpool finished season with a squad costing less than £4m.   Blackpool funded mainly by parent company to whom it owes almost £16m

Owen Oysten has failed in an attempt to sue the receivers of Blackpool Football Club for £78m in compensation:  https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/football/blackpool-fc/owen-oyston-fails-in-ps78m-claim-against-receivers-that-sold-blackpool-fc-3672080 He has the right to appeal.

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire casts his eyes over the accounts of Blackpool FC and says that they would have made more progress if it had not been for the pandemic:  https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/football/blackpool-fc/football-finance-expert-delivers-his-verdict-blackpool-fcs-latest-accounts-2909648 The accounts are quite difficult to analyse because for two-thirds of the year the club was under the control of the Oystons.

Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball reveals that overall Premier League clubs only made a collective profit in nine seasons since its inception although the last few years have been much better. Total cumulative losses are £1,008,000,000 since 1992/3. Of the 49 clubs who have played in the Premier League, only 25 have made a profit. Maguire notes that it will come as little surprise that Chelsea and Manchester City have racked up the two largest sets of losses since the Premier League started, but perhaps eyebrows raised that Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Stoke City and Sunderland are also in the top ten. Some surprisingly big losses from clubs that are traditionally thought of as very prudent such as Watford and Everton, the latter in the top ten loss making clubs in Premier League history. In positions 11-20 of the all time Premier League profit table Blackpool fans will be asking 'What happened to all the money' as their team is 13th in the table. Arsenal are the mos...

Blackpool FC have at last published their accounts and Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball comments, 'Blackpool have made profits of nearly £46 million since 2011, of which £17 million has come from player sales. This is an unprecedented level of profit for a club of its size. Where has that money gone?' He adds, 'the best news for fans is seeing the list of directors names & those who’ve resigned.' Blackpool paid £128 in wages for every £100 of income in 2017/18. The operating loss to June 2018 was £3.2m. Gate receipts were down from £660k in 2017 to £376k in 2018, although surprisingly season ticket sales were up. The biggest stream of income was from the Premier League and Football League distributions (£1.57m). There was a £1.8m profit on player transfers. Maguire notes, 'the impact of a year in the Premier League and subsequent parachute payments highlighted in the revenue totals': £51.6m in 2011; £28.7m in 2012; £3.3m in 2018.

It's been a long, hard fight for Blackpool fans but they have finally got rid of the Oyston family: New owner Simon Sadler, a lifelong fan of the club, has acquired a 96.2 per cent stake including the stadium, the somewhat dilapidated training ground and a hotel business. Born and raised in Blackpool, Mr. Sadler held senior roles in finance before setting up an asset management business, Segantii Capital Management, in Hong Kong in 2007, where he remains Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Sadler is acting in an individual and personal capacity as the new owner of the Club.

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.

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

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.

Former Blackpool star Paul Stewart has confirmed that he is fronting a consortium that is seeking to buy the club from Owen Oyston: Blackpool bid Stewart stated that if the bid succeeded Oyston would not be allowed any role at the club. As expected, any deal is complicated by the 2017 High Court ruling which sees Oyston still owing more than £25m to former club director Valeri Belokon.A three-day window for a court date has been agreed for next month to discuss the possibility of Belokon’s lawyers appointing a Court Receiver.

Blackpool's Owen Oyston has been voted worst English football club owner by fans, followed by Mike Ashley at Newcastle and Roland Duchatelet at Charlton Athletic: Top ten worst owners 3,376 fans from 139 clubs responded to the survey.

Protests by Blackpool and Charlton fans last week were 'a fight for the whole of football' according to the Football Supporters' Federation: Protests The article focuses mainly on the protests at the EFL offices at Preston and hence on the case of Blackpool, although some Charlton fans from the north-west turned up there. There is no doubt that the EFL falls short as a regulator of the game, but the question is whether it is well equipped to do this and whether the task should be one for an independent regulatory body. However, there is little hope of achieving that in the current climate.

This article from The Guardian considers the cases of Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Charlton Athletic and Coventry City: The Agony and the Ecstasy Two of these teams enjoyed promotion last season, but it's not just about results.

Singapore company VSport are understood to have made a bid for Blackpool: Blackpool bid They would take complete control of the club and stadium. This has been a concern for fans who do not want the Oystons to have any involvement in the club. The owner wanted £45m for the club, but the bid is believed to be £25m.

An overseas private equity firm is reported to have put in a bid for Blackpool: Fans are concerned There are two reasons for fans to be concerned. First, what has happened at Coventry City does not suggest that overseas private equity firms make good owners. What is in the deal for them? They won't be doing it for benevolent reasons. It also appears that they may want to lease Bloomfield Road rather than buying the stadium. This may make good business sense, but the fans do not want any continued involvement by the Oystons in the club.

Baliffs have been seen outside Blackpool FC's Bloomfield Road stadium. It would seem that minority shareholder Valeri Belokon has started recovery action against the Oystons. The EFL has invited Blackpool supporters and other interested parties to a meeting to discuss concerns about the club: Invitation. EFL chairman Shaun Harvey has admitted that communication has been poor between the league and Blackpool. The Blackpool Supporters' Trust see the meeting as the first step on a long road to effective change: Meeting. They want an independent regulator for English football. The Tangerines lost £42,000 a week last season. Gate receipts, which are important in the lower leagues, were hit by fan boycotts. Their latest accounts show a loss of £2.2m in the season they were promoted back to League One in 2016-17, up from £1.7m the previous year.

The Price of Football website attempts to disentangle Blackpool's finances and work out what happened to the substantial sum the club made in its parsimonious one year stay in the Premier League. This is no easy task given the tangle of companies involved. However, it is more than possible that the club might have to be sold for a pittance: Blackpool's season in the sun

Not much is the short answer from football finance expert Kevin Maguire: How much is Blackpool FC worth? One of the problems is that bundled up with the club and the ground are a Travelodge and a wedding venue. It might be better to sell them separately. Any football purchaser is likely to want the Squires Gate training ground, but that is in a dilapidated state and will require considerable investment. Valuations of the club have ranged from £5m to £60m. However, Maguire reckons that a realistic price for a quick sale that would attract buyers would be under £10m. He points out that the club is losing £35,000 a week. One question is how far revenues can be boosted. Some fans who have boycotted the club will return when the Oystons leave. But there is also the demographic nature of Blackpool and the economic and social challenges it faces as a town, well discussed in a special feature in the Financial Times magazine last weekend. As it noted, Blackpool is one of those coast...