The Political Economy of Football V2

Chris Kirchner, who came close to buying two English football clubs, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud. Kirchner, 36, was sentenced at Fort Worth courthouse in Texas and also ordered to pay $65,415,938.12 in restitution. His sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. The fall of Kirchner was sudden and spectacular. His deal to buy English Football League (EFL) club Derby County collapsed in June 2022, just a few months after he walked away from a similar deal to purchase Preston North End, another Championship club. He was previously named as the preferred bidder to take over Derby, who were then being run by the club’s administrators and was backed by then-manager Wayne Rooney.

The Zurich-based Swiss Ramble blogger casts his authoritative eye over the 2018/19 accounts of Sheffield United. He comments: 'Apart from the pandemic, this has been a glorious period for Sheffield United. There is much to admire about their strategy. Despite their financial limitations, they have delivered on the pitch under Wilder, even with board room issues, and are genuinely competitive in the Premier League.' These accounts cover the final year of co-ownership between Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah. Since then the High Court has ruled that McCabe must sell his 50% share to the Prince for £5m. As a result, the club will purchase the stadium and training facility for £43.5m. The club's loss increased from £2m to £21m, reflecting the “exceptional cost of promotion to the Premier League”. Revenue rose 4% (£0.8m) to £21m, while profit on player sales was up £6m (69%) to £14m, but this was more than offset by £26m of cost growth. Although the £21m loss is obviously no...

Sheffield United lost £200,000 a week in 2017/18 despite promotion to the Championship. Player sale profits helped offset these losses. Income was up 76% to £20 million mainly due to much bigger solidarity payments from Premier League, TV monies from EFL & higher attendances. Sheffield United losses of £10m are about mid table by Championship standards. Total losses could exceed £400 million for the division in 2017/18. Sheffield United wage bill was up 90% to £19 million. Club paying out £95 in wages for every £100 of income. This is well above the recommended level of 50 per cent, although it is far from unusual in the Championship. The average figure for the division is £99. The player wage bill more than doubled. Since 2011/12 Sheffield United have spent £97 on wages for every £100 of income. Sheffield United spent nearly £4 million on new signings in 2017/18. Player sales were £8.5 million and that figure doesn’t include David Brooks to AFC Bournemouth as sale took place ...