The Political Economy of Football V2

Even though the amount of money at stake is only £3.5m, a victory for Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow in the Champions League final could be really transformative. Spurs have taken big steps forward, but their iconic new stadium has been financed by borrowing £650m that needs to be repaid. The stadium still needs a naming rights partner which would be an important source of additional income, but they are not so easy to find these days. The fact that the club has managed to qualify for the Champions League for a fourth successive season despite having the Premier League's sixth highest wage bill is impressive, but for how long can this over performance be sustained if the club sticks to the £200,000 a week including bonuses wage paid to Harry Kane as its upper limit? Much of their over achievement is down to their manager Mauricio Pochettino who has made no secret of the fact that his future will be up for discussion again this summer. Spurs have already made just under £60m from t...

Mauricio Pochettino has warned has warned the sphinx like owner of Tottenham Hotspur, Daniel Levy, that he may quit unless he gets the resources he needs to take the club forward. The Spurs manager said it was unreasonable to think the club could continue to compete with England's biggest sides and qualify for more Champions League finals while working within the constraints imposed om him since taking charge at White Hart Lane in 2014. Pochettino thought that owner Levy would be unmoved by reaching the Champions League final. He said: 'Do you know Daniel? He never loses his composure. There's no easy with Daniel.' However, the Spurs manager was clear that it would not be staying if the club expect similar levels of success without changing the way they are run. This does not necessarily mean splashing the cash, but it does mean having a plan: We need to plan for the future Spurs are doing the best to derive revenue from their iconic but costly stadium. They hav...

Just how much Mauricio Pochettino has enabled Tottenham Hotspur to punch above their weight is shown by the Premier League salary table for 2017/18. Five of the top six clubs had a wages bill between £223m and £296m, but that of Manchester United (£296m) was twice that of Spurs (£148m). Excluding the three promoted clubs, Burnley, Brighton and Huddersfield occupied the last three places, suggesting that money talks. Watford did better than their wage bill and Southampton less well.