The Political Economy of Football V2

West London is well served by top football clubs: Chelsea, Fulham, Brentford and Queens Park Rangers who would like to regain their place in the top flight.   Fulham have the most expensive tickets in the Premier League and have been trying to move up market. Looking in from the outside, QPR’s results are particularly erratic.   A good away win is often followed by a home defeat. The following comments are based on the usual forensic analysis by the Zurich-based football finance guru Swiss Ramble and much more detail and analysis is available on his Substack page. QPR have long wanted to relocate from Loftus Road but have failed to do so.    Viable options simply aren’t there.   Meanwhile, they have their share of minor celebrities: Giles Coren and Lord Young of Acton (who did wonder if he should call himself Lord Young of Loftus Road).    He is actually mentioned in the Epstein files.* Having spent three out of the four seasons between 2011...

The finances of Queens Park Rangers have had something of an Alice in Wonderland quality to them in recent years with sums of money apparently appearing and disappearing at a whim. However, Kieran Maguire has taken a close look at the latest accounts and it now appears that some stability has been restored, although the question of a £40m financial fair play (FFP) bill remains unresolved: Boys Don't Cry QPR have argued that FFP is illegal (which I think it could be under competition law, but I am no lawyer). The Football League insists that clubs who want to play in its competition have to abide by the rules (although whether one can have rules that violate national or European law is a moot point). Maguire sums up: 'QPR have done well in 2016/17 to get their house in order. The final league position reflects the cost cutting at the club, which has continued this year. It looks as if the largesse of the past has been replaced with a more cautious approach to managing the cl...