The Political Economy of Football V2

In a survey conducted by  The Athletic  this week (before the developments on Thursday and Friday which brought the transfers of Moises Caicedo and Harry Kane closer to being completed), we asked how supporters of each of the 20 teams are feeling about the new season. Ninety-nine per cent of Villa respondents said “optimistic”, making them the most positive bunch in the division. They’re far higher than fans of treble-winning Manchester City (83%), higher than big-spending Newcastle (91%, down 5% on last year), who they play first, and a world away from Tottenham (79%), who they finished a point above last season. Emery is one of three Basque managers in the Premier League this season, with followers of Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth (97%) and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal (90%) also in high spirits. There was a fourth until Tuesday evening, when Julen Lopetegui left Wolves. He had spent much of the summer agitati...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reports from Zurich on the 2019/20 accounts of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Since being bought by Chinese investment group Fosun International in July 2016, Wolves is a club transformed, helped by a close relationship with super-agent Jorge Mendes. Under charismatic manager Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves can realistically compete for European qualification. Fosun’s strategy of “strong investment into the squad” has led to £100m net losses in the past four years, but the gamble paid-off with promotion and European qualification As a sign of how far Wolves have come, their £133m revenue means that they are 29th in the Deloitte Money League, which ranks clubs worldwide The club swung from £20m profit before tax to £40m loss, as the pandemic led to revenue dropping £40m (23%) from £173m to £133m and profit on player sales fell £2m to £10m, while expenses rose £18m (11%), mainly due to investment in the squad. Loss after tax £39m Significantly impacted by COVID...

The drama on the final day of the Premier League season tomorrow is naturally focused on the fates of Liverpool and Manchester United, but the most important game in financial terms is between Watford and West Ham United. There is a range of three places available to both teams and this could make a difference of just under £5.8m to their final payout from the Premier League. Leaving aside the relegated clubs, it is the teams at the top and the bottom that will see the smallest difference to their prize money: £1.93m for Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Brighton. Wolves will finish seventh whatever happens and should therefore, leaving some unlikely outcomes aside, be in the Europa League next season. It's a just reward for a team who have not been daunted following promotion and made a big impact on the league. Paradoxically, the long drawn out Europa League campaign may hold them back next season (Burnley were negatively impacted this season). The real excitement tom...