The Political Economy of Football V2

I have always been sceptical of the viability of the fan ownership model in professional football and the recent experience of AFC Wimbledon and Exeter City confirms this.  Exeter City badly need external investment to survive and flourish:  https://www.devonlive.com/sport/football/football-news/exeter-city-external-investment-necessity-10940501

I have been sceptical about the long-term viability of fan owned clubs, recent events at Exeter City seem to confirm this.   Even prosperous fans in south-west London find it difficult to provide the funds needed to compete. AFC Wimbledon are at a crossroads, squeezed by what many League One and League Two owners believe is unsustainable spending that cannot continue. The fan owners face a dilemma: invite wealthy investors with deep pockets on board, or lose pace with the spiralling costs of running an EFL club. More than 4,500 of the 7,500-plus owners turned out to vote on Monday night, opting to dilute fan ownership to 50.01 per cent — similar to the model adopted by German clubs — and freeing up shares to sell to outside investors with funds to keep the club competitive. The club have spoken to about ten potential investors, including a consortium led by their former captain Robbie Earle. Many around the club fear this vote is merely a stepping stone to relinquishing ...

I have always been a sceptic about the idea of fan owned clubs.  It's not just a question of the lunatics running the asylum: one can usually find well qualified lawyers and accountants to sit on the board.  However, even if fans can raise the purchase price of a club in administration, they find it difficult to sustain the losses needed to secure success on the pitch and a downward spiral on and off the pitch can often result.. Exeter City has been referred to as the glowing example of a fan owned club, escaping from the clutches of the administrators, albeit with the benefit of some lucrative FA cup games. Yet they raised their playing budget by £1m in two years while everyone else in the league was raising it by £3m or £3.5m.  The highest playing budget in League One is £19m.  The Grecians are currently fifth from bottom.   General manager Clive Harrison admitted that it was not possible to guarantee selling a player each year to fill the financial gap. ...

Greenock Morton made a profit of nearly £200k in their first year as a  community owned club and although they are expecting a loss this year they think it will be manageable:  https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/24707986.morton-show-six-figure-profit-last-financial-year/

As the Chesterfield FC Community Trust prepares to take over the Spireites from owner Dave Allen, a sports finance expert warns that it won't be easy and that finances in particular will be a challenge:  https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/sport/football/potential-be-successful-it-wont-be-easy-sports-finance-expert-proposed-chesterfield-takeover-2877086 Realism with the fans will be necessary in terms of managing expectations.   Dan Plumley reckons it is just about feasible below League One level. Local councils are providing the funding in this case although taxpayers who are not football fans may not be happy.