The Political Economy of Football V2

Tottenham Hotspur have applied to switch their Carabao Cup tie against Watford in the week beginning September 24th to Stadium MK. However, their main supporters' group have suggested that fans should not attend. The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust criticised the choice of Stadium MK because of the controversial way that MK Dons, then called Wimbledon, relocated to Milton Keynes in 2003. Meeting the expressed preferences of supporters, who would like to see the game played within the M25, would not be easy: League cup venue Spurs could have given up home advantage, but their ticket allocation would have been only 10 per cent of the capacity at Vicarage Road. Watford are arguing that moving the fixture to the home of the Franchisees would undermine the integrity of the competition. They are calling for the fixture to be reversed, but the EFL is likely to approve the change of venue: Watford response All the indications are that the rebuild of White Hart Lane is furt...

Brentford have delayed the move to their new 17,250 capacity stadium at Lionel Road until the end of the 2019-20 season. They had originally hoped to make the move in December 2019, but it now looks as if the usual problems associated with any large scale construction project have sensibly led them to delay: Stadium delay The club said in a statement, 'Given the complexity of large-scale building works adjacent to railway lines, the need to anticipate the normal delays and problems that inevitably arise in a complicated construction project, and the operational challenges surrounding a mid-season move, our view is that an end of season move is best.' Tottenham Hotspur may have been too ambitious in setting deadlines for the completion of their new stadium at White Hart Lane. Someone who has been working there told me at the weekend that it will not be ready this year. Griffin Park is to be used in the future by egg chasers.

The fall in the value of the pound against other currencies may hit smaller clubs harder than leading clubs. The biggest football clubs in the Premier League routinely hedge against currency movements, earning euros from playing in European competitions and dollars from international sponsorship deals. Smaller clubs with fewer international revenue streams may be stretched by the drop in the pound. Overseas footballers are seeking to defend their pay packets by hedging against the drop in the pound. Argentex, a boutique currency firm that specialises in services to the sports market, said there had been a 43 per cent increase in the volume of currency being hedged by sporting customers since the Brexit vote. The company, whose clients include Manchester City, allow individuals and companies to lock in the current exchange rate for several months, paying a fee of 1-3 per cent of the total amount hedged. In the Premier League, foreign nationals from 65 countries account for 70 per ...

A good article from the Evening Standard on why Manchester United continue to be a commercial success, even though their performance on the pitch may be lacklustre (by their standards anyway) and fans are unhappy: Is their really a crisis at Old Trafford? The article points out the global market is the real battleground in football: 'United have a magical name around the world. As more and more partners – global and regional – sign up to be associated with that magic, that name is actually becoming more and 'more deeply embedded in the consciousness of billions of fans around the emerging economic world.' Mourinho's brooding sulks and the apparent tensions between him and Ed Woodward all make good media copy and focus more attention on the club. As Ed Woodward recently commented, 'playing performance doesn't really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business.' The fans who go to Old Trafford may complain, but the ...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble compares the finances of Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United since Mike Ashley bought Newcastle in 2007. Both clubs have focused on profit. Newcastle have essentially broken even during Ashley’s tenure with £4m aggregate profit, while Spurs have reported an impressive £215m. Worth noting that £188m of that came in the last four seasons, when Newcastle had a £47m loss in the Championship. Revenue at Newcastle has fallen by £1m since Ashley’s arrival from £87m to £86m, deflated by the lower money in the Championship. In the same period, Tottenham Hotspur's revenue has tripled, rising £203m from £103m to £306m. In fairness, Newcastle's 2018 revenue will be much higher (£175-180m estimate). In the last 11 seasons Newcastle received a hefty £627m from central Premier League distributions, but this is £231m less than the £858m Spurs received. The two relegations to the Championship during Ashley’s reign have really hit revenue, accounting for £142...

Roman Abramovich is putting Chelsea on the market. It is not a great surprise after the cancellation of the stadium rebuilding project and the recent difficulties over his UK work visa. The asking price is over £2bn which would be a world record for a football club. Manchester City and Arsenal are valued at around £1.8bn to £1.9bn. Only someone who is super rich need apply. Abramovich turned down a £2bn bid earlier this year from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the chemicals tycoon and Britain's richest man with the Russian holding out for £2.5bn. US private equity firm Silver Lake wanted to buy a minority stake in Chelsea, but were turned away. Liverpool rejected a £2bn bid from an Abu Dhabi Sheikh in January. Abramovich has hired the same specialist US investment bank, Raine Group, that helped Manchester City sell a 13 per cent stake to Chinese businesses in 2015. They are likely to look for buyers in the US, China and the Middle East. Premier League clubs remain attractive to overse...

The English Football League has issued a statement on Charlton: 'The EFL continues to note the various comments emanating from multiple sources in regard to matters relating to the day-to-day operations at Charlton Athletic Football Club. Following a number of discussions dating back a number of weeks, the EFL plans to meet with both Charlton Athletic and the Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust to gain a full understanding of the current situation that surrounds the club.' 'In the intervening period, as we do with all our clubs, we will continue to monitor developments, offer any practical assistance that is available to us as we seek to protect the integrity and reputation of our competitions. In the context of any debate relating to operational decisions taken by a club, it is important to make the point that these matters are determined by the individual Boards and Executive teams at each our 72 member clubs. We will offer support as required to assist clubs in complyi...