Football's Magic Money Tree

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:00 pm

Again given the vagaries of the accounts on this matter - it is no surprise that Sheffield Wednesday are being investigated over the date of their ground sale (which so far has seen no monies received by the club) - from those busy guys at the Times (This point was raised at the time the announcement of the sale was made by @KieranMaguire amongst others)

Fresh concerns over Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough sale - Matt Lawton - September 24 2019, 5:00pm,

The English Football League has asked Sheffield Wednesday to explain why a £38 million profit for the “sale” of Hillsborough, which enabled them to avoid sanctions for breaching strict financial regulations, was detailed in their 2018 accounts when Land Registry documents date the purchase to almost 12 months later.

Wednesday are among a number of clubs under scrutiny for exploiting a loophole that has allowed them to remain compliant with the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability rules by essentially buying the stadium from themselves.

But ahead of what could be a tense EFL clubs meeting on Thursday, with the row between Middlesbrough, Derby County and the EFL expected to escalate, The Times has learned that fresh concerns have been raised about paperwork that has been submitted by the Sheffield club.

In the accounts filed by the club to Companies House for the period ending July 31 2018, the “profit on disposal of stadium” is stated to be £38.061 million.

However documents filed with the Land Registry say that the transaction for the purchase of Hillsborough by a company owned solely by Dejphon Chansiri, the Sheffield Wednesday chairman, only took place three months ago. The document says: “The price stated to have been paid on 28 June 2019 for the land in this title was £60 million exclusive of VAT.”

Indeed the company that made the purchase, Sheffield 3 Limited, was not incorporated until June 21, 2019. The one listed officer of Sheffield 3 Ltd is Chansiri, Wednesday’s Thai millionaire businessman owner.

As Birmingham City discovered last season, any club that incurs losses of more than £39 million in a three-year period can face a heavy fine or even a points deduction.

The reported £38 million profit on the sale of Hillsborough meant Wednesday were able to record a pre-tax profit of £2.5 million for 2017-18 when, without it, they would have posted a pre-tax loss of £35.4 million on top of the combined pre-tax losses of more than £30.5 million for the previous two years.

Chansiri had previously admitted the club had “problems” with the EFL’s financial regulations and, having filed losses of £20.8 million in 2016-17 and £9.8 million in 2015-16 for financial years ending May 31, Wednesday negotiated an extension to its financial year to July 31 2018 after it emerged its accounts were well overdue.

While one academic has suggested Sheffield 3 Ltd could have existed in principle prior to being publicly incorporated in the UK in June 2019, both Wednesday and the auditor of the club’s accounts have declined to comment.

A spokesman for the EFL said: “While the EFL does remain in dialogue with a number of its clubs regarding their Profitability and Sustainability submissions, it does not comment on individual cases.”

Clubs already questioning whether rivals like Derby, Aston Villa and Wednesday should have been able to avoid heavy sanctions by purchasing their own stadiums are expected to call for clarification about Wednesday’s accounts at the EFL meeting.

As The Times revealed earlier this month, the EFL has already bowed to pressure by commissioning independent valuations of Pride Park and Hillsborough, with Middlesbrough then informing the EFL of their intention to sue for allegedly failing to properly enforce their Profit and Sustainability rules.

Middlesbrough have also threatened to sue Derby and what happens next will be determined by that independent valuation of Pride Park.
Mel Morris, the Derby owner, paid £81.1 million for the ground, with an agreement to then lease it back to the club, when it had previously been listed on the club’s books as an asset with a value of only £40 million. The £39.9 million profit meant Derby, much to the disapproval of Steve Gibson, the Middlesbrough owner, were financially compliant.

Insiders suggest the situation is “about to go nuclear”, particularly if the EFL valuation of Pride Park is significantly less than the price paid by Derby. It could mean the EFL, which will rubber-stamp the appointment of Rick Parry as its new chair at Thursday’s meeting, will have to accept they made a mistake signing off Derby’s accounts and look to impose sanctions.

That, however, would almost certainly lead to a legal challenge from Derby, the club hinting as much in a statement issued last Friday.
It said: “Derby County Football Club has adhered to the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability Rules with respect to the sale of its stadium.

“The stadium was subject to an independent professional valuation before sale, nearly 18 months ago, and the EFL indicated in writing that the arrangement was in accordance with its rules and regulations.

The EFL cannot now, long after approving the arrangements, suggest Derby County breached the rules.

“The Club regrets that Middlesbrough Football Club have said they are suing the EFL over the matter, but that is a matter for them. Derby County offered to show Middlesbrough its financial records but they declined the invitation and appear to have decided to bring a claim against the EFL instead.

“The outcome of that action could not now affect Derby County, which has already had its financial returns for the relevant season approved by the EFL, and the Club is solely focussed on the current season.”

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:03 pm

Oh dear - UEFA’s new third competition starting in 2021 to be called the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 12:18 am

A bit more on those financial results from Man Utd by @KieranMaguire - if the claim of a 1434 page annual report is true (Kieran does tile to take the ****) it must be full of a lot of crap

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 0399205377" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 12:46 am

It has been talked about for quite some time now, tomorrow a FIFA committee is expected to approve it's long awaited transfer market proposals - @TariqPanja in the New York Times

FIFA Set to Take On Agents With Proposed Changes to Transfer Market
Limits on agents’ commissions and a cap on loans could reshape the international market for players.

A key committee at FIFA is expected to approve a series of proposals on Wednesday that would seek to reform the multibillion-dollar player transfer market by limiting the influence of the sport’s biggest agents and also prevent clubs like Chelsea, Juventus and Manchester City from stockpiling talent.

Some of the conclusions of FIFA’s player status committee, which would approve the changes, mirror those in an internal FIFA report, created last year at the behest of the organization’s president, Gianni Infantino. Infantino has pledged to try and tame a transfer industry that has turned a small group of powerful agents into some of the most influential figures in soccer, and allowed a group of wealthy clubs to hoard and profit from large stables of players who are unlikely to ever play for their parent teams.

Infantino, a former official at European soccer’s governing body who has long been frustrated by the opacity in the player trading industry, vowed to act after details of huge commissions extracted by a select group of player agents were revealed in the leak of confidential documents by the Football Leaks platform in 2015. In one case, the Italian-Dutch agent Mino Raiola reportedly earned more than 40 million euros after he was paid by all three parties in midfielder Paul Pogba’s world-record transfer from Juventus to Manchester United in 2016.

According to details of the FIFA proposals, which were explained by two people familiar with them who were not authorized to discuss the proposals publicly, individuals no longer will be able to act for the interests of buying and selling clubs in the same transaction, and agent commissions will be capped at 3 percent for buying clubs and players, and 6 percent for selling teams.

While clubs have long expressed frustration at the amount of money extracted from the game by agents — according to data released by FIFA, agents earned more than $2 billion in the five years from 2014 through 2018 — groups representing intermediaries have said that any moves to restrict their incomes would be challenged in court.

A FIFA spokesman declined to comment on the proposals ahead of Wednesday’s meeting.

Details of FIFA’s proposed reforms for the transfer market first appeared in an internal report that surfaced last year. That document included plans for a central clearinghouse through which clubs would transfer the funds used to secure the registration of new signings as well as payments to the agents involved. Such a move could help shine light on an industry that has become the focus of money laundering and tax evasion investigations by the authorities in multiple countries.

Infantino had vowed to take on the transfer market — a chaotic world in which clubs and agents broker transfers with whispered rumors, secret promises and hidden fees — after he was elected in 2016 in the wake of a major corruption scandal. He convened the FIFA task force that created the report, an effort to address a series of issues, including the spiraling costs for players; concerns about the behavior of agents in the transfer process; and growing numbers of stories about dubious financial practices in a global transfer market worth about $7 billion a year.

The internal report also took aim at the growing practice of stockpiling talent. For top teams with hundreds of millions of dollars at their disposal, the practice of signing dozens of extra players had a dual benefit: it limited the options of potential rivals at the same time it created a steady income stream in fees through the loans of players who could not break in to the first team.

Under the reform proposal, the number of non-club-trained players above age 21 who can be sent out on loan will be limited to eight starting with the 2012-22 season and then drop to six by the 2022-23 campaign. Clubs like Juventus, Chelsea and Manchester City would be hit hardest by the new rules; each currently has at least a dozen players out on loan.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 1:59 am

Here is some perspective on those Man Utd numbers for 2018/19- when lined up against the biggest clubs - you will see that United are slowly falling down the rankings -(the value of the pound hasn't helped either)

#FCBarcelona €876m
#RealMadrid €757.3m
#FCBayern €750.4m
#MUFC €711.3m (£627.1m)
#PSG €637m (not yet confirmed)
#Juventus €621.5m (including players transfer & loan)

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 10:06 am

Chester Perry wrote:United's key financial figures for 2018/19

Record fiscal 2019 Revenues of £627.1 million, in line with annual guidance
Fiscal 2019 adjusted EBITDA of £185.8 million, in line with annual guidance
Fiscal 2019 Operating Profit of £50.0 million

all the real details here
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/ ... 4005558/en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

big drop in revenues expected in current season of £50m - £70m - that will see them drop behind city - wow

Finally had chance to take an in depth look at those United results and a couple of figures stand out for me. Net debt of £206million compared to zero at Burnley and a Wage bill of £332million which is four times higher than that at Burnley.

For that they are one place above us in the PL, same points, and a better goal difference of +1.

Which club would you prefer to be associated with ?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 1:56 pm

The owner of Plymouth Argyle takes them a step closer to sustainability by converting the near £4m loan he had with them into shares leaving them virtually debt free - it is the only way at the level - to think less than 30 years ago we were regularly playing them in meaningful promotion and relegation matches

https://www.pafc.co.uk/news/2019/septem ... ht-future/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 2:01 pm

The new edition of FCBusiness magazine is out - there are as always a few very noteworthy articles which I will come back to at another time - the online (free) edition is available here

https://cloud.3dissue.com/6374/7271/131 ... .html?r=12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Sep 25, 2019 2:05 pm

More from the World Football Summit in Madrid - here a panel discussion on the future of professional club football - intriguingly not featuring any of the usual big club interested parties - it is on playback here

https://www.facebook.com/worldfootballs ... o_explicit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 12:12 am

Another panel discussion from the World Football Summit - this time on the future of sports broadcasting

https://www.facebook.com/worldfootballs ... o_explicit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 1:13 am

As expected the FIFA committee today approved the measures put forwards for transfers - some agents are going to be unhappy

https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we- ... -limit-on-" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the BBC's take

https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we- ... -limit-on-" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 1:23 am

More detail on that 3rd Uefa club competition - which will be the European route for winners of the League Cup - which might devalue the competition

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... fish-happy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 1:31 am

World Football summit - panel discussion - Players taking control of content: emerging business models in a new media landscape

https://www.facebook.com/worldfootballs ... o_explicit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 1:35 am

World Football Summit - Peter Moores - Chief exec of Liverpool (we have seen him before and he talks well)

https://www.facebook.com/worldfootballs ... o_explicit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RammyClaret61 · Post by **RammyClaret61** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 4:09 am

Chester Perry wrote:More detail on that 3rd Uefa club competition - which will be the European route for winners of the League Cup - which might devalue the competition

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... fish-happy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When will we hit the tipping point of to much football? Surely we most almost be there?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 12:46 pm

In perhaps the best news of the day - Liverpool have failed in their bid to Trademark the name "Liverpool"

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... l-football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 1:01 pm

Amongst the number of items on todays agenda for the EFL clubs meeting - besides whether or not to allow Bury into League 2 next season (I see no reason why they should) is whether to have automatic points deductions when clubs fail to take part in a scheduled fixture - it is a yes from me

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... -play.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 1:12 pm

On the 20th of September - Yeovil Town went from being fan-owned to having a majority shareholder - as it was believed the best way for the club to move forward - that very same day a loan was taken out on land around their ground - not a great way to start is it by immediately leveraging assests

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 4126082048" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 1:13 pm

@SwissRamble with one more thread on football clubs’ cash flow. This one briefly compares the incomings and outgoings in the Premier League and the Championship.

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 1003517952" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:45 pm

This is incredible - just how out of touch can you be - Barcelona fined £265 (300 Euro) for Griezman approach that saved them £72m (80m Euro)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49840614" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 3:26 pm

Athletico Madrid make astounding revenue projections for the current season *when compared to stated numbers for last season)- the growth in revenue in the last few seasons is incredible

https://www.soccerex.com/insight/articl ... for-201920" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Sep 26, 2019 3:59 pm

Simon Chadwick gives a reasoned perspective on Fosun and Wolves following the Thomas Cook collapse

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 1516612608" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

in short The Chinese government may (unlikely at the moment) tell them to pull out, Fosun will do as they are told - just like Wanda did with Athletico Madrid, where they went from ownership to sponsorship

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 12:27 am

yet another proposed bid for Newcastle

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... astle.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My observations
- doesn't value the club at the price Ashley wants (i.e. the money he has put into it)
- doesn't pay all the money at once
- talking about making it worth much more while offering the above will not endear them to Ashley

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:03 am

Chester Perry wrote:yet another proposed bid for Newcastle

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... astle.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My observations
- doesn't value the club at the price Ashley wants (i.e. the money he has put into it)
- doesn't pay all the money at once
- talking about making it worth much more while offering the above will not endear them to Ashley

Peter Kenyon seems determined to get his foot through the door at Newcastle but Ashley remains the big stumbling block. I'm far from convinced he has the desire to relinquish control there and the details within this latest bid are unlikely to have him running for the exit door.

Similar situation here at Turf Moor in that Mike and John, over the years, have suggested they would be prepared to move aside if the suitable level of investment came along but again I'm not so sure. When they look around at the carnage caused at so many other clubs when changing ownership to people with little or no connection to the club, then I suspect any offer would need to be very special for it even to be considered. We are so fortunate that we have owners that are Burnley fans first and foremost.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 12:41 pm

The Price of Football does a deep dive into Manchester United's financial results from 2018/19 (suspect @SwissRamble will have is perspective on Monday)

http://priceoffootball.com/manchester-u ... waterfall/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:47 pm

I have posted about Everton's financial situation a few times (especial the expected losses to come in their financial results) - seems they are busy doing something about it - today companies house shows filings of 7 different loans being settled - no details on values as yet - good to see they are doing some housekeeping with the Bramley Dock initiative getting ever closer

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/comp ... ng-history" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 7:39 pm

Some interesting detail coming out of the court papers in the New Balance - Liverpool - Nike case. Liverpool are using an innovative approach for the proposed Nike deal which sees a much lower fixed payment but a royalty share of 20% on all sales together with some interesting tie-ups

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... -club.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PSG have a tie-up deal with Air-Jordan that is proving very successful and raking lots of money in for them especially in the States

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:47 pm

That Newcastle bid fronted by Peter Kenyon - Ashley apparently open to being paid in instalments, but still values the club at £350m

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... -deal.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

absolutely no surprise on the price - Ashley has been firm on getting all his money back at all times - not concerned about profit just break even

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:12 pm

With reports that under new FIFA regulations the Premier League could save £100m on agents fees each year it is no surprise that Agents are preparing to challenge them in the courts - From the New York Times

Agent Group Solicits Donations to Sue FIFA Over Transfer Limits
A series of rules changes would restrict the money — sometimes tens of millions of dollars in a single deal — that agents can earn when players switch teams.
By Tariq Panja - Sept. 27, 2019, 1:09 p.m. ET

An organization representing some of the world’s biggest agents has written to its members and urged them to contribute to a fund for what it expects will be an “expensive” legal fight to block proposed FIFA regulations to cap the fees they earn in the multibillion-dollar soccer player transfer market.

The Association of Football Agents, a trade organization for intermediaries in Britain, home to global soccer’s richest transfer market, issued an emotional appeal to its members in the wake of the plans revealed earlier this week that would severely restrict the money — sometimes tens of millions of dollars in a single transaction — that agents can earn when players switch teams.

The new rules are set to be ratified by FIFA’s leadership at a meeting in Shanghai on Oct. 24.

The A.F.A., whose board members include the representatives of Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale and the former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, told its members that FIFA had “totally reneged” on commitments to consult the group before making a final decision. The letter sent to its agents and intermediaries included details for a bank account collecting donations toward legal fees in case the group goes to court to contest FIFA’s new rules.

“This is going to be an expensive fight and we need your moral and financial support,” read the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.

FIFA’s proposed limits on agents’ fees — part of a broader set of changes to the transfer market — come amid growing public pressure to regulate the $7 billion a year player trading market. FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, expressed a desire to curb excessive behavior by some agents upon entering office in February 2016. Months later, leaked documents revealed by the hacking platform Football Leaks detailed how the Italian-Dutch agent Mino Raiola secured more than 40 million euros in payments by representing all three parties — player, buying club and selling club — in Paul Pogba’s world-record transfer to Manchester United from Juventus in August 2016.

Mel Stein, the A.F.A. chairman, said in an interview Friday that FIFA was trying to “punish” agents for deals like the one involving Pogba, which he said was “atypical.”

Under the proposed rules, the fees paid to agents representing selling teams in a player’s transfer would be capped at 10 percent. The cap would be 3 percent for those acting for buying clubs and for intermediaries acting on behalf of players. Agents also would no longer be able to work for both buying and selling clubs in the same deal, a measure designed, according to FIFA, “to protect the integrity of the system and prevent abuses.”

“There has been a consultation process with a representative group of agents so their inputs could be taken into account,” a FIFA spokesman said in response to the A.F.A. letter. “The Task Force Transfer System has kept an open dialogue with agents on all aspects of the proposed reforms.”

As well as writing to its members — a group that the A.F.A. said accounts for collective annual revenues of 500 million pounds (more than $615 million) — the group also has written to FIFA to warn it that the agents would begin legal action within seven days if the proposals were not abandoned.

“We cannot accept any regulations that provide for capping of our fees or restrict our freedom to act for any party in a transaction,” the A.F.A. wrote to FIFA. It described the regulations as “unlawful and anti-competitive.”

According to data released by FIFA, agents earned more than $2 billion in the five years from 2014 through 2018, a figure that dwarfed the amount paid to teams as part of a separate so-called solidarity mechanism designed to reward youth development programs for their roles in producing players.

Stein, the A.F.A. head, accused FIFA of “breathtaking arrogance” for failing to engage with his group before making a final decision on its new rules, and suggested the excesses of soccer leaders were worse than any found in his industry.

“Have you been to their offices?” he said of FIFA. “All that marble and gold, that’s taking money out of the game.”

Controlling agents’ growing influence in the global marketplace has been a struggle for FIFA since the value of the transfer market — and the prices for top players — began to grow exponentially amid a television revenue boom that began in the 1990s. As part of the proposals FIFA will consider next month, it will take responsibility for licensing agents, a role it gave up about a decade ago. At the time, it acknowledged that the task, on a global scale, was beyond its capabilities.

Peter Kenyon, a former chief executive of the Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea, suggested actors in the soccer industry would be able to find ways of getting around the new rules, as they have done when it comes to other forms of regulations. He noted that it was not agents who determined the fees paid for players, but clubs.

“Nobody has to pay an agent anything — that’s a club decision and they choose to pay it,” he said. “Clubs are great at wanting someone else to make a regulation that makes it easier to say no.”

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:15 pm

With UEFA having given a name to their new 3rd tier club competition - they are now gearing up to sell the rights for all three for the period 2021- 2024

https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/excl ... petitions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:18 pm

Celtic have posted their financial results for the 2018/19 season - @KieranMAguire has a quick peek - treble treble winners, Europa League group stages, ground capacity of well over 50k, global fanbase - Income slightly more than a club in it's first year back in the Championship following Premier League relegation

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 7916874753" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:31 pm

This new guy at Plymouth seems to be going about things in the right way - on Wednesday we saw that he had converted all outstanding loans to shares, making them essentially debt free, as he seeks to get them onto a sustainable path - now he has given fans a presentation of the finances so they have a full understanding of what he is doing and why

https://www.pafc.co.uk/siteassets/pdfs/ ... -1-1-2.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

there really is a growing group of owners who are showing some sanity with their clubs in the lower Leagues

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:38 pm

By way of contrast, yet fully in keeping with minimum requirements of law and the EFL - Mansfield have released a financial statement for the 2018/19 season

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 9010875392" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:59 pm

One thing all the recent financial turmoil and FFP dodging has done is make clubs more aggressive in calls for fairer competition and quick substantive action for those who fail to comply - Yesterday's EFL members meeting saw calls for automatic points deductions for those clubs that fail to pay wages on time - @AndyhHolt has been very vocal about this all summer

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... wages-bury" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Sep 28, 2019 2:23 pm

@KieranMaguire tears strips out of Peter Kenyon's brochure seeking Investment in his bid to take over Newcastle - the level of factually incorrect data and strange comparisons is diabolical - to my mind it is not just incompetent but fraudulent in places - though anyone with a remote level of interest could verify it in a few minutes via Google

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 3129496576" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Sep 29, 2019 9:35 am

Less than 3 weeks after appearing to resolve their issues in Kenya (see post #2099 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=2098" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) - Everton sponsors SportPesa are pulling out of the country altogether (a blessing for Kenyans but I am sure someone else will step in and use the same unscrupulous approach)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... Kenya.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Sep 29, 2019 8:12 pm

We all get frustrated about kick-offs being changed for television - as yet the Premier League haven't really changed kick-offs specifically for international audience - or even for a specific international audience - all the other big leagues have - in fact it is often a deliberate strategic move to build audiences in a long term approach to compete with the Premier League, There are potential downsides with the locals who can get quite disgruntled - and we know our European cousins are quick to protest. - this one is particularly clever. French game brought forward for Chinese audiences - crowd take the opportunity to display a large Free Tibet TIFO display

https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/ ... 9003796485" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:50 pm

following on from the last post another example of European fans taking matters into their own hand - this time Roda JC fans lay into the new owner of their club, kicking him out of the ground at half time for failing to pay his players and continuing to fail to meet his financial promises

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSozIQXPGrM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

this reddit thread highlights his misdemeanors

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comment ... ut_of_the/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Imagine that happening in this country

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 1:39 pm

Yeovil - It is hard to tell if this is the loan I reported last week (see post #2218 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=2217" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) or an additional loan taken out against the ground - again on the day they transitioned from fan-owned to a single majority shareholder - either way sends out a depressing message

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 7515762688" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 1:41 pm

As I thought he would today, with his beloved Arsenal at Old Trafford tonight - @SwissRamble does his thing with Manchester United's 2018/19 financial results

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 0523323392" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 5:09 pm

Cardiff get off lightly re Sala transfer fee - first instalment only

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49825166" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Edit - no they haven't, they have got to pay it all - complaint was about first instalment - Cardiff expected to go to CAS

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:11 pm

In a move that carries some echoes of ITV Digital - the Greek national broadcaster is trying to persuade it's League 2 clubs to take a substantial reduction in it's TV deal

https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/gree ... eductions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:18 pm

The Bundesliga sees a massive rise in rights value with a 6 year US deal

https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/bund ... with-espn/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 10:09 pm

If I am understanding this correctly Birmingham City will face another points deduction this season - @KieranMaguire with a summary of the parent company's 2018/19 financial results

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1957473280" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 10:39 pm

Chester Perry wrote:If I am understanding this correctly Birmingham City will face another points deduction this season - @KieranMaguire with a summary of the parent company's 2018/19 financial results

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1957473280" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What a frightening set of figures and they deserve the punishment that's inevitably coming their way.

Clearly 2018 was the year they went for broke, a Wage to Turnover ratio of 202% and look at the increase in Wage bill from 2017. That said those improved contracts clearly continued to impact on the 2019 results and the gamble they took has failed miserably. Now they will pay the price with another points deduction, and justifiably so.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:20 pm

A report on what is happening at Roda JC

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... da-JC.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stproc · Post by **Stproc** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:46 pm

The madness of a 21 year old Chelsea loanee on £38k a week in the Dutch 2nd division.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Oct 01, 2019 9:39 am

Stproc wrote:The madness of a 21 year old Chelsea loanee on £38k a week in the Dutch 2nd division.

That's agents for you - no real concept of what their demands do to all but the biggest of clubs and even then you can have an Ozil/Sanchez situation where you cannot offload because no one else can pay the wages

AshevilleNCClaret · Post by **AshevilleNCClaret** » Tue Oct 01, 2019 11:40 am

Chester Perry wrote:A report on what is happening at Roda JC

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... da-JC.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The article technically says 38k a month and not a week (which is still 10x more than what teammates are making).

I think the only solution is to form one super league of teams and then instituting a salary cap.
American sports is insane money but is has been kept in check partly by a salary cap.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Oct 02, 2019 1:46 pm

It has taken an awful long time, and the choice is a little left field, but the Premier League has finally appointed a new Chief executive - he is currently in a similar position for the Guardian Newspaper group - David Pemsel

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49903442" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;