Football's Magic Money Tree

[Chester Perry]

777 Partners appear still to be keeping their game face on, but the situation does not appear to be one that appears favourable to them

from The Telegraph

Prospective Everton owners 777 ‘confident’ in ability to fund takeover amid fresh doubts
Premier League yet to sign off on the deal with club’s immediate future looking grim amid £89.1 million losses detailed in latest accounts
https://archive.ph/fAsZ7

[Chester Perry]

The media are starting to catch on that traditional fanbases are slowly being squeezed out of attending the game

from The Times

How super-rich Premier League clubs are ‘squeezing fans dry’
Seven Premier League clubs offer season tickets at more than £1,000 and 17 of the 20 have increased prices – with the odd cocktail bar and helicopter ride thrown in. Who exactly is the match-day experience catering for?
https://archive.ph/ZHnrn

[bfcjg]

In relative terms we are cheap , that said it has to realistically priced for the average wage of the fan base. Some of the prices are frightening and I should imagine picking games or just not going on will become more common.

[elwaclaret]

In relative terms we are cheap , that said it has to realistically priced for the average wage of the fan base. Some of the prices are frightening and I should imagine picking games or just not going on will become more common.

That is the problem. It will become like going to the west end for a show… people flying in for the game… boosting the town with sightseers with money to burn spending a day or two at the club as a holiday. There are not that many locals making Green Bay Packers their money for example, but a lot of the town is directly or indirectly working for the supporters/sightseers coming into town, with money to burn.

[Chester Perry]

The Esk takes his turn with the Everton accounts - which will be covered in two parts

Part 1 is here

Part I – Everton Football Club Company Limited Annual Report and Accounts 2022/23
https://theesk.org/2024/04/01/part-i-ev ... s-2022-23/
https://archive.ph/JxV9C

The Esk with Part 2 of is assessment of Everton's Accounts

Part II – Everton Football Club Company Limited Annual Report and Accounts 2022/23
https://theesk.org/2024/04/02/part-ii-e ... s-2022-23/
https://archive.ph/1NFWH

[Chester Perry]

The latest Business of Soccer column in The Guardian is something of a state of the game statement tinted by a particular political viewpoint, but is well worth a read, just be prepared for the fact that it is quite lengthy

The Premier League’s era of vanity worship may be over but the future won’t be equal
The league has bared its teeth on teams in breach of profit and sustainability rules. But the current enforcement has solidified the disparity between clubs
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/ ... ty-chelsea
https://archive.ph/yKmgr

[Chester Perry]

I think the basic premise of this is true and have argued along similar lines

from Bloomberg.com

Everton-777 Is a No-Win Game for England’s Football Chiefs
The Premier League needs to prove it can be trusted to oversee the beautiful game.
https://archive.ph/6AVI2

[Chester Perry]

Interesting times for Tottenham

from The Telegraph

Daniel Levy ‘in discussions’ over Tottenham investment after club posts £86.8m losses
Spurs put losses down to ‘significant investment in the playing squad’ and are seeking an injection of equity
https://archive.ph/ej6jZ

[Chester Perry]

Miguel Delaney in The Independent on the fallacy of the proposal of a Luxury Tax for the Premier League

Why a Premier League luxury tax would lead to financial chaos
Premier League owners have been discussing solutions to the current profit and sustainability rules, following a series of points deductions, but a luxury tax could have severe ramifications for the future of the league and its clubs
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 23911.html
https://archive.ph/l3MdK

[Chester Perry]

It looks like UEFA have given up on trying to legislate against multi-club organisations - the lack of announcement on this reminds me of The FA giving up on Rule 34 from 1983 onwards - starting with Irving Scholars bid to launch Tottenham on the stock market - In UEFA's case it is Article 5 that will be watered down

from The Athletic

UEFA relaxes multi-club rules to allow teams owned by same group to compete in different competitions
https://archive.ph/AM6h9

todays edition of The Backpage Weekly from Sheridan's looks at the just what UEFA has done to relax it's multi-club rules for next season and how new competition formats have helped that - now you know why the ECA were campaigning for this change (as well as the extra games it could introduce)

#38 New competition formats allow UEFA to relax its rules on multi-club ownership
https://sheridanssport.substack.com/p/3 ... mats-allow
https://archive.ph/3Yg1p

[Chester Perry]

Of course the above mentioned changes came about in the build up to the launch of Super League - a kind of Plan B from Andrea Agnelli and the ECA

A new book leads The Telegraph to look back at the first attempt to create a European Super League in 1998, a failed attempt better known as Project Gandalf

Behind Manchester United’s role in ‘Project Gandalf’, 1998’s European Super League plot
Maurice Watkins could not believe the club in 2021 had learned nothing from the first clandestine effort to secede from Uefa 23 years before
https://archive.ph/bYHhP

anyone interested in Project Gandalf might like to look back on my previous posts about it in the autumn before the Super League was launched - they can be found here
search.php?keywords=Gandalf&t=20891&sf=msgonly

[Chester Perry]

Interesting piece on Leicester and why they are stalling the process on their charges around breaching financial rules - features significant input from the new guy on the football finance block - Stefan Borson, who I think offers much sounder assessments than Kieran Maguire - maybe because he actually comes from a football finance background.

from The Athletic

Why Leicester are desperate not to face a PSR points deduction this season
https://archive.ph/VwnK1

To my mind some football clubs are becoming more brazenly two faced than ever - take this from Martin Zieglers column in The Times

Leicester legal challenge risks being undermined by own annual report
Championship club are challenging the jurisdiction of the Premier League to charge them for breaching financial rules, given that they were relegated last season
https://archive.ph/6yokC

Leicester City’s legal action against the Premier League after being charged with breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules appears to be at odds with their own annual report.

The club are challenging the jurisdiction of the Premier League to charge them, given that they were relegated to the Sky Bet Championship at the end of last season, and have said they have launched “urgent legal proceedings”.

Yet their annual report, dated March 1 this year, not only admits they may be in breach for last season, but pleads for mitigation should sanctions be applied — and states: “For the 2022-23 season the club is regulated under the Premier League P&S [Profitability and Sustainability] rules [and] … under the EFL P&S rules for the 2023-24 season.”

The report for the 13 months ending June 2023 adds: “The financial impact of LCFC’s on-pitch performance, combined with previous levels of investment, means that the club anticipates that it may be found not in compliance with the applicable P&S rules for the three-year reporting period ending 2022-23.

“The directors believe that any sanction resulting from any such non-compliance should be mitigated, including as a result of the underlying circumstances described above.”
It is understood that Leicester do not believe the contents of the annual report contradict their challenge on jurisdiction.

[Chester Perry]

It has not been discussed much, but with the board of Everton abdicating last summer - with fat pay outs and not making themselves available for the independent commission hearings - along with the named owner doing the same in terms of his financial responsibility for the mess he largely created (probably with Alisher Usmanov) the manager has become the guiding light at the club as public spokesman and a kind of general manager - even those Evertonian's that don't like his football acknowledge that Sean Dyche appears to be the only one with the sanity, dignity courage and heart to put the club first and help return some of its soul back into it.

He has been talking to the press this week about the stupid recklessness of the situation the club got itself in and questioned why no-one before him just said no.

from The Guardian

‘Not on my watch’: Sean Dyche hits out at costly Everton mismanagement
Club are facing second points deduction for PSR breaches
‘It wouldn’t have happened on my watch, trust me,’ he says
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... management
https://archive.ph/tzVa8

[Chester Perry]

Last weekend saw the last of the accounts due for Premier Leagues clubs posted to Companies House, though it seems a couple have taken to posting them by recorded mail to slow down the publishing process

Yesterday the BBC published this work by Kieran Maguire looking at the huge losses recorded across the Premier League

Premier League clubs' £1bn of losses in 11 charts
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68713522

both it and the previous post brought to mind the latest lengthy blog-piece from the chaps at Vysyble which was published a view weeks ago, it focuses on a mindset that all but appears absent from the current English top two divisions

Blog 32: A moment in time
https://vysyble.com/blog-032
https://archive.ph/2oQo3

[Chester Perry]

It has not been discussed much, but with the board of Everton abdicating last summer - with fat pay outs and not making themselves available for the independent commission hearings - along with the named owner doing the same in terms of his financial responsibility for the mess he largely created (probably with Alisher Usmanov) the manager has become the guiding light at the club as public spokesman and a kind of general manager - even those Evertonian's that don't like his football acknowledge that Sean Dyche appears to be the only one with the sanity, dignity courage and heart to put the club first and help return some of its soul back into it.

He has been talking to the press this week about the stupid recklessness of the situation the club got itself in and questioned why no-one before him just said no.

from The Guardian

‘Not on my watch’: Sean Dyche hits out at costly Everton mismanagement
Club are facing second points deduction for PSR breaches
‘It wouldn’t have happened on my watch, trust me,’ he says
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... management
https://archive.ph/tzVa8

What is most interesting about what Sean Dyche is saying here, is that the powers that 'were' in Everton (they have either left, abdicated responsibility or died) still wanted to spend money last year when they knew they were already heading for a further breach of the regulations and already huge losses (though they had not been charged for the first time, that came two months later) and had been receiving warnings from the Premier League for around 18 months. they simply didn't believe they would be officially charged and certainly didn't believe they would be given sporting sanctions.

That hubris and the public lies about taking the Premier Leagues warnings and rules seriously (along with their febrile attempts to extend the definition of the rules) should once and for all put an end to the notion that the club has been hard done to by the Premier League and that the Premier League is corrupt in the view of their fans.

[Chester Perry]

Meanwhile this article shows that 777 Partners are still in discussion with the Premier League - no doubt abut the schedule they have been given if approval is to be granted - the article primarily focuses on the long list of on and off field challenges that Everton faces in the month, perhaps one of the most meaningful in its long and proud history

from The Times

Sanctions, survival and takeover limbo – Everton face defining month
With a packed schedule, debts to be settled for their new stadium and the threat of another points deduction, April is shaping up to be key for Sean Dyche’s side
https://archive.ph/GA5mB

[Chester Perry]

Rory Smith asks what to some minds a particularly uncomfortable question, one that is in many ways, actually a statement of fact.

from The New York Times

Is Soccer’s Model Club Actually … Real Madrid?
The club is strutting into a future different from the one envisioned by its president, Florentino Pérez. But its prospects are as bright as ever.
https://archive.ph/EMcXG

[Chester Perry]

I have to say that this comes as no surprise, their are various stories of MSP and their Evertonian fan partners Andy Bell and George Downing may buy Bramley Moore Dock, though buy probably means take ownership and fund the completion. It would certainly get 777 Partners out of the £158m payment to MSP by April 15th, a condition of the MSP loan and the Premier Leagues approval. The question is who want to do that and allow 777 Partners to run the club.

[Chester Perry]

All the focus at the moment is on Everton's 2nd points penalty, but as we know there are some big challenges on the near horizon, Will 777 Partners find that money by next Monday?

Here are Philippe Auclair and Paul Brown with a 19th instalment on their investigation into the finance and Liquidity issues at Everton's erstwhile suitors

from Josimar Football

A change is gonna come
As their proposed takeover of Everton enters a key week, new court filings show 777 Partners struggling to fund a 1 million dollar payment to a lender as recently as January.
https://josimarfootball.com/2024/04/08/ ... onna-come/
https://archive.ph/3aXdQ

[Chester Perry]

It seems that the Premier League haven't given up on blocking the Football Governance Bill or that a co-owner of a football club that tried to blitz it's way past rivals by chucking money it could never make itself at it, is still unhappy that the finances in football are not fair when he wants someone else to pay for his and other clubs

from The Guardian

Gary Neville accuses Premier League of ‘new low’ in warning against regulator
Pundit calls out top flight for sending email to political insiders
Premier League says it has advertised in Politico before
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... r-politico
https://archive.ph/Fh8uo

[Chester Perry]

This should not come as a surprise - and as we have seen with the initial launch of Super League and the Newcastle takeover by PiF, the UK government has been active in accommodating influential powers and helping them involve themselves in the game - and I do not expect anything less form any party in government going forward

from The Independent

New football regulator could help foreign state ownership of Premier League clubs
Activist groups are concerned that a clause in the government bill for an independent regulator may facilitate foreign countries buying English football clubs
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 25624.html
https://archive.ph/6sPiO

[Chester Perry]

It is a court case (or more strictly a series of court cases that have been running for quite a while now where by Relevent of the summer ICC tournament/friendlies has tried to get legal sanction to stage in season none American League (La Liga was the main option) games on American soil. this week they lost another round - from Reuters - it is a slightly confusing read

FIFA, U.S. Soccer win dismissal of promoter's antitrust lawsuit in New York
Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a sports promotion company's antitrust lawsuit accusing soccer's world governing body FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation of blocking foreign clubs and leagues from staging competitive matches in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said Relevent Sports LLC failed to show an illegal conspiracy to restrict where teams play, despite a 2018 FIFA policy against official matches outside teams' home territories.

Caproni said that even absent a formal "meeting of the minds" there were "obvious rational reasons" for U.S. Soccer to honor the ban, including the prospect that FIFA might otherwise exclude U.S. men's soccer players and teams from the World Cup.

She also rejected New York-based Relevent's "conclusory" claim that U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer pushed FIFA for the ban.

"In short, plaintiff's amended complaint is devoid of any factual allegations to support the inference that the defendants in this case agreed with anyone, let alone with all 210 other National Associations and countless leagues and teams, to do anything, including to adhere to the policy," Caproni wrote.

Lawyers for Relevent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. FIFA, U.S. Soccer and their respective lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.

Relevent, which organizes the International Champions Cup, wanted to arrange regular season games in the United States from leagues such as Spain's La Liga, its partner in a joint venture.

Some European and South American teams play "friendly" matches in the United States, but not regular season matches.

Caproni gave Relevent until July 30 to decide whether it wants to arbitrate a separate claim against U.S. Soccer for interfering with its business.

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything about this, but the legal cases keep on going. However we have finally seen a change - it appears from an out of court agreement that FIFA have been persuaded to consider the rule about in season league games being played in alternative countries that have their own leagues. We can only assume that FIFA now see some $$ signs in this for themselves.

from The Athletic

FIFA reaches agreement in lawsuit seeking to allow domestic club games in foreign countries
https://archive.ph/WU7QN

[Chester Perry]

I was wondering why we haven't seen a list of agents fees for the 2022/23 season, so I went looking - Hardly a surprise I hadn't seen them - The FA released the detail on Easter Sunday

still here we are

just the £4,146.696.00 spent by Burnley in the Championship season, putting us in 3rd place behind Norwich City and Watford

https://www.thefa.com/news/2023/mar/31/ ... ons-310323

Champ 2022-23 Agent Fees.png (67.6 KiB) Viewed 1130 times

2022-23 Burnley FC Agent transactions 1.png (44.49 KiB) Viewed 1130 times

2022-23 Burnley FC Agent transactions 2.png (202.8 KiB) Viewed 1130 times

[Chester Perry]

Speaking of agents (or intermediaries to give them a more precise title), this case is very interesting and exposes the conflicts of interest when the same agents represent a the club and the player in a deal negotiation - governing bodies have been trying to prevent this but have so far been beaten by legal challenges

from The Athletic

Sports agency SEG ordered to pay former client Stefan de Vrij more than €5m: Why the case matters for football
https://archive.ph/IBoKM

[Chester Perry]

It seems that the Premier League haven't given up on blocking the Football Governance Bill or that a co-owner of a football club that tried to blitz it's way past rivals by chucking money it could never make itself at it, is still unhappy that the finances in football are not fair when he wants someone else to pay for his and other clubs

from The Guardian

Gary Neville accuses Premier League of ‘new low’ in warning against regulator
Pundit calls out top flight for sending email to political insiders
Premier League says it has advertised in Politico before
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... r-politico
https://archive.ph/Fh8uo

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters, takes his turn to put is case of concern about the Independent Regulator for Football and the Football Governance Bill

from The Times

Premier League is envy of world – government must not put that at risk
Football Governance Bill could give the new regulator unprecedented power and reduce the appeal of our sport, in which the UK is a ‘superpower’
https://archive.ph/MR0yJ

[Chester Perry]

Paris FC take Fortuna Düsseldorf's free ticket experiment in a new direction

from The New York Times

A Soccer Team Stopped Charging for Tickets. Should Others Do the Same?
When Paris F.C. made its tickets free, it began an experiment into the connection between fans and teams, and posed a question about the value of big crowds to televised sports.
https://archive.ph/gs9x3

[Chester Perry]

Absolutely zero surprise in this news - it is a common refrain from every story we have seen about 777 Partners - this is the group who said they had shown proof of funds to the Premier League last December

from Sky News

Everton FC bidder 777 seeks extra time amid race for funding
777 Partners has indicated that it now believes its takeover of the Toffees will complete late next month as it seeks an extension to a near-£160m loan repayment
https://news.sky.com/story/everton-fc-b ... g-13112257
https://archive.ph/wip/ELwDG

[Chester Perry]

Absolutely zero surprise in this news - it is a common refrain from every story we have seen about 777 Partners - this is the group who said they had shown proof of funds to the Premier League last December

from Sky News

Everton FC bidder 777 seeks extra time amid race for funding
777 Partners has indicated that it now believes its takeover of the Toffees will complete late next month as it seeks an extension to a near-£160m loan repayment
https://news.sky.com/story/everton-fc-b ... g-13112257
https://archive.ph/wip/ELwDG

Some more on this from The Telegraph

Fresh Everton takeover concern as 777 Partners scrambles to fund purchase
Hopes of an imminent takeover at Goodison Park are receding amid worries over 777’s ability to raise cash
https://archive.ph/zA5aw

[Chester Perry]

This is still ongoing.
Leeds ordered to pay £18m after losing CAS appeal over Augustin deal https://mol.im/a/11390461 via https://dailym.ai/android

I had forgotten about this - but it seems that after 4 years it may finally be coming to a conclusion

from The Athletic

Leeds appeal against £24.5m Jean-Kevin Augustin compensation withdrawn
https://archive.ph/fq9dg

[bfcjg]

Some more on this from The Telegraph

Fresh Everton takeover concern as 777 Partners scrambles to fund purchase
Hopes of an imminent takeover at Goodison Park are receding amid worries over 777’s ability to raise cash
https://archive.ph/zA5aw

Is administration this season a possibility or will the Premier let it drag on before refusing 777 ownership so the points deduction is next season ?

[Chester Perry]

so I feel like I have been posting about this for around 4 years now, but it is edging ever closer

from The Guardian

Clubs agree to cap spending on players as part of Premier League PSR reform
New rules could be tried out in shadow form next season
Full reform of profitability and sustainability rules ongoing
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... psr-reform
https://archive.ph/cZ1Gt

[Paul Waine]

Is administration this season a possibility or will the Premier let it drag on before refusing 777 ownership so the points deduction is next season ?

Martin Samuel, The Times, 10th April 2024

Convenient punishments keep Everton above water

A cynic would say the independent commission had a quick look at the league table, alighted on a number that wouldn’t guarantee Everton’s relegation, and gave them that as a punishment. It was a ten-point deduction back in November, at a time when they were on a good run. Everton had won four and drawn one of their previous seven league games at the time they were plunged into the bottom three. It was a draconian reaction but one that the form book suggested Everton could ride. Before it was implemented Everton were 14th and two points outside the top half of the table. Plus, they had 26 games to haul themselves clear.

Then, the form dried up. By the time Everton’s appeal was heard, the deduction had left them only a single point above 18th-placed Luton Town, with four defeats and five draws in their previous nine matches, 12 games to go and a very real chance of relegation. Getting four points back propelled them up the table to 15th. Handy.

Now their latest penalty, just two points, means they drop only one place, to 16th. There may be a greater financial wrong, apparently, but the commission ran out of time to rule on it. Also handy. That won’t now happen until next summer when, if guilty, Everton might start on minus points, but with 38 games to turn that around. Even handier.

It is almost as if nobody wants to deliver a ruling that would doom Everton, so instead they keep them just afloat, head above water, to preserve the illusion that relegation is being decided on the field of play. The Premier League might not appreciate how bad this is for the credibility of the competition — after all, it wanted Everton to have 15-17 points deducted, which would have almost certainly relegated them — but it appears the independents have cottoned on. No-one wants that on their hands.

********************

Meanwhile a number of the other clubs who have complied with P&SR and competed with Everton in the seasons Everton have been in found to be in breach of P&SR have been relegated.

[summitclaret]

It's worse than that. If Everton need an extra point or 2 after the season end, they can be given it, thus relegating a team that thought it had survived. This is all likely to end up in court.

[bfcjg]

Martin Samuel, The Times, 10th April 2024

Convenient punishments keep Everton above water

A cynic would say the independent commission had a quick look at the league table, alighted on a number that wouldn’t guarantee Everton’s relegation, and gave them that as a punishment. It was a ten-point deduction back in November, at a time when they were on a good run. Everton had won four and drawn one of their previous seven league games at the time they were plunged into the bottom three. It was a draconian reaction but one that the form book suggested Everton could ride. Before it was implemented Everton were 14th and two points outside the top half of the table. Plus, they had 26 games to haul themselves clear.

Then, the form dried up. By the time Everton’s appeal was heard, the deduction had left them only a single point above 18th-placed Luton Town, with four defeats and five draws in their previous nine matches, 12 games to go and a very real chance of relegation. Getting four points back propelled them up the table to 15th. Handy.

Now their latest penalty, just two points, means they drop only one place, to 16th. There may be a greater financial wrong, apparently, but the commission ran out of time to rule on it. Also handy. That won’t now happen until next summer when, if guilty, Everton might start on minus points, but with 38 games to turn that around. Even handier.

It is almost as if nobody wants to deliver a ruling that would doom Everton, so instead they keep them just afloat, head above water, to preserve the illusion that relegation is being decided on the field of play. The Premier League might not appreciate how bad this is for the credibility of the competition — after all, it wanted Everton to have 15-17 points deducted, which would have almost certainly relegated them — but it appears the independents have cottoned on. No-one wants that on their hands.

********************

Meanwhile a number of the other clubs who have complied with P&SR and competed with Everton in the seasons Everton have been in found to be in breach of P&SR have been relegated.

Thank you Paul, it really does stink doesn't it.

[Chester Perry]

The money behind Everton's long time funding partner - Rights and Media Funding - has long been obscured though it was believed to have arrived in this country from offshore by Everton fan Paul Quinn, better known as The Esk, who I also mentioned the name of Michael Tabor, I believe.

As I start to grasp at how all this investigative reporting works, there feels to be a significant contribution to this report from Paul.

Everton paid £30m in interest to lender with links to tax exile, documents suggest
Exclusive: Charges relate to £225m debt with Rights & Media Funding, with records suggesting a trail leading to Michael Tabor
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ts-suggest
https://archive.ph/4IMvU

[Chester Perry]

Paris FC take Fortuna Düsseldorf's free ticket experiment in a new direction

from The New York Times

A Soccer Team Stopped Charging for Tickets. Should Others Do the Same?
When Paris F.C. made its tickets free, it began an experiment into the connection between fans and teams, and posed a question about the value of big crowds to televised sports.
https://archive.ph/gs9x3

as we know the Ticket pricing situation in The Premier League is rather different - with two more articles today

the first from The Guardian looks at the end f the long running era of frozen prices (at some clubs

Era of frozen Premier League ticket prices is over, expert warns fans
Of 12 clubs who have announced plans, 11 confirm price rise
Clubs face rising costs and ‘know people are willing to pay’
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... rices-fans
https://archive.ph/idQIJ

the second is from The Athletic which shows there are still huge disparities on a club to club basis in pricing, though pricing policies are starting to become much more homogenous in relation to concessions (including the gradual move to seemingly eliminate them altogether) along with the appetite from clubs to increase 'dwell time' and therefore spend - both based on American presidents

Premier League ticket prices are rising – but how do they compare?
https://archive.ph/FyoHO

https://archive.ph/FyoHO

[Chester Perry]

Sadly, this is not a surprise

Three years on, Football Index users are still trying to get their money back
Some customers had five- or six-figure sums trapped when it collapsed in 2021 and say the site was not regulated properly
https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... money-back
https://archive.ph/pIpqC

It appears that the creator of Football Index, Adam Cole, is back with a new platform, called Kix, which appears to be very similar to Football Index

from The Times

Football Index cost users £90m – now co-founder is back with new ‘trading site’
There was anger at the government over failure to regulate Adam Cole’s ‘virtual shares’ trading platform, and now he is helping to launch a very similar product
exclusive
Joey D’Urso
Friday April 12 2024, 11.15am, The Times

The co-founder of the failed Football Index gambling website is behind a new trading platform that has striking similarities to the one that dramatically collapsed in 2021, The Times can reveal.

Adam Cole is an investor in and adviser to the footballer trading platform KiX, which uses Football Index as a “proof of concept” according to internal documents.

The demise of Football Index meant users lost at least £90 million in virtual footballer shares estimated at about £3,000 per customer, with many losing far more.

Cole, the former chief executive, co-founded the company alongside Mike Bohan and was well known to users but has not tweeted since a May 2021 statement saying he was “devastated” by what has happened and “understands” the anger and resentment.

[Chester Perry]

so I feel like I have been posting about this for around 4 years now, but it is edging ever closer

from The Guardian

Clubs agree to cap spending on players as part of Premier League PSR reform
New rules could be tried out in shadow form next season
Full reform of profitability and sustainability rules ongoing
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... psr-reform
https://archive.ph/cZ1Gt

Matt Slater with more details on yesterdays discussion (and votes) around proposed changes to the Premier Leagues financial rules

from The Athletic -the article's title is a little misleading I feel

Premier League agree new financial fair play rules for next season
https://archive.ph/REKJ8

[Chester Perry]

Some interesting changes to EFL TV coverage next season under it's new deal with Sky, it sounds like games are going to be much easier easier to view from a single provider if you cannot get to the actual match

from The Athletic

Sky Sports’ new EFL TV deal to bring an end to streaming service iFollow
https://archive.ph/9lmgc

[Vegas Claret]

Some interesting changes to EFL TV coverage next season under it's new deal with Sky, it sounds like games are going to be much easier easier to view from a single provider if you cannot get to the actual match

from The Athletic

Sky Sports’ new EFL TV deal to bring an end to streaming service iFollow
https://archive.ph/9lmgc

that absolutely sucks - so if I'm reading it correctly then there is no guaranteed live coverage of the weekend Championship games meaning those of us abroad can no longer watch the game.

edit: Sounds like this is for the UK domestic market, not sure how it will work for those abroad

[Chester Perry]

Many don't have sympathy with the Premier League over the £533m they give away to the English game each season and are demanding more, particularly the EFL, the organisation that once turned down the share of revenues it is now seeking. Those same people are almost universally in support of the proposed Independent Regulator for Football, whom they also want to be able to determine how much the Premier League has to give to the wider English game - of course a regulator doesn't come cheap and these same people (along with the government and their opposition) also want the Premier League to pick uo the vast majority of the bill for that to - It is hardly surprising that Richard Masters was arguing for caution about the rush to implement Football Governance Bill

from The Mail

EXCLUSIVE Premier League clubs to be handed a £106MILLION bill to fund new football regulator - after Richard Masters warned that regulation could 'undermine English top flight's global success'
Government recommended clubs pay at least 80 per cent of operational costs
The remaining 20 per cent of costs will be covered by EFL and National League
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... lator.html
https://archive.ph/D5i8j

[Chester Perry]

that absolutely sucks - so if I'm reading it correctly then there is no guaranteed live coverage of the weekend Championship games meaning those of us abroad can no longer watch the game.

edit: Sounds like this is for the UK domestic market, not sure how it will work for those abroad

I read it as international ifollow remains

[Vegas Claret]

I read it as international ifollow remains

I hope so - not sure how any club expects to grow a foreign fan base if the games can't be watched. You got a nice shout out on the Beehole podcast btw

[Chester Perry]

The Esk with Part 2 of is assessment of Everton's Accounts

Part II – Everton Football Club Company Limited Annual Report and Accounts 2022/23
https://theesk.org/2024/04/02/part-ii-e ... s-2022-23/
https://archive.ph/1NFWH

The Esk with the third and final part of his review of Everton's accounts

Part III – Everton Football Club Company Limited Annual Report and Accounts 2022/23 – Everton Stadium Development Limited
https://theesk.org/2024/04/12/part-iii- ... t-limited/
https://archive.ph/1xFy8

[Chester Perry]

I hope so - not sure how any club expects to grow a foreign fan base if the games can't be watched. You got a nice shout out on the Beehole podcast btw

I am far from sure that is a good thing

[Vegas Claret]

I am far from sure that is a good thing

ha, always nice when your work is recognised mate!

[Quickenthetempo]

https://twitter.com/ALANMYERSMEDIA/stat ... 64g2A&s=19
Some shocking agent fees.

Looks like we have spent over 10m in two years on agent fees.
4m in the last accounts then nearly 7m Feb to Feb.

[Chester Perry]

https://twitter.com/ALANMYERSMEDIA/stat ... 64g2A&s=19
Some shocking agent fees.

Looks like we have spent over 10m in two years on agent fees.
4m in the last accounts then nearly 7m Feb to Feb.

Posted last years up the page on Tuesday this week

[DAVETHEVICAR]

Looks like myself who will be 80 in October and just given up my season ticket after just 1 game last season and none this season will now be able to watch all mid week games next season if we are relegated.

[Chester Perry]

Looks like myself who will be 80 in October and just given up my season ticket after just 1 game last season and none this season will now be able to watch all mid week games next season if we are relegated.

Very pleased for you and others in similar situations that this will be the case - potentially one of the few upsides in a domestic TV deal we have seen in a long time