Football's Magic Money Tree

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:30 pm

Barcelona's cash flow/financial problems (that the Telegraph has been talking up for quite some time - all the way back to http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... &start=379" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; through to http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1070" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) are preventing them from sealing the Griezmann transfer and even saw them paying their employees 3 days late last month all this from the club with the highest revenues in world football, How the hell do they expect to sign Neymar as well?

https://en.as.com/en/2019/07/10/footbal ... 24950.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:27 pm

Soccerex release their "20 under 21" report

FC Business article on the report - http://fcbusiness.co.uk/news/mbabbe-wor ... e-the-bar/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The report itself - http://mysoccerex.com/Soccerex_20U21_Pr ... t_2019.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

for the most part valuations seem more realistic than some you have seen bandied around

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:38 pm

If you liked that 20 under 21 report here are the previous iterations

2017/18 http://mysoccerex.com/Soccerex_20_Under ... Report.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2016/17 http://mysoccerex.com/Soccerex_20_Under_21_2016.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2015/16 http://mysoccerex.com/Soccerex_20_Under ... r_2015.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:55 pm

2nd day of Sport Business's - Sport Decision Makers Summit in London - (There is a completely separate conference in London on Sports Directors going on at the same time!?) - here a brief on the type of players best suited to sports investment

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

pretty much stating the obvious, This thread from that discussion panel will warm the hearts of investors but terrify fans I would think

https://twitter.com/SportBusiness/statu ... 7649556480" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

though not sure they have looked at how much the American owners have chucked in at Palace and are committed to a lot more with ground redevelopment.

Also they are hinting at the returns on the farming approach of young talent which Porto, Chelsea and Man City have approached in different ways but all with great success. Are they not aware that FIFA are looking to curtail large scale operations of this type.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:16 pm

In the Championship Middlesbrough take out their 3rd financial loan of the summer (no more parachute payments for them)

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 8337166336" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

as newly promoted Barnsley effectively mortgage assets to raise funds

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 9637443586" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:22 pm

following on from post #1626 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1625" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and that investment panel discussion at the Sports Decision Makers Summit - here are some highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrm7Wu3 ... e=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:45 pm

In post #1619 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1618" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) I mentioned that CAF's 3rd Vice President had been suspended for 12 months for Headbutting and Kicking a referee - well now it turns out he is not suspended because he was not at the hearing (claiming to be ill) the whole thing is farce built on farce - if you know the story of the cup final in question(http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1313" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2019 ... nt-lekjaa/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 6:18 pm

How Liverpool are closing the £135m revenue gap to Man Utd - this data is taken from a podcast @KieranMaguire did with BloodRed which I nearly posted last week - this is much more bitesized

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 6:32 pm

The Football Supporters Association has published it's Annual review - contains a number of pieces on the stuff we have discussed on this thread with chapters on the progress of our governance work, standing campaign, ticket prices and TV's impact on match-going supporters.

http://www.fsf.org.uk/assets/Downloads/ ... ersion.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jul 10, 2019 7:13 pm

Aki Riihilahti formerly a player of Crystal Palace now CEO of HJK Helsinki - talks of the need for European Club Football Reform post 2024 outside of the Champions League. It is an impassioned plea for relevance in a world where the Big 5 leagues are crushing clubs from the smaller associations/leagues even in their own domestic markets - from the Times

European football is broken, reform is necessary - Aki Riihilahti, HJK Helsinki CEO - July 10 2019, 12:00pm

My dream is to see Crystal Palace and HJK Helsinki meet in the Champions League: my global and local club lining up to that famous anthem at Selhurst Park.

But that has a snowman’s chance in hell with the present Champions League format or whatever the Uefa consultations for post-2024 competitions lead to. Because what would be good for me is not what the world of football needs and the recent discussions have been overshadowed by people shouting about their own interests.

I would rather stick pins in my eyes than listen to Javier Tebas, the La Liga president, crying about how he is there for the smaller guy again. He is not. Tebas is doing a good job protecting the top five richest leagues.

The plans would see, from 2024, the competitions changing from the present 32 teams in the Champions League and 48 in the Europa League, to having three tier structure of 32 in Champions League, 32 in Europa League but another 64 in Europa League two. That would mean around 44 countries guaranteed to have group matches in European football; currently it is just 28.

For the majority of professional clubs, European competition may soon be the only chance of staying relevant and staying alive. That is why it is so disappointing the whole discussion about the post-2024 vision has focused on the Champions League instead of it being about the right direction for European football as an overall system.

It is not about my club playing in the Champions League, I’m just praying that one player from my country can do it. It is not too far away for a situation where the lack of local relevance will lead to loads of kids only consuming football through television.

Whatever the Champions League will look like after 2024, the chances are the usual suspects will be in it. However, the resistance for the change has been coming from those countries — and it is understandable that Spain, Italy, Germany, France and England don’t want to kill what is the golden goose for them.

It is in most of the other 50 Uefa countries where the football is broken. Last season, Ajax were the brave underdogs but not too many years ago they were one of those giants. How has that happened?

“Money” people kept insisting that a competition can be attractive only by increasing the top quality. The commercialisation has been aggressive, but it has not really increased quality, just concentrated it across the top five leagues. The industry has become so top heavy that a Super League feels inevitable.

Money is the key driver for competitive imbalance, but the system makes it self-perpetuating.

Of the overall €20 billion (2017) in club revenues across top divisions in Europe, 74 per cent goes through bank accounts of the top five leagues. Nearly €4 billion is spent on transfers a year but most between the top five countries. Players will keep following the money unless Fifa protects smaller clubs better than it does now. Apart from Ajax, in the last 14 years, only clubs from the big five countries have made it to Champions League semi-finals.

The top five leagues are fighting for who gets the most caviar while most of the other 50 countries are starving. Local football is losing its relevance in many countries.

One reason is the lack of participation in European competitions. Over the last decade more than 600 clubs have participated in European competition, but almost 400 of these have not made it to group stages. Qualification has become either Russian roulette or Via Dolorosa for many clubs. Reform would mean a healthier qualification path and would also give clubs a better possibility to plan, invest and grow instead of being dragged down.

The top five leagues have created fantastic products but their combined €6.65 billion domestic broadcast revenues are the root cause of the problem — that is eight times bigger than the rest of the 50 countries combined.

International broadcast revenues practically go entirely to the top five leagues — in many countries, such as here in Finland, we pay more for Premier League TV rights than for our own domestic league. The rest of Europe’s situation is similar, pay hundreds of millions for the rights to broadcast the top five leagues’ games and get nothing in return, except a reason to stay home watching TV instead of going to a local stadium.

Money attracts money: the top five countries also receive the lion’s share from €3.2 billion European competitions revenues. They may claim that solidarity payments to clubs not in the Champions League or Europa League have increased to €130 million but they forget to mention most of this so-called solidarity money goes to the top five countries.

My club has to play eight qualifying games to reach the promised land of the Champions League, and I understand that HJK meeting a club like Crystal Palace is not the product global audiences want to see. However, it would be healthy for football to find a better balance than we have presently.

People who love the game should stop shouting their opportunistic or protectionist opinions and concentrate their efforts into finding solutions based on facts. For the vast majority of European countries, the Uefa vision is not a bad start. There still needs to be the right balance between domestic and international competitions.

Football is the world’s biggest sport because it has allowed everyone to dream. I hope we keep it that way. There is nothing to lose except a dream barely alive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Riihilahti is the CEO of HJK Helsinki, who beat Havnar Boltfelga 3-0 last night in the first leg of their first qualifying round for the Champions League.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:59 am

Strange goings on at Wolves - Managing Director leaving with immediate effect after relationship with the board totally breaks down - also no plans to replace him - he was there before the Chines takeover, but now they are running things on the ground as well

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 1:11 am

The FA seeks to justify why it wanted to sell Wembley, as they say grassroots football is seriously underfunded

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/footba ... 1562781108" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The FA's statement and links to the full report here

http://www.thefa.com/news/2019/jul/09/s ... and-090719" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:04 pm

One has to wonder just what led to the fall out at Wolves that has led to the sudden departure of their Managing Director of over 4 years, citing a complete breakdown of the working relationship with the board (see post #1633 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1632" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Many fans were shocked with their signing this week of their 5th Chinese player (from Oxford United - Oxford United fans were shocked too). Are the club caught in the trap of trying to build a club at the same time as appeasing Chines State authorities? Simon Chadwick points to their dilemma

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 6229516289" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What is noticeable is just how active the other Chinese owned clubs in the Premier League are spending (Southampton and Aston Villa), will this be allowed to continue, wolves have been quite in the window so far despite speculation on a few £40m+ transfers

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 2:22 pm

It has taken a long time to get there but Sheffield Wednesday have finally posted their accounts for the 2017/18 season - @KieranMaguire takes a gander - includes confirmation of the sale and leaseback of Hillsborough to avoid FFP sanctions (though appears no cash was used in the sale buyer appears as a debtor in the balance sheet and according to the Land Registry the club still own the ground - might get messy with the EFL) and Kieran has made a mess of his thread creation

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 5937943553" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 3726412800" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 8348905472" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

document not currently available to general public at Companies house

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 3:41 pm

In post #1542 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1541" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) I shared the FA's new amendments for dealing with intermediaries and some guidance from lawinsport.com - The FA has now published its own guidance notes

http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-gov ... egulations" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 4:01 pm

Chester Perry wrote:It has taken a long time to get there but Sheffield Wednesday have finally posted their accounts for the 2017/18 season - @KieranMaguire takes a gander - includes confirmation of the sale and leaseback of Hillsborough to avoid FFP sanctions (though appears no cash was used in the sale buyer appears as a debtor in the balance sheet and according to the Land Registry the club still own the ground - might get messy with the EFL) and Kieran has made a mess of his thread creation

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 5937943553" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 3726412800" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 8348905472" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

document not currently available to general public at Companies house

Finally we see what Wednesday have been up to. Another club to sell their ground to circumvent FFP. What will they sell in 2019?

And the worst bit for me?........An increase in Wage bill of almost 50% for a club that's struggling to over £37m.

Yet another club heading the way of Bury.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:53 pm

@KieranMaguire adds a bit more to that Sheffield Wednesday analysis

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 7247639557" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

look at how much the owner has chucked at the club - over £100m, still owes then £60m for the ground and the company that owns it now resides in Hong Kong,

Question for those who know these things - can the owner use a paper trick to convert the debt to him into the asset that is Hillsborough and still count that as a sale which gives the positive twist to the accounts posted, Thereby not having to throw the extra £60m out of his pocket.

rob63 · Post by **rob63** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:20 am

Chester Perry wrote:New report suggests that illegal streaming around the globe is costing Premier League clubs £1m a game - not sure on the maths but you can bet it is being used to get legal justification to close down the streamers around the world

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

Well we all know that if illegal streaming is stopped all the people who use it will immediately rush out & buy subscriptions to legitimate matchday suppliers!

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:39 am

The EFL has released it's 2019 supporter survey

http://fcbusiness.co.uk/news/efl-releas ... -findings/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The full set of results https://www.efl.com/supporters/supporters-servey-2019/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - no mention of the negative reactions and campaigns against Premier League U23's in the EFL Trophy though which is really gaining traction in Keagues 1 and 2

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/nzx7 ... -asked-for" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... teams-fans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/checkat ... tive-match" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or the competitions falling attendances - see post #1408 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1407" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 2:33 am

In post #1577 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1576" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) Gianni Infantino announced plans to increase the next edition of the women's world cup to 32 teams (there is still no host announced) and a doubling of Prize money to $60m - nearly $400m behind the men's version.

In this blog piece we see how that imbalance could be illegal and against FIFA's own Human Rights statutes - looks like lawyers have found a way to make money out of women's football

https://verfassungsblog.de/fifa-for-wom ... -strategy/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 2:47 am

The "Barry Fry" net gains model is starting to gain traction

https://twitter.com/CIESsportsintel/sta ... 3813246976" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - though wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this has been going on a lot longer though maybe not quite so official (Brian Clough, George Graham amybody)

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 2:59 am

Following on from post #1642 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1641" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and the application of human rights laws and regulations to force FIFA to equalise pay across genders this blog piece cites a ruling that may assist lawyers in that pursuit.

https://verfassungsblog.de/is-bauer-the ... -for-fifa/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are likely to be many other scenarios where this will become a factor

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:37 am

Chester Perry wrote:@KieranMaguire adds a bit more to that Sheffield Wednesday analysis

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 7247639557" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

look at how much the owner has chucked at the club - over £100m, still owes then £60m for the ground and the company that owns it now resides in Hong Kong,

Question for those who know these things - can the owner use a paper trick to convert the debt to him into the asset that is Hillsborough and still count that as a sale which gives the positive twist to the accounts posted, Thereby not having to throw the extra £60m out of his pocket.

Not the most straightforward set of accounts to read and a question mark still remains over some of the numbers, for instance they appear only to have spent just £500k during the year on one player purchase and yet amortisation on the P&L account increases to £10.9m from £6.1m the previous year.

In terms of the ground there's a figure in the previous year of £22m or so for freehold land which is no longer there and the Profit on Sale in the P&L is £38m, the inference being therefore a sale value of £60m. He appears to be paying that in 7 annual installments of £8.5m.

Of course satisfying FFP requirements for 2019 will provide the next challenge.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:33 pm

It wasn't that long ago we had a thread on the board asking what relegation would look like for us - well not exactly the same scenario (their owner subsidises them heavily) but Middlesbrough are showing the pain - originally talking about smashing the championship on their last relegation (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39922674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), they outbid us for Brit Assombalonga (especially on wages) and added more wages, their promotion bid failed. Last season they began to cut their cloth accordingly, sold off a number of players including Ben Gibson to us and ultimately failed again, now they have no parachute payments and are seeking voluntary redundancies as parachute payments end

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... b-16568406" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

@KieranMaguirre has a brief look at the financial issues

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 6431996929" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:52 pm

FIFA has had a major revision of it's disciplinary code - it's first in 15 years - of particular interest to us on this thread are the finance related ones

http://static.fifa.com/about-fifa/news/ ... -code.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 2:07 pm

Simon Chadwick looks at the way Abu Dhabi makes good use of Man City to further The Emirate State's interests in China and compares with Man Utd and their completely commercial focus, while both do not reflect the reality of their home locale

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 3031582721" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/01/09 ... ities-2020" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Jul 12, 2019 7:39 pm

With Premier League clubs paying out over £200m in wages to injured players, and transfer prices seemingly only going in one direction getting the right data at a medical is as much a financial consideration as a playing squad one, more so as transfer deadlines approach - TheConversation.com has a look at the issue

https://theconversation.com/transfer-de ... ers-119058" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:04 am

CONCACAF is a FIFA Confederation with a long history of strange dealings and manipulations most famously by Jack Warner. They have just announced a change of format for their 3.5 places at the 2022 World Cup (the .5 goes to a paly off with another confederation. We can only assume that it has nothing whatsoever to do with money

https://www.concacaf.com/en/world-cup-q ... 15557239=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

as @PhilippeAuclair puts it - To sum it up, 6 nations from one Confederation, CONCACAF, selected because of their FIFA ranking (no comment), will play for 3 spots at the 2022 WC; the remaining 29 (!) will battle it out for one spot in...a play-off. Well done everyone. #equalplayingfield #forthegoodofthegame

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:14 am

If you wondering why I haven't mentioned the monies UEFA are paying out for it's club competitions that have been splashed across the press in the last few days it is because UEFA are taking the **** - it is the same amount as last year and will be the same again next year (we are in year 2 of a 3 year tv deal cycle) - they just wanted to generate some coverage about themselves

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:41 am

An extensive piece on the bidding for the next cycle of Bundesliga TV rights - strangely formatted as you think it is coming to an end then it dep dives into each point made earlier. What is apparent is just how different that market is and the fact it will allow a single bidder for all live packages.

https://www.offthefieldbusiness.de/sing ... 025-Season" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 1:41 am

I first mentioned Italy's new "Beckham Law" in post #1519 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1518" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) here Tifo Football explain just what that means

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:07 am

@KieranMaguire looks at what FFP has meant in the EFL championship - essentially proves, that much like the EFL it is not fit for purpose

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 7370220545" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:09 am

a point that @AndyhHolt underlines this morning - both threads prompted by posts from Bury fans

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 6909601792" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 6322543616" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:15 am

and if you want further evidence of how broken things are getting - Macclesfield haven't paid players on time for months and have been taking out high interest loans to pay tax bills and the like, have taken another loan of that type out

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 6832190464" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:35 am

Chester Perry wrote:@KieranMaguire looks at what FFP has meant in the EFL championship - essentially proves, that much like the EFL it is not fit for purpose

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 7370220545" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All EFL clubs continue to chase the Premier League dream, and who can blame them when the rewards of reaching the promised land grow with each successive TV deal. So many clubs now using the tactic of selling their ground and renting it back in order to circumvent FFP rules as a short-term fix. I wonder which club was first to sell their ground to a company attached to the owners?........on second thoughts we'd better not go there.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:50 am

Were we really the first Roy? I know we were probably the most careful in the way it was done and that it was only done in the best interests of the club and it's small creditors, but the first?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:54 am

Football365.com runs down the 10 most profitable transfers in history (by monetary value not %) naturally they are all pretty recent

https://www.football365.com/news/top-te ... f-all-time" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:56 am

Chester Perry wrote:Were we really the first Roy? I know we were probably the most careful in the way it was done and that it was only done in the best interests of the club and it's small creditors, but the first?

Nearly 13 years now since Barry and John Sullivan established Longside Properties to buy Turf Moor from the Club. If there was a similar scenario before 2006 I can't think of one, but happy to be proved wrong.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:07 pm

Royboyclaret wrote:Nearly 13 years now since Barry and John Sullivan established Longside Properties to buy Turf Moor from the Club. If there was a similar scenario before 2006 I can't think of one, but happy to be proved wrong.

found this https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ory.sport2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; from 2004
Not wanting to prove you wrong, and quite like the way we have innovated to puch above our weight/keep up over the years

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:12 pm

Did Krasner's deal at Leeds actually go through?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:25 pm

Royboyclaret wrote:Did Krasner's deal at Leeds actually go through?

This would suggest it did - https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 13411.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interestingly Wikipedia suggest that Leeds sold Elland Rd to the council in 1982 buying it back in 1998 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elland_Road" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:48 pm

Chester Perry wrote:This would suggest it did - https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 13411.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interestingly Wikipedia suggest that Leeds sold Elland Rd to the council in 1982 buying it back in 1998 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elland_Road" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair enough, perhaps it was that deal that sowed the seeds with Barry to do something similar at Burnley. We were essentially potless at the time and £3.3m seemed like a good deal. But as previously stated Barry became uncomfortable being both landlord and tenant and it was only when Longside Properties including Turf Moor was sold on to Lionbridge that the real problems began to emerge.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:40 pm

For those who remember Liverpool's stance on the transfer of Danny Ings this will sound familiar - the signing of Harvey Elliot is likely to go to tribunal

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/foo ... r-18050522" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:17 pm

Simon Chadwick sees another example of the Chinese use of football and it's long game relationship building - this time as Fosun bail out Thomas Cook

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 1709589505" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 11:38 pm

There has been much discussion, suspicion and even convictions around doping in Spanish sport in general with Football coming under increasing scrutiny as both the national and club teams dominated international competition. News of this recent survey by WADA does little to convince that the authorities have got on top of the issue

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles ... y-in-spain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://en.as.com/en/2019/07/08/footbal ... 73137.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:11 am

In post #1653 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1652" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) TifoFootball explained the new high earner tax laws coming to Italy and how it could benefit Italian Football - This article in Forbes magazine highlights the UK approach for sports stars

https://www.forbes.com/sites/seanpackar ... f72511d3e0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:13 pm

In post #1523 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1525" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) @KieranMaguirre gave us a rundown of the gross Premier League transfer spend of all 49 clubs to have played in the league and in post #1528 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1527" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) the net version, Here The Mail looks at the biggest European spenders in the last 5 years - the numbers are quite astonishing and reflect the huge surges in revenue the game as found

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 12:24 pm

First I have heard of this - FiveThirtyEight.com have a global power ranking of 636 International clubs that updates after each game played - I suspect this kind of thing may interest a few of you - we currently lie 85th - though not sure how Leeds are 91st when Brighton are 134th or why Rangers ar so far above Celtic (ah it's American)

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/gl ... -rankings/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:22 pm

@KieranMaguire has now had time to have a good look at Sheffield Wednesday's accounts - here he presents his deep dive on Price of Football

http://priceoffootball.com/sheffield-we ... goes-down/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:44 am

The Guardian reveal that PSG President, and UEFA Executive Member Nasser al-Khelaifi (he also runs BeIn Sports) sought to make an illegal payment to an agent and lied directly to a judge, This goes back to 2011 and the signing of Javier Pastore. Nasser al-Khelaifi is already under investigation with French police for corruption in the bidding for the 2019 World Athletics Championships see posts #1179 and #1180 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1178" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) the issues that created, examined in post #1190 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1189" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), are likely to be exacerbated by these latest revelations.

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