Football's Magic Money Tree

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 10:45 am

@KieranMaguirre has been a busy boy - Fulham's results last year show just how much promotion via the play-offs for immediate relegation can cost - or the joys of having a billionaire owner who knows nothing about your sport

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 4482701313" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

where he has got his figures from I don't know as they are not available at companies house

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:36 am

When you have a big squad this is inevitable - When you are the owner of a club and effectively have to write a cheque every month for £2m+ to cover losses whilst your team seemingly bottles promotion every season from strong positions it must hurt

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/ ... ng-2696412" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:47 am

going back to yesterday and the posts on Economic Profit - Vysable have produced this table with regards to best performance of a newly promoted team in the PL - I think they rate us

https://twitter.com/vysyble/status/1111365086642343936" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:07 pm

Following Fulham's financial results posting the losses in the Championship last season total £420 with 6 clubs still to report - ouch

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 2997880835" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

there are 3 tables for you to click through

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:26 pm

@AndyHolt (Accy Chairman) has effectively confirmed that the reduced Domestic PL TV deal and the restructuring of the way Overseas rights are distributed has resulted in the "solidarity Payments" (sic) to the EFL will be reduced next season (you will not I suggested this would have a similar effect on Parachute Payments in post #673

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 5019081728" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 9774845952" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:56 pm

Chester Perry wrote:An interesting and challenging (if you are not fully au fait with finance/economics) read about why the authorities in European football are not using the correct model of profit and loss for FFP.

https://vysyble.com/blog-13th-march-2019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I suspect this is more of an approach used in our on boardroom

they have conveniently put together a 5 year table for the current PL to illustrate how clubs would stand - remember our figures include 2 loss making promotions out of the Championship

https://twitter.com/vysyble/status/1111295652628172801" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and the largest "Economic" losses since 2009 in the Premier League

https://twitter.com/vysyble/status/1105233921963368450" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

anyone spot a trend

I should point out that many in the finance Industry to don subscribe to this measure and regards it as stuff and nonsense including "The Price of Football's" @'KieranMaguirre

I'm on the stuff and nonsense side.

This was touched on somewhere else (the Bournemouth Finance thread I think) the other day when I was pointing out that having some debt isn't necessarily viewed as a bad thing in business.

The issue is obviously that equity investment in football clubs isn't always on a commercial basis. There are clubs like Burnley where no dividends are paid, Man City where it appears to be a big PR exercise, Bolton/Blackburn in the past where the investment was made due to love of the club, etc.

That makes it very difficult to come up with a sensible cost of equity and makes it all a bit subjective. You'd expect the Glaziers to be different to Garlick for instance but by how much.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:13 pm

Aggi imagine the angst if you could register your local team as a community asset in the same way some fans have managed to do with their teams grounds. We know sports teams have an emotional pull like no other business (music apart) and that is why loans (in my view) make it risky for the future health of a club like ours where income can collapse pretty damn rapidly

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:38 pm

With Burnley posting record profits and turnover it is nice to know that one club earns more from it's Nike kit deal in a season than our revenue last season

https://offthepitch.com/a/manchester-un ... hirt-sales" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:59 pm

we have posted a bit about Port Vale in recent weeks - they also have posted their accounts today - a bit different from "norm"an to say the least

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 9244514306" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:35 pm

It had been a day for clubs posting accounts - Port Vales were a little strange - but Bradford City may have taken the biscuit in the department of How to win friends and …..

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/docu ... 9f6cd8bdd1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 4093558785" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

contrast those with Wrexham

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1923261440" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.wst.org.uk/www3/files/Wrexha ... embers.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.wst.org.uk/www3/files/WST%20 ... embers.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 29, 2019 10:33 pm

Today we have seen that Fulham can lose £1.14m a week in the Championship then spend £118m on players on promotion but can't pay Hartlepool for a youth player they said wasn't good enough for them in January

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47748281" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 5:35 pm

It is the single biggest (monetary) prize in sport and a one off game to boot - you would think that you would want to make it as risk free as possible from an officiating stand - point - not if you are the EFL - the play-off final will not use VAR even though Wembley is equipped.

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 12:00 am

Following last weeks gathering of the European Clubs Association in Amsterdam - this week sees the different Leagues get together in Lisbon - a hot topic appears to be those dastardly big clubs wanting to cream everything off for themselves and the rest be damned - rather surprised that our press have not picked up on it, the Americans have though - this from the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/spor ... eague.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 12:21 am

Wage growth in the Premier league has been phenomenal since it's inception and now people talk of wages in the 100's of thousands of pounds without the slightest trace of a wince, it has become such a norm - the only surprise comes when clubs don't have any players on those kinds of salaries (I am truly grateful that we are one of the few - though for how long if we continue to stay in this league). Many hoped wages would come under control when the last TV deal came in at the same time as new FFP legislation supposedly restricting wage growth, it seems those hopes were misplaced however, as clubs in the Premier League are once again letting salaries climb to over 70% of revenue (we are currently at 59% but it is difficult to assess how much of our £20m wage growth last season was bonus related)

https://twitter.com/vysyble/status/1112736794154549248" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The ongoing impact of this is that clubs are starting to record losses again (all within FFP guidelines in the PL but the challenge in the Championship is even greater) not sure why we are not included on the graph as the data was available to @KieranMaguirre

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 4582545408" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- FYI - you can click through to the Championship picture

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 12:31 am

Apparently West Brom have posted their Financial results from last season - though they are not mentioned on the clubs website or available at companies house. We can add them to the list of teams whose wages were over 70% of revenue (74% to be precise) - they claim not to have any financial worries
https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/fo ... 5m-losses/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

though are hoping their 10 year+ commitment to the youth Academy is beginning to pay off

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47766043" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:22 am

Chester Perry wrote:Wage growth in the Premier league has been phenomenal since it's inception and now people talk of wages in the 100's of thousands of pounds without the slightest trace of a wince, it has become such a norm - the only surprise comes when clubs don't have any players on those kinds of salaries (I am truly grateful that we are one of the few - though for how long if we continue to stay in this league). Many hoped wages would come under control when the last TV deal came in at the same time as new FFP legislation supposedly restricting wage growth, it seems those hopes were misplaced however, as clubs in the Premier League are once again letting salaries climb to over 70% of revenue (we are currently at 59% but it is difficult to assess how much of our £20m wage growth last season was bonus related)

https://twitter.com/vysyble/status/1112736794154549248" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The ongoing impact of this is that clubs are starting to record losses again (all within FFP guidelines in the PL but the challenge in the Championship is even greater) not sure why we are not included on the graph as the data was available to @KieranMaguirre

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 4582545408" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- FYI - you can click through to the Championship picture

It's not so much "difficult to assess how much of our £20m wage growth was bonus related" - as completely impossible. All we really know is that over just a two year period our Total Wage bill has doubled from £39m to £81m. - A frightening stat and one that I'm first to admit has taken me completely by surprise.

I can think of at least two members of our BoD who will be very uncomfortable with a Wage bill of £81m at Burnley Football Club.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:14 pm

one thing for sure Roy - if it is similar in the next accounts it will be almost certain that our wages will be over 70% of turnover

randomclaret2 · Post by **randomclaret2** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:25 pm

Salford City lost £1.8million in the Conference North in 17/18

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:40 pm

randomclaret2 wrote:Salford City lost £1.8million in the Conference North in 17/18

Shocking Accy Stanley were Champions of League 2 last season on a £2.6m revenue

http://priceoffootball.com/tag/accrington-stanley/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:46 pm

More on that Salford story from @Kieran Maguirre

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 3252383744" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 8:29 pm

Derby have taken an old fashioned rout to avoiding FFP (or at least raising funds that are not classed as loans for clubs that are in financial difficulty) they have "sold" Pride Park to another of the Chairman's companies - and this has led them to posting a £14.6m profit on their latest set of accounts. We know from our own experience that this kind of thing only creates dread in the fanbase.

Pride Park had a book value in the Accounts of £41m and Independent Market Valuation was £80m so Mel paid that giving them £39m profit on the deal

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/ ... it-2711655" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47789258" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sheffield Wednesday (also under the threat of FFP) fans think it's a great idea and are urging their owner to do the same.

We await the accounts with interest - all discussed on Radio Derby here from 8:50 in - includes @KieranMaguirre reminding us they did something clever last season by transferring 100 staff to a different company,

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p072zj4z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 11:10 am

Posted on Tuesday that West Brom had announced their financial results from the relegation season but no real detail could be found anywhere - now we have it - such a fine line within that group of 14 if it goes wrong even though you have invested. Also with a bit of analysis

@KieranMaguirre doing his thing

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 6665878529" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

full accounts

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/docu ... 97d101d130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT - This is a good overview of their figures

https://twitter.com/OffThePitch_com/sta ... 6081599489" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 12:05 pm

I note that Newcastle have still not filed their accounts. It seems they were overdue the past couple of years so this isn't too surprising. It will be interesting to see what their wage bill was last year, I suspect it will be substantial.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 12:18 pm

aggi wrote:I note that Newcastle have still not filed their accounts. It seems they were overdue the past couple of years so this isn't too surprising. It will be interesting to see what their wage bill was last year, I suspect it will be substantial.

posted last week that they changed year end by a day so that they can post results upp to 3 months later - will be interesting to see if wages match ours when Benitez said we paid more

given the massive spend of Sports direct on the British high street in the last 18 months I suspect there has been little room for extra monies to NUFC - even with the purchase of Almiron

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 3:09 pm

An argument that there is no Big Six in England just a big five with Spurs looking longingly through the looking glass - not sure I accept it though whatever finances say - very few amongst us these days that can remember when Spurs were not classed as a big club by fans

https://ftballdna.com/2019/04/02/totten ... their-own/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 3:37 pm

Chester Perry wrote:posted last week that they changed year end by a day so that they can post results upp to 3 months later - will be interesting to see if wages match ours when Benitez said we paid more

given the massive spend of Sports direct on the British high street in the last 18 months I suspect there has been little room for extra monies to NUFC - even with the purchase of Almiron

I'd missed that as it's only the Parent that has changed its year-end date, NEWCASTLE UNITED LIMITED still has the old filing date but I imagine that's being delayed as that is actually group accounts including the holding company.

I suspect their wages will be in the region of £100m at least. We shall see (but not for a few months).

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 3:52 pm

One thing for sure Aggi is Mike Ashley would not like this to happen given he already has doubts about the age of Rondon in relation to the value of any deal

https://offthepitch.com/a/permanent-ron ... -if-wba-go" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:07 pm

Posted Monday night (post #745} about the European Leagues gathering in Lisbon following the ECA get together in Amsterdam - they are definitely worried and angry - here the head of La Liga gives both Barrels to ECA and UEFA

https://offthepitch.com/a/eca-there-no- ... ed-cooking" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the piece ends with a nonsensical bit of football politics/diplomacy praising FIFA of all organisations

Vegas Claret · Post by **Vegas Claret** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:08 pm

Chester Perry wrote:An argument that there is no Big Six in England just a big five with Spurs looking longingly through the looking glass - not sure I accept it though whatever finances say - very few amongst us these days that can remember when Spurs were not classed as a big club by fans

https://ftballdna.com/2019/04/02/totten ... their-own/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Big 6 is big 7 - you got to include Wolves now given the finances they have at their disposal

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:14 pm

Vegas we have yet to see just how much they are going to exercise their finances - currently less than Everton and Leicester, possibly even West Ham - but a damn sight smarter though

It will be interesting to see how Wolves develop - given UEFA FFP is much tighter than the PL (and they need European games to grow the club), they need to build revenues and fast to make it sustainable. I am aware they have plans to increase capacity to over 50k but the commercial side will be difficult to grow to the big boys level

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 2:28 am

We have heard this before, the Premier League is considering toughening up the rules on agents and limiting their fees - next week sees the annual list of payments by club - and if the recently highlighted growth in salaries is anything to go by then this too will be a list of ever increasing expense - with a new television deal coming in again next season we begin a new cycle of cost control before clubs weaken and splurge again. Will this affect the chances of some players coming to the Premier League - time will tell

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... h-tougher/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 2:31 am

Price of Football does a deep dive into our Financial Accounts for 2017/18 - he is very positive about us and has been for quite some time - not bad for a life-long Brighton fan

http://priceoffootball.com/burnley-2017 ... were-dead/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I expect @SwissRamble to do the same in the next day or so

Vegas Claret · Post by **Vegas Claret** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 5:52 am

good thread CP

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:33 am

Spurs announce new World Record Profits the day they officially open the new Stadium - @KieranMaguirre has a gander

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 3520232449" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43628485" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:48 am

As spurs celebrate their new Stadium and world record profits it is noticeable just how much they have targeted their attending fans and immediate community to develop their financial growth - from all but eradicating small local business at a local trading estate - to wanting to redevelop the high street environment around the by build a new shopping centre that is in keeping with their preferred image - to bulldozing local shops to provide a more direct pedestrianised route from the soon to be renamed White Hart Lane Station. For Fans though they are really beginning to feel the pinch as ticket prices appear to be on a continual rise

https://offthepitch.com/a/tottenham-onl ... t-10-years" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:03 pm

Chester Perry wrote:Spurs announce new World Record Profits the day they officially open the new Stadium - @KieranMaguirre has a gander

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 3520232449" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43628485" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, that's an exceptional off the pitch performance by Tottenham.

£157m Operating Profit, positively eye-watering.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:15 pm

Royboyclaret wrote:Wow, that's an exceptional off the pitch performance by Tottenham.

£157m Operating Profit, positively eye-watering.

not unlike the debt they have accrued in the last 2 years - good job the can pour 10k pints a minute because they are going to have to sell an awful lot to pay that off

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:27 pm

Oxford United the latest to face a winding up order - this time over unpaid rent for the use of the Stadium

https://twitter.com/bbcoxfordsport/stat ... 9766313984" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

that splitting of club and ground never seems to go well - what do you think Mel (see post #753)

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:36 pm

Chester Perry wrote:Price of Football does a deep dive into our Financial Accounts for 2017/18 - he is very positive about us and has been for quite some time - not bad for a life-long Brighton fan

http://priceoffootball.com/burnley-2017 ... were-dead/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I expect @SwissRamble to do the same in the next day or so

Very fair summary of our accounts.

The issue I continue to have with Keiran Maguire is that on occasions some of the comparison graphs he produces portray a distorted view of reality. For example on the Wages graph for Burnley it appears that we have trebled the figure in two years from £27m to £81m, but he is not comparing like for like.

2017 & 2108 totals include significant consolidated bonuses whereas the 2016 accounts showed bonuses separate to basic wages. That £27.1m figure needs increasing by £12.1m bonuses in order to show a true comparison. The total of over £39m then effectively doubles in the latest accounts, which is stark enough without making the difference appear even greater.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:36 pm

Going back to Spurs world record figures - What is noticeable about the last 3 clubs to break the record is that they are all English on the current mega TV deal and progressed deep into the Champions League on that competitions new TV deal - Andrea Agnelli must be deeply frustrated

Peebs89 · Post by **Peebs89** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:39 pm

"Burnley Football Club paid a total amount of £3,975,928 to agents in the 12-month period of 1 February, 2018 to 31 January, 2019.

These payments are made public pursuant to the requirements of the FA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries.

AFC BOURNEMOUTH: £10,295,433
ARSENAL: £11,181,730
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION: £6,859,429
BURNLEY: £3,975,928
CARDIFF CITY: £2,802,375
CHELSEA: £26,850,552
CRYSTAL PALACE: £6,976,425
EVERTON: £19,116,370
FULHAM: £8,234,360
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN: £5,023,807
LEICESTER CITY: £12,720,618
LIVERPOOL: £43,795,863
MANCHESTER CITY: £24,122,753
MANCHESTER UNITED: £20,759,350
NEWCASTLE UNITED: £8,868,027
SOUTHAMPTON: £6,151,107
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: £11,141,255
WATFORD: £10,894,179
WEST HAM UNITED: £14,414,845
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS: £6,479,714"

https://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/new ... tA.twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Liverpool's spend on agents' fees looks pretty astonishing — almost £20 million more than City.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:55 pm

Thanks Peebs - explains the desire of the PL re tightening things up for agents - (post #763)

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:20 pm

Leeds have posted their figures for last season - saved from FFP by Chris Wood to Burnley?

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 6694239232" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 6:50 pm

Following the recent spate of clubs not paying wages in the EFL - Darragh MacAnthony owner of Peterborough has come up with a novel idea for dealing with the issue - not sure it will take off though

https://twitter.com/DMAC102/status/1113822346396278789" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 7:00 pm

Introduced the concept of Economic Profit last week (far from universally welcomed here or in the financial world) there do seem to be a few clubs that quite like it though - Vysyble (professional Analysts) have come up with the top and worst performers by this measure. Interesting which are the most successful in picking up the trophies though

https://twitter.com/vysyble/status/1113833911237455872" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:00 pm

I post quite a bit about the ECA and Andrea Agnelli and the ongoing desire of European clubs to find ways of combatting the power of the Premier League to make money - seems like the little get together in Amsterdam has got some of our big clubs flustered - from the Telegraph, likely to fall behind a paywall shortly so copied in full.

Premier League sides to discuss threat of new proposals by European rivals to revamp Champions League - Sam Wallace, Chief Football Writer

The threat of new proposals by European clubs to revamp the Champions League that could mean the top four in the Premier League do not automatically qualify for the competition will be discussed by the 20 top-flight English clubs at their shareholder meeting on Friday.
Major discussions took place last month between some of Europe’s leading clubs over the future format of the Champions League which includes the introduction of a qualification co-efficient that favours historical powers, when the current broadcast deal runs out in 2024,.

The spectre of “access lists”, which confer guaranteed qualification to established clubs, would have a major effect on the dynamic of the Premier League, where the battle for the top four is one of the defining competitive factors. It would also challenge the fundamental principle that European football is not a right and has to be earned every season via the domestic league.

Also being discussed by the Premier League is the proposal by the European Club Association, which represents member clubs across Europe, that the Champions League could switch to a first-round format of four groups of eight teams each. That would increase the number of group-stage games played by each club from six to 14 and have a direct impact on the domestic league, with the added threat of European games being played at the weekend.

Yesterday Aleksander Ceferin, the Uefa president, denied Europe's governing body had held any discussions over staging European club football at weekend. “We haven’t discussed weekends, just to clear that up once and for all,” Ceferin told Press Association Sport.

The decision to place the item on the agenda demonstrates that the Premier League is taking the long-term threat to the league by an expanded Champions League seriously. The Bundesliga, which does not have the same cycle of selling rights as Uefa and the Champions League, has already discussed legal action if its 2024-2025 domestic season is disrupted by more fixtures for clubs in European

The proposals are being driven by European clubs, many of them frustrated at the huge advantage that the Premier League holds over them in terms of the value of its broadcasts. The Premier League is now close to finalising all its overseas broadcast deals for the next three-year cycle of rights from the start of next season and expects the total revenue to be around £4.05 billion. That comes on top of the £5 billion it earns for domestic rights from Sky, BT Sport and Amazon Prime.

One of the key forces calling for change in European club competition is Andrea Agnelli, chairman of Juventus and also the ECA, who has championed the reduction of domestic games, including 18-team top flights and only one domestic cup competition. It is likely that any attempt by Uefa or European clubs to take pre-eminence in the football calendar from domestic leagues would be met with a legal challenge.

The revamping of the Champions League will be discussed again in May when the ECA are scheduled to meet Ceferin and the proposal for a closed competition, in which participation is guaranteed, will be on the agenda once again.

The Premier League will also update the clubs on the appointment of a new chief executive, a position still vacant after the departure of executive chairman Richard Scudamore at the end of next year. There is unlikely to be a new candidate in the post before the start of next season following the decision by the previous appointee, Susanna Dinnage, to decide against taking up the job.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Apr 05, 2019 10:09 am

Others starting to pick-up on Spurs debt revealed amid the fanfare of operational profits yesterday (see post #769) are they big enough to deal with them, They do not have the residential real estate that Arsenal had at Highbury - which paid for such a huge proportion of the emirates stadium (or the title sponsor) and we know Arsenal struggled to keep up with the biggest spenders (even with what are still the most expensive season tickets in the English game.

https://offthepitch.com/a/spurs-closing ... ebt-levels" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Apr 05, 2019 10:31 am

seems like there is 2 prong attack on Agents (see post #762) with HMRC now writng to a large number in regard to fraudulent activity - this from the Times

Agents to face tax crackdown after ‘serious allegations of fraud’ - Matt Hughes, Sports News Correspondent

Nearly 2,000 football agents have received letters from HMRC warning them that they may face tax investigations after “serious allegations of fraud”.

The letter, sent last Wednesday by HMRC’s deputy director, Kerry Singleton, is part of a new investigation into transfer activity and specifically the fees that are paid to agents.

HMRC is already investigating payments made by 38 agents, 40 clubs and 173 players, and is considering whether to open more investigations.
The government has recovered an additional £355 million in tax from football since 2015-16 but after receiving anonymous tip-offs believes that a number of agents are continuing to avoid tax through fraudulent means. The number of agents under investigation has increased from 31 to 38 in the third quarter of the 2018-19 financial year, with their alleged offences understood to include irregularities relating to image rights and dual representation. Premier League clubs paid £211 million in agent fees during the 2017-18 season, a £37 million increase on the previous season, with HMRC determined to ensure the correct amount of tax is paid on that income.

In a letter dated March 20 sent to all of the 1,900 intermediaries registered with the FA, which has been seen by The Times, HMRC outlines its concerns, stating that in its analysis of tax returns it is scrutinising those where amounts that are shown as work for clubs or players looks to be unrealistic.

In its audit HMRC says it is reviewing information received to check if the work done by agents is being correctly described and if VAT has been correctly applied to all transactions, and it is looking at who receives the money and for what commercial purpose they have received it if a payment is made.

HMRC is particularly concerned about agent fees being split in transfers involving multiple intermediaries, with some of the recipients avoiding tax, as well as the practice of dual representation, where an agent acts for the player and club in the same transaction.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Apr 05, 2019 10:48 am

An in depth article that summarises the 6 challenges facing Richard Scudamore's (still unfound) replacement) at the Premier League which underline why it has been so difficult to find someone willing to face up to the challenge - all know and highlighted here to varying levels -though not enough play on the vastly different ambitions of the various member clubs - from the new and so far excellent site Football DNA

https://ftballdna.com/2019/04/05/is-the ... ak-season/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

claptrappers_union · Post by **claptrappers_union** » Fri Apr 05, 2019 10:56 am

The Premier League should hire Vince McMahon