Football's Magic Money Tree

[Vegas Claret]

It had to happen the economy of European football demanded it - he just has too many important clients who are being targeted this summer - The global transfer window ban on Mino Raiola looks to have been suspended following an appeal to CAS

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

yeah zero surprise

[Chester Perry]

In post #1338 linked to a Guardian article about the shameful abuse and exploitation in Afghanistan by the Football Authorities there - today @RobHarris informs us that

FIFA ethics judges have met in Paris and imposed life ban & $1M fine on former Afghanistan Football Federation President Keramuudin Karim for “having abused his position and sexually abused various female players” - follows complaints from at least 5 Afghani players

EDIT - Guardian now has an article on the judgement

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

[Chester Perry]

Some might call it sour grapes others may simply say that money has always brought this level of attitude - Whatever your thoughts on the Ronaldo "Las Vegas rape case" this article from Tortoise media exposes much about what happens to those who catch hold of the fruit from football's Magic Money Tree


Untouchable - By Tony Evans

Cristiano Ronaldo is elusive. Defenders cannot catch him. Even at 34, in what should be his waning days as a footballer, he was still good enough to shoot Portugal into the Nations League final against Holland this week with a hat-trick of goals in the 3-1 victory over Switzerland. Fernando Santos, his international manager, called him “a genius”.

Kathryn Mayorga calls him a rapist. The 34-year-old American wants to see the Juventus forward in court to face charges that he sexually assaulted her in a Nevada hotel. Ronaldo admits there was a physical encounter but claims it was consensual. The 10th anniversary of the alleged attack is on 13 June and the case shows no sign of nearing its conclusion. A Las Vegas police criminal investigation is making little headway and Mayorga’s lawyers cannot get close enough to the Portuguese to unnerve him. For a brief moment in time it appeared the #MeToo movement would at least force powerful men to confront claims made against them. Ronaldo is demonstrating that this was an illusion. He may well be innocent but seems to have no interest in proving his lack of guilt. The Juventus superstar lives in a bubble of wealth and fame that insulates him from these allegations.

Leslie Mark Stovall, the attorney engaged by Mayorga, has filed a civil suit against Ronaldo in federal court in the United States. A similar claim in the Nevada state system was withdrawn because federal laws are easier to enforce when dealing with non-US citizens. Trying to pin down a fantastically rich and famous footballer ratchets up the degree of difficulty of this type of legal action to almost impossible levels.

Ronaldo can afford the finest legal services in the world. Stovall & Associates is not quite in that league. There is a clear sense that the firm is not quite sure how to handle the media attention that a case like Mayorga’s brings. Larissa Drohobyczer, who deals with inquiries on the case, is slow to respond and there is a reluctance to engage on even the most general questions. Perhaps she is too busy blogging for the company’s website. In March she contributed an article entitled ‘Dog Bites: Infections and long-term injury.’ Negative publicity may be the only thing that can hurt Ronaldo but Stovall is not equipped to harness the power of the press. The lawyer is up against a finely tuned PR machine that has spent years finely tuning the player’s image as a role model and hero.

Stovall hired a bailiff – a process server – in Italy to present Ronaldo with a writ. The bailiff spent months stalking the player but was unable to hand him the papers. “It is very hard to get near to footballers,” said a security and investigations expert based in Turin. He is unconnected with the Ronaldo case and prefers to remain anonymous but understands the level of cosseting celebrity sportsmen receive. “They are protected 24 hours a day. Juventus make sure it is difficult to get near them.

“A rich man can hide from the law even if they are in the public view.”

The obvious points of contact are the most secure. Ronaldo bowls into the Vinovo, Juve’s training facility, in his white Rolls Royce Cullinan. He is waved past the guards and barely gives the handful of fans hanging around near the gates a second look. No one at the facility is prepared to accept any paperwork on Ronaldo’s behalf. It is the same when he leaves, heading back to Collina, a leafy area just across the River Po from central Turin. It is the traditional district where footballers and VIPs reside. This is Piedmont’s Beverly Hills. It is close to the town centre but secluded – and crawling with security.

Ronaldo lives here with Georgina Rodriguez, his fiancé. They are not completely reclusive. “He is sometimes seen around the city,” Lorenzo Bettoni, a local journalist said. “Not too frequently but sometimes, yes. His fiancée Georgina does go around the city much more than him. She often shares social media stories from the central Parco del Valentino or from some of the main squares. Less than a month ago Georgina and Ronaldo went out for a night walk in the city centre. Of course, it was not crowded and it wasn’t full of fans so they could enjoy it more.”

Occasions like this offer process servers a small window of opportunity, although the presence of minders would present a challenge. Ronaldo is never unprotected. The club are his first line of defence. On matchdays Juve’s Allianz Stadium is in lockdown. The coach carrying players to the Atalanta game is surrounded by a police escort and goes through a perimeter gate and inside the bowels of the stadium before its occupants disembark. A couple of hundred hand-picked fans, mostly children, are the only members of the public who can get near. They stand behind barriers lining the walls of the corridor. The players walk to the dressing room with their arms outstretched, touching the eager fingers of their acolytes on each side. Ronaldo goes through the routine without making eye contact. He appears serene, otherworldly and looks curiously young. Before kick off he receives the Italian player of the year award to adoring applause. He high-fives the zebra mascot.

“He’s a narcissist,” a coach who has worked with him, said. “He trains really hard to make himself better. But he thinks the other 10 players are there to make him look good. Everything is about him.”

“He’s a nice boy,” another backroom staff member at one of his former clubs said. “He likes to be loved. He spends so much time looking in the mirror. If you say ‘Your body’s looking good today, Cris,’ he’s delighted.”

During Ronaldo’s time at Real Madrid eyebrows were raised about his relationship with Badr Hadi, a Dutch cage fighter of Moroccan descent. The striker spent much of his spare time flying to north Africa to socialise with Hadi. The cage fighter published a photograph on social media holding Ronaldo in his arms like a bride being taken across the threshold with the caption: “Just married. Hahahaha. Always there to pick you up bro.” It sparked speculation about the player’s sexuality but those who have worked with Ronaldo have a different theory.

“He loves being around beautiful people,” a former colleague said. “Of either sex. But his ultimate sexual partner is in the mirror. If he could make love to anyone it would be himself.”

In Turin no one cares about Ronaldo’s sex life. On a wet night outside the Allianz every fan that was asked about the rape allegations shrugged and gave a version of “she’s just after his money”. One fan, wearing the Clockwork Orange logo of the Drughi Ultras, spat out “**** her.”

Bettoni confirms the lack of interest in the Mayorga case. “Does anyone care? Honestly, not too much,” he said. “Fans have always defended him. The media talk about it only when it is impossible not to talk about it. Even when there are news updates from the US there is not too much noise on the TV or in the papers in Italy.”

It is as if nothing happened 10 years ago. But something happened.

On the afternoon of 13 June, 2009, Mayorga reported to police an assault that occurred in the early hours. She underwent a rape kit examination at hospital but did not name Ronaldo, instead saying she had been raped by a “public figure” and “an athlete”. She felt intimidated because of his fame. The nurse’s notes were stark: “Patient’s rectum penetrated,” they say, adding that the ejaculation occurred “in assailant’s hands”.
Mayorga went to a female lawyer on the recommendation of a friend. The attorney was inexperienced and insensitivity shown by some policemen unnerved the then 25-year-old. After she named Ronaldo things got worse. The footballer’s lawyers employed private detectives and, whether by design or ineptitude, Mayorga noticed that she was being followed and observed. Her mental state deteriorated. The decision was made to settle. In the negotiations Ronaldo’s lawyers were like a Champions League team playing a pub side. Mayorga received £295,000 and signed a non-disclosure agreement. One of the purposes of serving the Portuguese with civil papers is to begin the process of overturning the non-disclosure clause.

Ronaldo, even a decade ago, could afford a payoff. He was earning an estimated £36 million per year after his move from Manchester United to Real. Now he is considerably wealthier. His net worth is estimated at £305 million. He owns a fleet of cars – the centrepiece being a £3.7 million Bugatti Chiron – and a variety of properties, including a £13 million apartment in Trump Tower in Manhattan. The forward signed a lifetime sponsorship deal with Nike three years ago worth in the region of £790,000,000. The American company and EA Sports, his other main sponsor, expressed concern over the Mayorga allegations but took no action. The money continues to come rolling in. Ronaldo can afford the finest lawyers, engage scores of private detectives and squads of bodyguards.

After the deal with Mayorga was negotiated he moved on. He had three children, a boy with a surrogate mother in 2010 and twins – one of each sex – seven years later who were likely conceived from frozen embryos. Six months after the arrival of the twins, Rodriguez gave birth to another little girl. Ronaldo’s life was unconventional but superficially wholesome.

Then Football Leaks produced information that could eventually shatter the illusion. The website was created by Rui Pinto, a Budapest-based Portuguese hacker. Pinto was mainly interested in exposing the financial underbelly of the game but in January 2017 he stumbled upon a file labelled “Las Vegas”. He opened it and found it contained details of the payment to Mayorga. Three months later Der Spiegel ran the story and named Ronaldo but not the alleged victim. The player’s agent called it “a piece of journalistic fiction”. There was only the merest flicker of interest across Europe. That began to change last summer when, emboldened by the #MeToo movement, Mayorga engaged Stovall and the lawyer approached Football Leaks for more information. What Pinto delivered was dynamite. It was a 27-page copy of an apparent interview with Ronaldo by one of his legal team. There were numerous transcripts of the conversation but the earliest version was shocking. Ronaldo, referred to as X, appears to back up the account of the incident provided by Mayorga (Ms C). “Did Ms C ever raise her voice, scream or yell?” X is asked.
“She said no and stop several times,” is the alleged reply.

Ronaldo is not very good at taking the blame. Against Atalanta his passing was off and he frequently wasted the ball. Even when it was clearly his fault he raged against his team-mates, gesturing dismissively and walking off with an angry little swagger. “He’s got worse throughout the season,” Bettoni said. “At the beginning he didn’t complain much. At the end of the season it was not rare to see him upset with the rest of his team-mates.”
“He’ll take responsibility for the glamour moments,” one of the coaches said. “If it’s a free kick to win the game, he’ll be at the front of the queue. He doesn’t like the dirty work. He’ll take responsibility for things that make him look good.”

It may well be that Ronaldo never has to face up to the accusations directed his way. Juventus are touring the Far East in the summer even though America has become the most important destination for big clubs. It’s been reported that the choice has been dictated by the fear that Ronaldo could be arrested if he set foot in the United States. Juve deny it is linked with Ronaldo’s situation but the statute of limitations in Nevada is 20 years for rape. It could be another decade before Ronaldo could safely return to Vegas.

There is also some unease about whether evidence supplied by Football Leaks would be admissible in court. Sports Illustrated’s legal expert Michael McCann believes the acceptability of hacked information is likely to be one of the main battlegrounds if the case goes that far. Christian Schertz, one of Ronaldo’s team of lawyers, has already claimed Mayorga’s suit is “blatantly illegal” and infringes privacy laws.

Ronaldo is a hard man to pin down. Mayorga and her lawyers may have no more luck than the legions of defenders who have chased the Portuguese pointlessly for his entire footballing career.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To me there are an awful lot of similarities to Man City and their dealings with the football authorities at the FA/PL, UEFA and very probably FIFA

[Chester Perry]

In post #1339 Royboyclaret notes the spending at Real Madrid and notes that this is a club that is supposed to be in financial straits. Well they have some sales targets now

http://www.sportbible.com/football/tran ... s-20190609" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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

[Royboyclaret]

In post #1339 Royboyclaret notes the spending at Real Madrid and notes that this is a club that is supposed to be in financial straits. Well they have some sales targets now

http://www.sportbible.com/football/tran ... s-20190609" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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

Potentially serious financial problems ahead for Real Madrid with FFP.

They now operate in a world of astronomical numbers (alongside Barcelona) but finally realise that to comply with the financial rules they will need to offload a number of players. Therein lies the problem, finding clubs that are prepared to match the circa £480,000 per week earnings of the likes of Bale and Isco will be likely impossible. Little wonder that Gareth is more than happy to see out the remainder of his contract at the Bernabeu.

[Chester Perry]

There has been a lot of discussion about the difference in prize money at the women's world cup (a FIFA competition remember)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/07/the-201 ... llion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- @SwissRamble compares the men's amd women's version

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 2372256768" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FIFA signed an agreement with the UN about women's equality just last week in Paris - the aims were quite definite

https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/new ... r-equality" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FIFA has more money than ever - with around £2.5bn in reserves and is still making marginal investment into the women's game

https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/ ... ate-030719" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When pushed last week on the subject of the WWC this is what FIFA President Gianni Infantino had to say

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

[Chester Perry]

Mathew Briggs: a journey of discovery part 5 - he was the youngest player ever in the PL when he made his debut against Boro now he is in the 8th tier (and still in his 20's)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4vQgVWFD6s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

parts 1-3 in post #1243 and part 4 in post #1289

[Chester Perry]

The last Football Benchmark of the season has finally been officially posted to the web - it was actually broadcast in Italy before the Champs League final. It is totally focused on KPMG's report on the valuation of Europe's top 32 clubs (by KPMG selection - not by value or any other metric I can see) - that report was posted 9 days ago in post #1230 - as usual subtitles are 5th button from bottom right - it is a longer episode than usual at nearly 25 mins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQfDce_7Iew" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

@Marcotti does an excellent piece for ESPN on the past weeks revelations re UEFA Club Competitions post 2024 - broken down into manageable and informative chunks

https://global.espn.com/football/blog/m ... they-crave" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it is probably important to say 2024 is the key date as the FIFA world football calendar is set up until that time and all points beyond will be negotiated in the coming seasons. All interested parties are trying to get their ducks in a row before those discussions start

[Chester Perry]

@MartynZiegler on how the ECA's plans seem to be falling apart - from the Times

Plans to reform Champions League may collapse after 15 Serie A clubs oppose changes - Martyn Ziegler, Chief Sports Reporter
June 11 2019, 12:00pm,

Controversial plans for a radical reform of the Champions League to create a mainly closed competition are facing collapse after only one Italian club came out in favour of the changes.

The plans, based on an idea by the Juventus and European Clubs’ Association (ECA) president Andrea Agnelli, would see four groups of eight teams, with promotion and relegation and 24 out of the 32 teams retaining their position for the following season.

In England, all 20 Premier League clubs last week stated their opposition and now 15 Serie A clubs have also rejected it. Only Juventus voted in favour, while AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma and Fiorentina abstained.

In Spain, only Barcelona and Real Madrid have been in favour, Germany’s Bundesliga has opposed it, while in France 17 Ligue 1 sides came out against the project while Paris Saint-Germain, Lyons and Marseilles abstained.

The ECA has proposed a competition made up of 128 teams in three divisions: the top division would be made up of four groups of eight teams, with the top six in each qualifying for the following edition regardless of where they finish in their domestic leagues.

There would also be 32 teams in the second division, the existing Europa League, and 64 in the third division, spilt geographically.

According to the Gazetto dello Sport, the 15 Serie A teams opposing the plan believe it could lead to a decrease of as much as 35 per cent in top-flight revenues.

The challenge for Uefa is how to satisfy the demands of the top clubs for more high-quality matches but also provide greater access to clubs from the mid-ranking countries such as the Netherlands and Turkey.

A meeting of Uefa, the ECA and the European leagues will take place in Nyon on September 11 to look at a range of ideas.

[Chester Perry]

Phil Wallace the owner of Stevenage says running a sustainable football league club is essentially down to luck

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

While Andy Holt at Accrington and Marc Palios at Tranmere may have some sympathy for him - they would say the "luck" windfalls - should be invested in infrastructure that provides community lock-in and growth returns rather than wages - and to my mind they are right

[Chester Perry]

Shirt sponsorship is a big deal for all clubs, who that sponsorship is by is becoming a bigger deal for fans - with an increasingly vocal contingent (I included myself) arguing that Gambling companies should be prohibited. For the time being the new deals keep rolling in - Ours is thought to be bigger than last years £5m, Southampton's (with a still to be launched company said to be media but many believe betting) is thought to be around £7.5 a season and Wolves recently announced deal is said to be £8m a season (a 60% increase on last season, again betting). The linked article shows what happens if you don't go down the gambling route - Brighton anyone

http://www.blogwolves.com/new-shirt-sponsor-manbetx/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #1348 I noted that Chelsea had appealed to CAS to overturn the FIFA judgement on them that has resulted in a 2 window transfer ban - which is currently in effect. Interestingly it has emerged that Chelsea have not asked for that ban to be suspended pending the outcome of CAS's decision - probably a hedge, in case they fail, they don't want it carrying over into a 3rd window

From the Telegraph

Chelsea yet to apply for transfer ban to be frozen, CAS confirms - Matt Law, Football News Correspondent
11 June 2019 • 11:23am

Chelsea have not yet applied for their two-window transfer ban to be frozen while the Court of Arbitration for Sport rules on their latest appeal.
CAS last week confirmed that Chelsea have lodged an appeal against the ban, having already lost an appeal to Fifa.

Chelsea would not confirm whether or not they had also asked for the ban to be frozen, but CAS have now confirmed they have received no such application and that the ban currently remains in force.

A CAS statement sent to Telegraph Sport read: “For a challenged decision to be stayed during the CAS proceedings, a specific request to this effect must be made.

“At the time of writing, a request has not been filed in the Chelsea / Fifa matter. Accordingly, the Fifa decision remains in force.”

Telegraph Sport reported last week that Chelsea may be forced to start serving the ban this summer, which would prevent them from making any new signings.

There are fears that the two-window ban could even be extended to three windows if Chelsea requested that it is frozen and then lost their appeal.
Chelsea last week sold Eden Hazard to Real Madrid for a fee worth up to £130million, but may not be able to replace him before the start of next season.

Maurizio Sarri is on the brink of being confirmed as the new head coach of Juventus, leaving Chelsea to find his successor.

Opinion is currently split inside Stamford Bridge over whether or not Frank Lampard is ready after one season in charge at Derby County. Max Allegri, Javi Gracia, Nuno Espirito Santo and Laurent Blanc are all alternative, more experienced, options.

Chelsea are preparing to confirm the return of former goalkeeper Petr Cech in a technical role. He will take on some of the responsibilities left behind by former technical director Michael Emenalo, providing a link between the first team and the board.

[Chester Perry]

Forbes have released their list of top earning athletes - Lionel Messi becomes only the 2nd footballer to top the list in it's existence (began in 1990) earning just shy of £99m Ronaldo 2nd and Neymar 3rd - as football takes the top places the 4th footballer on the list is Paul Pogba in 44th place - in total 12 footballers make the list

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/48602166" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the full list

https://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/#tab:overall" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post 1362 I highlighted the sales Real Madrid have to make to meet FFP and their incoming targets - Now we have stories that Barca have to find Euro 60m before the end of the month to balance their accounts for the current year

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/soccer- ... by-june-30" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Intriguing story from Spain - La Liga have been fined for using their app to source bars illegally streaming games

https://twitter.com/riksharma_/status/1 ... 9866131459" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Well that didn't take long - Andrea Agnelli reportedly has a new plan for the Champs League after last weeks washout (see posts #1367 and #1368) - from the Times

Champions League could be expanded to 48 teams under club proposals - Martyn Ziegler, Chief Sports Reporter
June 12 2019, 12:01am,

Uefa will be urged to expand the Champions League from 32 teams to 40 or 48 as an alternative to more radical reforms that would make the tournament a mainly closed competition.

A new proposal is to be submitted to Europe’s governing body by a group of clubs before a summit meeting on September 11, which has been called to discuss the changes.

The expansion plan will be put forward as a compromise solution to the vision of Andrea Agnelli, the Juventus and European Club Association (ECA) chairman.

That proposal, which is facing collapse after meeting widespread opposition across Europe, is for four groups of eight teams, with promotion and relegation and 24 out of the 32 clubs retaining their position for the next season regardless of their performance in domestic competition.

A 40-team Champions League would involve eight groups of five teams, with the top two still progressing to the knockout stage, and would be much less disruptive to domestic leagues and international matches.

It would mean clubs playing eight group matches instead of six under the existing format — and the big clubs want more European matches — but fewer than the 14 that would be required under the ECA proposal. An alternative expansion would be to 48 teams, with eight groups of six.

“This is a wide and open consultation process and all ideas will be considered,” Uefa said.

The European governing body is under pressure to agree to any changes, which would be brought in from 2024, before the end of the year — in time for discussions with Fifa about the international calendar.

A plan for the Champions League to be expanded to 48 teams was put forward by clubs including Celtic, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Anderlecht two years ago but was resisted by Uefa. There is, however, growing pressure from clubs in medium-sized European countries for change.

Celtic and Ajax are prime examples of big, historic clubs with large followings who find themselves without a guarantee of Champions League football despite being domestic champions.

Edwin van der Sar, the Ajax chief executive and former Manchester United goalkeeper who sits on the ECA’s board and has backed its proposal, has said that despite being Dutch league winners and Champions League semi-finalists, they have to go through two qualifying rounds to reach the group phase next season. “For us it is about access, not revenues,” he said.

Celtic’s Champions League qualifying campaign starts early next month and they will have to negotiate eight matches to secure a place in the 32.
Uefa is expected to commission expert analysis on any reform proposals to see what effect they could have on TV revenues.

The chief executive from one continental club, who is pushing for the expansion, told The Times that the existing Champions League format was “killing those countries outside of the big five leagues”.

Having 40 teams would allow the national champions of countries such as the Netherlands, Greece and Switzerland to have automatic slots in the group stage.

One issue is that ten match days would be needed for 40 teams, as with groups of five one club would not be involved in each round. Having 48 teams in eight groups of six would also require ten match days but all clubs would feature.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyone get the feeling that Agnelli has a real plan, and he has been planting other options - he knows will get refused so he will get what he really wants

This latest suggestion would probably require all domestic leagues to have no more than 18 teams, which funnily enough was the original plan for the Premier League - when Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal. Everton and Spurs put their initial plan together

[Royboyclaret]

Forbes have released their list of top earning athletes - Lionel Messi becomes only the 2nd footballer to top the list in it's existence (began in 1990) earning just shy of £99m Ronaldo 2nd and Neymar 3rd - as football takes the top places the 4th footballer on the list is Paul Pogba in 44th place - in total 12 footballers make the list

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/48602166" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the full list

https://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/#tab:overall" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Significantly Messi is now approaching the £2m per week mark, a frightening figure when considering the overall future health of the game. I understand Eden Hazard has doubled his salary with his move to Real Madrid which for him means an entry into the top 30 list of athlete top earners.

[Chester Perry]

A telling article from @MiguelDelaney as to where the real power lies in Europe and who can get who in the transfer Market

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 54556.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

More on that La Liga app story from post #1374 - they are not happy

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 54876.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #1358 the official owner of Southampton, Gao Jisheng, stated that the Chinese State did not effectively own the club (the Premier League agree with him after investigating it) - Simon Chadwick still refuses to

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 5528585216" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Excellent article from OZY.com on Qatar's use of football to demonstrate is power and in the gulf and on a global stage


Soccer Diplomacy: Qatar's Big Weapon Against Arab Rivals - By Mat Nashed - JUNE 12 2019

Why you should care - The tiny Gulf nation is turning soccer into a successful vehicle to defeat its regional enemies on and off the pitch.

The United Arab Emirates could do nothing but watch the ball ricochet off the right post and into the back of the net. It was Jan. 29, and the goal put the UAE down 2-0 to Qatar, which would eventually score two more against the hosts to advance to the Asian Cup Final and win.

The Asian Cup wasn’t just any tournament: It was a proxy in the broader Gulf dispute. Since June 2017, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been blockading Qatar, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism and inching closer to Iran. The blockade prevented most Qataris from traveling to the UAE to see the games. Qatar defeated both its rivals in the tournament despite its team being pelted by sandals and bottles by hostile fans. It was among a series of 2019 wins that Qatar has netted in the soccer world, both on and off the pitch, turning the sport into a critical — and successful — diplomatic weapon for the country.

In April, Qatar’s candidate, Souad al-Mohannadi, was elected to the FIFA Council, enabling Qatar to make stronger connections in the international governing soccer body. What’s more, Saudi and Emirati candidates lost their council election bids. The Asian Cup had already cemented Qatar’s status as the best soccer country in the Gulf. But nothing is more precious than the 2022 World Cup, which Qatar considers central to its brand and legitimacy as a nation.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been pressuring FIFA to let them co-host the World Cup by expanding the sport’s apex tournament from 32 teams to 48. But those hopes of stealing a slice of the World Cup were dashed after FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on May 22 that it wasn’t feasible to increase the number of teams. Doha, Qatar’s capital, has invested billions of dollars to brand itself as the de facto soccer destination in the Middle East, and it gets to keep the prize all to itself.

“The World Cup is part of Qatar’s nation-branding and nation-building efforts,” says Simon Chadwick, a professor of sports enterprises at Salford Business School in Manchester. “When you think of England and Brazil, you think of soccer. Qatar wants to be viewed in the same way.”
The battle for regional supremacy through soccer cuts both ways. In a bid to turn Qatar into a pariah state, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have tried to undermine Doha’s growing influence in soccer. The Emirates financed London-based consultancy Cornerstone Global Associates, which released a report to the BBC asserting that the World Cup was in danger of being stripped from Qatar — citing abuse of migrant workers and corruption.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also central to an international consortium that fronted $25 billion to FIFA, allowing the governing body to create two new international soccer tournaments, a revamped Club World Cup and a Global Nations League. But the deal also effectively sells those competitions to the consortium. That deal was widely viewed as an attempt to bribe FIFA into persuading Qatar to increase the number of teams in the next World Cup. Expanding the competition would have required Qatar to share some of the matches with neighboring states, because of the resources needed. But with Oman lacking the stadium infrastructure and Kuwait unlikely to want to antagonize Riyadh, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were the only possible options.

FIFA made clear that any expansion would need Doha’s consent, but Qatar wasn’t about to be pressured into sharing the tournament. And, as it turned out, neither was FIFA. “The decision wasn’t surprising,” says Keir Radnedge, an expert on soccer politics and chairman of the International Sports Press Association. “There was just no way on earth that Qatar would have ever shared anything with Saudi Arabia unless there was a coup.”
Publicly, Qatar’s regional rivals are trying to underplay Doha’s latest success in soccer diplomacy. “It was FIFA’s decision, not ours,” Terki Awad, a board member on the Saudi Arabian Football Federation tells me, adding that the kingdom isn’t disappointed by the move to keep the World Cup in Qatar. Doha released an official statement claiming it was always open to a 48-team tournament, but that time constraints and logistical concerns didn’t make the plan feasible for 2022.

But right after FIFA’s announcement, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain launched a joint bid to host the U-20 World Cup in 2021. Wael Jabir, co-founder of the Dubai-based soccer agency and magazine Ahdaaf, sees that as a sign of frustration. “Hosting major soccer tournaments is absolutely one of the biggest battles for influence in the Gulf,” he says.

As 2022 approaches, Saudi Arabia and its allies face a particularly tricky debate: whether or not to attend the World Cup in Qatar. Awad says that if Saudi Arabia qualifies, then the national team will play in Doha. Jabir expects the UAE to do the same, arguing that neither their population nor FIFA would be pleased with a boycott. But Radnedge stresses that the presence of Saudi and Emirati fans at the World Cup would grant Qatar the legitimacy it has long coveted through soccer. “Qatar would be smugly happy if Saudi and Emirati fans come to the games,” he says. If their teams participate, it would serve as an even stronger diplomatic victory for Qatar, by effectively undermining the economic blockade against Doha.

The Saudis or Emirates would also have to find a way to compete at Qatar’s level if they qualify. Jabir explains that Qatar’s national team is ahead of its Gulf neighbors thanks to its Aspire Academy, created in 2006. The academy recruits and develops young players from across the region, many of whom are the sons of foreign workers. Among the academy’s alumni is Sudan-born Almoez Ali, who won the Golden Boot at the Asian Cup after scoring nine goals.

Those goals included one in the match against the UAE. “Qatar’s match against the UAE was a lot more than a football game,” says Jabir. “It didn’t feel like they were going to play football; it felt like they were going to war.”

The UAE — a country also handicapped by its small population and limited pool of players — should create a rival academy to close the gap with Qatar’s national team, according to Jabir. But, he says, the Emirates aren’t entertaining such a project. “The UAE don’t want to be seen as copying or being inspired by Qatar’s success,” he says.

That stubbornness only benefits Qatar. And with the World Cup approaching, the tiny nation is holding most of the cards as it seeks to outshine its enemies through soccer diplomacy on the world stage.

[Chester Perry]

And if anyone remains unconvinced about Qatar's use of sport to boost public impression of the state (soft power) - here is another OZY.com article from last year before Qatar won the Asian Football Confederation Championship

This Unathletic Nation Dominates World Sports … as a Host - By Lisa Rabasca Roepe • JUN 11 2018

Why you should care - Tiny Qatar is hardly a soccer hotbed, but that’s not stopping it from welcoming the World Cup in 2022.

Qatar may dream of being a sports powerhouse, but the country’s athletic abilities don’t quite match that soaring ambition. In fact, the 2.3-million strong country is the only host of an International Boxing Association Championship never to win a medal at the event. And despite sending two boxers to the 2016 Rio Olympics, both lost in the round of 32 by a score of 0-3 — and neither fighter was born in Qatar.

The country’s exceedingly shallow pool of sports talent extends beyond the ring. And yet the Persian Gulf state is finding another way to dominate the fields of play.

Qatar has been a regular stop on the athletic circuit since the Doha Grand Prix in 1997. Since then, it has welcomed the Asian Games, Commercial Bank Qatar Masters (golf), Qatar ExxonMobil Tennis Open and the Qatar Total Open, Tour of Qatar (cycling), Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar (motor sports), F1H2O UIM World Championship (powerboat racing) and the IAAF Diamond League (track and field), as well as equestrian events and horse racing.

Small spuds compared to what’s next: Qatar is preparing to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 — the first time the most important sporting event besides the Olympic Games will be held in the Middle East.

Alas, Qatar’s soccer squad, formed in 1970, has never qualified for the quadrennial tournament. The team came close in 1998, but lost its bid at home to neighboring Saudi Arabia. It’s currently ranked just outside FIFA’s top 100. To be fair, Qatar won’t be the first non-qualifying country to host the World Cup. Japan had not yet qualified when it was named in 1996 as a co-host for the 2002 tournament; neither had South Korea, its event partner.

In fact, Qatar is best known for importing sports talent. Although it sent 39 athletes to Rio, 23 of them were born elsewhere and recruited to play for Qatar. Two of its top soccer players are naturalized Qataris — Karim Boudiaf, a Moroccan-Algerian, and Algerian-born Boualem Khoukhi. In fact, six of Qatar’s starting soccer players were not born in Qatar, according to BBC Sport.

And when Qatar hosted the 2015 Men’s World Handball Championships, it came under fire for having too many foreign players on its national team. The country has also welcomed runners from Sudan, boxers from Germany, a beach volleyball player from Brazil and a table tennis player from China, according to The Washington Post.

This practice is not going unnoticed. Qatar is “creating a fake team,” Christer Ahl, a high-level referee, told the London-based Sunday Telegraph. “They are putting together players with no apparent connection to the country and are kicked out if they don’t contribute to a medal or other success. They become some sort of all-star team.”

But finding young citizen-players to develop can be difficult. Families don’t always support their children’s pursuit of careers in sports and would prefer they enroll in college and get steady jobs. Universities in Qatar should lend greater support to aspiring local athletes by issuing those enrolled in school some credits for “national duty,” Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, head of Qatar’s Olympic Committee, told a local sports publication.

A country doesn’t need to excel in a sport to host an event, says James M. Dorsey, a Middle East and North Africa expert at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and author of a blog called the Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer. Qatar’s approach to sports is much more structural, he says: “They’re making sports part of their national identity and part of their soft power policies.” Just as Qatar is developing its airlines, arts, museums and real estate acquisitions, it is developing its reputation as a global sports host.

The Qatar government also sees sports as a way to promote tourism along with healthier lifestyles for its citizens, who suffer from some of the highest diabetes and obesity rates in the region. In addition, the athletic competitions convey a message of peace, security and goodwill to the rest of the world, Hazza’a Mubarak al-Hajri, assistant secretary-general for security affairs at the Gulf Cooperation Council, noted at a safety and security conference in Doha last year.

And, while few large sporting events leave a lasting positive legacy for the host nation, Dorsey says awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has effected change. While the country remains autocratic, Dorsey says the international attention has forced leaders to address issues raised by trade unions and human rights groups.

[Chester Perry]

Simon Chadwick gives more background on Gulf history and why it impacts European and (it's potentially greater impact in) English football

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 1708138496" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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There was a comment in the last edition of Football Benchmark (see post #1376) that I am finding evermore resonant - IF the ECA fail to create a super league then the Premier League will become the Super League - you can see with all this positioning that this could easily become a reality - China, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Russia, America even Saudi Arabia (those Man Utd links never really go away) - there appears to be a lot of external preparation for such an eventuality - no room for us at that table I am afraid

[Chester Perry]

While FIFA and the French hosts have made such a hash of ticketing for the Women's World Cup

https://apnews.com/e90f43646ffd4785bd7d ... ce=Twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

even with reduced capacities in some stadiums

https://twitter.com/tariqpanja/status/1 ... 5358804994" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UEFA has been targeting Chinese fan's for the European Championships next summer

http://fcbusiness.co.uk/news/uefa-alipa ... -in-china/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Not something I would wish on any club no matter how much I dislike them, yet insolvency is a growing prospect for many clubs at the moment especially in this region

This is a useful article for understanding what it could mean for clubs

https://www.r3.org.uk/index.cfm?page=19 ... fpage=1865" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT The 2015 amendment to the Football Creditors Rule is little known but a welcome move in the right direction

[Chester Perry]

Not been a happy week for the administrators at FIFA involved in the women's world cup ticket fiasco - now backtracking on the number of tickets sold

https://apnews.com/105598d94bf541ec91bc ... SocialFlow" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Chelsea have taken a lot of time to make their appeal to CAS over the FIFA judgement - the result, the case will not be heard until after the transfer window closes - add that to the decision not to ask for a suspension of the transfer ban )see post #1371) and Chelsea will not bale to sign anyone this summer.

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

which will make their search for a new manager even more difficult as they will have no opportunity to bring in new players, with 2 of their most precocious young talents Hudson-Odoi and Reece James out with lengthy injuries. As this Telegraph article suggests

Chelsea may offer Frank Lampard head coach job as alternative options are unavailable or out of reach - Matt Law, Football News Correspondent
12 June 2019 • 5:08pm

Chelsea may be faced with little option but to offer Frank Lampard an earlier than anticipated return to the club as head coach.

Maurizio Sarri’s return to Italy with Juventus will be confirmed once compensation is finally agreed, leaving Chelsea to hunt for his successor.

Lampard has always been viewed as a Chelsea manager in waiting, but the club would have ideally approached him after more than one year in charge of Derby County in the Championship.

Chelsea’s hand may be forced, however, as a number of Lampard’s rivals for the post this time round could prove to be out of reach.

Ajax coach Erik ten Hag as admirers inside Stamford Bridge, but Dutch sources expect him to stay in Amsterdam after taking the club to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Bayern Munich are also thought to be impressed by Ten Hag, as the Germans consider whether or not to make their own managerial change.

Max Allegri is out of work after leaving Juventus. There would be doubts about appointing a third successive Italian at Chelsea and there are claims he wants to take time out to prepare for his next job.

England manager Gareth Southgate has stated he is confident that his assistant Steve Holland will not go anywhere before next summer’s European Championships, while Watford are confident of keeping hold of Javi Gracia.

Gracia signed a new Watford contract in November and it is understood that the Hornets would be due significant compensation if the 49-year-old left this summer.

That means that unless Chelsea could tempt Ten Hag to change his mind, or make a serious play for Allegri, the most realistic competition to Lampard could be Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Nuno Espirito Santo or out-of-work Laurent Blanc.

Having sold Eden Hazard to Real Madrid, Chelsea are also facing the prospect of a two-window transfer ban that is currently due to start this summer.

Despite concerns over his level of experience, the appointment of Lampard would go down extremely well with a large number of Chelsea fans.
It would also be welcomed by the club’s bright young stars, who have been excitedly messaging each other and chatting about the prospect of Lampard taking over.

With the prospect of a transfer ban hanging over them, Chelsea may have to lean heavily on some of their Academy graduates next season and Lampard is viewed as the perfect man among the young players to oversee that process.

He took midfielder Mason Mount and defender Fikayo Tomori with him to Derby and the pair shined during their season-long loan deals.

[Chester Perry]

Offthepitch.com are running a story (behind a paywall unfortunately) about FIFA seeking NGO status in Switzerland to reduce tax and threatening a move to France if they don't get it

https://offthepitch.com/a/fifa-confirms ... switch-now" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- nice people only last week they were cheering record profits and cash position of over $2.5bn

[Chester Perry]

Following post #1357 Mino Raiola can trade everywhere but Italy - which means Juventus can forget about De Ligt and Pogba

https://www.football365.com/news/de-lig ... -is-upheld" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

While Burnley FC will leave it until next March/April to reveal their financial results - Accrington Stanley owner @AndyhHolt has been sharing his headline figures for this season (their accounting year closes at the end of this month) ahead of a Chairman's open meeting with fans this evening (The communication differences between the two clubs are polar opposites). You can also tell when he took over the club from these posts which give a cumulative history of his ownership https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 1651280900" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Headline figures

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 5142298625" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ticket Sales

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 6410477568" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Infrastructure spend

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 8043980804" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Commercial Income

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 3541969929" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Merchandise - had the same home shirt for 3 seasons and taking it into a 4th (Adidas stop making it this season so will change for the season after - very cheap too - fan's involved in the selection process for new shirt)

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 6062328832" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Playing budget - there were non-league clubs losing more than these budgets

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 9522934784" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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The Infrastructure spend comes from his strong belief in having assets that generate profit, so there are plans to grow both Matchday and non Matchday revenues - the work they do for the away fans matchday experience is well loved and brings in large away followings even from Protsmouth and Plymouth and that is in an open away end at a ground that is notorious for rain

[Chester Perry]

While Burnley fans are pushing for details a to what the new kits looks like and when they can buy it, Huddersfield have delayed the release of theirs as they continue to search for a sponsor, on relegation their existing sponsor decided to ditch them - the perils of Far East betting sponsorship - at least they have a date of release - from Onthepitch.com

Huddersfield have not released their new kit as they simply can’t find a sponsor - by Christian Fomsgaard Jensen

OPE decided not to renew its front-of-shirt sponsorship after Huddersfield Town got relegated.
With the Championship being less attractive for international sponsors, Huddersfield are now meeting with potential sponsors “down south.”
The new kit won’t be released before mid-July.

Ahead of their first season back in the Championship after getting relegated from the Premier League, there are still a lot of questions to be asked regarding Huddersfield Town.

Phil Hodgkinson is still to be accepted as the new owner by the EFL after the club announced his takeover in May. Besides that, almost all the clubs have released new kits for the upcoming season, but Town are yet to do the same and the reason is very simple:

Huddersfield can’t find a front-of-shirt sponsor.

“In terms of the sponsor, it’s been very difficult,” admits Sean Jarvis, commercial director at Huddersfield Town, in a statement on the club’s website.

“OPE had first refusal, they were the ones that decided whether they wanted to renew or not at the price we wanted to set the kit at for next season. Sadly, they didn’t renew, but we remain friends with them.”

Complicated affair in Championship
OPE Sports is a part of Opebet, a global betting brand founded in 2007, and first sponsored Huddersfield in their first ever season in the Premier League in 2017/18 - a season when they increased their commercial turnover by 185 per cent.

When announcing the deal, Chairman Dean Hoyle said: “The growth of our international fan base since promotion played an important part in our new international partnership.”

But since getting relegated back to the Championship, the number of potential sponsors has declined.

“We went looking in the market place and there were a number of Championship clubs, and I think there are one or two still, looking for shirt sponsors. It’s a very competitive market and we have set our prices,” Sean Jarvis said in a statement.

“We had some interest throughout the summer but as these happen sometimes they get further down the line and they tend to collapse, so it’s a complicated affair.

“Would we have liked to have done it sooner? Of course, but it is what it is.”

Kit release in July
The Terriers will play their first friendly ahead of the new season on 10th July against German second-tier team SpVgg Greuther Fürth, but the players won’t sport the new kit till their friendly against Rochdale AFC on 17th July, when the shirt is expected to be revealed.

“We are now having a number of meetings down south with people. We are now pretty close.

“We are not there yet, and there’s still some work to do and contracts to sign, hence why the kit has been delayed to that mid-July point. We are getting close. Hopefully the 17th July will be that key date,” Jarvis said.

Fans will be able to buy the shirt on 20th July.

[Chester Perry]

Ticket pricing is a growing issue, both domestically and internationally- here the "20 is plenty" campaign managed to improve things for away fans in the Premier League, In European Competitions clubs like Barcelona are notorious for their exploitation and UEFA have come under increasing fire for both pricing and allocation of tickets for their showpiece events. @KieranMaguire has a thread on the prices at next summers Euro's

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 3830169600" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An interview with Real Madrid's (Canadian) Commercial Director I posted (see post #965) was revelatory about how he thought prices for the big events were actually very cheap

[Chester Perry]

Longevity in management at a single club is increasingly rare, more so at the top of the game, even more rare is when that manager is the dominant figure over the whole club - When Arsene Wenger left Arsenal last year it seemed that era may have come to an end (though Jurgen Klopp may change that at Liverpool, and City are often keen to hide behind Guardiola). Sean Dyche and Eddie Howe are the only ones in the Premier league that effectively shape the club from top to bottom and on all fronts.

The most recent Grand Master of this type of management though is Sir Alex Ferguson - here the Harvard Business Review (he has lectured there a number of times) look at his modus operandi - it is an old article - but he has not been in the role for some time and with this being the close season it is a the time to reflect and choose how to go forward *****WARNING***** it is a long read

Ferguson’s Formula - by Anita Elberse - From the October 2013 Issue

Some call him the greatest coach in history. Before retiring in May 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson spent 26 seasons as the manager of Manchester United, the English football (soccer) club that ranks among the most successful and valuable franchises in sports. During that time the club won 13 English league titles along with 25 other domestic and international trophies—giving him an overall haul nearly double that of the next-most-successful English club manager. And Ferguson was far more than a coach. He played a central role in the United organization, managing not just the first team but the entire club. “Steve Jobs was Apple; Sir Alex Ferguson is Manchester United,” says the club’s former chief executive David Gill.

In 2012 Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse had a unique opportunity to examine Ferguson’s management approach and developed an HBS case study around it. Now she and Ferguson have collaborated on an analysis of his enormously successful methods.

Anita Elberse: Success and staying power like Sir Alex Ferguson’s demand study—and not just by football fans. How did he do it? Can one identify habits that enabled his success and principles that guided it? During what turned out to be his final season in charge, my former student Tom Dye and I conducted a series of in-depth interviews with Ferguson about his leadership methods and watched him in action at United’s training ground and at its famed stadium, Old Trafford, where a nine-foot bronze statue of the former manager now looms outside. We spoke with many of the people Ferguson worked with, from David Gill to the club’s assistant coaches, kit manager, and players. And we observed Ferguson during numerous short meetings and conversations with players and staff members in the hallways, in the cafeteria, on the training pitch, and wherever else the opportunity arose. Ferguson later came to HBS to see the ensuing case study taught, provide his views, and answer students’ questions, resulting in standing-room-only conditions in my classroom and a highly captivating exchange.

Ferguson and I discussed eight leadership lessons that capture crucial elements of his approach. Although I’ve tried not to push the angle too hard, many of them can certainly be applied more broadly, to business and to life. In the article that follows, I describe each lesson as I observed it, and then give Ferguson his say.

1. Start with the Foundation
Upon his arrival at Manchester, in 1986, Ferguson set about creating a structure for the long term by modernizing United’s youth program. He established two “centers of excellence” for promising players as young as nine and recruited a number of scouts, urging them to bring him the top young talent. The best-known of his early signings was David Beckham. The most important was probably Ryan Giggs, whom Ferguson noticed as a skinny 13-year-old in 1986 and who went on to become the most decorated British footballer of all time. At 39, Giggs is still a United regular. The longtime stars Paul Scholes and Gary Neville were also among Ferguson’s early youth program investments. Together with Giggs and Beckham, they formed the core of the great United teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which Ferguson credits with shaping the club’s modern identity.

It was a big bet on young talent, and at a time when the prevailing wisdom was, as one respected television commentator put it, “You can’t win anything with kids.” Ferguson approached the process systematically. He talks about the difference between building a team, which is what most managers concentrate on, and building a club.

Sir Alex Ferguson: From the moment I got to Manchester United, I thought of only one thing: building a football club. I wanted to build right from the bottom. That was in order to create fluency and a continuity of supply to the first team. With this approach, the players all grow up together, producing a bond that, in turn, creates a spirit.

When I arrived, only one player on the first team was under 24. Can you imagine that, for a club like Manchester United? I knew that a focus on youth would fit the club’s history, and my earlier coaching experience told me that winning with young players could be done and that I was good at working with them. So I had the confidence and conviction that if United was going to mean anything again, rebuilding the youth structure was crucial. You could say it was brave, but fortune favors the brave.

The first thought of 99% of newly appointed managers is to make sure they win—to survive. So they bring experienced players in. That’s simply because we’re in a results-driven industry. At some clubs, you need only to lose three games in a row, and you’re fired. In today’s football world, with a new breed of directors and owners, I am not sure any club would have the patience to wait for a manager to build a team over a four-year period.

Winning a game is only a short-term gain—you can lose the next game. Building a club brings stability and consistency. You don’t ever want to take your eyes off the first team, but our youth development efforts ended up leading to our many successes in the 1990s and early 2000s. The young players really became the spirit of the club.

I always take great pride in seeing younger players develop. The job of a manager, like that of a teacher, is to inspire people to be better. Give them better technical skills, make them winners, make them better people, and they can go anywhere in life. When you give young people a chance, you not only create a longer life span for the team, you also create loyalty. They will always remember that you were the manager who gave them their first opportunity. Once they know you are batting for them, they will accept your way. You’re really fostering a sense of family. If you give young people your attention and an opportunity to succeed, it is amazing how much they will surprise you.

2. Dare to Rebuild Your Team
Even in times of great success, Ferguson worked to rebuild his team. He is credited with assembling five distinct league-winning squads during his time at the club and continuing to win trophies all the while. His decisions were driven by a keen sense of where his team stood in the cycle of rebuilding and by a similarly keen sense of players’ life cycles—how much value the players were bringing to the team at any point in time. Managing the talent development process inevitably involved cutting players, including loyal veterans to whom Ferguson had a personal attachment. “He’s never really looking at this moment, he’s always looking into the future,” Ryan Giggs told us. “Knowing what needs strengthening and what needs refreshing—he’s got that knack.”

Our analysis of a decade’s worth of player transfer data revealed Ferguson to be a uniquely effective “portfolio manager” of talent. He is strategic, rational, and systematic. In the past decade, during which Manchester United won the English league five times, the club spent less on incoming transfers than its rivals Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool did. One reason was a continued commitment to young players: Those under 25 constituted a far higher share of United’s incoming transfers than of its competitors’. And because United was willing to sell players who still had good years ahead of them, it made more money from outgoing transfers than most of its rivals did—so the betting on promising talent could continue. Many of those bets were made on very young players on the cusp of superstardom. (Ferguson did occasionally shell out top money for established superstars, such as the Dutch striker Robin van Persie, bought for $35 million at the start of the 2012–2013 season, when he was 29.) Young players were given the time and conditions to succeed, most older players were sold to other teams while they were still valuable properties, and a few top veterans were kept around to lend continuity and carry the culture of the club forward.

Ferguson: We identified three levels of players: those 30 and older, those roughly 23 to 30, and the younger ones coming in. The idea was that the younger players were developing and would meet the standards that the older ones had set. Although I was always trying to disprove it, I believe that the cycle of a successful team lasts maybe four years, and then some change is needed. So we tried to visualize the team three or four years ahead and make decisions accordingly. Because I was at United for such a long time, I could afford to plan ahead—no one expected me to go anywhere. I was very fortunate in that respect.

The goal was to evolve gradually, moving older players out and younger players in. It was mainly about two things: First, who did we have coming through and where did we see them in three years’ time, and second, were there signs that existing players were getting older? Some players can go on for a long time, like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Rio Ferdinand, but age matters. The hardest thing is to let go of a player who has been a great guy—but all the evidence is on the field. If you see the change, the deterioration, you have to ask yourself what things are going to be like two years ahead.

3. Set High Standards—and Hold Everyone to Them
Ferguson speaks passionately about wanting to instill values in his players. More than giving them technical skills, he wanted to inspire them to strive to do better and to never give up—in other words, to make them winners.

His intense desire to win stemmed in part from his own experiences as a player. After success at several small Scottish clubs, he signed with a top club, Rangers—the team he had supported as a boy—but soon fell out of favor with the new manager. He left Rangers three years later with only a Scottish Cup Final runner-up’s medal to show for his time there. “The adversity gave me a sense of determination that has shaped my life,” he told us. “I made up my mind that I would never give in.”

Ferguson looked for the same attitude in his players. He recruited what he calls “bad losers” and demanded that they work extremely hard. Over the years this attitude became contagious—players didn’t accept teammates’ not giving it their all. The biggest stars were no exception.
Ferguson: Everything we did was about maintaining the standards we had set as a football club—this applied to all my team building and all my team preparation, motivational talks, and tactical talks. For example, we never allowed a bad training session. What you see in training manifests itself on the game field. So every training session was about quality. We didn’t allow a lack of focus. It was about intensity, concentration, speed—a high level of performance. That, we hoped, made our players improve with each session.

I had to lift players’ expectations. They should never give in. I said that to them all the time: “If you give in once, you’ll give in twice.” And the work ethic and energy I had seemed to spread throughout the club. I used to be the first to arrive in the morning. In my later years, a lot of my staff members would already be there when I got in at 7 AM. I think they understood why I came in early—they knew there was a job to be done. There was a feeling that “if he can do it, then I can do it.”


I constantly told my squad that working hard all your life is a talent. But I expected even more from the star players. I expected them to work even harder. I said, “You’ve got to show that you are the top players.” And they did. That’s why they are star players—they are prepared to work harder. Superstars with egos are not the problem some people may think. They need to be winners, because that massages their egos, so they will do what it takes to win. I used to see [Cristiano] Ronaldo [one of the world’s top forwards, who now plays for Real Madrid], Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, and others out there practicing for hours. I’d have to chase them in. I’d be banging on the window saying, “We’ve got a game on Saturday.” But they wanted the time to practice. They realized that being a Manchester United player is not an easy job.

4. Never, Ever Cede Control
“You can’t ever lose control—not when you are dealing with 30 top professionals who are all millionaires,” Ferguson told us. “And if any players want to take me on, to challenge my authority and control, I deal with them.” An important part of maintaining high standards across the board was Ferguson’s willingness to respond forcefully when players violated those standards. If they got into trouble, they were fined. And if they stepped out of line in a way that could undermine the team’s performance, Ferguson let them go. In 2005, when longtime captain Roy Keane publicly criticized his teammates, his contract was terminated. The following year, when United’s leading scorer at the time, Ruud van Nistelrooy, became openly disgruntled over several benchings, he was promptly sold to Real Madrid.

Responding forcefully is only part of the story here. Responding quickly, before situations get out of hand, may be equally important to maintaining control.

Ferguson: If the day came that the manager of Manchester United was controlled by the players—in other words, if the players decided how the training should be, what days they should have off, what the discipline should be, and what the tactics should be—then Manchester United would not be the Manchester United we know. Before I came to United, I told myself I wasn’t going to allow anyone to be stronger than I was. Your personality has to be bigger than theirs. That is vital.

There are occasions when you have to ask yourself whether certain players are affecting the dressing-room atmosphere, the performance of the team, and your control of the players and staff. If they are, you have to cut the cord. There is absolutely no other way. It doesn’t matter if the person is the best player in the world. The long-term view of the club is more important than any individual, and the manager has to be the most important one in the club.

Some English clubs have changed managers so many times that it creates power for the players in the dressing room. That is very dangerous. If the coach has no control, he will not last. You have to achieve a position of comprehensive control. Players must recognize that as the manager, you have the status to control events. You can complicate your life in many ways by asking, “Oh, I wonder if the players like me?” If I did my job well, the players would respect me, and that’s all you need.

I tended to act quickly when I saw a player become a negative influence. Some might say I acted impulsively, but I think it was critical that I made up my mind quickly. Why should I have gone to bed with doubts? I would wake up the next day and take the necessary steps to maintain discipline. It’s important to have confidence in yourself to make a decision and to move on once you have. It’s not about looking for adversity or for opportunities to prove power; it’s about having control and being authoritative when issues do arise.

5. Match the Message to the Moment
When it came to communicating decisions to his players, Ferguson—perhaps surprisingly for a manager with a reputation for being tough and demanding—worked hard to tailor his words to the situation.

When he had to tell a player who might have been expecting to start that he wouldn’t be starting, he would approach it as a delicate assignment. “I do it privately,” he told us. “It’s not easy. I say, ‘Look, I might be making a mistake here’—I always say that—‘but I think this is the best team for today.’ I try to give them a bit of confidence, telling them that it is only tactical and that bigger games are coming up.”

During training sessions in the run-up to games, Ferguson and his assistant coaches emphasized the positives. And although the media often portrayed him as favoring ferocious halftime and postgame talks, in fact he varied his approach. “You can’t always come in shouting and screaming,” he told us. “That doesn’t work.” The former player Andy Cole described it this way: “If you lose and Sir Alex believes you gave your best, it’s not a problem. But if you lose [in a] limp way…then mind your ears!”

Ferguson: No one likes to be criticized. Few people get better with criticism; most respond to encouragement instead. So I tried to give encouragement when I could. For a player—for any human being—there is nothing better than hearing “Well done.” Those are the two best words ever invented. You don’t need to use superlatives.

At the same time, in the dressing room, you need to point out mistakes when players don’t meet expectations. That is when reprimands are important. I would do it right after the game. I wouldn’t wait until Monday. I’d do it, and it was finished. I was on to the next match. There is no point in criticizing a player forever.

Generally, my pregame talks were about our expectations, the players’ belief in themselves, and their trust in one another. I liked to refer to a working-class principle. Not all players come from a working-class background, but maybe their fathers do, or their grandfathers, and I found it useful to remind players how far they have come. I would tell them that having a work ethic is very important. It seemed to enhance their pride. I would remind them that it is trust in one another, not letting their mates down, that helps build the character of a team.

In halftime talks, you have maybe eight minutes to deliver your message, so it is vital to use the time well. Everything is easier when you are winning: You can talk about concentrating, not getting complacent, and the small things you can address. But when you are losing, you have to make an impact. I liked to focus on our own team and our own strengths, but you have to correct why you are losing.

In our training sessions, we tried to build a football team with superb athletes who were smart tactically. If you are too soft in your approach, you won’t be able to achieve that. Fear has to come into it. But you can be too hard; if players are fearful all the time, they won’t perform well either. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to see that showing your anger all the time doesn’t work. You have to pick your moments. As a manager, you play different roles at different times. Sometimes you have to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a father.

6. Prepare to Win
Ferguson’s teams had a knack for pulling out victories in the late stages of games. Our analysis of game results shows that over 10 recent seasons, United had a better record when tied at halftime and when tied with 15 minutes left to play than any other club in the English league. Inspirational halftime talks and the right tactical changes during the game undoubtedly had something to do with those wins, but they may not be the full story.
When their teams are behind late in the game, many managers will direct players to move forward, encouraging them to attack. Ferguson was both unusually aggressive and unusually systematic about his approach. He prepared his team to win. He had players regularly practice how they should play if a goal was needed with 10, five, or three minutes remaining. “We practice for when the going gets tough, so we know what it takes to be successful in those situations,” one of United’s assistant coaches told us.

United practice sessions focused on repetition of skills and tactics. “We look at the training sessions as opportunities to learn and improve,” Ferguson said. “Sometimes the players might think, ‘Here we go again,’ but it helps us win.” There appears to be more to this approach than just the common belief that winning teams are rooted in habits—that they can execute certain plays almost automatically. There is also an underlying signal that you are never quite satisfied with where you are and are constantly looking for ways to improve. This is how Ferguson put it: “The message is simple: We cannot sit still at this club.”

Ferguson: Winning is in my nature. I’ve set my standards over such a long period of time that there is no other option for me—I have to win. I expected to win every time we went out there. Even if five of the most important players were injured, I expected to win. Other teams get into a huddle before the start of a match, but I did not do that with my team. Once we stepped onto the pitch before a game, I was confident that the players were prepared and ready to play, because everything had been done before they walked out onto the pitch.

I am a gambler—a risk taker—and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches. If we were down at halftime, the message was simple: Don’t panic. Just concentrate on getting the task done. If we were still down—say, 1–2—with 15 minutes to go, I was ready to take more risks. I was perfectly happy to lose 1–3 if it meant we’d given ourselves a good chance to draw or to win. So in those last 15 minutes, we’d go for it. We’d put in an extra attacking player and worry less about defense. We knew that if we ended up winning 3–2, it would be a fantastic feeling. And if we lost 1–3, we’d been losing anyway.

Being positive and adventurous and taking risks—that was our style. We were there to win the game. Our supporters understood that, and they got behind it. It was a wonderful feeling, you know, to see us go for it in those last 15 minutes. A bombardment in the box, bodies everywhere, players putting up a real fight. Of course, you can lose on the counterattack, but the joy of winning when you thought you were beaten is fantastic.
I think all my teams had perseverance—they never gave in. So I didn’t really need to worry about getting that message across. It’s a fantastic characteristic to have, and it is amazing to see what can happen in the dying seconds of a match.

7. Rely on the Power of Observation
Ferguson started out as a manager at the small Scottish club East Stirlingshire in 1974, when he was 32. He was not much older than some of his players and was very hands-on. As he moved up—to St. Mirren and Aberdeen, in Scotland, and then, after spectacular success at Aberdeen, to Manchester United—he increasingly delegated the training sessions to his assistant coaches. But he was always present, and he watched. The switch from coaching to observing, he told us, allowed him to better evaluate the players and their performances. “As a coach on the field, you don’t see everything,” he noted. A regular observer, however, can spot changes in training patterns, energy levels, and work rates.

The key is to delegate the direct supervision to others and trust them to do their jobs, allowing the manager to truly observe.

Ferguson: Observation is the final part of my management structure. When I started as a coach, I relied on several basics: that I could play the game well, that I understood the technical skills needed to succeed at the highest level, that I could coach players, and that I had the ability to make decisions. One afternoon at Aberdeen I had a conversation with my assistant manager while we were having a cup of tea. He said, “I don’t know why you brought me here.” I said, “What are you talking about?” and he replied, “I don’t do anything. I work with the youth team, but I’m here to assist you with the training and with picking the team. That’s the assistant manager’s job.” And another coach said, “I think he’s right, boss,” and pointed out that I could benefit from not always having to lead the training. At first I said, “No, no, no,” but I thought it over for a few days and then said, “I’ll give it a try. No promises.” Deep down I knew he was right. So I delegated the training to him, and it was the best thing I ever did.

It didn’t take away my control. My presence and ability to supervise were always there, and what you can pick up by watching is incredibly valuable. Once I stepped out of the bubble, I became more aware of a range of details, and my performance level jumped. Seeing a change in a player’s habits or a sudden dip in his enthusiasm allowed me to go further with him: Is it family problems? Is he struggling financially? Is he tired? What kind of mood is he in? Sometimes I could even tell that a player was injured when he thought he was fine.

I don’t think many people fully understand the value of observing. I came to see observation as a critical part of my management skills. The ability to see things is key—or, more specifically, the ability to see things you don’t expect to see.

8. Never Stop Adapting
In Ferguson’s quarter of a century at United, the world of football changed dramatically, from the financial stakes involved (with both positive and negative consequences) to the science behind what makes players better. Responding to change is never easy, and it is perhaps even harder when one is on top for so long. Yet evidence of Ferguson’s willingness to change is everywhere. As David Gill described it to me, Ferguson
has “demonstrated a tremendous capacity to adapt as the game has changed.”

In the mid-1990s, Ferguson became the first manager to field teams with a large number of young players in the relatively unprestigious League Cup—a practice that initially caused outrage but now is common among Premier League clubs (the Premier League consists of the country’s top 20 teams). He was also the first to let four top center forwards spend a season battling for two positions on his roster, a strategy that many outsiders deemed unmanageable but that was key to the great 1998–1999 season, in which United won the Treble: the Premier League, the FA (Football Association) Cup, and the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League.

Off the field, Ferguson greatly expanded his backroom staff and appointed a team of sports scientists to support the coaches. Following their suggestions, he installed Vitamin D booths in the players’ dressing room in order to compensate for the lack of sunlight in Manchester, and championed the use of vests fitted with GPS sensors that allow an analysis of performance just 20 minutes after a training session. Ferguson was the first coach to employ an optometrist for his players. United also hired a yoga instructor to work with players twice a week and recently unveiled a state-of-the-art medical facility at its training ground so that all procedures short of surgery can be handled on-site—ensuring a level of discretion impossible in a public hospital, where details about a player’s condition are invariably leaked to the press.

Ferguson: When I started, there were no agents, and although games were televised, the media did not elevate players to the level of film stars and constantly look for new stories about them. Stadiums have improved, pitches are in perfect condition now, and sports science has a strong influence on how we prepare for the season. Owners from Russia, the Middle East, and other regions have poured a lot of money into the game and are putting pressure on managers. And players have led more-sheltered lives, so they are much more fragile than players were 25 years ago.

One of the things I’ve done well over the years is manage change. I believe that you control change by accepting it. That also means having confidence in the people you hire. The minute staff members are employed, you have to trust that they are doing their jobs. If you micromanage and tell people what to do, there is no point in hiring them. The most important thing is to not stagnate. I said to David Gill a few years ago, “The only way we can keep players at Manchester United is if we have the best training ground in Europe.” That is when we kick-started the medical center. We can’t sit still.

Most people with my kind of track record don’t look to change. But I always felt I couldn’t afford not to change. We had to be successful—there was no other option for me—and I would explore any means of improving. I continued to work hard. I treated every success as my first. My job was to give us the best possible chance of winning. That is what drove me.

[Chester Perry]

Football is full of sorry tales of wealthy men with ego's becoming poorer and wiser as a result of inserting themselves into a culture and business model they do not understand - here is another - Reggiana are no more

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

[Chester Perry]

It is a long, long time since football lost all sense of shame but this sponsorship deal for Ligue 1 is something of a low for me - fancy having an Uber eats delivery man bringing the ball onto pitch before each match

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

[Chester Perry]

Following today's news at Bolton, Blackpool have confirmed their new owner - local lad made good and life long fan who now runs a hedge fund out of Hong Kong

https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2019 ... new-owner/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

nearly posted this when it first appeared - local rag on the then prospective owner Simon Sadler

https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/spor ... -1-9812157" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #1338 I mentioned that FIFA vice president Ahmad was detained and questioned by French authorities the day after Gianni Infantino boasted about how FIFA was revitalised, it's elected representatives free of corruption and seen by the world to act with integrity. The BBC gives us details of what the French police wanted to know from Ahmad

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/africa/48556061" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

The crazy world of Football fandom at entitled clubs - we are all aware of the creaking finances at Real Madrid and their desperation to get rid of talent know one wants/can afford to buy. The club have already committed well north of £300m on signings this summer, the manager is demanding the signing of Paul Pogba who Utd are wanting at least £150m for and now the fans are demanding Mbappe (that would tale spending to £700m and god knows where on wages.

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

[Chester Perry]

by way of contrast yet in an equally precarious financial state @KieranMaguire has a look at the finances of League One for the 2017/18 season (Bolton and Blackpool still to submit accounts)- Our friends down the road feature quite prominently

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 2080259079" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

The investigation into missing public money related to Northampton Town has been rumbling on for some time - it looks like it is going to explode into wider public consciousness at some point in the future

https://twitter.com/mattcprecey/status/ ... 7578203137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Royboyclaret]

by way of contrast yet in an equally precarious financial state @KieranMaguire has a look at the finances of League One for the 2017/18 season (Bolton and Blackpool still to submit accounts)- Our friends down the road feature quite prominently

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 2080259079" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For a League One club to have net liabilities of almost £94 million is beyond scary. The next highest are Charlton at £21 million.

Just how much of a debt of gratitude do they owe to Venky's for propping up this shambles of a club. If they ever pulled out Blackburn Rovers would collapse like a pack of cards.

[Chester Perry]

Chelsea finally break the habit of the Abramovich era (they tried hard with Conte if you remember, but the courts ruled against them)

https://twitter.com/sportingintel/statu ... 7035579392" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

getting money for the manager you don't want (but actually did a reasonable job in the context of their current state) is not bad

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48632052" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #1332 I mentioned that all the top European Clubs were looking to sign Japan's Takefusa Kubo now he has turned 18 - well Real Madrid have managed to sign him

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48637239" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

For a League One club to have net liabilities of almost £94 million is beyond scary. The next highest are Charlton at £21 million.

Just how much of a debt of gratitude do they owe to Venky's for propping up this shambles of a club. If they ever pulled out Blackburn Rovers would collapse like a pack of cards.

It is absolute bonkers when you compare it to Accy's figures shared by @AndyhHolt yesterday - see post #1389

but if fans have been brought up on owners who have lashed money on a club to operate beyond it's means it is difficult to wean themselves off it, and at Rovers that goes back to their earliest successes in the 1880's.

By contrast look at this tweet from @AndyhHolt today after last night's Q & A with his club's fans

"We had a chat night with fantastic @ASFCofficial supporters last night.

The place was packed with fantastic local folk.

Not a single person was asking me to risk our club, going for gold and riches @EFL

To a person they’re saying run their club sensibly.

They’re right"

[Royboyclaret]

It is absolute bonkers when you compare it to Accy's figures shared by @AndyhHolt yesterday - see post #1389

but if fans have been brought up on owners who have lashed money on a club to operate beyond it's means it is difficult to wean themselves off it, and at Rovers that goes back to their earliest successes in the 1880's.

By contrast look at this tweet from @AndyhHolt today after last night's Q & A with his club's fans

"We had a chat night with fantastic @ASFCofficial supporters last night.

The place was packed with fantastic local folk.

Not a single person was asking me to risk our club, going for gold and riches @EFL

To a person they’re saying run their club sensibly.

They’re right"

In a nutshell..........Just like Burnley.

No coincidence that Andy Holt was brought up on Stoops Estate and, most tellingly, had lots of words of praise for Barry Kilby when he first became involved with Accrington.

[ClaretTony]

It is absolute bonkers when you compare it to Accy's figures shared by @AndyhHolt yesterday - see post #1389

but if fans have been brought up on owners who have lashed money on a club to operate beyond it's means it is difficult to wean themselves off it, and at Rovers that goes back to their earliest successes in the 1880's.

By contrast look at this tweet from @AndyhHolt today after last night's Q & A with his club's fans

"We had a chat night with fantastic @ASFCofficial supporters last night.

The place was packed with fantastic local folk.

Not a single person was asking me to risk our club, going for gold and riches @EFL

To a person they’re saying run their club sensibly.

They’re right"

On the eve of the 2012/13 season a forum of Burnley fans foreign ownership throwing money at it. The overwhelming majority said no thanks.

On the following day I was with John B, who had asked the question, and Eddie Howe. The manager admitted to being amazed at the response. He said he would like that situation so it would give him more money to spend.

I wonder what the fans’ response would be now.

[Chester Perry]

CT - I believe from past threads on here there are a few that would want it - primarily at the younger end, those who have witnessed the ups and downs of the last 60 years tend to be (I know a few that are not) the ones who put sustainability and longevity first

[Chester Perry]

Man Utd and Liverpool U21's are to play in the EFL Trophy in the coming season

https://twitter.com/EFL/status/1139502747227529217" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- this makes a big 6 full house which is timely given that Checkatrade have finished their sponsorship and this makes the competition potentially more attractive to a new one

https://twitter.com/AgainstLeague3/stat ... 3586232320" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

yet since the EFL allowed the PL U21 teams in the attendances for the competition have fallen

https://twitter.com/uglygame/status/1139554204329095168" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

I have posted about the value of Football's contribution to the economy a number of times - Visit Britain commissioned research into it's pull for tourists

https://www.visitbritain.org/visitbrita ... sm-britain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the full report - nice of them to make it available, maybe because it is a Government Agency

https://www.visitbritain.org/sites/defa ... ourism.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and as ever Government strategy around the UK Football Industry is as it always has been - non existent - it only generates over £7bn+ in house without considering it's Socio Economic contribution