Football's Magic Money Tree

[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

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Ticket Sales

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Infrastructure spend

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Commercial Income

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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)

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

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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

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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

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[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

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[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

[Chester Perry]

UEFA have got in on the OTT media act with their own channel - they will have to tread carefully those media outlets that have paid millions to license their content for specific territories

https://sponsorship.sportbusiness.com/n ... -platform/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDIT - This move ties in perfectly with this article

http://www.sportspromedia.com/quick_fir ... P9.twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Following all the hoohaa (especially from the Championship clubs who threatened to break-away) after the announcement of their last TV deal the EFL have announced that they are to review the way it negotiates these deals in the future - I suspect this was one of the key discussions at the EFL get-together in Portugal last week

from the Times - I have used all my free views this week so if anyone can transcribe I would be grateful

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/spor ... -mgkf26pgt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[superdimitri]

In posts #1347 and #1349 I suggested that the ECA and Andrea Agnelli's required a 16 team domestic top flight, that domestic leagues would never vote for that, such change could only be imposed by FIFA and the FIFA would only do so for their on Financial benefit.

Now I am wondering if FIFA President Gianni Infantino has found the revenue source to make the imposition - he is talking about a $50bn commercial revenue of a Club World Cup - if I am reading it right this blows the mooted $25bn Softbank/Saudi deal out of the water

http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/infa ... al-revenue" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure it would help you or not but it's possible to link to individual previous posts on the forum. All you do is append the number before the post in the URL.

eg to point to post 1351 you append 1350 after start=

http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... start=1350" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It would normally be as easy as appending the correct number not the one before it so that's rather odd and perhaps an admin can fix.

Would also be nice to be able to click on individual posts, if not too easily navigate but to simply to copy and paste them.

I saw a lot of mentions in the threads of previous posts so being able to link between them would make it easier. Of course anyone reading this can also simply append their own URL to visit a mentioned post number which is so much faster than scrolling through and guessing the pages.

[Chester Perry]

Not sure it would help you or not but it's possible to link to individual previous posts on the forum. All you do is append the number before the post in the URL.

eg to point to post 1351 you append 1350 after start=

http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... start=1350" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It would normally be as easy as appending the correct number not the one before it so that's rather odd and perhaps an admin can fix.

Would also be nice to be able to click on individual posts, if not too easily navigate but to simply to copy and paste them.

I saw a lot of mentions in the threads of previous posts so being able to link between them would make it easier. Of course anyone reading this can also simply append their own URL to visit a mentioned post number which is so much faster than scrolling through and guessing the pages.

I like that thinking and helpfulness - cheers

[Chester Perry]

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin endears himself to small European Nations who want to spend money on UEFA while attacking the English game has a whole. Neither side helps, and we all know they just want a slice of our money while the FA/PL big clubs want the Europeans to bend to their will and traditions, Astonishing egos n all sides

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

[Chester Perry]

I first brought up FIFA's desire to restructure the transfer/loan system in post #260 (http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... &start=259" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and there have been ongoing talks that have seen progress (see post #1301 http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... start=1300" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) so much so that they may be in force for the season 2020/21. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is also keen to curtail the practice of clubs like Chelsea who have turned loans into a business. I was not aware of the scale that some Italian clubs have reached though.

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


NB Superdimitri your suggestion works - I like!

[superdimitri]

I first brought up FIFA's desire to restructure the transfer/loan system in post #260 (http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... &start=259" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and there have been ongoing talks that have seen progress (see post #1301 http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... start=1300" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) so much so that they may be in force for the season 2020/21. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is also keen to curtail the practice of clubs like Chelsea who have turned loans into a business. I was not aware of the scale that some Italian clubs have reached though.

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


NB Superdimitri your suggestion works - I like!

Fantastic, you're more than welcome. You can even wrap the links in text like this:

Post 260

But the uptheclarets text editor is quite rudimentary so you have to do it the manual way. Shown here: https://www.bbcode.org/examples/?id=9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great job in this thread, very informative read about the game we grow to love, if only it wasn't all about the money eh.

[Chester Perry]

I first mentioned the availability and history of Takefusa Kubo in post #1332 http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... start=1331" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and announced that he had signed for Real Madrid in post #1402 http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... start=1401" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; here the Guardian explains how Real Madrid got one over Barcelona

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

[Chester Perry]

In post #1384 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1383" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I linked to an excellent article on insolvency and administration. That article mentioned the now rare occurrence of receivership and mentioned that Blackpool was an actual instance of the receivers being called in.

This article from Law in Sport describes the process they had to go through

https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/artic ... -club-fans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #591 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... &start=590" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I raised the fact that FIFA were looking at capping agents fees. Here an article from Law in Sport questions whether two the approached being discussed by FIFA would:

a) achieve their aim
b) have unintended impacts - like actually inflating transfer fees and salaries

https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/artic ... n-practice" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #1389 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1388" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; @AndyhHolt shared details of Accy's finances since he took over - he has since announced that the wage budget for the coming season is £1.6m. Here @kieranMaguire looks at the finances of National League Ebbsfleet United (who lost to Tranmere in the play-offs in the current season - figures are for 2017/18 and shocking - £2.1m in wages!!!

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 4354356224" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #712 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... &start=711" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) I delved a bit deeper into how country's use football for their own ends as a "soft power" exercise (see also posts #681 and #682 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... &start=680" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). I that post I included a Simon Chadwick article and how China strategically use football to gain access to Africa's natural resources.

In this article he looks at how Huawei is at the centre of China's influence on the next instalment of the African Nations Cup early next year while the rest of the world works out what to do next with the Telecoms behemoth

https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/art ... ks-exploit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Part 6 of the Mathew Briggs: A Journey of Discovery (Former youngest ever PL player still in his mid 20's trying to regain a foothold in the game)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCwxO6U7TyE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you have missed this tale up to now Parts 1-3

http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1242" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 4

http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1288" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Part 5

http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1363" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

@SwissRamble has been doing a belated piece of Barnsley's 2017/18 financial results today - a solid well run club that seeks to be sustainable with a clear strategy even after a change of ownership is what you can take from it. The most eye catching element of the analysis however is this showing the stratified levels of TV Revenue from 1st in PL through parachute tiers to League 1

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 4186970112" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #1270 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1269" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) I linked a graphic outlining the tv revenue of the top 4 European Leagues. Ligue 1 (France) was a significant omission - possibly for the sake of clarity (there would be lots of overlap). So here we have a clear representation of TV earnings from that League

https://twitter.com/SBI_Barcelona/statu ... 5442193408" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #855 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... &start=850" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) I shared the news that Crystal Palace were for sale. An update from Offthepitch.com


Media: Palace in takeover talks with Chinese businessman - by Christian Fomsgaard Jensen

A Chinese businessman was given "the red-carpet treatment" at Palace last month ahead of potential takeover.
Owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer value the club at £220 million.

They have long been rumoured to be for sale and Crystal Palace have now held talks with a potential buyer from China, reports The Sun.

The unknown Chinese businessman visited Selhurst Park and the Eagles’ training ground last month accompanied by a large entourage and they were given "the red-carpet treatment," the paper understands.

To help finalise a potential takeover, Palace’s major shareholders, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, have appointed PJT Partners, a US investment bank, as an adviser.

Multiple interest
Harris and Blitzer value the club at around £220 million, but the Chinese businessman’s initial offer is below the £200 million mark according to The Sun, who also reports there is at least one other potential buyer with genuine interest.

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand and previous owner of Manchester City, has also been reported as interested in buying the club, but was not ready to pay more than £150 million. In 2017, Harris and Blitzer also rejected an offer from Shanghai Naisi Investment Management Centre as it was below their valuation.

The two bought a 36 per cent stake in 2015 and pumped £100 million into the club. Chairman Steve Parish owns 18 per cent.

[Chester Perry]

@TariqPanja highlights the benefits of being a FIFA Council member in a series of tweets today

FIFA Council member Omari of Congo seems to be one of the constants at this World Cup. Seems he’s been in Paris since at least June 4. His sudden appreciation of the women’s game also means:

1. 5* accommodation
2. $150 for every day in France
3. Next to no work on FIFA’s behalf

And it’s not just him. This is the issue with FIFA’s approach to its council members. It expects little in return for $250,000 per year, plus other grace and favor arrangements.

Years ago, a FIFA official said its biggest risk was its executive committee. He was right. A load were indicted on corruption charges. It’s since been reformed as the “council” but the risk remains.

now remind me - What was FIFA President Gianni Infantino saying in Paris earlier this month http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1337" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

It seems that Nasser al-Khelaïfi, the owner of PSG has had enough of Champions League failure and antics of the likes of Neymar

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

[Royboyclaret]

@SwissRamble has been doing a belated piece of Barnsley's 2017/18 financial results today - a solid well run club that seeks to be sustainable with a clear strategy even after a change of ownership is what you can take from it. The most eye catching element of the analysis however is this showing the stratified levels of TV Revenue from 1st in PL through parachute tiers to League 1

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 4186970112" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brilliant analysis as ever from Swiss Ramble. A fascinating look at a very well run Barnsley club and some particularly insightful graphs comparing the 23 Championship clubs......take a look at the Matchday Income graphs and evidence that incredibly 16 of the 23 Championship clubs had a higher Matchday Income to ours at Burnley.

Evidence, if we needed it, of how totally reliant we are on Broadcast Income in order provide a Total Revenue to make us competitive in the Premier League :-
Matchday Income......£5.6m
Commercial Income.......£11.9m
TV Income........£121.5m

Total Income to Jun'18........£139m.

[TVC15]

Brilliant analysis as ever from Swiss Ramble. A fascinating look at a very well run Barnsley club and some particularly insightful graphs comparing the 23 Championship clubs......take a look at the Matchday Income graphs and evidence that incredibly 16 of the 23 Championship clubs had a higher Matchday Income to ours at Burnley.

Evidence, if we needed it, of how totally reliant we are on Broadcast Income in order provide a Total Revenue to make us competitive in the Premier League :-
Matchday Income......£5.6m
Commercial Income.......£11.9m
TV Income........£121.5m

Total Income to Jun'18........£139m.

Yes indeed.
Have you ever seen any breakdown of our commercial income ? Be interesting to see how much we raise from shirt sales, advertising, sponsorship etc.
Is our revenue from corporate hospitality included in the match day income or in commercial income ?

[Chester Perry]

Yes indeed.
Have you ever seen any breakdown of our commercial income ? Be interesting to see how much we raise from shirt sales, advertising, sponsorship etc.
Is our revenue from corporate hospitality included in the match day income or in commercial income ?

I understood that Corporate Hospitality was part of match day income

Also that Commercial income included £5m of Shirt sponsorship - incidently our new shirt deal is supposed to represent us as being viewed as an established PL club

[Royboyclaret]

Yes indeed.
Have you ever seen any breakdown of our commercial income ? Be interesting to see how much we raise from shirt sales, advertising, sponsorship etc.
Is our revenue from corporate hospitality included in the match day income or in commercial income ?

Catering sales.......£2.6m
Retail sales.......£1.9m
Shirt and sleeve sponsorship........£4.9m
Other commercial activities.........£2.5m

Total commercial income........£11.9m.

[Chester Perry]

In post #1413 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1412" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin had a dig at the English always complaining. Tomorrow tickets for the European Super Cup in Istanbul between Liverpool and Chelsea go on sale, the share of tickets for fans is significantly higher than the end of season showpieces, and the lowest price tickets will be the same as last seasons match though the top seats have increased in price. - will there be more complaints from the English?

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

[Chester Perry]

I have posted this on it's own thread but it so clearly fits here I have decided to add it - Alistair Campbell talks about the political problems facing football, the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Brexit and Burnley in the TIFO podcast

https://www.tifofootball.com/podcast/al ... r-burnley/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Michel Platini has been arrested over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar

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

[frankinwales]

Fantastic thread as always Chester........Many thanks.....



Up the Clarets......

[Chester Perry]

In post #1425 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... 0#p1030200" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) I posted about PSG's owner warning his players that they need to focus more on improving team performances than their lifestyle. @MiguelDelaney looks at Neymar and asks whether he is worth the hassle

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 62831.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looking at that would you consider signing Pogba if Neymar leaves as PSG are reputed to be

[Chester Perry]

Apparently there are hundreds of redundancies at BeIN Media Group in Qatar, no details yet just interesting that this is supposedly a growing organisation - it is known that their attempts to stop the Saudis illegally transmitting their streams have filed so far robbing them of that line of revenue

https://www.ft.com/content/970fc542-c17 ... 6dfef1b89a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is also affecting their contracts with the Asian Football Congress

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/spor ... rabia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

Following the arrest of Michel Platini today (see post #1433 http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1432" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or further discussion on the matter http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... =2&t=39961" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) Nick Harris reminds us of what we learned of the other FIFA Executive Committee members who voted for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups back in 2010.

https://twitter.com/sportingintel/statu ... 4462374912" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chester Perry]

In post #1362 (http://uptheclarets.com/messageboard/vi ... start=1361" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) I linked a couple of articles that highlighted the FFP tightrope at Real Madrid - @KieranMaguire has had a look for the BBC as they ask if Real can afford Pogba on top of all their other purchases this summer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48664706" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not convinced he has got this right - he states the cash position at the last accounts, he should be aware that he following day all that cash was paid out in wages - the practice both Barca and Real Madrid employ.