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Rangers and Celtic: Never Let Me Down
Glasgow’s big two teams have good starts to both domestic and Europa Cup campaigns so far this season and both have just announced their financial results for 2018/19. Everyone know that the rivalry between the clubs and especially their fans is intense, but do the accounts give the likes of @BearNecessities1872 and @PopeAndGlory on Twitter more point scoring opportunities against each other? Revenue Revenue for clubs is generated from three sources, matchday, broadcasting and commercial. Relative to the rest of Scottish football, where many clubs are so small, they are not legally obliged to show income and expenses in their accounts, Celtic and Rangers dominate as would be expected. All…
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Bristol City 2018/19: Empty Skies
Introduction: Life in the Championship is tough, and Bristol City’s latest financial results are testament to that as playoff hopes were dashed and the club lost a lot of money on a day to day basis. Every cloud has a silver lining and City’s impressive player recruitment and talent spotting allowed the club to reverse these losses due to player sales that generated £38 million profits. Even so, the club needed the benevolence of owner Stephen Lansdown to keep its head above water as he continued to pump money into City. Key figures for year to 31 May 2019: Bristol City Holdings Ltd Income £30.3 million (up 20%). Wages £30.6…
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Manchester United 2018/19: Waterfall
In May 2018 Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s vice-chairman said, “Playing performance doesn’t really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business.” Down at the Stretford End hardcore United fans were unimpressed with the comment at the time and no doubt Woodward is squirming after the club’s moderate start to the 2019/20 season. Reds fans know United have just announced their accounts for the year ended 30 June 2019, and like events on the pitch last season, they are a mixed bag of results. Income A Football club generates income from three main sources, matchday, commercial and broadcasting. The matchday income for Manchester…
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Hull City 2018/19: Doppelganger
Assem Allam, the Hull City owner, is not a popular man with the fans of the East Riding Championship club. Last season the club finished 13th in the Championship which was a reasonable if forgettable position. Losing 8 games out of the first 12 had left Hull at the bottom of the division in October but things improved on the pitch slowly and at one point Hull were in with a chance of making the playoffs. A look at the club’s accounts reveals a mixed bag too, although the club deserve some credit for (again) being the first of the 92 to publish results for the previous season. Many fans…
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Scunthorpe United 2018: The Light Pours Out Of Me
Introduction Peter Swann, the Scunthorpe United owner, recently claimed “we are probably one of the best-run clubs in the Football League” so it’s time to take a look at the finances of the Lincolnshire team, presently sat at the bottom of League Two. EFL chairmen may have to decide soon in terms of Bury’s appeal to be reinstated to the league and if so, there will be two rather than one sides relegated to the National League. The chances of a club in a position similar to that of Scunthorpe voting for reinstatement are remote as it could be the difference between survival or demotion to the National League. Income…
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Bury: Another brick in the wall
Overview The company has taken advantage of legislation for small businesses to avoid publishing full financial statements. This means that there is no profit and loss account or income/wage details. No accounts have been published for the year ended 31 May 2018, in breach of company law, making the directors guilty of a criminal offence. Losses accelerated for the company from 2013 onwards, following the acquisition of the club by Stewart Day. In the two years when the club did publish fuller sets of accounts, wages exceeded income. Income details Bury’s income increased in 2015/6 and 2016/7 when the club was in League One. This is partially due to increased…
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Football Finances: Serpent’s Kiss
Out of 92 football clubs in the Premier League and the EFL, 61 made a net loss in their most recent accounts. The total losses made by those clubs came to £589 million and that’s after some, especially those in the Premier League, receiving the riches of bumper TV and sponsorship deals as well as player sales. Manchester United’s losses are distorted by Trump related tax changes in the US, where the company’s shares are traded, but it’s noticeable that all three clubs relegated that season lost money too. In the Championship loss making is the norm, with the three promoted clubs in 2017/18 being in the top five loss…
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Bury: Minutes to Midnight
Summer 1976 and I’m gathered around a bed with my mum and my eleven-year-old sister, watching my dad, full of tubes, breath slower and slower. The priest has just given him the last rites, the consultant has just explained he’s done all he can, my mum is weeping, I’m holding my sister’s hand. Even then I was obsessed with numbers and I’m staring at the heart rate monitor, watching it count down and hoping for a miracle*. Very sad you might say, but why the melodrama, and what the Dickens has this got to do with Bury football club? Emotional blackmail this isn’t though, Bury fans are watching their own…
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Selling your stadium to yourself: It’s not cricket
Introduction Sale and leaseback is the latest buzz phrase in the world of football finance, as Derby County, Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday have used this mechanism to avoid points deductions in the EFL Championship. How does it work, is it legitimate and what the benefits to the clubs involved (and their owners) in terms of FFP ‘compliance’ will be covered in this article? What is sale and leaseback? Accountants have used sale and leaseback for a long time to help companies raise money and it is usually a transaction arranged with a bank or other lender effectively mortgaging an existing property owned by a business. Under present accounting rules…
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Sheffield Wednesday 2017/18: When the sun goes down
Championship football may be the most unpredictable and exciting in the country, but it comes at a price, and Sheffield Wednesday’s very delayed 2017/18 accounts are no exception. Huge losses are run up in the division as chairmen leave common sense behind and twist on 18 in the hope of achieving promotion to ‘the promised land’ of 8pm kickoff on a Monday night at home to Watford. Accountants can now be as valuable as strikers if they can come up with schemes that Baldrick from Blackadder would call ‘cunning’ and help clubs avoid the laughably called Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) points deductions of up to 12 points. No club apart…