Financial Results
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Coventry: Too Much Too Young
I might be talking utter bilge (Not for the first time: Ed) but Coventry City, by being relegated to League 2 last season, became the first team in the inaugural season of the Premier League to drop to that level. Even winning the Checkatrade Trophy last season could not paper over the cracks of relegation. Their finances over the last decade, under a series of opportunists, asset strippers, charlatans and scumbags, have suffered a similar decline. For a few seasons their holding company, Sky Blue Sports and Leisure Ltd, also included the activities of ProZone, which was under the club’s control when Ray Ranson (yes, that one) was in charge.…
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Aston Villa: Burning Sky
Aston Villa 2016/17 Introduction: Aston Villa Football Club Ltd announced their financial results, which were published in the local newspapers, and fans sighed with relief. The fears that the club was heading into a Financial Fair Play (FFP) meltdown seemed overstated, as the losses of £7 million quoted in the papers appeared to give wiggle room in terms of the £39 million losses allowed over three years. However, there’s a problem, and it’s a sizeable one. Aston Villa Football Club Ltd doesn’t cover all of the activities of Villa, and certain costs, most notably player wages, are excluded from the costs. The accounts being reviewed by media sources and fans…
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Chelsea: Suffer Little Childreni
Introduction: Oh Manchester, so much to answer for… Chelsea announced their financial results recently, and since then manager Antonio Conte has been muttering about not being able to compete in the football transfer and wages markets with the two big Manchester clubs. Is this true, and what are the state of Chelsea’s finances? Time to take a peek. On the face of it, being Premier League Champions in 2017, progress through the group stages of the Champions League, semi-finalists in the League Cup and presently in the FA Cup, you would think there would be plenty to cheer about. Income Clubs have three sources of income. In 2016/17 Chelsea’s total…
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Millwall financial results 2017: Our House
Introduction: I like Millwall for many reasons. I was born in Southwark, so they were the nearest club to me as a kid. My Uncle Tom had trials for them in the early 50’s. My Uncle Terry, who taught me how to play football, love the game and hate Crystal Palace, supported them for over 60 years. Add to that the Danny Baker factor (and ignoring that Rod Liddle is a CJTC) and there’s a lot of positives. 2016/17 was a successful year in League One, with the club returning to the Championship via the playoffs, and there was some success in the FA Cup too, reaching the quarter final…
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Everton Financial Results: We Are Glass
Introduction: In what could have been a good title for a song title by The Cure, 10:30 on a Friday Night is a very odd time for a club to tease out its financial results. Initially there was a press release, full of positives as one would expect, and enough for the media to put out a column or two. To find out the full details it was necessary to wait though, and that’s something we don’t like because the story has become old news by the time some of the key numbers have been released (Chelsea have just done the same). Having said that, it was a memorable season…
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Bristol City: Unfinished sympathy
Introduction: Bristol City showed the challenge that exists for clubs trying to survive, let alone compete, in the Championship after racking up a recurring loss of £19.2 million before player sales last season. This is for a club that finished 17th in the division. The previous season similar losses were £14.4 million for finishing one place lower in the division. The continued development of Ashton Gate should give City a better base on which to generate income. The Championship remains the most frightening division in European football in terms of the financial gamble that exists there, as club owners decide whether to fund a promotion push with the potential £100…
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Brighton and Hove Albion. Please, please, please, let me get what I want
Brighton and Hove Albion: Please, please, please, let me get what I want. Introduction: Bigmouth strikes again. This report will focus on the cost of Brighton being promoted to the Premier League in the six years since they’ve moved to the Amex stadium in 2011. Key figures for 2016/17: Panic Income £29.2m (up 18.3%). Wages £31.3m* (up 11.0%) *excludes £9.1million bonus paid to staff upon promotion, would be a 42.9% increase if bonus included. Losses before player sales £38.9 million (up 50.1%) Player signings £19.0 million Player sales £ 0.3 million Tony Bloom investment £280 million The Albion just missed out on promotion at the end of 2015/16, first on…
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Walsall: Mama Weer All Crazee Now
Football, it’s all about money, footballers are a bunch of greedy tossers, all clubs lose a fortune and are bankrolled by overseas millionaires, the game is going to destroy itself etc. But here’s a different club. It lives within its means, makes a profit every year, and that’s without selling a single player for a fee, and has 128 staff who between them earn just over half of what Manchester United pay Jesse Lingard. Perhaps it could make you fall in love with the game again? The club is Walsall, in the Black Country, nice little stadium, shame about the lack of decent pubs nearby, but other than that the…
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Celtic: Inbetween Days
Introduction Celtic’s accounts for 2016/17 arrived in our inbox 24 hours before the club lost its 69 game domestic unbeaten run. We recently reported on the financial situation of Rangers, who were promoted to the Scottish Premiership (SPL) in 2016/7. https://priceoffootball.com/glasgow-rangers-201617-orange-crush/ They highlight the paradox of being in their current position, too rich compared to their peers to make Scottish football competitive (although Hearts fans may now query that), but too poor to be able to challenge in the Champions League, leading to their fans searching through Google Maps as they try to find how easy it is to get to St Petersburg on public transport for the forthcoming Europa…
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Sheffield United: Crushed by the wheels of industry
Introduction We’ve always considered Sheffield United to be a big club. Whether that’s due to Tony Currie being a favourite player when I was a kid, Brian Deane scoring the first ever Premier League goal, or Sean Bean’s very public support of the club, we’ve always been well supported, with a decent stadium, so one would expect them to be in the top two divisions. It’s therefore a surprise to see that it took the Blades six years to return to the Championship, since being relegated in 2011. Key figures for 2016/17 Income £11.4m (up 7.5%). Wages £10.0m (down 11.5%) Losses before player sales £7.7m (down 18.1%) Player signings £3.1…