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Morecambe Finances 2017: Bring Me Sunshine
Introduction Morecambe had a nervous finish at the end of the 2017/18 season, surviving in the Football League on the final day. Perhaps they should have expected a close shave after being taken over by a Brazilian in 2016. What was probably cause for a party at the time has then no doubt been replaced by the sombre reality of trying to survive financially after being railroaded by an owner whose relationship with the truth is about the same as Sam Allardyce’s ego is with modesty. Being a fan of a lower league club is no different to that of a Premier League club, except there are fewer zeroes at…
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Newcastle 2017: Lovely Jubbly
Introduction Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s colourful owner, has finally submitted the club’s accounts for the year ended 30 June 2017 for public scrutiny. In first announcing a selected set of information from the accounts on the club’s website Ashley has laid himself open to accusations of trying to massage the message from the club’s season in the Championship. Kind words are in short supply in Tyneside for Ashley, who bought the club in May 2007 and has overseen two relegations during that period. Easy to criticise, and hard to love, but is Ashley as bad as some make out, given that he has lent the club over £140 million interest free,…
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Premier League Club Values 2017
As the 2017/18 season comes to an end, all but one Premier League (EPL) club has submitted their accounts for publication, and that has allowed us to estimate values. The new domestic broadcasting deal that came into play in 2016/17, combined with wage restraint due to the EPL’s Short Term Cost Control rules, has boosted club income and profitability. As a result the total value of EPL clubs has risen over 30% from £12.1 billion to £15.8 billion. The clubs have been valued using the Markham Multivariate Model (MMM) devised by Dr Tom Markham, a graduate of the University of Liverpool’s Football Industries MBA programme, and is now head of…
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West Bromwich Albion: Dazed and Confused.
It’s of little consolation to West Brom fans as their club is facing relegation, but the club’s holding company have just published their financial results for 2016/17 revealing record profits. A few months later though it was the night of the long knives in the boardroom and the club’s boardroom big cheeses were shown the door. Summary of key figures (West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited) Income £137.9 million (up 40%) Broadcasting income £118.7 million (up 51%) Wages £79.1 million (up 7%) Profit before player sales £26.7 million (Loss of £5.2 million in 2016) Player purchases £37.4 million (£28.2 million in 2016) Player sales £19.8 million (£6.3 million in 2016) Borrowings:…
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Burnley: Your name’s not down, you’re not coming in
As The Notsensibles are one of our favourite bands, it’s time to take a look at the financies of Burnley as the club celebrated their most successful season to date in the Premier League in 2016/17 by finishing six points above the drop and have since used this as a springboard to be presently challenging for a European place. The club, along with manager Sean Dyche and the players, don’t get the credit they deserve for winning matches and playing decent football, with too many critics lazily linking Dyche’s nightclub bouncer dress code, Dalek like voice to a club with the ethos of a slightly upmarket Wimbledon of the Crazy…
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Huddersfield Town: The Model
Must confess to having a huge soft spot for Yorkshire’s leading football club, Huddersfield Town. The locals are friendly, one of their fans runs the funniest football website on t’internet in http://www.htfc-world.com/ , they sell any remaining pies and burgers for £1 at the end of matches to fans, the club is owned by a local lad who clearly loves his club (and isn’t a Billy Bigbollocks), they are not managed by Neil Warnock AND they were promoted last season on merit, relatively under the radar. Did they achieve promotion last season on a shoestring or is that a Yorkshire myth? Let’s look… Summary of key figures (Huddersfield Town Association…
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Leeds United 2017: Cardboard box? You were lucky…
It may seem an unusual thing to say, but we feel a bit sorry for many Leeds fans. They’ve been shafted more times than Linda Lovelace in Deep Throat and were once so desperate for an owner they even cheered when Ken Bates took over the club. 2016/17 proved to Massimo Cellino’s reign of jaw dropping entertainment at Elland Road, as the colourful (crooked) Italian sold initially 50%, then the whole of the club to fellow Italian Andrea Radrizziani. Fans were initially excited about the change of control, as Cellino had been tight with the cash (something that most Yorkshire folk would usually approve of) during his time at the…
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Blackburn Rovers: Look what you could have won
Key Figures Rovers became the first Premier League winners to be relegated to the third tier in May 2017, and their annual accounts aren’t going to put a smile on fans’ faces either. Income £14.9 million (down 32%) Wages £22.0 million (down 13%) Loss before player sales £13.7 million (down 17%) Player purchases £1.3 million Player sales £11.1 million Borrowings £112.8 million The club was acquired by Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt Ltd in October 2010, so this analysis concentrates on the club’s finances under their ownership. Income 2016/17 was the first season Blackburn did not have the benefit of parachute payments. Not all clubs have announced their results for 2016/17 yet,…