Forget Liverpool. TV Deal Not Fair On Supporters

"What is absolutely certain is that, with the greatest respect to our colleagues in the Premier League, if you’re a Bolton fan in Bolton, you subscribe to Sky because you want to watch Bolton. Everyone gets that. Likewise, if you’re a Liverpool fan from Liverpool, you subscribe. But if you’re in Kuala Lumpur there isn’t anyone subscribing to Astro or ESPN to watch Bolton, or if they are, it is a very small number."

Ian Ayre, Managing Director, Liverpool FC

In truth, Ian Ayre was not just making a case for Liverpool negotiating its own foreign broadcasting rights – although RTG admits that we are not clear as to what he is really saying. However, if you read between the lines of his statement he is saying that the entire system for sharing Premier League TV revenue is unfair be it in the UK or abroad. Yes, we understand that the deal for selling rights abroad, where all revenue is split equally, with 5% going to each club, is perhaps particularly weighted against clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United. Their following abroad is far greater than most. But if you’re against the collective approach in one arena then you are surely against it full stop. It is totally illogical to highlight it as a problem in one area and not the other.

Thankfully, for the moment, it seems that the rest of the Premier League clubs are not so keen, yet, on backing Liverpool in its stance. That may well change and become more urgent for those clubs who will fail UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules. For the Premier League to be viable as a viewing spectacle, and for clubs at lower levels to compete, there must be a degree of revenue sharing. In England last season, champions Manchester United picked up £60.4m in revenue as against £39.1m for lowest earners, relegated Blackpool – only around 50% more. Compare this situation to La Liga in Spain where Real Madrid and Barcelona negotiate their own TV deals. There, Madrid earned 19 times more TV revenue than teams finishing lower down the league. La Liga has reached the point where only two teams are ever likely to win the championship. The European Union has spent the best part of 50 years attempting to ensure fair and equitable trading conditions for all 27 member states, and yet, for football it totally ignores these inequities.

Just because the proposal has received such a negative response, doesn’t mean we can be complacent about it. As commercialism becomes increasingly more important than the sport of football itself, it is surely only a matter of time before the need to boost revenues in the short-term will outweigh the desire for a revenue-sharing collective that looks after the interests of the sport itself. In 2005, Chelsea first put the issue of self-negotiation of TV deals to the vote, presumably in a bid to meet Peter Kenyon’s 2010 break-even target. They were defeated 19 to one by the other clubs. It takes 14 Premier League clubs to vote in favour of any motion to change the way the Premier League operates. The greater number of rich, foreign owners we allow to take over clubs in a bid to compete financially, or even just to survive, the more the likelihood that commercial interests will eventually supersede any emotional ties that exist in preserving English football.

In RTG’s opinion, the whole issue of football on TV needs to be re-thought and given a total makeover in order to protect the interests of supporters and the game of football that we love, rather than a few wealthy owners, the Premier League and Sky TV. We don’t profess to have all the answers but we do know that our interests are not currently being looked after.

Take the present situation with Sky Sports. The current model is based on a previous time when we had precious little live football on TV. We pay a monthly fee to watch the games that Sky chooses for us to watch rather than the game we choose to watch. Those supporters who choose to attend live matches have to fit around the needs of TV scheduling – like it or lump it. We live in a time now where there is so much more live football on TV that this current model is outdated. Surely supporters should be given what they need – not what Sky wishes to push out. To add insult to injury, football supporters end up having to subsidise other minority sports such as Premier League darts, fishing and masturbation for the unemployed aka Aerobics Oz Style.

Consider this idea from RTG. At a fixed time over the weekend, every game in the Premier League is shown live and we pay to watch the game we want to watch. A recent report in the Guardian stated that there is a worldwide annual audience of 304 billion people for Premier League football. If only one pound was charged to watch these matches (ie £304,000,000,000!) this would totally dwarf the current £1.4 billion per annum deal that Richard Scudamore so proudly boasts about. The Premier League could commission its own broadcaster to show these matches on a pay per view or offer a variety of tailored packages, with occasional free to air matches, at different kick-off times to stimulate interest. The revenue would still be shared out among the clubs with home gates being a factor in how much goes to each club. Yes, it would favour clubs with bigger grounds and with more support but the onus would then be on clubs to improve their grounds, get more supporters through the turnstiles and improve the match day experience all round. With more money coming into the game rather than going into the pockets of Rupert Murdoch, Sky and the Premier League executives, clubs could afford to lower prices in order to fill up and improve their grounds. The more supporters they get into the ground, the more money they get from the TV revenue. The end result of this would be:

1. Supporters would be able to watch the match of their choice;

2. Clubs would be encouraged to fill their grounds and would have the money to improve stadia comfort and access;

3. We would not be contributing to the coffers of Murdoch and Sky but our money would go back into the game;

4. Tickets for fans to go to games would be cheaper as well as the match day experience being a lot better.

At some point in the future, it is inevitable that all games will be shown live. We should anticipate and embrace this significant change and not wait for a handful of self interested owners and administrators to dictate its terms. Let us state again, we don’t have all the answers here and this model would have to be debated thoroughly. But it gives the game back to its customers – the supporters. If we carry on down the road we are currently going, the money will increasingly be concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy people to the detriment of supporters and football itself. Sign up and help us to Reclaim the Game.

Owners or Administrators. Are Any of Them 'Fit and Proper'?

For those of us who include a study of the league tables as part of our Sunday morning ablutions, tracking the form of clubs has become rather more convoluted over the last few seasons by the need to refer constantly to one or more asterisks alongside various teams throughout the league tables.

Even those of us who like to think that they are football ‘savvy’ are left in some bewilderment – Crystal Palace minus 10 points, Southampton minus 10 points, Chester minus, don’t know they’ve disappeared, Luton minus 30 points, Leeds minus 10, then another minus 15, Portsmouth about to be deducted 9 points etc.

What’s striking about the deductions is their variability. Why the different deductions? They are all for basically the same thing. They overspent and, quite rightly, this is tantamount to cheating. But why the disparities? What exactly are the rules governing points deductions and why have they been applied with additional sanctions in some cases? Yes - RTG knows that additional rules have been broken in the method and circumstances of clubs facing administration – hence more points deducted – but you would need to be a forensic financial analyst to understand exactly what rule is being broken. Why will Portsmouth get a nine point reduction as opposed to the ten points for other Football League clubs?

All this does is illustrate that there is a paucity of clarity from the FA, Premiership and Football League. Equally so, it represents not just the bust phase of the football boom and bust show, but the total lack of leadership from those that govern football.

"We have to be careful we don't adopt Michel Platini's and the French view of debt, which is that it is bad. Debt is inevitable. You say debt is not healthy but debt, of course, to a degree is healthy. If we are not careful we'll end up where no one is allowed a holiday in France who has a mortgage in England."


Richard Scudamore, October 2008

So Richard Scudamore, like so many fat cats – sorry – corporate professionals – is happy to sit back and do almost nothing to pick up large six figure salaries and large six figure bonuses (pushing his salary well into seven figures) for doing basically nothing. He believes that football is a corporate dog eat dog world and that clubs that are mismanaged will be punished for their profligacy. For some reason, he doesn’t seem to realise that his organisation has an active role in ensuring clubs have the right management with the Premiership’s (alleged) ‘fit and proper’ tests. How is it then that these tests allowed four (or is it five?) different and clearly not fit owners to take over Portsmouth in a few months? Clearly the Premiership applies rules which are meaningless at best, bordering on criminal at worst.

On top of that, two of the world’s biggest clubs, Manchester United and Liverpool, have been allowed to mortgage their very existence to allow a handful of disinterested American ‘carpet baggers’ to enrich themselves at the expense of loyal supporters. It is in the ownership and continuing health of all clubs that Mr Scudamore should be judged.

"We have a cosmopolitan approach to players and a cosmopolitan approach to ownership and that is paying off."


Richard Scudamore, January 2007

His last re-signing of the Sky TV deals, a deal that merely continues a 20 year association with Sky at a slightly raised fee (which earned him a £250k - £500k bonus according to whichever report you believe) are the easy parts of his job. The hard parts are to have leadership in the areas which are causing supporters the most anguish: How to ensure a fair and exciting competition? How to prevent the carpet baggers? In reality, how do you ensure the future health of the game? It’s the easiest thing in the world to fly around in first class and sign deals which are just inflation adjusted contracts for the same things. In truth, clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United have done just as much, if not more, than Mr Scudamore in spreading the word to foreign fields.

Mr Scudamore, earn your millions by tackling the difficult issues!

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The Keeper

...he's got it covered!

We’re all trembling with anticipation and tension as the final stages of the season draw out to decide who will be crowned champions of “the most exciting league in the world”™. Entering the final stages, it was a three way race between the three clubs who have won 16 of the 17 “most competitive league in the world”™ titles. Entering the final weekend, it is a race involving the two clubs who have won the last 5 titles between themselves. How those Scottish fans must be envying us!

And if that’s not enough excitement for football fans, we’ve got the FIFA World Cup™ coming up in about six weeks time. It’s come around so quickly again – feels like a matter of months, rather than the four years since Germany’s 2006 tournament when we England fans were sweating over the fitness of several players, including the now obligatory metatarsal troubles, as well as the English media’s wildly optimistic expectations of an England win. Or was that 2002? Or 1998? Plus ca change, as they say on Groundhog day.

Talking of World Cups and South Africa 2010, recent reports following the death of apartheid advocate Eugene Terre’Blanche seem to suggest that the world cup will be played out during a civil war. In fact, the threat of violence is being used to explain poor ticket sales for the Greatest Sporting Event in the World™. Trust us it has absolutely nothing to do with airlines doubling/tripling flight prices, ditto hoteliers for rooms (if available at all) and ticket prices that make Wembley seats appear like a day out to watch your local pub team compete in the inter-brewery play-offs. FIFA don’t even have the comfort of over priced sales to corporate saps because of the global slowdown. Our hearts bleed!

But hurrah! It might just be wishful thinking on the part of certain areas of the media but talk is that Capello wants to take David Beckham along as a motivation to the rest of the selected England squad. That may just be the managerial stroke of genius that could propel England to the world title. After all, wouldn’t you be inspired by someone who gets paid five to 10 times as much as you do for playing intermittently for an English League 1 side and who acts as a Milanese seat warmer in between? Imagine all that invaluable experience of last 16/quarter final exits: the missed penalties, the jumping out of tackles, the petulant sending offs, the shirt sales. On the downside, the players might just be overawed by the presence of this high achiever. But hey – here’s another inspirational idea: why not complete the Hello! package by getting Mrs Beckham to come along as squad dietician. At least no-one will be puking before a match with nerves!

Those of you out there who desperately want to see England win something before you shuffle off this mortal coil—yes you who would dare to suggest that 11 players out on the pitch who are fit and possess the in-built belief that they can actually win something would be a better tactic to follow, can only hope, like us, that Capello really is the man to shake off the shackles of FA mismanagement and make the difference this year. Otherwise will we once again be contemplating the usual FA post-mortem in July that, no doubt, will sound something like the closing scene in the movie ‘Burn After Reading’ where the CIA superior is talking to his underling:


CIA Superior: What did we learn, Palmer?
CIA Officer: I don't know, sir.
CIA Superior: I don't fuckin' know either. I guess we learned not to do it again.
CIA Officer: Yes, sir.
CIA Superior: I'm fucked if I know what we did.
CIA Officer: Yes, sir, it's, uh, hard to say
CIA Superior: Jesus Fucking Christ.

Jesus Fucking Christ indeed!

Debate Futile In Laying Supporters' Fears To rest

There are few prizes for guessing what our main topic of discussion is today. There we were last week discussing how best to develop the England team, in the aftermath of Fabio Capello’s first match in charge. While at the same time, facing up to the depressing prospect of trying to get enthusiastic about watching Czech Republic versus Holland this summer, when Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League announces plans to hold an additional round of fixtures to the Premier League Programme to be played abroad. This would entail a seeded draw of additional matches to be played over one weekend in five different cities around the world. This is so far removed from the views of ordinary supporters, managers and respected commentators as to be laughable, not to mention completely against the best interests of the fitness of English players.

RTG is all for expanding revenue-making ideas for the Premier League, especially if that money is equitably distributed and finds its way to, not only the lower leagues, but to the development at the grass roots and, therefore, international level. After all, we don’t want to turn back the clock now. We are where we are. But this revenue ‘expansion’ idea is too high a price to pay and exactly what will it achieve?

Firstly, this totally changes the competition within the league – a league that has been going for 120 years - with one home and away fixture against every team as its basis. Scudamore’s proposal makes a nonsense of this competition.

Secondly, is it right that the Premier League parks itself in countries that, either have their own well-developed leagues, or have fledgling competitions that they are trying to develop? No doubt Scudamore and the Premier League bosses have taken the recently staged NFL game at Wembley as their inspiration, but then there is no developing American Football league in England to speak of.

Thirdly, one of the stated aims is to increase the Premier League’s supporter base in these cities/countries. But again taking the NFL game at Wembley as an example, what did that game actually achieve? RTG suspects strongly that the majority of those attending were American expats/servicemen rather than ‘native’ limeys who are now suddenly avid supporters of the New York Giants or the Miami Dolphins. It certainly pissed off the Dolphins fans because they lost one of their home games (one of only eight).

Do the Premier League really believe that these one-off, contrived fixtures will boost the supporter base in these cities/countries? There may well be marginal take up of new supporters, but then if a replica shirt costs the equivalent of one month’s wages, as it does in some of the proposed locations, what real scope is there for ‘exploitation of opportunities within these target markets’? RTG could see a lot of scope for arguments over where individual clubs would prefer to go in order to maximise revenue opportunity. Los Angeles or Calcutta? No contest!

Until RTG hears of a better proposal, we still believe that we should go the whole way with showing every game live, on a pay-per-view basis, again as long as the revenue is equitably distributed throughout the English game. If that means Chinese or Indian supporters having to buy a TV season ticket and watch it at unsocial hours of the night so be it. If the Premier league is as popular in these countries as they keep telling us, they will surely be prepared to do it. Likewise, if they feel compelled enough to visit England, they can pick the club they wish to visit and watch. On a cautionary note, one only needs to look at the Premier League’s deal with a Chinese free-to-air TV channel for last season which predicted audiences of 30 million, only to find that actual viewing figures were so small as to not warrant a rating.

The really scary point, which RTG has raised in previous postings, is that, forget what supporters want, or the opinions of club managers, players or administrators, it only requires the vote of 14 Premier League club owners and it’s a done deal. Ten of those owners have arrived within the last few years – wonder which way they are likely to vote?

Reclaim the Game – The Weekend’s Events

Roll Moddle No.1. Sylvain Ebanks-Blake of Wolverhampton Wanderers has been charged with causing bodily harm after a night club bouncer was smashed over the head with a bottle. He’s due in court on 20th February.

Whilst the minute’s silence was impeccably observed by all at Old Trafford (apart from someone letting off fireworks outside), the emotional wave seemed to have overwhelmed the United players as they lost 2-1 at home to City. Note that the 40th anniversary didn’t go according to plan either with a lucky 1-1 draw against struggling Bolton. Perhaps, they should simply have kicked off at 3:04pm (the time of the disaster) as a symbolic final laying to rest of the disaster. No doubt, though, the 60th anniversary will provide revenue opportunities too good to pass up.

The African Cup of Nations was won again by Egypt who beat Cameroon 1-0 in the final. Despite the pundits talking up the tournament and some genuinely spectacular goals, the overall impression RTG got was that it is not of a standard or suitably well-attended to merit being held every two years. If RTG’s desire to see a world schedule is to be realised, it has to go to every four years (irrespective of history and tradition) and be scheduled in a compatible manner with European/World competitions. Otherwise, RTG suspects that African players may well soon start to disappear from top sides in the leagues.

Hat’s Off. Take Bow(Or Not)!

Player of the Week – John Carew. OK it was only Newcastle who seem to be shipping goals a plenty as well as losing now Big Sam has departed but a hat-trick is always worth a mention.

Villain of the week – Richard Scudamore. See Above. Special mention also to the people who let off fireworks during yesterday’s minute’s silence.

Heroes of the Week – Manchester City fans even if they were encouraged by a special letter from David Gill and a 20p Taiwanese, sweat shop-made scarf in City colour.

Shock of the Week - Manchester City winning 2-1 at Old Trafford. Their first double over United since the 1969/70 season and their first win at Old Trafford since 1974. Maybe their fans earned themselves some good karma with their excellent behaviour.

Cliche of the Week - "Looking a little jaded after international duty midweek." Who knows the reasons why exactly but so many games in 'The Best League in the World' were decidedly lacklustre this weekend.