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!

For Football's Sake, Time for Overspending To Be Penalised

Another Champions League week and three of the four English teams look well poised to go through, while Arsenal are still certainly not out of it despite some pessimism. Recently, accountancy group, Deloittes, published a football ‘rich list’ which emphasised the importance of the Champions League as a revenue earner. Again, the big four in England are miles ahead in terms of revenue, bolstered by these Champions League earnings.

Chelsea also published their financial results – or at least the legal minimum that they had to – and these revealed some interesting points. On turnover of £223.3M (£190.5M from football) they made a loss of £74.8M. The losses were £5-6M down from the previous year (£80.2M). The accounts also revealed that about 71% of the turnover was taken up in wages alone. Whilst losses have been reduced, it is hard to envisage Chelsea achieving Peter Kenyon’s oft quoted aim of reaching break even by 2010.

Add these losses to previous years and Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, has now subsidised the club to the tune of £578M.

At the core of every sport – and RTG means sport as opposed to what sport has become defined as – is the overwhelming belief that, whatever the sport being engaged in, either individually or as a team, it is contested on a level playing field (no pun intended).

Compare and contrast Chelsea’s situation now, with that of Leeds United in recent years. Peter Ridsdale, the then Chief Executive of Leeds saw the revenue earning potential of the Champions League and pinned all their commercial strategy on it. This strategy fell at the first hurdle when they failed to qualify. The rest, as they say, is history, with Leeds now languishing in the third tier of English football, and the club currently under administration. The amounts involved were deficits of £80-100M (depending on what source you refer to). But these amounts are trivial when you compare Chelsea’s losses above. In fact, if you look at the Deloitte rich list, Chelsea’s losses are greater than the revenue of all but the top 16 earning clubs in the world - bigger than Celtic's revenue who lie in 17th spot. Note also that Leeds are currently suffering a 15 point penalty as a result of their overspending in previous seasons. So what’s the difference between Leeds United and Chelsea?

Answer? Roman Abramovich. Intrinsically there is absolutely no difference between the two situations. Had it not been for Abramovich, assuming no other suitable buyer had been found in time, Chelsea would also have been under administration. In fact, had it not been the rather fortuitous situation where Abramovich, in negotiating over the purchase of Tottenham Hotspur, spotted from his helicopter, the Stamford Bridge ground’s proximity to Battersea Heliport, then Chelsea would be in similar circumstances to Leeds now.

Much speculation has been made of how Abramovich dubiously gained his riches, let alone his motivation in investing in English football. Some say his only real interest is in creating a high profile for himself as a ‘protection’ against retribution from Russia and its current leaders. From a purely footballing perspective, RTG believes that, if Leeds are penalised for overspending – which amounts to ‘cheating’ and is rightly penalised – then why shouldn’t other overspending clubs suffer the same penalty? Isn’t it just a case of, “my dad is richer than your dad”. On another equally contentious point, by pouring in so much money, and thereby increasing salary and transfer inflation, is it right that one person should exert so much influence over what is supposed to be, and RTG states again, ‘a sport’.

RTG believes in putting limits on the amounts that clubs spend on wages, as a percentage of their turnover, and putting limits also on squad sizes as well as the ludicrous loan system, as a first step in levelling out what has become a blatantly uncompetitive sport.

If you too believe that football is now played out in an unfair and unequal environment, then please sign up to our campaign to ‘Reclaim the Game’.

Reclaim the Game – The Weekend’s Events

• In another sign of modern standards of behaviour, Birmingham City’s Mathew Taylor, whose challenge broke Arsenal’s Eduardo’s leg very badly, has received death threats as a result. Completely over the top. However, RTG commends Arsene Wenger for retracting his earlier over emotional response, when he called for a life ban for Taylor.
• Apparently Joey Barton will not be available for selection against Liverpool away on 8th March as a result of a court order banning him from his home town following his recent arrest. The way he played against Manchester United on Saturday, he won’t be missed.
• Comedy moment of the week was provided by La Liga in the game between Real Madrid and Getafe at the Bernabeu yesterday. If you thought goal celebrations had got out of hand, then check out this link where Real’s celebrations of a disallowed goal caused such distraction that they neither noticed nor had time to respond when Getafe went straight up the other end of the pitch and scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game.

Hats Off, Take a Bow (Or Not)

Player of the Week – Jonathan Woodgate. Scored the winner in the Carling Cup Final ending nine trophy-less years for Spurs and put in a performance that showed if he could stay injury free, he would surely be partnering Rio Ferdinand in the heart of England’s defence.

Villain of the Week – William Gallas. Completely threw the toys out of the pram and sat sucking his thumb even after the final whistle when Arsenal really needed a captain’s presence. Admittedly, the penalty awarded was a harsh decision but it is hard to imagine Frank McLintock or Tony Adams, both great professionals and leaders, behaving in such a fashion.

Hero of the Week – Fernando Torres. Eased some of the pressure on Benitez, from a Premiership point of view, with a hat-trick against Middlesborough.

Shock of the Week – Tottenham win the Carling Cup. The first major trophy won by a team outside of the big four since 2005.

Cliché of the Week – “The sleeping giant has arisen”. The media and Tottenham supporter’s description of their triumph. We’ll see.

If You Want a Free Market, Let's Have a Free Market!

Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has attracted much criticism following his comments that some footballers' wages (and in particular John Terry's) were 'obscene'. In addition, he claimed that ordinary fans of Manchester United were being priced out of going to watch matches due to the excessive rises in ticket prices. Chief amongst his critics was PFA Chairman, Gordon Taylor, who pointed out that there are many sportsmen who earn far more than John Terry and that it was not the place of a Sports Minister to criticise a sport that brings in so much money into the country and the UK economy. Though RTG doubt very much that over 50% of JT's wages go in taxes to the government as claimed by Mr Taylor.

We at RTG want to make our position perfectly clear on this matter. RTG are not against players being paid fabulously, if that is what the market dictates. RTG are not for salary caps - which would be totally unworkable in a cash-rich business anyway - and we are not here to pass judgement on what anybody does or does not earn. Nor are RTG here to discuss the morality of a footballer's wages versus a nurses wages, for example. These are far bigger issues concerning global capitalism and civilisation itself. There are far better, and more qualified, philosophers and commenatators than ourselves for that. But, given that the highest paid player, in a matter of less than 20 years, has gone up by a factor of about 20 times, it's hard not to believe at times that footballers get paid unbelievably large sums for doing a job that most would give their right arm to do.

What RTG struggles to come to terms with is how the supposed 'free market' operates in an uncompetitive manner in football. RTG believe that no club should spend beyond its means to pay over-inflated players' wages. One of the most dangerous consequences of Abramovich's regime at Chelsea is the hyper-inflation to players' wages and transfer fees. At the time he arrived, the Leeds financial crisis had appeared to deflate the market - that is, the cost of players and their associated pay demands. Abramovich's millions served to re-ignite inflation in the transfer market as well as to land Chelsea in a situation where the club is completely reliant on the funding provided by one person - obtained through highly dubious means. But that's another story.

It is not for RTG, or anyone, to tell Chelsea or Abramovich how to spend their money. But it seems highly uncompetitive for teams to spend way beyond their revenue. Leeds and others, quite rightly, have been handed penalties for spending beyond their means - it is a form of cheating! So what is different about Chelsea's current situation? RTG cannot give you the exact figures, after all we are dealing with massaged balance sheets and financial statements, but their over spend must be in the region of £200M - £300M since Abramovich took over. This for a club that was reportedly within days of filing for administration itself. RTG stress this has nothing to do with Chelsea itself. But, anecdotal evidence from a small number of Chelsea fans would suggest that their recent success has been tainted in their own eyes by their financial advantage.

Lets us state again that RTG is not against the free market. But how can it be a free market when clubs are being subsidised by rich patricians. Clubs' spending on players should be linked to revenue earned. Of course this is an over-simplification but we believe the FA, and the clubs themselves, should be made to be more transparent in their financial dealings to make a workable solution. It seems ludicrous that the world's biggest and richest sport has virtually no financial controls, regulations or restrictions - unlike many other sports.

Reclaim the Game - The Weekend's Events

• It was suggested by respected football journalist, Patrick Barclay, at the weekend that Steve Maclaren's main achievement in managing England was to rid the players of the idea that England was a team of superstars - and that he was actually doing a good job. Strange then to find Maclaren jetting 5,000 miles to go and check out David Beckham's fitness in advance of the Croatia Euro 2008 qualifier. Stranger still, that he chose to ignore an entire Premiership programme to watch a charity match that LA Galaxy won 12-4 against Hollywood United: a team consisting of 40+ year old ex-pros, the guitarist from Def Leppard and assorted "Where Are They Now" ageing popstars. But rest assured, he does not treat David Beckham as a superstar! Perhaps he just fancied a week in the sun at the FA's expense.


• Four South Korean internationals, including the national team captain were caught 'cavorting' and 'drinking' in an Indonesian brothel. They were all handed one-year suspensions from international matches and the captain was stripped of his position. Aside from the fact that their offences were fairly innocuous in comparison to some of the rape and roasting allegations against Premiership players, RTG wonders what the FA would do in such circumstances to England players? Suspect FA!


• You might get sick of RTG banging on about this but we're going to keep doing so because it is important. Once again a decision that would certainly have been referred to the video referee (were it allowed) would have produced an indecisive decision. Chelsea's second goal against Wigan began with a move where Shaun Wright-Philips stretched to keep a ball in play that may or may not have gone out. We can't tell and neither could Sky. Fair play to the BBC for having such limited time available that they didn't even feel it was worthwhile discussing. RTG is convinced that the result would not have been changed by this ruling either way. So, again, let's all stop and think for a moment before we go down the media's chosen route and stop every game for minutes at a time to make decisions that actually won't be as clear cut as the lazy pundits would have us think.


• RTG has touched on this before but it comes to our attention again. Gus Poyet has left Leeds United and Dennis Wise for the bright lights of the Premiership as assistant manager to Juande Ramos at Spurs despite the fact that Leeds have only just lost their first game of the season. But despite Leeds' unbelievable run that still sees them challenging for promotion despite a 15 point deduction at the beginning of the season, RTG can't help remembering the plight of Rotherham who, despite being top of the league at Christmas (in similar circumstances) ended up being relegated. Deducted points are (as they should be) a serious hindrance to progress over the course of a season.

Hats Off (take a bow) - Or Maybe Not!

Player of the Week - Benjani Mwaruwari. Now top scorer in the Premiership in what the papers like to call "an unfashionable team" and coming off the back of a staggering away win at St James' Park of four goals to one.

Hero of the Week - Darren Cann. Referees Assistant at the Emirates. Alert enough to see that the ball had crossed the line and also had the balls to give the decision immediately and no more needed to be said. Job done.

Villain of the Week - Steve Maclaren. Steve! You did the right thing by dropping Beckham as captain of England. Maybe (and just maybe) you dropped him a bit too early from the team (but that showed you were too wary of what the press were looking for you to do). But you brought him back admidst the scrutiny of a baying media rather than having the courage to pick your own team. And where are you now? Flying 5,000 miles to watch Beckham play a charity game to see if he is fit enough to play in a crucial qualifier against Croatia. Look Steve, you don't have to be England manager to know that if he wasn't fit two weeks ago, he probably is not now fit either for such an important game. We've got the players to qualify for Euro 2008 without the need for that. But sadly, we're now relying on Israel to bail us out and a plane trip to LA is not going to change that Gaffa!

Shock of the Week - Arsenal's advertising hoardings. Continuously providing us with a reminder of the refreshing qualities of a Vietnamese beer that, to our knowledge, is not even available here. It does not take a genius to work out that, maybe...just maybe, there was a different audience in mind when this ad space was procured. Perhaps the 12:45 kick off provides a clue.

Cliche of the Week - "Nobody complains about [insert other sportsman's name] earning more than footballers". We get the point Graham but frankly your members do earn a lot of money and hopefully feel grateful once in a while for that.