Every EPL club going bust except Arsenal. Extra, extra, read all about it.
Well hi diddley dee do! I have just spent 2.5 years screaming about the insanity of football in the EPL and how it will all end in tears, and what do you know? It is all ending in tears! (Apart from those down the pub where it all ends in beers).
There is so much happening second by second I can’t keep up. Indeed I think I need half a dozen blogs to try and carry all the news.
So instead of our usual deep, insightful, enigmatic, articulate, all-embracing, thought-provoking, inherently overwhelming, original load of old cobblers, here is a quick summary of some of what has happened in the last thirty two and a half seconds.
Arry has been done (again) for tax fraud. He denies is, is stunned that it should come to this, is shocked, amazed, amused and annoyed that the Revenue could even consider he has done anything wrong, and is innocent. The Tiny Totts are saying that it is nothing to do with them.
The ex-owner of Portsmouth has turned into a gargoyle and Peter Storrie has turned into Peter Storey. Perhaps Arry could sell an earring like Maradona done.
Which leads to Portsmouth. They are not getting their £17m TV money, but instead it has gone to the clubs they owe money too. But they still are overdue on money owing so they still can’t buy anyone. Portsmouth played the game against Coventry without enough subs on the bench because they didn’t have any, and now still can’t.
They are working night and day to find the money. I could tell them where it is, but they wouldn’t pay me enough so I am staying quiet.
Speaking of clubs not able to sign anyone, AFC Bournemouth (previously Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic) are still unable to sign anyone because of their financial misdemeanors. Silly boys.
And speaking of money, which we tend to do a lot at the moment, that jolly little team in Manchester (whom we dubbed Manchester IOU about 2 years ago) have revealed in their bond issue that they might sell the Very Old Trafford ground, that they moved into 100 years ago.
The way it moves is this. The bond raises enough money to pay off the banks. But that leaves the very pricey PIK loans which the owners are personally liable for. So they then sell Very Old Trafford, and pay off the PIK loans and lease the ground back.
But as the Independent said today, supposing another Manchester team comes along and says, well we are now the top dogs in Manchester, we’d like that ground please, and we’ll pay more, then the landlord could throw Manchester IOU out of Very Old Trafford, and they could ground share with FC United.
But its worse than that. Of all times to issue a bond, they have done it just as everyone else seems to be issuing bonds. There is serious doubt if they will sell it. What a pity that would be.
But if they do raise the bond money, and if they do sell Very Old Trafford, then the owners have no liabilities, and could sell Manchester IOU for anything leaving the new owner to settle the impossible bond bill. They would make a profit, and have had the benefit of the £20m plus they have been paying themselves in management fees.
Which takes us down (or up) the road to Liverpool Insolvency - a name we gave them 2.5 years ago, and a name which is now shown to be true.
They have debts, the bank want their money back each year, they can’t buy players until after the next installment is paid, and they only got 33,000 for the last home game. Like Manchester IOU they are out of the cup. But they are also out of the Champs League. And the EPL in terms of a top four place.
And suddenly all their top players are out for weeks or months. Oh woe, woe and thrice woe. Torres needs knee surgery. Gerrard slipped over a punch in a night club and is out for 2 weeks and Benayoun is out with a rib fracture.
It is 20 years since winning the league (although don’t tell the papers that because they don’t like to report it). The horrible memory of Heysel is on the horizon as Europe (but possibly not Liverpool) remembers the 25th anniversary of Heysel. And they are bust.
And what is the response of the semi-owners? They say, “the new stadium will be the turning point”, carefully forgetting that they used all the stadium money to buy the club for themselves.
If you think Arsenal has some doom and gloom sites, you should read the Liverpool sites today. It is really sad.
Actually if you want a laugh, go on a Liverpool site, and type in
Kalm Down, Kalm Down, Kalm Down.
They might not get it, but it makes me laugh. (To readers who are not used to English accents, there is a Liverpool accent called Scouse, and a Liverpool phraseology, which includes “calm down” said in such a strange way that I can’t think of how to write it, except with a K.)
Oh and I must not forget the way that directors of the club write to fans. The son of a semi-owner did a great job on behalf of everyone who thinks that Liverpool FC is made up of some very silly children who ought to know better. The Guardian ran a funny piece today on what jobs the ex-director might go for now he is no longer a son of Liverpool.
And Blackburn have suddenly realised that in Fat Sam the Slug they have as a manager, well, a slug and want to get rid of him. Well, they can’t say we didn’t warn them.
And Arsenal?
Well there is the worrying story about changing the club shirt for one match or a season to reflect the 125th anniversary of the birth of the club. There’s a full article on this on the Woolwich Arsenal blog – www.blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk
Which reminds me – there is now an extract from the Making the Arsenal book on the site – go to www.woolwicharsenal.co.uk and follow the link.
But on the positive side we have signed 3 players Samuel Galindo of Bolivia. Wellington da Silva of Brazil, and Sol Campbell of Arsenal. Not bad for January.
So that’s a quick roundup. Maybe I will find some more odd stories tomorrow. How about a league table based on the likelihood of each club going bust? Obviously Portsmouth are top of the league, but who is second? Liverpool?
Oh what a day.
- Read all about a club going bust (and it really is quite amusing) in an extract from Making the Arsenal on www.woolwicharsenal.co.uk
- You can buy Making the Arsenal at amazon.co.uk or here
- Read what The Online Gooner said about MAKING THE ARSENAL here
- Read what Arsenal World said about the book here
- Read what Arsenal Independent Supporters Assn said about Making the Arsenal here
- Read what A Cultured Left Foot said about Making the Arsenal here
(c) Sir Tony Attwood – knighthood courtesy of readers of this site. And why shouldn’t blog readers hand out knighthoods?
Neutral Fan – Sorry, you dont seem to understand economics and the financial aspects of football. If 20 billionnaires took over all the clubs in England then all it would do is drive up prices for everyone and each of the billionnaires would lose all their money. No more billionnaires to worry about. Roman has lost 700million already and he hasnt had another billionnaire to compete with. Now that he does have competition (Man City) he has shut down his spending since he can no longer afford to lose money like that. The sheiks in Manchester will eventually get to that point as well. If another couple of billionnaires come into the game then they will get to that point quicker.
Billionnaires will not blow all their money on football clubs. There are only a few billionnaires stupid enough, and rich enough, to do what Roman and the Sheiks are doing, or have done.
But as an Arsenal fan, I desperately want MORE billionnaires in the game, just not at Arsenal. Because as each new billionnaire comes into the English game it negates the importance of the billionnaires already there. And billionnaires tend to be impatient and foolish when it comes to trying to get what they want, and they make impatient and foolish decisions (like firing Jose Mourinho and buying Shevchenko for 30m) and so it simply makes Arsenal’s policies look even smarter.
And this idea that “20-30million and a Premier League title is worth it” is one used by so many idiots now it is ridiculous. So, lets go with your logic. Was 30million for Robinho money well spent? No. Was 30million for Berbatov or Shevchenko money well spent? Was 20million for Filipe Melo money well spent? No, no and a HUGE no!!! SPENDING MONEY DOESNT GUARANTEE ANYTHING!!! When will people understand that simple truth? Getting the right players is what is important. Such as AW getting Thomas Vermaelen this summer. The right players do not come around all the time. You have to wait for them. So spending 30million is absolutely zero guarantee that a PL title will follow, and if it doesnt then you have just spent all your money and you are broke the next summer. Smart decision.
The decision is not “do we spend 30million for trophies now or not?” That is a simple question with a simple answer if it were that easy. Yes, of course you spend the money. But the question is not that simple. The decision is rather “do we risk our entire future as a football club for immediate success?” That is the correct question to ask. And the obvious answer to that is NO. A resounding NO. Trophies mean nothing if you are bankrupt. Are Valencia fans happy right now that their club is close to bankruptcy despite the fact their debts led to a couple of trophies? Probably not.
I just thought about how manu won the 3 titles…1 answer=Ronaldo…..how much did he cost manu? He was pretty much unknown back then…just like almost all Arsenal players who became legends under Wenger.
Unlike the Spanish giants, Arsenal doesn’t need to spend 50 mil plus for world class players.
ok forget financial condn, every1 knows arsenal are head and shoulder above other, i am frustrated wenger didn’t looke at the options of lucas neil and cana….that’s it….nothing more……
sorry to say, defence is gonna let down arsenal this season, or they have to be extremely lucky with tv5 and gallas….scoring goals is nt a problem…
@paul c…..i am not saying buy mindlessly, but if u can win title by spending 20-30 millions won’t it be worth?and if u don’t it will be known as transfer disaster, that’s it….u don’t need striker but a defender who can play is a must…..+players going down like straws in storm is ridiculous..no amount of buying will compensate for injuries….
Neutral Fan – you still dont get it. You say that if a 20-30million player doesnt succeed it will “be known as transfer disaster, that’s it”. Wrong.
Let’s take an example. I will keep it nice and easy for you. Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg is a 20-30million player. He also wants 100k a week wages after tax. So with the UK’s new 50% upper tax bracket that is 200k a week wages, which is 10million a year. So if we buy Edin Dzeko for 25million we effectively pay 35million for him this year, taking away ALL of our profits for the year. Because of his 10million a year salary we also make 10million a year LESS in profit every year he is at the club, so next year we only have 25million in profit to spend, not 35million. But of course Cesc, TV, RvP, Arshavin all want 200k a week wages as well now or else they will leave the club, so increasing each of their salaries takes another 15million a year off the yearly profit, so now we have 10million a year in profit to spend on transfers. But Theo, Nasri, Song, Diaby, Clichy all want salary hikes at least to the level that Cesc, TV, RvP, and Arshavin were previously on, so that is another 10million in salaries used up and now we no longer have any profit and break even for the year.
So, if Edin Dzeko is a huge success then best case scenario is that we have no more money for five years to spend. The worst case scenario is not simply that he is a transfer mistake, the worst case scenario is that he destroys our entire club wage and financial structure and dooms the club for a generation.
That is what people who say “we just want the club to pay 20-30 million for a player” forget about. The wages for a player that costs 20-30million are top bracket wages. The type of wages that Madrid, Barca, Milan can afford to pay (Chelsea and City pay those wages only because their sugar-daddies pay the money) and no one else. When one person at a club gets those wages, everyone else does. Look at Chelsea and the way their club wage bill continues to go up as perfect evidence of that fact.
It is not just about the transfer fee. That is the simplistic view that the media have created and many fans have fallen for, inluding it seems, you. Wages are a far more important factor in the finances of a football club. The transfer fees are nothing. As with any business, players within a club want to know they are being paid what they are worth. Cesc wants to know he is being paid the most at the club, followed by Gallas, RvP, Arshavin and TV etc, etc. Any new player MUST fit in within that salary structure or else the ENTIRE salary structure must be changed. How would you feel if someone where you worked was hired BELOW you and paid double your wages?????? So anytime a new player is bought the effect that the player will have on the wage structure must be looked at.
@ paul c. ………….grrrrrrrr………i am sorry to not make my self clear……..lucas neil + loric cana are u gonna break bank for them no no nopes……2 mill + around 40k salary each………and u have a playable cover for central defender, holding midfielder…….allowing more rotation…..decreasing probabilities of injuries…..allowing more chance to win title…..arshavin was also around 17 million did he asked for 100k????…well that’s not my point…i wanted to say wenger has 20 mill at his disposal…and i also said u don’t need any strikers..and no defender comes that expensive…..u just cauht one point of my comment and went on and on to explain ur side…i know that already my main point is 2mill + around 80k salary and u have players better than sol capbell and silvestr…..ur paying same amount to silvestr isn’t it???and for what …experience….next tym u post any reply think twice on it what u just read….and don’t comment the same thing again and again, ignoring my main point….
@ diceman …do u really think????…lol
@neutral fan. I have a request for you. You’re going to think I’m a snob but please trying reading back your posts before hitting submit and then editing them into something your grandparents would understand. I’m sorry but you write as if you’re having a conversation with a mate in a pub and not as if you’re trying to explain what you think to a wider audience. I can cope with the interesting take on spelling – that’s fine – but ignoring the basic rules of grammar means that a lot of us older readers have no idea what you’re trying to say. I’ve got a feeling that you’ve got some good points to make but I can’t understand you. Thank you from an old f@rt.
@ michael..sorry..i was in a hurry…..first tym it didn’t get published…hope u get the point…..plz don’t reply if u don’t have any valid arguments…iam not here to teach u english….plz check the content not the spellings….thank u in advance….if u still can’t understand what iam saying plz don’t try either……tony’s articles are way better than my stupid irrelevant comments..so plz have a drink and spare me…
and neither to learn english…thank u… an young f@rt
sorry if i offended u….or any arsenal fan…
Neutral Fan –
What is this stuff about not reading your posts? Here is your post that I responded to: “i am not saying buy mindlessly, but if u can win title by spending 20-30 millions won’t it be worth?and if u don’t it will be known as transfer disaster, that’s it”. Uh, that is pretty clear isnt it? That is what I was responding to. If you dont want people to respond to things, then dont write them. On blogs it is hard to tell what things people consider important or not since tone cannot be ascertained so if you dont feel something is important it is best just not to mention it.
And yes, Arshavin only got 80k a week, but Dzeko has already stated he wants 100k a week after tax. And my point was about Dzeko, and about players in the 20-30million price range, which Arshavin was not.
Your “point” in your most recent post seems to be that you think Cana and Neill are better players than what we have already. I completely and utterly disagree and obviously so does the manager, who is really the only person that matters in all this. Nobody except Sunderland had any interest in Cana last summer, so nobody else thought he was any good. At Sunderland he has proven himself to be a rugged yet technically limited player of average talent. Hardly someone that is going to make any kind of impression at one of the big clubs in Europe. Or have you seen anything different from his performances? Lucas Neill went to Everton on a free transfer, so nobody was interested in him in September, and has just gone to Turkey on a free transfer so there is still nobody interested in him. He has always been very, very limited as a player. But you are of the opinion that they are better than Craig Eastmond, Denilson, Sol Campbell, Silvestre etc. Silvestre may have a lot of weaknesses at his advanced age, but he also has experience of winning championships and Alex Ferguson thought he was good enough for many, many years, something he never thought about Lucas Neill. But that is your opinion and that is fine, but like I said, very few people would agree with you, and that has been proved by the complete lack of interest in both players when they were available.
There is a massive difference between playing at mid-table level and playing at a top-4 level. Look at Shawcross of Stoke. He was released without a second thought from Utd and now people are bigging him up as an England player. He is still the same limited player he was at Utd. But he looks like a star at Stoke surrounded by other limited players.
it’s a waste of time arguing with an arsenal fan……i never said he was gud enuf for 1st team but at least decent enuff back up……nobody was interested in henry when wenger bought him….and nobody was interested in fab when he came to arsenal…….forget it….no need to comment….keep waiting until chelsea and man utd run out of money and then and that’s also not sure, u will claim ur title back…lol…..1 request though, next tym u lose to man utd or chelsea or sunderland or man city, u shud be brave enuff to blame ur team and manager rather than blaming wembley’s grass, refree’s indecision, players injuries and so on…may be stadium light…..who knows….and oh yes, keep chanting the mantra of financial doping…i am also watching for how long wenger holds on to players without trophies and with a fraction of salary what is paid at spanish giant and london giants……
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The author knows nothing about football at all and just shows how biased he is. will never visit this site again. What a tool