From Times Online
January 23, 2010
Tony Barrett
“Football needs a Premier League side to go to the wall. I just hope it’s not mine.” These are the words of Ken Malley, a Portsmouth supporter who will march on Fratton Park tomorrow in protest at the club's financial predicament.
Malley's fears are shared by supporters of a number of British clubs, including two of the biggest. Both Liverpool and Manchester United have been placed in financial peril because of the debts placed on them by Tom Hicks, George Gillett and Malcolm Glazer respectively, who all managed to pass the Premier League’s fit and proper persons test.
“The two biggest clubs in this country are on the brink of financial meltdown – fit and proper persons test? Don’t make me laugh,” Paul Jones, of Liverpool fans group The Spirit of Shankly, said. “In the past three transfer windows we've made a profit on player transfers; we've recouped more money than we've spent in order to service the debt. If that continues, the quality and size of our squad will deteriorate while other clubs spend and improve.
“No matter who our manager is, we're going to struggle to remain in that top four. What happens when turnover drops dramatically with no Champions League revenue, but the interest repayments remain the same? It's unsustainable.”
There is a clear sense of anger amongst supporters that owners like Hicks, Gillett and Glazer have been allowed to pile such gargantuan levels of debt on clubs with little or no intervention from either the Government or Premier League.
Manchester United recently revealed the scale of their liabilities, causing outrage amongst the more politicised elements of their fan base. “The true horror of the debt now running at over £700 million means that having struggled to equal Liverpool’s 18 league titles it is now doubtful we’ll see 19 in my lifetime," Mark Longden, of the Manchester United Supporters Trust, said. "Still Mr Richard Scudamore and Mr [Richard] Caborn were satisfied with the assurances given by the Glazers that they wouldn’t put my club in jeopardy. Not much comfort now, is it?”
Like Malley, Graham Harper of the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, fears it could be a matter of time before a leading club goes bust – unless a revolution takes place that would see the kind of fan group that he is a part of are able to oust the profiteers.
"The similarities between the financial meltdown in the banking sector are very similar to the problem of long term unsustainable debt in football,” Harper said. “A failure of regulation; weak governance; too many vested interests; and a complete detachment from reality. The FSA failed tax payers – the FA, PFA etc are failing football clubs.
“The financial world came tumbling down through a failure of one investment company, Lehman Brothers, which meant tax payers took over banks. Do we really think that the Government will stop the first Premier League club going to the wall? It’s not and the fans are the only constant in the chaos of football finance, so trusts are not just an option, they are a necessity.”
Steve Powell, of the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF), backed the fans groups that are beginning to make their voices heard across the country. "The FSF has been calling for a new deal on football club ownership and debt for years," he said. "The 'fit and proper persons' test isn’t nearly enough. We support all those fans campaigning to save the souls and futures of their clubs.
"Wherever you look in the game clubs are vulnerable to takeovers by men on the make who don’t care about history and traditions. At the top of the game Liverpool has been turned into a financial basket case by Hicks and Gillett. Manchester United is groaning under the burden of the debts loaded onto the club by the Glazer family.
"You simply couldn’t make up what’s happening at Portsmouth at the moment, nor lower down the leagues at clubs like Notts County and Chester City. Fans are also expressing concern about debts and/or ownership at clubs like Newcastle United, Cardiff City, Wrexham and even Arsenal. "
Powell put the blame squarely at the door of the game's authorities and demanded they act. "The Football Association surrendered all control over club ownership in the 1980s," he said. " It’s got to get a grip again. Such rules operate successfully in North America. There’s no reason why they can’t here too."
January 23, 2010
Tony Barrett
“Football needs a Premier League side to go to the wall. I just hope it’s not mine.” These are the words of Ken Malley, a Portsmouth supporter who will march on Fratton Park tomorrow in protest at the club's financial predicament.
Malley's fears are shared by supporters of a number of British clubs, including two of the biggest. Both Liverpool and Manchester United have been placed in financial peril because of the debts placed on them by Tom Hicks, George Gillett and Malcolm Glazer respectively, who all managed to pass the Premier League’s fit and proper persons test.
“The two biggest clubs in this country are on the brink of financial meltdown – fit and proper persons test? Don’t make me laugh,” Paul Jones, of Liverpool fans group The Spirit of Shankly, said. “In the past three transfer windows we've made a profit on player transfers; we've recouped more money than we've spent in order to service the debt. If that continues, the quality and size of our squad will deteriorate while other clubs spend and improve.
“No matter who our manager is, we're going to struggle to remain in that top four. What happens when turnover drops dramatically with no Champions League revenue, but the interest repayments remain the same? It's unsustainable.”
There is a clear sense of anger amongst supporters that owners like Hicks, Gillett and Glazer have been allowed to pile such gargantuan levels of debt on clubs with little or no intervention from either the Government or Premier League.
Manchester United recently revealed the scale of their liabilities, causing outrage amongst the more politicised elements of their fan base. “The true horror of the debt now running at over £700 million means that having struggled to equal Liverpool’s 18 league titles it is now doubtful we’ll see 19 in my lifetime," Mark Longden, of the Manchester United Supporters Trust, said. "Still Mr Richard Scudamore and Mr [Richard] Caborn were satisfied with the assurances given by the Glazers that they wouldn’t put my club in jeopardy. Not much comfort now, is it?”
Like Malley, Graham Harper of the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, fears it could be a matter of time before a leading club goes bust – unless a revolution takes place that would see the kind of fan group that he is a part of are able to oust the profiteers.
"The similarities between the financial meltdown in the banking sector are very similar to the problem of long term unsustainable debt in football,” Harper said. “A failure of regulation; weak governance; too many vested interests; and a complete detachment from reality. The FSA failed tax payers – the FA, PFA etc are failing football clubs.
“The financial world came tumbling down through a failure of one investment company, Lehman Brothers, which meant tax payers took over banks. Do we really think that the Government will stop the first Premier League club going to the wall? It’s not and the fans are the only constant in the chaos of football finance, so trusts are not just an option, they are a necessity.”
Steve Powell, of the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF), backed the fans groups that are beginning to make their voices heard across the country. "The FSF has been calling for a new deal on football club ownership and debt for years," he said. "The 'fit and proper persons' test isn’t nearly enough. We support all those fans campaigning to save the souls and futures of their clubs.
"Wherever you look in the game clubs are vulnerable to takeovers by men on the make who don’t care about history and traditions. At the top of the game Liverpool has been turned into a financial basket case by Hicks and Gillett. Manchester United is groaning under the burden of the debts loaded onto the club by the Glazer family.
"You simply couldn’t make up what’s happening at Portsmouth at the moment, nor lower down the leagues at clubs like Notts County and Chester City. Fans are also expressing concern about debts and/or ownership at clubs like Newcastle United, Cardiff City, Wrexham and even Arsenal. "
Powell put the blame squarely at the door of the game's authorities and demanded they act. "The Football Association surrendered all control over club ownership in the 1980s," he said. " It’s got to get a grip again. Such rules operate successfully in North America. There’s no reason why they can’t here too."
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