World Football Thread XVII : Champions League Final and beyond..

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Colon™
Where you got that from? It's not in that BBC article.

/me points and laughs at Colon

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by LordShiva


* LordShiva points and laughs at Colon

Reds joins LordShiva, you muppet Colon!!

[Zopperoni]

Meanwhile, Dutchman Andy Van der Meyde - who plays for Everton - was burgled twice in 2006.

First burglary: "Sh*t, this guy has nothing valuable"
Second burglary: "Sh*t, this guy still has nothing valuable"

[Colon™]

Originally posted by reds4ever


Reds joins LordShiva, you muppet Colon!!

At least I know how to edit a post and how to copy a link.

[Colon™]

Anybody seen that Espanyol keeper check whether the ref was looking before he begins to scream out in pain?

[reds4ever]

My mistake was bad, yours was worse.....:O)

[Cort Haus]

Well played Theville.

[Joe Kick Ass]

This Leeds thing is such a ****ing joke...

What good is a 10 point penalty now?

dirty bastards.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leeds_united/6625751.stm

[Cort Haus]

It's all a maneuvre by MasterBates to eliminate debts while retaining control. Too bad it never happened to Chelsea.

On second thoughts, if Chelsea had gone under the Russian would have bought Spurs.

[Colon™]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6627135.stm

Well, I guess I won't be enjoying EPL game summaries for much longer.

[Adam Smith]

I don't know much about football (in the non-US usage), but I do know a bit about economics. I've been thinking recently about EPL takeovers from an economic perspective. The fundamental economic problem in any takeover is for the acquiring entity to find some new way of running the business that will enable it to make at least as much money as the existing management is making (i.e., can afford to buy them out), and still have enough money left over to make their own investment worthwhile. Leaving aside “two tier” takeovers which work by leaving minority shareholders with worthless shares (EPL rules require that the same offer be made to all shareholders, so a two-tier approach would not be possible), and leaving Chelsea aside as motivated by megalomania, what kind of business model might the takeovers of ManU, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal (?), Tottenham (??), ManCity (???), etc. have in mind?

I wonder if the reasoning might go something like this. The English, Spanish, and Italian leagues are, arguably, the best three leagues in the world. Of these, a prospective owner might prefer to buy into the English league for a number of reasons including common language with the current and future management, stability (currency situation, quality of life, etc attracts players from other countries), transparency (what kind of legal system allows AC Milan to dodge match fixing penalties?), and a more developed media market, especially in London. Until the last couple years, all three leagues have been primarily limited to a national or European focus. But the English league has several potential upsides which make it undervalued relative to the other leagues. First, football (in the non-US usage) is the only truly global sport. Second, the demand for entertainment grows more than proportionately as income grows. This represents a large potential market for media rights in the US, Canada, Australia, India, and other English speaking countries. Third, the Spanish and Italian leagues are limited in their appeal. While other countries speak Spanish, the largest of these (Argentina, Mexico) already have strong domestic leagues. No other major countries speak Italian. Fourth, with English being the de facto common language throughout the world (I do not intend to start a flame war. Just consider Poly as Exhibit A.) the market is much larger than it appears originally. Lastly, there appears to be room in the market. For example, I see people here in Washington DC wearing ManU gear regularly, but rarely see people wearing Arsenal.

None of this is a guarantee of success. There is plenty of media competition in the US market. You need a strong domestic league from top to bottom to have consistently good fixtures, so you need to find a way to share revenues to strengthen the bottom clubs in the EPL. You need a good product to sell. (How many people would pay to watch Bolton play?) And you need to buy into a club that will stay up. (I hope Reading can find a good investor.) But all this taken together suggests to that somebody with a global view might be able to buy out the existing owners who have a local focus, grow the global business enough to keep debt and ticket prices at reasonable levels, and still make good money on the deal. Remember, a 12 noon Saturday kickoff in London is 5:30 pm in Mumbai and 8:00 pm in Beijing.

Thoughts? Comments? Bouquets? Brickbats? Criticisms?

[Krill]

Chelsea are playing like **** atm...

[Cort Haus]

Interesting thoughts, Adam.

I expect it is indeed the prospect of highly lucrative TV deals in an expanding market that whets the appetite of US investors in English clubs, and your analysis of the relative advantages of the EPL over Italy and Spain in this regard seems credible.

There would seem to be more reason for taking over a cheaper club which needs investment than an expensive club which doesn't. As Arsenal have a new stadium and training ground, the overall value of the club is massive, and it would be harder to recover the investment, service the debt, and make a profit without either running down the club and asset stripping it. Tottenham, OTOH, would be a much cheaper purchase, as would Reading - who incedently have a potentially huge catchment area with a reasonable affluent demographic.

The Glazers' net spending so far on Man Utd is about zero, as I understand it, as the Carrick purchase was funded by sales, and cutbacks elsewhere in the club. Season ticket prices are rising next year, and while some people have pointed to the success of Man Utd this year and saying "look, takeovers are good for you", I believe the club is still propelled by pre-takeover momentum, and that the Jury should still be out on the long-term implications. Ultimately I suspect that the fans of the club will be the people to pay for the Glazers' takeover, and that it nothing short of piracy on my moral compass.

Football clubs, in many European countries, are more than just businesses, or fr*nchises. They are part of the cultural and historical infrastructure. Supporters are not customers who will switch brands on a whim. They have love, loyalty, and passion for their clubs. However, there is a line which owners of the clubs cross at their peril. Much of the passion of the English game comes from the traditions of the supporters. Interfere with this too much and all that's left is a soul-less, corporate theatre, sanitised and commercialised beyond recognition, and the goose that laid the golden egg may have itself have been laid to rest.

[Colon™]

Manchester United grabbed their 16th title.

[ískallin]

Very niiiiice...

Oh the guard of honour is going to be a pleasure to watch at the Bridge on wednesday.