Listening to a debate this morning about football, what is it that ultimately motivates owners of football clubs to pump money into clubs? The argument has arisen after the recent departure of Martin O’Neill from Aston Villa and the supposed demands he made to owner Randy Lerner. Previously, Villa were an inconsistent mid-ranked team, but under O’Neill’s management with Lerner’s investment, they have become one of a handful of clubs pushing for a place in the Champions League. The issue for Villa and for many teams in this region is that by consistently finish in third or fourth spot, it requires the necessary investment: 50 million to 100 million pounds, something Lerner, we understand, was not willing to do.
What is an owner to do because the financial model would not make sense in any other business sector that they have worked in. Football teams nowadays are judged by silverware and their competitiveness to sign 'top' talent. In business, research and probing investment is fastidiously raked over to ensure a healthy return on investment over a long term plan, in football spending £25 million on a striker may not lead to instant success. Lerner is generous with his wealth and O’Neill spent millions on a large squad with a large wage bill, so why can’t he be happy with what he has? Let’s us not forget the competitors around them, Manchester City have an Arab billionaire, Tottenham will line their pockets in the Champions League this year and then we can’t forget the likes of Liverpool and Everton who always need to be watched. It’s a marketplace like no other.
Then there are the shareholders: the fans. Traditionally, a good cup-run and a higher than expected league finish would suffice.However, now there is an increasing desire to attract the top stars and their wages, this continuous investment can literally produce no palpable returns. The problem with many British clubs is that recruitment is purely done through the manager. The European model of ‘Directors of Football’, who oversee the talent search, are seen as undermining and meddling. It does sound like an alpha-male syndrome; but when the tenure of football manager on average is just over the year, it is daft to spend so much on players and staff when inevitably it tends to go wrong. There are so many precedents from recent years that show that demanding fans or managers does not necessarily lead to long term glory: Leeds and Portsmouth spring to mind.
No one would question the interests of Lerner and to add to that Bill Kenwright, but the increasing percentage of ‘owners’ (We never called them that 10 years ago) and the business of football makes that next step up impossible to call. I personally argue that green and gold protests at Old Trafford are very romantic; but would Man United fans’ accept the prospects of barren years and austerity? Quick answer yes, but when they think about it, probably no. Today, success is built on a mountain of debt or sugar daddy wealth.
The one hope we have is that football is potentially becoming more accountable, particularly to its fans and society. UEFA’s decision to tighten fiscal imprudence is a necessary step to quell the unharnessed spending of current times (as long as it is implemented sensibly). Success is the desire of all football clubs, yet amassing billions of pounds of debt is fruitless and reckless. How all owners would love a manager like Arsene Wenger. Wenger invented the term ‘financial doping’, he knows that short term interests serve no purpose in running a football club and though many draw to Arsenal’s naked trophy cabinet over the past few seasons, Arsenal fans know from other supporters and from their own experience that despite football being a billionaires’ playground, success is something to be built on, spraying cash at it doesn’t mean anything.
What is an owner to do because the financial model would not make sense in any other business sector that they have worked in. Football teams nowadays are judged by silverware and their competitiveness to sign 'top' talent. In business, research and probing investment is fastidiously raked over to ensure a healthy return on investment over a long term plan, in football spending £25 million on a striker may not lead to instant success. Lerner is generous with his wealth and O’Neill spent millions on a large squad with a large wage bill, so why can’t he be happy with what he has? Let’s us not forget the competitors around them, Manchester City have an Arab billionaire, Tottenham will line their pockets in the Champions League this year and then we can’t forget the likes of Liverpool and Everton who always need to be watched. It’s a marketplace like no other.
Then there are the shareholders: the fans. Traditionally, a good cup-run and a higher than expected league finish would suffice.However, now there is an increasing desire to attract the top stars and their wages, this continuous investment can literally produce no palpable returns. The problem with many British clubs is that recruitment is purely done through the manager. The European model of ‘Directors of Football’, who oversee the talent search, are seen as undermining and meddling. It does sound like an alpha-male syndrome; but when the tenure of football manager on average is just over the year, it is daft to spend so much on players and staff when inevitably it tends to go wrong. There are so many precedents from recent years that show that demanding fans or managers does not necessarily lead to long term glory: Leeds and Portsmouth spring to mind.
No one would question the interests of Lerner and to add to that Bill Kenwright, but the increasing percentage of ‘owners’ (We never called them that 10 years ago) and the business of football makes that next step up impossible to call. I personally argue that green and gold protests at Old Trafford are very romantic; but would Man United fans’ accept the prospects of barren years and austerity? Quick answer yes, but when they think about it, probably no. Today, success is built on a mountain of debt or sugar daddy wealth.
The one hope we have is that football is potentially becoming more accountable, particularly to its fans and society. UEFA’s decision to tighten fiscal imprudence is a necessary step to quell the unharnessed spending of current times (as long as it is implemented sensibly). Success is the desire of all football clubs, yet amassing billions of pounds of debt is fruitless and reckless. How all owners would love a manager like Arsene Wenger. Wenger invented the term ‘financial doping’, he knows that short term interests serve no purpose in running a football club and though many draw to Arsenal’s naked trophy cabinet over the past few seasons, Arsenal fans know from other supporters and from their own experience that despite football being a billionaires’ playground, success is something to be built on, spraying cash at it doesn’t mean anything.
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