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Evil Monkey

The Changing Face of the Premiership

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On Saturday 11th August 2007, the English Premier League kicks off once more, with another 20 clubs vying to capture the crown, avoid relegation or sit in mid-table mediocrity.  Or all three, if you''re a Newcastle fan...What will make this season different from many others, however, is the matter of Leadership.  For many a year we''ve watched the Managerial Merry-Go-Round with interest and amusement, but this time we''re talking about the top - The Board.Provided West Ham see off the legal challenge of Sheffield United over the Tevez affair, and thus remain in the Premiership, it is entirely possible that something extraordinary will take shape - that 12 of the 20 clubs will be under different ownership or leadership to that of just 5 short years ago.  More than half the Premiership now in different hands.  Here''s a run down of the facts and bare speculation that could lead to this outcome:ArsenalAmerican tycoon Stan Kroenke purchased a 12.2% stake in the club some months ago, leading to the departure of stalwart David Dein.  Arsenal have also stated that they would consider talking to Kroenke about further investment and possible takeover.Aston VillaRandy Lerner completed the purchase of Aston Villa from Deadly Doug Ellis in September 2006 and is apparently drawing up a £100m+ sponsorship deal to hand Martin O''Neill a transfer warchest.BirminghamDavid Sullivan announced on Monday 11th June that a takeover approach had been received from a "Far East-based businessmn" worth approximately £70m.  ChelseaThe famous one! In June 2003 Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea FC from Ken Bates - who''d originally paid only £1 for the club - for £140m and changed the face of the Premiership completely as Chelsea sailed to 2 Premiership titles in 4 years, an FA Cup, League Cup and two Charity Shields.  Only the Champions League eludes them.DerbySuffered financial problems and were on the verge of complete collapse and in April 2006 local businessman Peter Gadsby bought the club, reducing debt and recapturing Pride Park from outside ownership.LiverpoolFebruary 6th 2007 - Liverpool''s search for new investors ended in the purchase of the club by American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks.  Are rumoured to be preparing a record transfer fund for Rafa Benitez in order to challenge for the elusive Premiership title.Manchester CityThe vaunted takeover by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra appears to be collapsing, however former player Ray Ranson has previously expressed interest.  Although he withdrew his offer last month, he may now be persuaded to have a second go.Manchester UnitedThe Glazer Family formally concluded the deal to buy "The Most Famous Club In The World" on 13th May 2005, in spite of vigorous fan protest which led to the formation of a fan-powered rival club, FC United.  Whilst the former can claim some small success in the Northern Premier League Division One North, the Glazers have had the last laugh by guiding Manchester United for the 2006/07 crown.Newcastle UnitedReported to be an all-but-done deal, Freddy Shephard has agreed to sell his 28% stake in the club for £37.6m to add to the 41.6% stake he bought last month. Ashley will need just another 5% of the stake to complete a full takeover, which is expected to conclude quickly and painlessly.  Well, we''ll see - this is Newcastle United after all, and former manager Graham Souness has reported that whoever takes over will be inheriting a "big club with big problems".PortsmouthOn the verge of relegation when Harry Redknapp saved their souls in dramatic style at the end of the 2005/06 season, Alexandre Gaydamak took full control on the 19th July that summer after previously investing some £15m on transfers.SunderlandRelegated, broke and a desperately poor squad - that''s the situation that prompted former player Niall Quinn to take pity and head a consortium that bought the club from former chairman Bob Murrary in July 2006.  Appointed old "friend" Roy Keane who steered the club to the Championship title in their first season in charge.West HamEggert "The Egghead" Magnusson and his consortium moved to take control of West Ham whilst they were at their lowest ebb, struggling in the Premiership.  Even after his takeover in November 2006, the situation was desperate until the final few games of the season, where they hauled themselves out of the relegation zone in dramatic style, echoing Portsmouth''s achievements the season before.  Although there is much controversy over the Maschereno and Tevez affair - particularly since the latter player was instrumental than most in their escape - Magnusson appears unflappable and it is likely he will see them through the court action taken out by Sheffield United.Only 8 teams in the league next season - Blackburn, Bolton, Everton, Fulham, Middlesbrough, Reading, Spurs and Wigan - will have a board of directors who have been in place for a period of more than 5 years.The question is whether or not this is a good or a bad thing.  Whilst the successes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Sunderland and Derby shine out, the other clubs have yet to make an immediate impact since their takeovers and some are rather unlikely to without a massive overhaul.  Many others have fallen by the wayside in recent years, such as at Leeds, and it is likely that at least one of these clubs could head the same way if things are not more carefully managed.So what do supporters think of this situation?Is this just a simple example of the changing face of the Premiership, as the big bucks begin to roll in, or is it something more sinister?  What fate would befall Norwich City as a club were a similar takeover occur?Does anyone even care that I''ve just spent an hour researching and writing all this?I bloody hope so... Your thoughts please, ladies, gentlemen and wizards...(With thanks to Wikipedia and BBC Sport for references)

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You have provided an in depth analysis of the Premiership and the people running the clubs.  Would it be right to sum up the new people moving into the game as no more than asset strippers?. With all the Sky money being pumped into the league and the new contract for the next few seasons. 

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Whilst I am optimistic for our own club I am pessimistic about the long term outlook for the game. I''m afraid this investment will only aid some bad trends in the game;- Pricing out of the traditional fan as ticket prices rise- resulting in worse atmospheres in the grounds- resulting in the average age of supporters in the ground continuing to rise, where is the next generation of fan coming from?- More kick-off rescheduling as less games are played at 3pm on a Saturday, to enable more live games to be shown around the world- Continuing trend of Premiership clubs buying all the young talent, meaning the young English players trying to break through will get less first team experience- and this will continue to have a detrimental knock-on effect on the England squad- More money = higher wages throught the League which will make it MORE difficult for lower leagues to build decent teams- More clubs getting in financial strife trying to gain or retain Premiership status - now the upsides money wise are so much greater, more risks will be taken and even more clubs will go down- More and more defensive strategies, as clubs try and avoid relegation at all costs. More dull games.- More players just in it for the money, and couldn''t care less about the club or the fans- Norwich will become even less likely to ever top the Premiership again, or make a Wembley cup final (FA / League cup or Europe).- Longer term, the period of boom-time will come to an end and the bust cycle will come in, as it ALWAYS does in all walks of life. Then we will see clubs seriously suffer. The only way the financially motivated investors will get their money back is by catering for the international TV audience, and marketing ''the theatre of dreams'' and obviously merchandise to them. The local fans are becoming marginalised because more money comes in from overseas. It is all becoming about marketing / merchandising / money.Remember the outcry when Glazer bought Man U? How people disdainfully said Wigan bought promotion? Why has this all been accepted so quickly by most people?

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I throroughly agree with the tone of this thread, and Putney and Grumpys'' comments.  Both Liverpool and Man Utds'' takeovers were acheived using future income from the fans.  The Glazers, Hicks and Gillette don''t care about football, they care about building a brand and using that brand to make money.  The requirement of brand awareness will demand that success is achieved to a given standard - competing in (not neccesarily winning) the later stages of the Champions league.[quote]Remember the outcry when Glazer bought Man U? How people disdainfully

said Wigan bought promotion? Why has this all been accepted so quickly

by most people?[/quote]Man Utd won the league, mainly with the players they already had, which has bought the Glazers time.  Ironically, it was Chelsea not spending out to replace Central Defenders in the January Transfer Window that enabled Man Utd to gain an advantage, and go on to win the league.

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[quote user="Putney Canary"]
The only way the financially motivated investors will get their money back is by catering for the international TV audience, and marketing ''the theatre of dreams'' and obviously merchandise to them. The local fans are becoming marginalised because more money comes in from overseas. It is all becoming about marketing / merchandising / money.

Remember the outcry when Glazer bought Man U? How people disdainfully said Wigan bought promotion? Why has this all been accepted so quickly by most people?
[/quote]

Very well said PC. This is the main reason why I support Delia when she says Norwich wont be taken into oversees hands, much to the discust of many on here.  

 

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Looking at the other 8 clubs is also intresting, as this is what I know about their owners: Blackburn, way back in 1995 they "brought" the league with Mike Walkers millionsBolton, ?Everton, owned by consortium with at least 1 person in the top 20 of the owners rich list in December.Fulham, owned by one Mohammed Al-Fayed who brought them up from Division 3 like a rocket.Middlesbrough, ?Reading, owner John Madjeski, who built their new stadium and named it after himselfSpurs, In Joe Lewis and Alan Suger have 2 members of the top 10 in the December list.Wigan, They brought promotion with the help of WhelanSo that leaves 2 clubs without major investment. - even without having to do any research that I hadn''t already done.

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Cracking post EM, I was aware of the trend towards this sort of thing but didn''t realise quite the extent.

Personally I think it''s only a matter of time before one of these major investors loses a lot of money, and only then will we see true cost of English football''s desperation to attract outside investment. Had West Ham have been relegated last season (as they should have been IMO) we may well have seen the slowing down of this particular trend. At the moment everybody seems to be scrambling around attempting to secure such investment, but at the end of the day there are only twenty places in The Premiership.

Your point that not all of the clubs have had much of in impact since their takeovers is an interesting one. Unfortunately the likes of Portsmouth, Villa and Man City don''t need to make much of an impact to keep their investors happy. A mid-table finish, a decent run in a cup and perhaps the odd foray into Europe once every five years are more than enough to keep things ticking over.

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[quote user="7rew"]Looking at the other 8 clubs is also intresting, as this is what I know about their owners:

Blackburn, way back in 1995 they "brought" the league with Mike Walkers millions
[/quote]

didnt think  Mikes Skip form was that lucrative! im going to start one tommorow in that case!

i think u mean Jack Walker

jas :)

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A good post by EM and an equally good response by PC. I believe that some fans of Premiership teams are already being priced out of watching their team. The amount of money sloshing around the Premiership is obscene and that is without the extra reported £2.7billion being pumped in by Sky, little wonder that investors want a piece of the action. The Sunday Mirror had a good (if rather to small) article on how it is more expensive to buy a season ticket at Wigan than it is at Barcelona, AC Milan etc........a crazy situation!! and one that sums up what is wrong with English football.

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Yes I did mean Jack Walker rather than Mike Walker. Ooops.Bolton - have had the same chairman since 1988. Their success is due to Big Sam  and his "Find out who is a good player in europe now and then sign their dad" transfer policy.  No big money here.Middlesboro'' - Owned by local "working class boy made good" Steve Gibson.  Has been on the board there since 1984 and is a self made millionaire. Not apparently involved in the club for profit.Checked the last 2 on wikipedia. - they aren''t in the big money bracket.

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If you want to see the pattern thats emerging just look to the NFL in America. Clubs become rich mens play things. Its just another extension of the look how rich I am syndrome.

In order to protect their investment the Premier league owners will eventually have to make it a closed league, just like the NFL. Those that are out in the cold when it happens can kiss their ar$e$ goodbye

This was all predicted when the Premier league was first formed and its coming true before our eyes.

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That''s a really interesting post EM and thanks for doing it.

I wonder....

What will the investment mean though and what will the investors be chasing?

Will Man. Utd., Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool still be the top four?

Have Derby / Sunderland got enough money left to compete?

If a "Big Club" find themselves in trouble will they cheat and get away with it?

What if Delia had married Steve Gibson?

I think Man.Utd will win it and Derby, Sunderland and possibly Bolton will get relegated.

 

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[quote user="7rew"]Looking at the other 8 clubs is also intresting, as this is what I know about their owners:

Blackburn, way back in 1995 they "brought" the league with Mike Walkers millions
Bolton
, ?
Everton
, owned by consortium with at least 1 person in the top 20 of the owners rich list in December.
Fulham
, owned by one Mohammed Al-Fayed who brought them up from Division 3 like a rocket.
Middlesbrough
, ?
Reading
, owner John Madjeski, who built their new stadium and named it after himself
Spurs,
In Joe Lewis and Alan Suger have 2 members of the top 10 in the December list.
Wigan,
They brought promotion with the help of Whelan

So that leaves 2 clubs without major investment. - even without having to do any research that I hadn''t already done.
[/quote]

Sorry to correct you but Alan Sugar no longer is involved with Spurs.

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[quote user="Karl Pilkington"]

I assume your exams are over if you have time to write all that.

[/quote]My academic year ended about a month ago and I''ve been working full-time as a temp since then! Just managed to find a little bit of spare time of an evening...Oh, and it''s also been announced today that Blackburn are also in talks with "a US investor" about a possible takeover... so that would be 13 clubs out of 20... unlucky for some??Glad to see this thread has stimulated a bit of conversation.  I think the early impressions on everyone''s thoughts are that the matter raises more questions than it answers, mainly because most of these investments are in their early stages.  Guess we''ll probably have to wait another 5 years before we start to see the real impacts.

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Really good post, something that I have been pondering over the last few weeks. Everyday there is a rich unfootball businessman wanting to venture into England. Long term I too feel that it is going to bad for football.

Who was really excited by the Premier League this year?

18 million for Darren Bent, my god! What is all that about. Do West Ham fans belive that signing Scott Parker will break them into the top four. Totally unrealistic.

There may be more money in the Premier, but the players are still the same, just massively inflated prices. I really felt the boom time in football had finished and that clubs were going to have to be more realistic in the transfer dealings and wages were going to fall. I''m afraid Roman and Chelsea ruined any hope of this.

I think we have to remember everything happens in cycles whether it be football, music, art, employment. I also believe that there is a secret formula out there that does not involve spending stupid money, though accepting that this is rather optimistic.

I''m really glad this point was raised and wonder what fans of other clubs feel about the current state of foreign investment

Spending millions and millions to finish 12th or 13th, not what I call value for money, and the fans will get bored and revenue will fall.

 

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[quote user="Grumpy "]You have provided an in depth analysis of the Premiership and the people running the clubs.  Would it be right to sum up the new people moving into the game as no more than asset strippers?. With all the Sky money being pumped into the league and the new contract for the next few seasons. [/quote]Undoubtedly some are, look at the mess Derby were in, I believe the police are still trying to chase down money from some off-shore accounts. All those holding Derby up as some sort of proof showing Delia is wrong in her stance against outside investment should remember that - Derby is lucky at had so many wealthy fans willing to rescue them this time. Does Norwich? However, the likes of Glazer and Hicks will only get their investment realised by getting the Champions League money, they will not asset strip (at least not unless things do badly wrong, and remember how much debt Glazer has hoisted on Man U).Diznazza - the boom time hasn''t finished, the recent TV deal doubles the money. For now the future (at the top) looks rosy, but where there is boom, bust does always follow... And there are signs that many fans of mid-level Premiership clubs are staying away. 4-1-4-1 formations aren''t exactly thrilling, are they? But the stakes are so high these days... I''ve stopped tuning in to games like Bolton vs Middlesburgh, just too dull and predictable.Ricardo - I believe with the higher parachute payments now on offer, it is already becoming a closed league. Additionally look at some of the money being pumped into Championship teams right now, soon you will need 40m just to get promotion. The financial gap was huge when we went up, its just doubled. Sorry for going on but this is a raw subject for me. Thanks EM for starting the thread and doing the research!

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I agree with this.

Someone on another post said they didn''t want to put up with mid table dross again.

That''s a sentiment I agree with, but at the back of my mind I know if we get up and survive we''ll just be swapping one lot of mid table dross for another.

There are so many ''pointless'' teams in the premiership now. Teams that might jsut possible get very lucky and win the Carling cup, or sneak a euro place via the inter toto but that''s where their ''sucess'' ends.

Teams like Fulham, Manc City, Pompey (to a degree) you could probably lump bolton, everton, Newcastle in there too. For the fans of some of these teams life must be really really dull, and in some places that''s being reflected in attendances.

The premiership is the place to be as the finances keep you alive, but if you want to be in a competitive league then, for me, we are in problably the best in england.

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