Congratulations to SPL chief executive, Neil Doncaster, who delivered a remarkable increase in the league’s TV deal with Sky and ESPN; £80m for five years until 2017. The one concession he had to trade, was the possibility that he had to subjugate the link between sporting meritocracy and the commercial imperative.
When news of the deal broke yesterday a Rangers fan was quick to suggest that Sky and ESPN would not have bid on such terms if they had any doubt Rangers would survive in the league, however, later details emerged to prove the exact opposite. The entire deal is dependent on a clause assuring Celtic play Rangers four times each season. If Rangers were eliminated from the league, or even if they failed to earn enough points after an administration penalty to finish in the top six after 33 games, the TV deal becomes invalid.
While this clause was crucial in Doncaster getting his deal it does nothing for the sporting integrity of the competition. It has been five years since Rangers finished outside the top two in the league but if they go into administration, or worse, a fire sale of assets and a point deduction is likely.
The league has now introduced a contractual ceiling on whatever penalty would be applied to a financially deviant club, irrespective of the offense. Doncaster will now also set off to find a sponsor to replace Clydesdale Bank, promising the TV exposure his deal with Sky and ESPN provides. By extension, not only will TV income be dependent on four Celtic-Rangers games per season, so too will league sponsorship income.
Can you imagine the goings-on if Rangers enter next season in administration, with a 10-point deduction and a skeleton squad? Beating Rangers, making it less likely for them to reach the top six, could cost each team in the league millions. Clubs have a clear incentive to ensure Rangers are in no danger of finishing outside the top six.
Neil Doncaster, who is likely to be financially incentivised to deliver TV money, is a member of the SPL board who would decide whether or not to admit a prepack company into the league in the event of an existing club failure. His partiality would be compromised by this deal, so too would other board members from clubs without the liquidity to cope without TV or sponsor income.
While TV broadcasters have a clear financial incentive to lobby for whatever it takes to keep Rangers buoyant, the financial incentives will touch everyone with their snout in the trough, and that includes non-TV media and referees.
This is a dreadful deal as it inserts a clause which compromises the sporting integrity of the competition. Can you imagine giving the team talk to a club, safe from relegation, about to face a Rangers team needing a win on game 33? What about the referee who makes a mistake in Rangers favour, late in the season, under similar circumstances? How would Sky, ESPN and others frame the debate in the event of Rangers going into administration?
I can understand why Sky and ESPN want clause, but the rest of us might as well chuck it.
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Uefa faces a series of dilemmas in terms of its enforcing Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. If it doesn’t enforce them at all, it will look foolish and be weakened in relation to the top clubs. But devising sanctions that bite without undermining the Champions League itself is a real test of ingenuity.
Understandably, Uefa is playing its cards close to its chest so that clubs cannot prepare for possible sanctions or look for ways of evading them. There are a number of rumours flying around, but how well based they are is another matter. From what I know of news management, there may be some kite flying going by sources close to Uefa to see what sort of response particular proposals get.
They can’t deduct points because that would make a farce of the group matches. It is difficult to use a transfer embargo because player registration is not under their jurisdiction.
What they seem to be favouring is a weakening of squads among clubs judged to have broken the rules. They could ban any newly signed players from playing in Europe. To take the example of Manchester City, Aguero and Nasri would have been banned from the Champions League for this coming season.
Another possibility is a reduction in the size of a squad that a club in breach of the rules could register for European competition. At present 25 is the number. If this was a cut for an overspending club, it would affect their performance as the season wore on and injuries and suspensions became a factor.
One radical idea is a specific ban on the club’s highest earning players given that Uefa supremo Michael Platini is trying to curb overspending. However, this is not very practical as it would undermine the Champions League, the very product that Uefa is trying to promote.
What really worries Uefa is the threat of legal action which could lead to them having to pay large compensation bills and even lead to the organisation folding in a worst case scenario. Hence, Platini has been to see European Commission supremo José Manuel Barroso to ask him for ‘judicial protection’.
Barroso has other things on his mind at the moment like the small matter of the eurozone crisis. I am not an expert in European law, but I would question whether a specific organisation can be given protection against civil action even if there is a provision in a protocol to the treaties about the special character of sport. In any event, if the Commission did do this, they would be open to a legal challenge.
This one could run and run. It’s no surprise that more astute and highly qualified lawyers are moving into sports law.
Looking like the same starting 11 as Saturday. Would rather see Ki in central midfield than Kayal and Commons on the left rather than Samaras. Will Andre Blackman be in squad?
Aberdeen: There is nothing specifically Scottish about the choice between reducing the size and quality of a squad and maintaining a league position. However, Scottish football faces broader financial problems and being in Scotland provides an opportunity to address them.
Queen of the South is one club that has faced these financial challenges. The season before last they made an unsustainable £450k loss and have cut the playing budget by £300k. Most players are now on one year contracts. This restricts the ability to make money by selling them on, but little could be made in that way anyway.
The loss has been reduced to £250k which represents a significant improvement. One boost has been receiving £120k for selling a small area of land outside the ground, but is a one off increase in revenues. Meanwhile, the team is at the bottom of the division, albeit on goal difference,
Dumfries is a ‘stand alone’ town with no significant rivals that near and a large rural hinterland. Supporters rallied round in May by staging an auction at which a bull and a heifer were sold to benefit the club, as well as a farm gate and two large bags of dog biscuits and a night out with Kirk Broadfoot. Every little helps and the club is certainly rooted in its community.
The book I have edited with Borja Garcia from Spain and Arne Niemann from Germany on the transformation of European football has now been published by Manchester University Press. A 20 per cent discount is available to our readers who contact us through our e-mail address.
The heart of the book is a series of country case studies covering the ‘Big Five’, smaller European countries in the shape of Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden, an East European country (Poland) and a non-EU country (Switzerland). Ideally, we would like to have covered Turkey but could not find an author in the time available.
The book also looks at the way that the EU and Uefa influence European football and the changes that have been brought about by satellite broadcasting and pay-per-view television. One theme is the relative decline of the smaller European countries in terms of the appeal of their leagues and their success in European competitions.
Globalisation is shown to be a significant force with European leagues drawing in talent from elsewhere in the world. However, in football both Europeanisation and globalisation effects are mediated by national arrangements and cultures in quite complex ways. EU member states also borrow ideas from each other with the Premier League an influential model.
With the decision of Millwall to quit the stock market after 22 years as a public company there are now just four publicly listed clubs left. Tottenham and Celtic are both on the second tier Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and Arsenal and Rangers are on the small cap PLUS market. Spurs was one of the first clubs to list.
At one time a stock market listing was the place to be. It was seen as a way of raising money, of course, but it was seen as adding prestige to a club. There were those in the financial services industry who made money out of a listing, of course. At one time there was even a unit trust dealing in football shares, although it didn’t last long.
Analysts say that football clubs have proved to be volatile, unappealing investments. Clubs have a tendency to live beyond their means in the pursuit of success with scant regard for the bottom line. Investment these days more typically comes from a rich indivdual interested in a trophy asset. In some cases it is not even clear who really owns a club.
More than 20 clubs floated in total. But it soon became apparent that (in economics jargon) the transaction costs were high, or to put it more simply, it was all more trouble than it was worth. Maintaining a listing, particularly with large numbers of shareholders with small holdings, involves time, trouble and expense.
Millwall reckons that it can save £100,000 a year by delisting from AIM. This is a non-trivial sum for a club that made a loss of £605,000 in the year to June. At one time Millwall had 37 billion shares in issue, more than BP, as thousands of fans had tiny holdings. A 100,000-to-one consolidation last year largely dealt with this issue.
The club did try to raise £7.8m through a rights issue last year to pay off its debts. However apart from directors who stumped up several millions, just 612 investors provided £139,130. Millwall’s finances have improved since their promotion to the Championship. The club’s turnover leapt 58 per cent to £11.8m, largely through television money. After debt interest, their per-tax loss fell from £3m to £1.96m.
The broader question here is whether football clubs need some form of mutual ownership structure. Indeed, a number of new legal frameworks are available, although some are more suitable for football clubs than others.
Was thinking about driving up to the game this avo but wee Derryghirl has put the foot down, thankfully not on my sair back or neck lol. So please can someone tell me if the games getting televised anywhere, email me via the “Oracle – BT”.
Muchos gracious amigos!
V
Awe naw – i caught sight of that book on Amazon (publishen by manchester Univ press) – it looked fascinating, but i think the RRP was around 70 (seventy) quid??
Seemed very high – could you expand on why it is so expensive?
Interesting to hear that you edited it, as it looked like a fascinating read.
Awe_Naw at 11:43
I read recently that Spurs were about to delist.
Didn’t know Arsenal were a Plc, always thought they were privately owned as well.
Mort
I think the best way to judge SB worth to Cetic is a simple stat hopefully from Mort as I’m sure we all trust his interpretation of stats.
What is the teams win % with SB in/out the team ??
I’ll accept I have judged too harshly if these stats show Celtic’s wins are higher with him in the team, cant say fairer than that now surely ?
Mort,
only a suggestion and have no intention of volinteering you for work, but if you would be so kind, it would put this to bed for most one here.
hail hail
LuxCelt at 11:45
All academic books are expensive. I’ve had to fork out an average of about £50 per book for some studies this year.
Mort
canamalar at 11:46
I’ll see what I have from last year. Give me a sec.
Mort
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire: 23 November, 2011 at 11:32
“As for the money, absolute drivel you are spouting, its fair to judge his wages on the transfer fee, and my estimation is based on £5K per million, not unreasonable.
I’m not sure what is ‘drivel’ about me not knowing how much he earns. You stated your figure is based on ‘estimation’. In other words you don’t know how much he earns either.
Discussing his possible income is besides the point anyway – either you rate him or you don’t. You clearly don’t and I do. We differ – fair enough.
South Of Tunis says:
23 November, 2011 at 11:24
The Battered Bunnet @10 55.—
The SFA referee are using footage on the hooper/udinese penalty incident as part of a coaching section on simulation .. ie this was not a penalty !
Ultimately I don’t think too many tears will be shed if Scott Brown heads off. If he heads off for Free than that would annoy me. Get him sold if he is unwilling to sign on and get in as much as possible for him. It is likely that we’ll be offloading Hooiveld in this coming window and it is possible that Mark Wilson will be sold or allowed to go on a bosman as will Dan and Cha.
All of the following are out of contract:
Scott Brown
Mark Wilson
Lukasz Zaluszka
Daniel Majstorovic
Glenn Loovens
None of these guys are worth the money through lack of consistency or they are injury prone. In short, money would be better spent elsewhere.
I have my doubts that Adam Mathews will be sold in January unless a bid of 6M comes in. Then you are talking and getting him and a replacement like Lustig makes good sense IF and only IF that 6M is given to the manager for a centre half and a striker. Personally I’d rather keep Mathews. I think he is excellent and worth having.
The Celtic squad is too big and fat needs trimmed from it.
Looking at the loans we have a lot to get rid of:
Hooiveld
Cervi
Juarez
McGinn
Murphy
ODea
Rasmussen
Josh Thompson
Towell
A lot of work to be done
Mort says:
23 November, 2011 at 11:47
My academic books cost 2 shillings ,ahhh Dick n Dora ,Jack n Jill great stories.
Vmhan♣ who Supports Neil Lennon says:
23 November, 2011 at 11:29
Morning Celts, que pasa?
Is the game televised anywhere?
Not on live tv as it is CL night.
LuxCelt says:
23 November, 2011 at 11:45
if you contact these guys contact@footballeconomy.com you can get a 20% discount.
P.s nothing to do with me and everything to do with http://www.footballeconomy.com
article wasn´t accredited
HAil HAil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrzvf2XKafw&feature=player_embedded
a must see a genuine laugh out loud
Hail Hail
canamalar
I only have figures since NL took over.
With Scott Brown in the team, Celtic have won 34 games, lost 5 and drawn 3. (81% win rate)
In the same period, with Scott Brown not in the team, Celtic have won 12, lost 2 and won 4. (67%)
Celtic’s overall record – won 46, lost 7, drew 7 (77% win record)
This is only for SPL games.
Mort
Snake Plissken says:
23 November, 2011 at 11:53
Scott Brown
Mark Wilson
Lukasz Zaluszka
Daniel Majstorovic
Glenn Loovens
We should be actively be looking to punt all 5 of these players in January. Unfortunately to get rid of any of the players currently out on loan would cost us paying off contracts do unless someone comes in with an offer where we at least break even on the deal then they will return in the summer to be loaned out again next season. Hopefully Southampton make an offer for Hooiveld.
Vmhan♣ who Supports Neil Lennon says:
You maybe looking for s dodge stream???
Wink wink say no more?
Awe Naw
The MLB has a rule that states the team are not allowed to spend anymore than x amount. For every cent over that amount they must pay a fine that matches it cent for cent. The fine is then distributed to their opponents. I can’t see why that wouldn’t work in Football.
Same team as Saturday for tonight? Or do we make changes?
Kayal33
You forgot Samaras (but I don’t think anyone will touch him with a bargepole)!
new article posted.
Kayal33
How much would Southampton pay? I’d take a million and run.
Loovens – 200,000 would do me – anything to get rid of that joke of a defender. Can’t stand him and never could.
Zaluszka, Mark Wilson and Majstorovic can leave on bosmans either becuase they are not good enough or they are always getting injuries.
Brown we should be looking to get a million for as well.
Hopefully we can pull in 2.2M for those 3 – Loovens, Brown and Hooiveld.
Juarez might pull in a million
Rasmussen? God knows how much we’d get for him.
McGinn? 500,000
ODea- hopefully a decent Euro 2012 gets us a million
Murphy? Dear God.
It shows how thin on the ground the squad actually is that these guys were on it to start with.
greenjedi says:
23 November, 2011 at 12:18
Clubs would just dodge that by putting the salaries into EBT’s
financialsoundadviceCSC
Play
Googybhoy way aye mhan ( that was a Geordie accent lol)
Ps did ye get my message last night re breaking bad?
V
pheersy @1152.
Hooper made the mistake of challenging for the ball from the side with both his arms above waist height —– The Brazilian , Neuton , simply then ran hard against Hooper’s arms –cue the Ref seeing obstruction , cue the Ref giving a penalty.. Soft , not deliberate but the Ref saw obstruction
European / South American players do it all the time.
It is very important to learn that European Refs are very different from Scottish ones . Hopefully Hooper will have learned from the experience . If you play regularly in Europe you learn what it takes to play against European teams. You also learn about how European Refs differ from Scottish ones – what you can do ,what you can’t do. Had Hooper kept his arms down The Ref would not have been able to give the Penalty. Neuton was real cute —-Hooper gave him the opportunity to be cute.
Is everybody waiting for something?
malkyd says:
23 November, 2011 at 16:46
So Celtic approached WGS after the Sion Fiasco. Jeezo, they wouldn’t support him when he needed reinforcement in the team, and so he quit, and they approach him to act as a “Minder/Advisor” WTF. how insulting is that? hail hail
share
The story in today’s mess re:WGS, anyone at the club, aside from ‘an insider’ or ‘a source’ confirm this? Apparently it happened much earlier in the season but no-one thought it worth comment until the day Celtic happen to be playing a very important, must win game! What are the chances?
This is the kind of reporting that would shame a primary school news book. We should bhoycott today’s bog roll.
Ole Mort, ole Pantaloon -your generosity is duly noted and applauded, thankyou very much!