01 Apr 2026 16:50:40
Following the club's announcement of our annual accounts, coupled with the news that 2 further Premier League clubs have sold their stadiums to their parent companies. I had a look at top level football finance and PSR and I think interesting times are on the horizon.
It is going to be interesting to see if any companies step up to fill the void when 12 clubs lose their current betting firm sponsors in the summer; there could be a lot of blank shirts next season to join the fashion we started. It begs the question: is there a real appetite for shirt sponsorship in football anymore?
Lots of companies have been squeezed harder and harder with the double whammy NI, increased minimum wage, massively increased overheads in general etc.
Are there the advertising budgets available in the first place for all but the big multinationals? A few new tech companies might want a short term deal to get their name out there (as we have seen), but what other industries are actively sponsoring sports in general anymore?
Also, with the price of oil going through the roof, will airlines want to get involved?
Football finance is now so delicately poised with PSR that more and more clubs will surely follow the Blue.co lead and only recruit young prospects simply because the money just won't be there to purchase "ready made" experienced high end players for 50, 60, 70 million pounds on upwards of £200k per week. Maybe, just maybe the owners are on the right path?
01 Apr 2026 18:27:51
Rpd, I may well be wrong but I understand that other clubs are changing their wage strategies towards a more PRP model. To my mind, that should have always been the case.
I have zero time for FFP/PSR.
I think it's seriously flawed. It may have been well intentioned, but the idea of setting boundaries on how wealthy entities can spend their money doesn't sit well with me.
01 Apr 2026 19:24:15
To an extent, I would agree with you, Atom, but when countries with limitless funds own clubs, then I think it's needed, but maybe tweaked.
01 Apr 2026 19:55:51
Bill, I can understand the logic, but I would prefer our club to be owned by the state rather than owners who use debt. For me that's always been a massive concern.
I'm no financial expert, but for some clubs (maybe ours) the only guarantee against debt seems to be the club itself, and that worries me.
I have long held the view that owners need to put up a bond and the value of that bond gives security to the club.
01 Apr 2026 20:30:18
Would not disagree with that, Tom.
01 Apr 2026 21:45:47
Bill, there does need to be financial controls in place, however, they definitely need to be reviewed as the present regime doesn't fulfill the proposed purposes of the rules. I am against state ownership of football clubs.
JBS.
The top clubs will still secure big FOS sponsorship deals. Football is the number 1 sport with the biggest global audience. If belts need to be tightened, football will be last on the list.
Also, top clubs will still pay fees for proven players, and top wages to retain their status and competitiveness.
You mention paying high fees for "ready made" players, but we are paying high fees for young players; Estavou up to EUR53 million; Gitttens £47 million and Quenda up to £44 million. The notion that top clubs will follow the Chelsea approach is laughable, as they have observed the results.
01 Apr 2026 21:51:49
Not transfer fees but PRP.
02 Apr 2026 06:21:16
RPD, I agree that football has to look at itself as a business and entertainment. I also share your general concerns about sponsorship.
If the only thing a crowd of duffers can agree on in a pub is that the majority of football matches are boring, I think it progressively becomes a hard sell.
Just one more small thing: recently I have mates and family who are cancelling their sports subscriptions. They generally feel it's something they can do without. That isn't a good sign about the economy, and maybe about the current pecking order of sport as entertainment.
02 Apr 2026 08:56:15
I have to say, watching teams like Arsenal playing for corners, free kicks and long throw-ins just to play American football in the penalty area is a complete turn-off.
02 Apr 2026 09:08:34
Tom, a lot of ordinary, everyday, working people are feeling the pinch, and are now looking at ways to cut back, and this will only get worse with the ongoing wars, raging around oil and energy. I know so many people who are ditching their Sky and TNT packages, and are now not even feeling connected to football anymore, partly due to the spectacle of the Premier League being at an all time low with the rough house tactics, cheating, time wasting, and ludicrous over coaching and stifling of players talents, together with totally inept match officials and VAR. The Premier League has had its boom years and may well go bust, with fans like me now watching grass roots football and getting far more enjoyment.
The sponsors will also see the trend, as will the broadcasters, and the money and revenue coming into the game may well start to decline over the coming years, leaving a number of clubs who have spent large amounts on new stadia, players, training grounds in desperate trouble, and owners will quickly jump ship. Maybe now is the time to tighten the purse strings and sit tight, as imagine having spent 1 billion plus on a 65,000 seat stadium and it is only half full? Remember how football hooliganism had a similar effect in the 80s with dwindling crowds? It could very easily happen again under different circumstances.
02 Apr 2026 10:31:20
RPD, our thoughts are totally in alignment.
It's only a few years ago that I believed that the gravy train would continue to flow. I now believe that has changed, but if others believe we have a product that now pleases the public and there ensures continued cash, that's up to them.
02 Apr 2026 10:55:42
Football may well have to tighten its belt like the rest of us, and yes, the product needs to improve. My point was that the big clubs won't really feel the pinch. Let's hope that the broadcasters still have an appetite for PL football, because we won't be able to make up the difference with gate receipts and non-football events.
Unfortunately, the negative comments about the current PL are all true.
As for football hooliganism, thankfully mostly a thing of the past. Although it felt safer going to football then than in some places now at night, mind you, I could run faster in those days.