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The Premiership

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How will attendances hold up?

Submitted by WG on Mon, 23/08/2010 - 17:57

The Riverside stadium saw a record low attendance for a league game yesterday, 14,633 for the televised clash between Middlesbrough and Sheffield United.   There are those who think that a mixture of television overkill and the recession will empty stadiums everywhere. 

Birmingham deny Portsmouth style meltdown

Submitted by WG on Mon, 23/08/2010 - 15:28

Birmingham City have emphatically denied that they are facing a Portsmouth-style meltdown.  Blues are not the new Pompey.   Club officials are responding robustly to press enquiries. They consider that the liabilities of the club, which have been estimated at £35m, have been exaggerated.  Owner Carson Yeung is providing short-term financing as required and has no attention of calling in a £7.06m loan which would force the club into administration.

Foreign TV rights key to Premiership success

Submitted by WG on Sun, 22/08/2010 - 18:21

The sale of foreign television rights is increasingly become a key element of the Premiership business model.   The sale of overseas television rights at £479m a year is almost four times as much as the foreign TV cash earned by its closest rival among Europe's top leagues, La Liga.  The Premier League earns more from foreign rights each year than La Liga earns from all its tv rights.

Rates go up on United debt

Submitted by WG on Sun, 22/08/2010 - 12:50

As expected the interest rate on the Glazers' pik loans has gone up from 14.25% to 16.25% after penalty clauses were triggered.    Under the terms of the loans, Manchester United's net debt-to-earnings ratio was supposed to be kept below a multiple of five until a test date five years after the first refinancing.   Net debt of £663m is now more than six times last year's earnings of £109m.

Huang pulls out of Liverpool bid

Submitted by WG on Sat, 21/08/2010 - 08:21

There has been yet another development in the complicated and protracted business of selling Liverpool Football Club with an announcement by Kenny Huang that he is withdrawing his bid.  However, even this is not as straightforward as it appears on the surface as there are those who think that it is a negotiating tactic on his part.  Certainly one sentence in his statement would appear to leave the door open for a renewed bid.

Huang threatens to walk away from Liverpool deal

Submitted by WG on Thu, 19/08/2010 - 19:54

One of the leading bidders for Liverpool Football Club, Kenny Huang, has threatened to walk away if a deal is not concluded soon.  However, this may simply be a negotiating tactic to hurry things along.  Even if a credible bidder could be successfully identified, due diligence could take another two months.

Oyston quits at Blackpool

Submitted by WG on Thu, 19/08/2010 - 08:05

Karl Oysyton has quit as chairman of Blackpool amid reports of disharmony at the club.  He will stay on as chief executive for a transitional period.   Apparently he told the board earlier this month that he would resign if they disagreed with his approach to handling promotion.

Fanshare scheme launched at Arsenal

Submitted by WG on Wed, 18/08/2010 - 17:27

The fanshare scheme devised by the Arsenal Supporters' Trust and backed by the club's major shareholders was launched today.   It was such an immediate hit with Arsenal fans that the website allowing fans to buy online fell over and had to be moved to another server.

Spurs land second shirt sponsorship

Submitted by WG on Wed, 18/08/2010 - 14:16

The idea dreamt up by Spurs of having a different shirt sponsor for Champions League and cup competitions seems to have paid off.    Management firm Investec have signed a deal thought to be worth £5m over two years to complement the £20m main deal with Autonomy.   If Spurs had not recovered from the initial 3-0 deficit against Young Boys in Berne last night, Investec may have been questioning the value of the deal.   There is, after all, no guarantee that Spurs will be in the Champions League next season ev

West Ham front runners in Olympic stadium race

Submitted by WG on Wed, 18/08/2010 - 09:05

As the formal bidding process for moving into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 games begins, West Ham United look like the front runners.  There have been around 150 expressions of interest, but some of these are undoubtedly not very serious and bidders now have six weeks in which to finalise their plans.   Spurs have expressed an interest, but this is thought to be primarily a tactical manoeuvre to exert leverage on Haringey Council in relation to their plans to develop White Hart Lane.