Terracist

An Asian Takeaway (Report)

Stuart Frisby — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:11:09 -0800

an-asia-takeaway.pdf

My report on the comparative experiences of top flight football fans in England and Japan, written as a final year dissertation for my Japanese & International Business degree at John Moores University in Liverpool.

Keane. Not keen on Keys.

Stuart Frisby — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:59:42 -0800

Roy Keane this week was in the press following remarks made about BSkyB's Premier League coverage, which will have resonated with a growing number of football fans for whom the gloss and glam of the Premier League era is starting to wear a little thin. The constant hyperbole of fairly standard footballing fare, and the (hitherto thought impossible) overdose of football were themes visited in 'The Football Business' by David Conn (a highly recommended read), and Keane is the latest to voice his concern at what he described as "People like Richard Keys trying to sell you something that's not there". And he has a point.

Sky, in their defence are a company, bound not to the traditions and well-being of English football, but to a ruthless overseer (James Murdoch, who took over the reigns from his more illustrious father) and a board of digit-dwelling shareholders. Sky always knew that suckers like you and me would keep on buying regardless of the price and regardless of the often fairly average displays. Rupert Murdoch himself described the demand for football in England as inelastic, so confident was he that the paying public were likely to pay whatever Sky demanded.

But the quality of the football on show is subjective, and Sky are happy to make a 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage sound like the 1970 World Cup final, with Paul Konchesky cast as Carlos Alberto, and Clint Dempsey sliding butter-like into the Jairzinho role which he was so obviously born to play. They have a product to sell, and they have a vested interest in convincing you that is is the best money can buy.

The BBC, thanks to the frequently maligned license fee is under far less pressure to dissuade you from forming your own, perhaps even negative conclusion to the football it covers. Sadly, the football it covers is all too short in supply.

Channel Five, perhaps the most overlooked of all of our broadcasters has a refreshing approach which seems to be a deliberate response to the fake drama invented by its digital competitor. With little fan-fare, Colin Murray, Stanley Victor Collymore and Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin present a reasoned, watchable overview of what is fairly standard, second-tier European football. It is a cold drink in the otherwise suffocating desert of football coverage on British television.

As money tightens in households up and down the country, and people are forced to mute the TV when Andy Gray waxes lyrical about a ten yard, sideways, Mamady Sidibe pass; maybe they'll start to question with greater frequency the value of the opinion being offered by supposed experts of the game, who have clearly been polluted by fancy graphics and inflated wage packets. The insipid punditry, designed to be as inoffensive as possible (lest one lose their invite to a golf game) is just another failure of the Murdoch mandated seven-day-a-week footballathon which continues to drive an ever widening stake between the elite of English football, and those who lie in its shadow.

From Pork to Paella and back again

Stuart Frisby — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:35:29 -0700

If Premier League managers held dinner parties, the chances are that for the last few years, the menu would have been more paella and pasta than fillet pork or grilled pheasant. For a period who’s legacy still defines a large proportion of the managerial sect within the English footballing elite, the idea of appointing and English manager came a distant second to plumping for a foreign head coach.

in 1996, Arsenal appointed Arsene Wenger, a man who had managed only one major club before at Monaco, and with little success in his eight seasons in the principality. A season in the footballing winderness with Nagoya Grampus was the calm before a phenomenal success in his twelve seasons thus far at the north London giants.

And it was this appointment which lit the touch-paper. Arsenal’s first foreign manager was soon followed with Liverpool’s first in another Frenchman, and more clubs followed - favouring coaches with international experience over those who had been long on the rota within the domestic game.

The reasons for these sort of appointments are compelling. The English game, circa 1998 was a fairly generic affair. The English style of play was omnipresent, and a different tact was seen as a competitive advantage in a league where the margins of victory were incredibly slim. With the likes of Wenger, Houllier, Gullit (and Christian Gross, if you insist) came a footballing culture alien to the tradition-burdened English game, which had changed little in it’s structure since the 1960s. A new professionalism, and all-encompassing training ideology soon began to replace the English style of man management. Gone were the days of a clubs star centre-half indulging in 5 pints in the VIP bar after a game.

But all of that would appear to be changing. A nostalgic football fan would gaze at the likes of Roy Hodgson and Joe Kinnear on Match of the Day and think that football was going back to it’s roots, and beginning to become dominated again by Englishmen off the pitch, if not on it. And perhaps in that statement lies a hint to the reason for these types of appointments.

The English game has benefited enormously from the influx of foreign managers, coaches and players. Our leagues have never been so professional, or produced such a high quality of football as they do now, and this is precisely because we have called on talent and knowledge from across the globe, borrowing the best of footballing culture from Europe, South America and beyond. But with that culture now at one with our own game, there is less pressure on Chairmen to reach out and find something new. Within British clubs a culture of professionalism and the all-round approach to management now exist, and that runs through the management, coaches and playing staff of all clubs.

With that in mind, there can be a refocus in the recruitment process, where a decade ago it was about bringing in a culture - it is now far more important to bring in real man managers, people proven at getting the best out of groups of players.

Roy Hodgson in particular is a man renowned for getting brilliance out of mediocre groups of players, down not to any sort of radical, continental thinking, but because he is able to inspire and manage players better than most.

Kinnear of course is only temporarily in charge of the loon army, but I take his appoint as a signal of this shift back towards British Managers in the top flight. It’s something I think we’re likely to see more of in the coming years. Whether that is in the form of more spectacular comebacks - cue Ron Atkinson, Howard Wilkinson and Kenny Dalgleish - or in the form of more, as yet untried British managers in the top flight, the overarching result has to be positive for the English game.

Those who follow football outside of the Premier League will extoll (quite rightly) the virtues of Gary Johnson, a man who has served his managerial apprenticeship with the Latvian national team, Yeovil and now Britsol City. It is this type of manager who I would expect to start being seriously considered for top flight jobs.

Our period of education at the hands of foreign managers may be drawing to a close, and having adopting training methods, playing styles and dietary ideals, the English game is in it’s best ever shape. But now, and for the foreseeable future, it is back to the old school of management, where a manager is a presence in the dressing room, and a figure of respect in the boardroom, and everywhere in between.

In twenty years time, we might just be lucky enough to produce another Clough, Ferguson or Shankly. Only this time round he'll need to speak six languages to give the same sort of teamtalks which 'old big head' was famous for.

Mike Ashley (NUFC) Statement

Stuart Frisby — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:56:17 -0700

The following statement was released by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley earlier today:

I have enjoyed sport since I was a boy. I love football. I have followed England in every tournament since Mexico '86. I was there to see Maradona and his hand of God. I know what it means to love football and to love a club. I know how important it is to other people because football is so important to me.

My life has been tied up with sport. It was the passion that I felt for sport that helped me to be successful with my business. That success allowed me to mix my passion and my business.

I bought Newcastle United in May 2007. Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football. When the fans are behind the club at St James' Park, it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is magic.

Newcastle's best asset has been, is and always will be the fans. But like any business with assets the club has debts. I paid £134million out of my own pocket for the club. I then poured another £110million into the club not to pay off the debt, but just to reduce it.

The club is still in debt. Even worse than that, the club still owes millions of pounds in transfer fees.

I shall be paying out many more millions over the coming year to pay for players bought by the club before I arrived.

But there was a double whammy. Commercial deals such as sponsorships and advertising had been front loaded.

The money had been paid up front and spent. I was left with a club that owed millions and part of whose future had been mortgaged.

Unless I had come into the club then it might not have survived. It could have shared the fate of other clubs who have borrowed too heavily against their future. Before I had spent a penny on wages or buying players Newcastle United had cost me more than a quarter of a billion pounds.

Don't get me wrong. I did not buy Newcastle to make money. I bought Newcastle because I love football.

Newcastle does not generate the income of a Manchester United or a Real Madrid. I am Mike Ashley, not Mike Ashley a multi-billionaire with unlimited resources. Newcastle United and I can't do what other clubs can. We can't afford it.

I knew that the club would cost me money every year after I had bought it. I have backed the club with money.

You can see that from the fact that Newcastle has the fifth highest wage bill in the Premier League.

I was always prepared to bank roll Newcastle up to the tune of £20million per year but no more. That was my bargain.

I would make the club solvent. I would make it a going concern. I would pour up to £20million a year into the club and not expect anything back. It has to be realised that if I put £100million into the club year-in, year-out, then it would not be too long before I was cleaned out and a debt-ridden Newcastle United would find itself in the position that faced Leeds United.

That is the nightmare for every fan. To love a club that over-extends itself, that tries to spend what it can't afford.

That will never happen to Newcastle when I am in charge. The truth is that Newcastle could not sustain buying the Shevchenkos, Robinhos or the Berbatovs.

These are recognised European footballers. They have played in the European leagues and everyone knows about them.

They can be brilliant signings. But everybody knows that they are brilliant and so they, and players like them, cost more than £30million to buy before you even take into account agent commissions and the multi-million pound wage deals.

My plan and my strategy for Newcastle is different. It has to be. Arsenal is the shining example in England of a sustainable business model. It takes time. It can't be done overnight.

Newcastle has therefore set up an extensive scouting system. We look for young players, for players in foreign leagues who everyone does not know about. We try and stay ahead of the competition. We search high and low looking for value, for potential that we can bring on and for players who will allow Newcastle to compete at the very highest level but who don't cost the earth.

I am prepared to back large signings for millions of pounds but for a player who is young and has their career in front of them and not for established players at the other end of their careers.

There is no other workable way forward for Newcastle. It is in this regard that Dennis [Wise] and his team have done a first class job in scouting for talent to secure the future of the club.

You only need to look at some of our signings to see that it is working, slowly working.

Look at Jonas Guttierrez and Fabricio Collocini. These are world class players. The plan is showing dividends with the signing of exceptional young talent such as Sebastein Bassong, Danny Guthrie and Xisco.

My investment in the club has extended to time, effort and yet again, money being poured into the Academy.

I want Newcastle to be able to create its own legends of the future to rival those of the past. This is a long-term plan. A long-term plan for the future of the club so that it can flourish.

One person alone can't manage a Premiership football club and scout the world looking for world class players and stars of the future. It needs a structure and it needs people who are dedicated to that task. It needs all members of the management team to share that vision for it to work.

Also one of the reasons that the club was so in debt when I took over was due to transfer dealings caused by managers moving in and out of the club. Every time there was a change in manager, millions would be spent on new players and millions would be lost as players were sold. It can't keep on working like that. It is just madness.

I have put Newcastle on a sound financial footing. It is reducing its debt. It is spending within itself. It is recruiting exciting new players and bringing in players for the future.

The fans want this process to happen more quickly and they want huge amounts spent in the transfer market so that the club can compete at the top table of European football now.

I am not stupid and have listened to the fans. I have really loved taking my kids to the games, being next to them and all the fans. But I am now a dad who can't take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted.

Therefore, I am no longer prepared to subsidise Newcastle United. I am putting the club up for sale.

I hope that the fans get what they want and that the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want.

This will not be a fire sale. Newcastle is now in a much stronger position than it was in 2007. It is planning for the future and it is sustainable.

I am still a fan of Newcastle United. We, my kids and I, have loved standing on the terraces with the fans, we have loved travelling with the away fans and we have met so many fans whose company we have enjoyed. We have absolutely loved it, but it is not safe any more for us as a family.

I am very conscious of the responsibility that I bear in owning Newcastle United. Tough decisions have to be made in business and I will not shy away from doing what I consider to be in the best interests of the club. This is not fantasy football.

I don't want anyone to read my words and think that any of this is an attack on Kevin Keegan. It is not.

Kevin and I always got on. Everyone at the club, and I mean everyone, thinks that he has few equals in getting the best out of the players. He is a legend at the club and rightly so.

Clearly there are disagreements between Kevin and the board and we have both put that in the hands of our lawyers.

I hope that all the fans get to read this statement so that they understand what I am about. I would not expect all of the fans to agree with me. But I have set out, clearly, my plan. If I can't sell the club to someone who will give the fans what they want, then I shall continue to ensure that Newcastle is run on a business and football model that is sustainable. I care too much about the club merely to abandon it.

I have the interests of Newcastle United at heart. I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do, but it won't happen overnight and it may not happen at all if a buyer does not come in. You don't need to demonstrate against me again because I have got the message.

Any further action will only have an adverse effect on the team. As fans of Newcastle United you need to spend your energy getting behind, not me, but the players who need your support.

I am determined that Newcastle United is not only here today, but that it is also there tomorrow for your children who stand beside you at St James' Park.

Mike Ashley. Sunday 14th September 2008

Thaksin

Stuart Frisby — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:33:31 -0700

The case of Thaksin Shinawatra, deemed by Richard Scudamore & Co. to be a 'fit and proper person', able to responsibly and ethically run a premier league football club highlights the depths the EPL will sink to in order to swell their already bulging coffers.

The former Thai PM, accused of embezzling national funds into private bank accounts, also oversaw - according to Amnesty International - a sharp decline in his countries record on Human Rights abuses.

Next on the premier league chairmans register - Radovan karadzic.

"Only 170 of the 498 players who started matches in the top flight in...

Stuart Frisby — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:51:13 -0700

"Only 170 of the 498 players who started matches in the top flight in 2007-08 were English - just 34.1% of the total."

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BBC Sport

Football Ecomony

Stuart Frisby — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:31:24 -0700

Football Ecomony

Wyn Grant's 'Political Economy of Football' website is a must-read for anyone interested in the business of British Football. The oft updated site is a gold-mine of information.

Learning from the Japanese

Stuart Frisby — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:20:04 -0700

Imagine if the hundred year history of league football in England was wiped away, and that from the start of next season history and tradition were thrown out of the window. That’s a good analogy for the Japanese game. In a country where the modern professional era is less than twenty years old - and where the majority of fans were in their home cities before they even had a professional club - Japanese football teams are able to experiment and innovate at every level of their operations.

Read the full article

Deloitte Money League 08

Stuart Frisby — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:29:11 -0700

deloittefootballmoneyleague2008.pdf

Download → (3 MB, 314 downloads)

Finance specialists Deloitte have compiled their fourth annual report on football’s money elite. The 2008 Football Money League holds few surprises, with Real Madrid heading the charts for a third year running, and Manchester united in second, following the completion of another old Trafford expansion project, the Salford club saw it’s match-day profits soar to just under £100million.

Barcelona’s impressive profit margins continue to increase under the stewardship of president Joan Laporta. The Catalan giants rank third in the list, which is again dominated by English teams.

The report makes for depressing reading for those clubs outside of the big hitters, as profits rise exponentially, the gap between the rich and the not-so-rich is expanding year-on-year as the biggest clubs continue to qualify - and profit from - Champions League central broadcasting revenue and sponsorships.

Welcome to Terracist

Stuart Frisby — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:34:54 -0700

It's not 1996 anymore, so you can't see a little animated man digging a hole to inform you that things here are very much a work in progress. But that is exactly what they are. Terracist is undergoing what I am assured is called a 'soft launch', a term coined by lazy web designers everywhere to buy us some time to make things work as they should.

What you'll get here, when the site is finished, is a blog dedicated to reporting and opining on the business-side of the greatest game in the world. A professional interest, and personal desire to learn more led me to the epiphany of starting this website, and six days later, here we are. I hope to be able to call on my time both as a fan, and as someone who worked for, and intends to forge a career in the football industry. I'll also be able to offer the perspective of a football fan outside of the European hotbed, having spent a season out on loan from my university in England, studying in Japan, where football - like everything else - is very different.

There is no reason why this site should carry a single voice though. I'd be grateful and fascinated by anything you should like to contribute, or if you'd like to join in the discussions via the Terracist mailing list, you'll be made to feel most welcome there too.

So, mind the scaffolding for now, and perhaps subscribe to the RSS feed (handily linked above) for more updates.