Strategies for Football Club Ownership

The Haves & Have Nots 

English football is one of the most marketable products in the world of sport today. Although having had a disastrous, detrimental effect on the English national team, preventing many home-grown talents from experiencing superior domestic football and the concomitant improved chances of developing to be part of a world-beating national team, Sky's patronage of the English Premier League has turned the top flight of the English football pyramid into the product to which all national top divisions aspire. The world of Association Football, is awash with cash and, like any free market economy, the haves have, and the have nots, don't. Only a handful of Premier League clubs operate at a profit, whilst the rest exist on the television money and goodwill of their rich owners. This beggars the question, if this is how the likes of Liverpool F.C. exist, how are the lower league teams meant to survive in this cut-throat environment, where the dream of reaching the Premier League can only now ever be more than a pipe dream for most of the Football League clubs?

The answer has of course already been given above; bag yourself a rich owner who is willing to plough millions into a venture that is never likely to see any return on their investment. Or, God forbid, you cut your cloth accordingly, live within your means and fester in the lower divisions of the national setup. The former choice is what all football fans want, ideally a Jack Walker

or John Madejski, someone who understands English football and the culture of the fans. In this way, the chance of being allowed to dine at the rich man's table and compete for 38 games to retain the right to stay at that table may be attainable. In Andrew Black and the rest of the consortium who saved the club from oblivion, Swindon Town fans

Swindon Town Fans - None Better!

thought that they had found that person who was willing to sacrifice some of his riches in the pursuit of developing a lower league team into one that could hold its own in the Championship and perhaps even the Premier League. However, Mr. Black is really a horse racing fan and has tired of his involvement with the foremost team in Wiltshire, so is looking to offload his shareholding in Swindon Town. So where does that leave the club?

The harsh reality of the modern world is that football is now big business and, as such, each club should be run and managed along those lines. So, taking Swindon Town as the example, how does one take a middle of the road football club and turn it into one that can hope to compete with the "Big Four"? The first thing to do is find a benefactor with a big wallet. This should be in the shape of a wealthy individual as mentioned above or a large, cash-rich company. The former would probably have the passion to invest  in a sport they feel ardently about and not worry about gaining major returns on that investment, whilst the latter could offset any investment against their annual advertising/marketing budget; what better way to spread their brand around the world than have it married to a successful English Premier League club (e.g. The Emirates Stadium, The Etihad Stadium, etc). And that would be the first thing any serious bidder for Swindon Town should do - build a modern stadium.

New Stadium Required

A modern football stadium offers the opportunity for multiple income streams. It should be viewed as a venue, to be utilised 24/7, 365 days a year. With the proper build, the architecture could incorporate, conferencing facilities, a hotel, restaurants, fast food takeaway outlets, shops and offices to lease. As the British high streets have discovered, the majority of consumers like to have their shopping experience in one place in out of town retail parks rather than have the hassle of trudging through the town centre going from shop to shop. This is the way forward for football clubs, providing facilities and leisure activities all in one place. Further income streams could be sourced from on site gym/fitness clubs, perhaps a multiplex cinema and even have the stadium used by more than one team or sport. With a retractable roof, an all-weather venue would allow for concerts, car shows, etc - the possibilities are endless. If the new owners are foreign, linking back to their home country could provide valuable income in the form of replica shirt sales, etc.

As with any business, getting the correct people in the right roles is paramount. Fortunately for any potential investor, at Swindon Town, this has already been done. In Paolo Di Canio, the club has perhaps the most talented, ambitious and crazy manager in the entire Football League. His passion for his club, his team and the fans is overwhelming. He wants to succeed and no-one will stand in his way on his road to managerial greatness; ask Paul Caddis, the club captain who could seemingly do no wrong until he crossed Paolo. Probably the second best player at the club was cast aside and the team hasn't looked back. 

The next step is to have at least a five year plan. Swindon Town are currently running on a three year plan to get to the Championship, but, realistically, if the club is to be treated as a business (post new stadium and the facilities therein), the manager should be given reasonable resources to put a squad together and the time to meld that squad into a winning team. Success does not normally come overnight and in the fast paced world of football, some owners/chairmen have the patience of a man with a full bladder at the end of a long queue for the urinal.

The five year plan should, however, be flexible and provide for contingencies. If the success that is desired is planned for and a path to the goal is set, small tweaks of the plan should only be necessary to get to the target. Such contingencies should cover replacement of players through injury or where the manager feels an area of the team may need bolstering. A successful team will pull in the crowds which will in turn push interest in the direction of the other facilities in the new stadium providing additional income. Owning a football club is never going to provide huge financial rewards in itself, but, if the business model is sound, then success on the field will help fuel success off it. It just needs a visionary new owner to set the ball in motion.

Lance Armstrong...Is He all Bad?

After appearing on US television with Oprah Winfrey, we are now supposed to be vilifying Lance Armstrong. He doped his way to glory, infusing his body with EPO, blood transfusions and doses of testosterone, but...!? And that's the problem, that but. At the time, most of the top cyclists were allegedly doping, all trying to achieve that fine edge with which to beat the rest of the field and win at all costs. Therefore, the playing field was level, with most of the top cyclists carrying more than their natural quota of erythrocytes in their bloodstream making the transport of a greater volume of oxygen around their bodies easier and, conversely, clearing their systems of carbon dioxide more quickly.

The comparison could be made with Formula 1, where the constructors all add modifications to their cars in order to make them go that little bit faster, hold the road that little bit better, cleave through the air that little more aerodynamically and all for getting to the finish line that fraction of a second before the rest of the competitors. And, if the modifications escape the notice of the stewards charged with checking that all is fair in the world of the millionaires' motor racing scene, then more fool them - or so it seems. Indeed, the fans of the various Formula 1 teams extol the virtues of each motorised chariot, comparing designs and lauding the cutting edge technological modifications that may enable their team to achieve success that season, even though the other teams' cars may be at a disadvantage due to inferior engineering.

So, despite the doping which allowed Lance Armstrong to have the edge on his peers when toiling along the roads of Europe or triumphing at Olympic Games, he won 7 Tour De France races in an era when the cycling culture was one of dope or be left behind. We shall probably never know the exact number nor identities of the top cyclists who were taking illegal substances during the '90s or early 21st century, but if they were all at it, then Lance Armstrong was the best amongst them. And, doped up or not, when you see the way these athletes seem to skip up a French Alp or two when your car would be coughing and wheezing for breath driving up the same incline, there should be an admiration of their strength and stamina...shouldn't there?

Related articles

• Lance Armstrong confesses to Oprah Winfrey: My mythic story would have been impossible without doping
• Lance Armstrong Interview: Cyclist Confesses Doping To Oprah

You Heard it Here First!

As stated in my blog post of 4th January, Swindon Town Football Club is up for sale! But don't push the panic button yet or head for the emergency exit. Unlike previous times when the club went into administration, where every Tom, Dick and Harry was owed a penny, the debt owed is to the investment company, or Andrew Black. In order to mitigate his loss, he's looking to sell his majority shareholding which is why Sir William Patey was brought in. Being a canny sort, after all, you don't amass an internet betting fortune by being as daft as a brush, Mr. Black has let Paolo Di Canio get into a promotion -winning position this season before officially announcing his intentions of finding investors for the club.

For me, the noises emanating from SN1 are positive. The chairman has already been in talks with potential investors and, given that the Town play in red, I wouldn't be surprised if the investment comes from the Far East and the currency bandied around the club is the Chinese Yuan. With China emerging as the economic superpower to rival the USA, that's where I would be looking for a new owner. Oriental companies want exposure in the West and attaching your business' identity to a sporting franchise gives valuable advertising and an affirmation that your company has hit the world's stage.

The declaration that Swindon town may have to go into administration is, using poker parlance, a bluff on the part of Andrew Black. As stated on the Swindon Advertiser website, there are interested parties jockeying for position; Andrew Black has stated the dreaded "A" word in order to get them to hurry up and force their hand.

Related articles

• For Sale - One (Recent) Careful Owner!
• Swindon consider administration
• Swindon ponder administration

Eddie Howe v Paolo Di Canio

Despite Swindon Town's recent excellent run in the league, taking the club to the top of the form table in Europe, this Saturday's game against AFC Bournemouth is going to be a season-defining moment, as Paolo Di Canio would say. If Swindon Town are going to gain promotion to the Championship, teams such as AFC Bournemouth have to be beaten home and away. The first game this season saw the Town win 4 - 0 at home against an AFC Bournemouth side which was short on confidence and lacked their talisman, Eddie Howe. At the time, Howe was managing Burnley and the South Coast side seemed destined for a relegation dogfight this season. Various pressures exercised their force on Eddie Howe and suddenly he was back at Dean Court, pulling on the reins to tear the runaway cart away from the cliff and towards an inexorable climb up the table - hence the season-defining moment. With Howe back in the manager's hot seat Bournemouth have hit a purple patch and are now real contenders for a play-off place at the very least. A look at the Town's history at Bournemouth, and it would seem that Paolo Di Canio's nous for scheming and sussing out the opposition is going to be put to the greatest of tests. Hopefully, Swindon Town will be three points the richer come the full time whistle on the chilly South Coast tomorrow.

For Sale - One (Recent) Careful Owner!

His background may be in diplomacy, but hearing Sir William Patey's pre-match interview before the Swindon Town v Portsmouth game last Tuesday, it didn't take much reading between the lines to understand that the moneyman behind Swindon Town, Andrew Black, is looking for a buyer. The club is unofficially up for sale and Sir William Patey is going to earn his corn by seeking viable purchasers by using his network of contacts built up during his time in Her Majesty's Diplomatic Corps...hopefully! The clear message was that the purse strings have been drawn tight and the only way the County Ground is going to be redeveloped and Paolo Di Canio is going to have a competitive budget for next season's Championship campaign is if wealthy foreigners like the look of the club, and want to invest in it. The one good thing about Swindon Town in the eyes of any potential Far Eastern investor is that the team already play in "lucky" red and we won't have to suffer the ignominy a la Cardiff City of having to change our traditional club colours to fit in with another country's cultural mythology. After all, conversely, can you imagine some South Korean club agreeing to wearing farmer's smocks, tied at the ankle corduroy trousers and a weather beaten straw hat just because some lad from Wiltshire wants to invest in their team? I'm proud to be a Moonraker, but I don't think it should be foisted on everybody!