West Ham and familiar faces in Kidderminster’s FA Cup crosshairs February 3, 2022 West Ham United’s top brass would have been forgiven for wincing when they were drawn to face Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup fourth round this weekend. Not only do the lowest ranked team left in the competition pose the threat of a humiliating elimination; the non-league outfit’s taste for an upset is also already [...]
Five trends that defined the January transfer window February 1, 2022 Blockbusting deals did not materialise and most of the big clubs kept their hands in their pockets but the Premier League still managed to register a record-breaking January transfer window. While last year’s winter transfer window was one of austerity as teams absorbed the financial impact of Covid-19, this time enough of them threw caution [...]
Premier League clubs exceed pre-pandemic spending in January transfer window February 1, 2022 Premier League clubs spent £295m gross in January, their second highest total ever for a winter transfer window, according to Deloitte. The sum is more than four times higher than their outlay in January 2021 and was driven by newly rich Newcastle United and other teams at the wrong end of the table trying to [...]
Rebel clubs’ lawsuit against Spanish football chiefs gets green light January 31, 2022 MADRID, Jan 31 (Reuters) – A civil lawsuit against LaLiga filed by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao over a €2bn private equity deal agreed by the administrators of elite Spanish football has been admitted by a Madrid court, the court said on Monday. The judge investigating the case called the parties to a hearing of [...]
Cinch and Cazoo zoom into top tier of sports sponsors January 27, 2022 Online car marketplaces Cinch and Cazoo, takeaway service Just Eat and social media platform Tik Tok were the biggest entrants to sports sponsorship in the UK last year, according to a new report. The four brands were the only new entrants in consultancy Onside’s Top 10 Most Appealing UK Sports Sponsors, which is published today. [...]
Deloitte forecasts late flurry of Premier League transfer activity January 24, 2022 Premier League clubs are being tipped to embark on a trolley dash in the final week of the January transfer window. Spending in the English top-flight has already passed £100m this month, eclipsing the total outlay in last year’s Covid-affected winter window. And Deloitte’s Sports Business Group is forecasting a busy final few days before [...]
Fifa rules to be introduced which will curb international loanees January 20, 2022 Fifa have announced new rules that will limit the number of international loans going in and out of clubs which come into effect from July. The new rules will see clubs limited to eight international loan signings in and eight loaned out in an attempt to stop teams from stockpiling talent. The international governing body [...]
How Derby County slipped to edge of disappearance January 20, 2022 They are former English champions and in top form under the management of Wayne Rooney, yet day by day Derby County are inching towards liquidation and disappearing from football forever. Their story is one of financial mismanagement in a desperate bid to achieve promotion to the Premier League; administrators scrambling to find a buyer – [...]
Manchester City returns to profit while revenue increases to £569.8m January 12, 2022 Manchester City have announced a profit of £2.4m and revenues of £569.8m in their annual report for the 2020-2021 season. The Premier League leaders saw their revenue increase by 19 per cent. The profits came despite a season disrupted by Covid-19 which saw restrictions placed on stadium capacities – City’s matchday income was down 98 [...]
Why Cambridge’s FA Cup triumph at Newcastle is good for football January 9, 2022 Upsets were in abundance over FA Cup third round weekend, from sixth-tier Kidderminster Harriers beating Reading and Conference outfit Boreham Wood progressing for the first time. There was drama galore elsewhere too, with Morecambe and Shrewsbury Town giving scares to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool respectively and Barrow eventually succumbing in a nine-goal thriller at Barnsley. [...]