Money-Money-Money Needed To Own & Run A Football Club, The Ups & Downs

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

Post - Money needed to own & run a football club, the ups & downs

I was reading about clubs who have had winding up petitions against them in past
seasons, which the HMRC have reported.

2023 - 07 clubs had winding up petitions
2022 - 05 clubs had winding up petitions
2021 - 05 clubs had winding up petitions
2020 - 10 clubs had winding up petitions

Among the financial pressure football clubs face are high interest rates, which make
it more expensive for football clubs.
Many clubs built up debts during the covid pandemic, some clubs have been unable
to pay their creditors or meet their tax obligations with HMRC.
Football clubs struggling with spiralling inflation, employees salaries & energy costs,
along with reduced ticket sales during covid.
Not forgetting the new Labour government have brought in the employers increase
of National Insurance for their work force.

Look back to 1968 in a book by Arthur Hopcraft, called " The Football Man ", which
was written about former Burnley FC owner & chairman Bob Lord, in which the
book said about the cost of owning & running a football club.
It said, " The question now is whether such a man, & such a club have not been
overtaken, by the sheer cost of football at its most competitive ".

The same applies today -
Former owner & chairman Mike Garlick stepped down has chairman after ALK
Capital bought the club in 2020, & left the board altogether in 2023.
He witnessed promotion[s] with Burnley FC, but he came to a conclusion about
owning a football club, with each time the club gained promotion, his thoughts were
can we stay up.
He sold the club after realising he was a multi-millionaire in a multi-billionaire league,
when in the premier league, & could not compete against the bigger money clubs.

I would say that the Premier league teams are owned by multi-billionaires, with
smaller multi-millionaire clubs getting a season in the premier league, when promoted,
but unless money is pumped into the clubs they return to the championship.
What do we find -
Premier league clubs owned by Multi-billionaires
Championship clubs owned by multi-millionaires
League one clubs owned by millionaires [ joint ownership shares ]
League two clubs owned by millionaires [joint ownership share ]

Some league one & two clubs have benefactors, such as Wrexham & Birmingham City
with the money to back them.

What have we got at Rotherham United FC with owner & chairman Tony Stewart.
To me our club is owned by a millionaire, who is trying to compete against
multi-millionaire championship clubs when we are in the championship.
So our place is that we have a fleeting glance of championship football for a season,
when we get promoted, but with out the money to compete & stay in the championship.
So therefore we are a top league one side normally, not this season, who will have the
yo-yo promotion / relegation seasons.

Ps - Ex Burnley owner & chairman Mike Garlick is still in football.

He owns Gibraltar football club St Joseph's.
He also owns a majority share of third tier Spanish club Antequera CF
the 60 year old is chairman of both clubs.