Financial Troubles at Football Clubs: York Festival of Ideas, and the cases of Middlesbrough, Bury and Bolton

Back in June it was our great privilege to present our research at York festival of Ideas.

We were involved with two sessions - the first, Chaired by Kevin, was a highly insightful presentation by Daniel Geey - a legal/business expert with significant experience in the football industry and has worked on a variety of club takeovers, high profile transfers, commercial endorsement deals and disputes. His talk centered around his book and was entitled 'Done Deal: Premier League Big Business' and generated much discussion from the audience about players, their agents, and tax issues - and some were also interested by the ethical implications that can arise. Thanks Daniel for a truly insightful presentation.

Next, we were both in conversation with best-selling investigative journalist and author, David Conn.

The event was notable for several reasons.

Firstly it was a first public appearence by Alex after experiencing serious illness earlier this year. Although he sat down for most of the event, getting out and in front of an audience was a big step forward in his recovery.

Secondly, sharing the 'stage' with David Conn was a real accomplishment.  On a personal level it was great to talk to him about our research, which has drawn on some of the facts an  ideas outlined in his books, particularly 'The Beautiful Game: Searching for the Soul of Football'.  Coincidently we were also undertaking our own research of the World Cup (and related to that, the history of FIFA) at around the same time as David was doing his own research, albeit more concerned with criticisms of the organization in its more recent form, and ultimately published in his 2017 book ''The Fall of the House of FIFA'.  

The talk began by Kevin outlining the work we have published, particularly the ideas of Shadow Hybridity and the Institutional Logic of Professional Sport, as outlined in our recent paper featured in Journal of Management History: 

Final published version (look it up via your university library): click here 

Accepted penultimate draft (unformatted document, freely available with no paywall): click here

Alex and Kevin then made links between our theories and the ideas presented in David's books about finance in football, and contrasting cash-strapped lower league teams, such as Middlesbrough in the mid-1980s with, premiership today's giants such as Manchester City and the concentration of wealth resulting in ever widening gaps between them and many teams of the lower leagues.

David responded passionately with detailed answers - he really cares about the subject matter - and has researched it thoroughly.

The things that we talked about that day struck a chord with the audience, many of whom had question and insightful comments to make about their own perceptions and experiences as fans.  

As some of you reading the will know, David Conn is a former student of University of York, the venue and a main organizer for the festival of Ideas.  After the event we took David for a walk around his old campus and enjoyed talking about the place.  Thanks David and also thanks to everyone at the Festival of Ideas team and the University of York for hosting our event, and to everyone who attended on the day for being a brilliant audience. Both of the football talks were free to attend but fully booked, so see you again next year, we hope, but book early!

David Conn revisits University of York (photo credit: Alex Gillett)

   

                                                                           ******

Reflections on Today's News

The last couple of days have brought these issues back into focus and our ideas about the institutional logic of professional sport have never seemed more pertinent, with Bury today being expelled from the league and Bolton Wanderers hanging on by a thread.  Two clubs with much history, including famous FA Cup wins.  

As Bury and Bolton, once proud Lancashire towns, have been consumed Pac-Man like by the 'Greater Manchester' metropolitan area, their economies as well as their football clubs appear to have declined financially, if not always so on the pitch (Bury were only just promoted this summer and Bolton have for many years been a bit of a 'yo yo' team but tend to pivot around the second tier)- whilst those of the dominant geography (ie the city of Manchester) have experienced what seems to the outsider to be a concentration of inward investment, and glory (United and City are both now globally recognized brands- and City won a clean sweep of domestic honors last year). 

Even Salford, a former dockland area (in the shadow of Old Trafford in one direction and the National football Museum in another) but newly revived by the arrival of the BBC at 'Media City' in 2011, now have a team competing professionally in the English Football League.  

Salford City FC is  buoyed financially by a consortium ex-Manchester United players' who seemingly preferred to 'start from scratch' and begin a new generation by taking a non-league club (as it was when they invested) into the league (where it is now), rather than take on the baggage of an established local league club with an existing fan base, but also the weight of history and the albatross of debt.  

For example the Neville brothers (Phil and Gary) have a combined ownership stake in the Salford Club of 20% according to Wikipedia - whilst by way of contrast their mother Judy worked as Bury FCs club secretary until recently, and their late father was at one time on the Bury FC Board of Directors (according to the BBC).  

As we outline in our paper, fans want to win and professional football clubs demand more and more money in order to retain their professional status.  Without constant investment and the promise of 'being in with a chance of promotion/winning the cup' will eventually lead to many paying fans deserting in their droves, and also lead to extra expense from 'sacking' managers, player wages and fees etc, to attract talent in the hope of turning things around. Maintaining professional status in order to be narrow the odds of achieving glory, creating a 'buzz' and attracting sponsors and television money, to re-invest in more players and stadiums seems to be the cycle of events time and again - only for some clubs that cycle becomes a death spiral, particularly if owners' laden more debts onto the club, for example by diversifying into sports halls/public gyms, hotels, or to subsidize some of their other business interests. 

We wish Bury and Bolton the very best of luck for the future, and hope that the precedents set by others such as Middlesbrough (which escaped by the skin of their teeth in 1986), and Accrington Stanley (which reformed after leaving the league in the 1960s - eventually returning in 2006 and now comfortably placed in League 1.)  

More closely to home we also hope that York City can capitalize on their strong start to the season and climb back up the pyramid soon.  It has been a turbulent few years for York and it would be great to eventually have League football at the new stadium when it is eventually opened.

An Evening at...Pickering, Yorkshire

A warm, rainless evening at the end of July presented a golden opportunity for a Soccer Mad Boffins field trip.

The occasion was a pre-season 'friendly' fixture between Pickering Town FC, and York City FC. So close to the start of the 2019/20 campaign, the game provided an opportunity for both teams to field some trialists and give youth and squad players opportunity to showcase their abilities and jostle for a place amongst the first-team.

Prior to the game, neither of us (Alex and Kevin) knew much about Pickering Town FC.  What calibre of team, or what sort of ground they had was a mystery. In years of visiting the quiet Yorkshire market town with our families for its heritage railway, World War 2 theme weekend, its castle, country fair/traction engine rally, trout farm, and medieval church, it is fair to say that 'football ground' had never really been on anyone's radar.

Pickering Castle (image: Historic England)

Pickering has several family-friendly events throughout the year

Alex was surprised to discover that despite the town having a renowned trout farm (and the club being situated from it by about 5 minutes by car) the fish on Pickering's club crest were in fact Pike.  Thus, Pickering Town FC are known not as the 'trout-men' as we had guessed, but 'the pikes'.  Closer inspection of the club crest revealed that it said 'Pikes' in large letters, and also that the club was formed in 1888, and so has a bit of history behind it.

The club now plays in the Northern Premier League and has in recent years enjoyed good runs in the FA Vase and also the North Riding Senior Cup.  Of relevance to Soccer Mad Boffins publications is the fact that Pickering's list if ex-managers includes Mitch Cook, who was part of the mid-80s Middlesbrough squad that we wrote about in our chapter 'Beer and the Boro' and recent paper in the Journal of Management History (Cook was even listed in some copies of the match day program in the team for 'the Boro's come-back game at the start of the 86-87 season in the old Division 3, but had left for non-league Scarborough just days before the fixture took place).

We were pleasantly surprised to find the sports ground so easily (just off the way in to Pickering if traveling from York) and that parking was conveniently right next to the ground - which is a bit of an all-round sports and rec facility incorporating a cricket green as well as the soccer ground.    Entering through the sole turnstile, we made pilgrimige to the programme seller and also each bought a strip of raffle tickets - top prize was a meat pack from a local butchers - although neither of us won, its the taking part that counts!

The 'Pikes' crowd management system: Green turnstile

Souvenirs from a great day out: Match program, ticket, and losing raffle tickets

Even more remarkable was the picturesque setting, and the facilities with covered stands, a good clubhouse selling beer and pies, and a well maintained pitch - although it does have an eccentric slightly raised edge where the width of the field overlaps with the raise towards the adjacent cricket pitch!

Picturesque view at Pickering's ground: Perfect backdrop for a game of footy

An impressive stand

Notice on side of the clubhouse

Prior to the game starting, in the team warm-ups the York City players looked a tad sharper with more precise ball-juggling skills and better 'first touch'.  However, such impressive skills do not always translate into the 11-a-side game, even in a 'friendly' game when so many players are trying to prove themselves in order to win a contract or a call-up to the main squad or first team.

Pickering's squad warm up before the game

Kick-off was at 7.30pm sharp, by which time the ground was quite full, a good local turnout as well as a dedicated trailing contingent from the 'big smoke' (York!) down the A64.

Teams prepare for kick-off: York in red, Pickering in blue

"And they're off! The Charge of the York brigade!"

The game began at a fast pace.  York's team containing full-time professionals used to playing higher-tier non-league soccer (or even league soccer in some cases) really 'went for it' from the first whistle, opting for a direct or even long-ball style, to capitalize on their pace against the part-time Pikes.  Passing the ball up field with power, or diagonal crosses from the left-back up-field to the right-wing, was a default setting.  To be fair York's right-sided players never seemed to run out of energy, but neither could this approach create many chances against a cool, calm and collected Pickering side that kept their line across defense and passed it out accurately through the centre into midfield.

Indeed, Pickering's more aesthetically pleasing passing game took hold and turned the pace of the game (a style they've cultivated for some years, apparently, introduced by Mitch Cook a few years ago to instill a style or brand of football to the club).  York then tried to fight fire with fire, settling into a better passing game themselves, but in all honesty it was a fairly even match, and difficult to tell apart the part-timers from the full-time professionals.  If anything, York looked less organized and more clumsy than Pickering across their defense. These players were perhaps not used to playing alongside one another, and despite their impressive skills during the warm-up, the passing out of defense was not very accurate compared to Pickering's, even if the first-touch and ball control was slightly better.

Fast paced, end-to-end action: York look for options in the top right corner as Pickering close the angles

Surprisingly, by half-time, Pickering had netted twice to lead 2-0!  Both goals were well deserved although one had resulted from a calamitous mix-up between York defender and goalie, who both shouted to collect a loose forward-ball from Pickering, but ended up with the defender lobbing his own 'keeper who had rushed out for it, leaving a Pickering trial list free to chose it towards the goal line and poke it into the back of the net.

Nobody knows for sure what was said to the York players at the half-time interval in response to all of this mediocrity against part-time opposition, but we can only imagine that the slightly re-shaped team (a couple of substitutions, most obviously in defense) which emerged for the second half were playing to ensure the future of full-time professional football in the City of York.

And play they did, it was a more focussed and positive side from the very beginning - which resulted in a quick blizzard of goals. York were level to 2-2 after about ten minutes of play and the cracks began to show in Pickering's armor, particularly across the back line - one or two players' heads noticeably dropped and a couple of the team started to bicker and swear at one another.

In contrast, York, which had seemed the less professional of the two sides in the first half, had responded with resilience best summed up as more speed, enduring stamina, and a 'can-do' attitude with more accurate passing and finding space. Maybe it was the player changes, maybe it was a matter of pride, but against a couple of the Pickering players' chins dropping at conceding a couple of goals, York now looked by far the more professional outfit.

A bit of rough play ensued, and the yellow card was brandished on at least a couple of occasions, as well as a few more substitutions to rest players that were picking up knocks and to give some very young looking players a bit of experience. One joker in the crowd quipped that 'those numbers on the subs backs are their ages' (the numbers were 14, 15, 16!)

In the end, two more goals were scored by York, meaning a final score of Pickering Town 2 - 4 York City.

A thrillingly entertaining match for the neutral supporter with plenty of goals and a determined spirit that encapsulated the rivalry between two geographically close teams packed with players out to make a point and stake a claim to a squad number for the 19/20 season. Great stuff.  Good luck to both York and Pickering for the new season.