Post by QPR Report on Feb 26, 2009 17:58:22 GMT
Goal: The New York Times Soccer Blog
February 26, 2009,
The Credit Crunch Ultimate XI
By Alexander Kotler
Alexander Kotler is the founder of Football Partnerships, a B2B networking group for soccer industry professionals. He is also an adviser to football-related businesses and the host of the Football Partnerships podcast. Here is his Credit Crunch Ultimate XI, with a special focus on England and Scotland. You will note that the positions are fluid and give the impression of an overall lack of strategy. Kind of sounds like economics these days.
Goalkeeper — Phil Wyatt (West Ham United)
Wyatt assumed responsibility for the collapse of XL Leisure Group, shirt sponsor for West Ham, after the company plummeted more than $240 million into the red. Amid rising oil prices and a worsening economic climate, lenders withdrew support and XL was unable to refinance the group’s principal debt.
Adding tastelessness to tactlessness, West Ham temporarily covered the XL name on team jerseys with an unsightly box. Sbobet.com has now assumed the role of shirt sponsor. Thanks to Wyatt’s uncertain hands, he has earned a spot between the sticks.
— Lakshmi Mittal, Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone (Queens Park Rangers)
A bit of continuity at the back, such as it is.
Mittal was rated in 2008 by Forbes magazine as the fourth wealthiest man in the world, and his partners are no paupers. The Taj Mittal, as he is also known, is a steel magnate who owns 20 percent of Q.P.R. The other owners Briatore, an Italian businessman and managing director of the Renault Formula One team; and Ecclestone, considered to be the authority ruling over Formula One, make up the balance. Together, the three enraged fans of Championship football by raising prices to roughly $85 a ticket -– higher than 70 percent of Premier League match-ticket prices.
Their partnership on defense assures no one will get past them, including into the Loftus Road Stadium.
Midfielder — Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson (West Ham United)
Gudmundsson, the former majority owner and chairman of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki, has witnessed his company being taken over by the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority. Thanks to fiscal instability and the Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008, the bank’s Britain-based assets are now frozen and his football club, West Ham United, looks to be a bit hamstrung. Were it not for the rookie manager Gianfranco Zola and his No. 2, Steve Clarke, who have implemented style and form to the run of play, the Hammers would be relegation shoo-ins.
Gudmundsson will play on the left said because his government is currently regulating his commercial affairs.
Midfielder — Steven Crenshaw (Bradford City)
In 2008, the British bank Bradford & Bingley was partly nationalized and partly sold, with Her Majesty inheriting the toxic mortgage division and Abbey, owned by parent company Grupo Santander, purchasing the retail sector. Bradford & Bingley had been both shirt sponsor and naming rights-holder for League Two side Bradford City’s stadium: Now it sponsors the Community Foundation Scheme, which offers in- and out-of-school activities for children.
Crenshaw, though not a soccer guy, should have made proper adjustments after the nationalization of Northern Rock in February 2008. Fortunately, though, the Bantams are not tied to Bradford & Bingley’s misfortunes. Still, it seems only charitable that, since Crenshaw stepped down because of a heart condition, he be on the field somewhere.
Dave Thompson/Associated Press
Tom Hicks,co-owner of Liverpool.Midfielders — Tom Hicks and George Gillett (Liverpool)
Will the center (midfield) hold? After months of feuding, the Liverpool owners Hicks and Gillett finally agree on something: Construction at a new stadium in Stanley Park cannot continue. The credit crisis has temporarily halted development, and further evidence is seen in the club’s meager dealings during the January transfer period and Manager Rafael Benitez’s reluctance to sign a new contract.
A less compatible partnership than even Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, the two will duke out their differences at midfield -– at the expense of Liverpool fans.
Midfielder — Adam Applegarth (Newcastle United)
During Applegarth’s tenure as Northern Rock’s chief executive, the bank went Humpty-Dumpty, fell, and he could not put the pieces back together. This led to the nationalization of the bank in February 2008, which continues to cast doubts on its stability. As the shirt sponsor of Newcastle United, Northern Rock now represents the true English National team.
Perhaps Don Fabio Capello, like Guus Hiddink, would like to do double duty.
Striker — Martin J. Sullivan (Manchester United)
Sullivan, the former president and chief executive of American International Group, supervised while his company accumulated misplaced bets on credit default swaps -– financial derivatives that debt holders can use to hedge against the default by a debtor corporation. In this case, they were speculative, and, with the collapse of the housing market, the value of the mortgage pools that AIG insured fell precipitously.
In April 2006, well before the United States government furnished AIG with an $85 billion emergency loan, the company signed a four-year shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United worth nearly $100 million. Last October AIG notified the Red Devils that the company would not be extending the contract -– currently valued at $19 million a season. Given Manchester United’s current form and ranking in total revenues for 2007-8 by the Deloitte Football Money League (second place), odds that the club will go without a sponsor are as likely as Brangelina making it through 2009 without adopting another child.
Chris Ronnie (Wigan Athletic/Glasgow Rangers)
Ronnie, the chief executive of JJB Sports, purchased a part of the JJB founder and Wigan owner Dave Whelan’s 29 percent stake in 2007. He was suspended in January after it was revealed that his 27.5 percent ownership stake had reverted to the liquidators of his financial backer, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. The matter is currently under investigation.
With the Wigan sponsorship contract over after this season, the Latics must now look for new investors to buy shirt and stadium naming rights. And Rangers (Scottish Premier League), which signed a 10-year licensing agreement with the sportswear retailer in 2006 for approximately $84 million, surely isn’t immune. It would, however, be something if Walter Smith’s men showed up to the next Old Firm match topless.
Manager — Keith Harris (Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City, West Ham United)
Deal-maker extraordinaire and chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, Harris is the manager. He was responsible for brokering Roman Abramovich’s takeover of Chelsea, Randy Lerner’s of Villa, Thaksin Shinawatra’s of Man City, and Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson’s of West Ham. Harris is one of the most powerful figures in football, and knows better than anyone how to give this side shape.
Harris, a lifelong Manchester United fan, will bleed any color -– as long as it’s good for business.
Substitutes — The Al Nahyan family (Manchester City)
Given the fitness of our starters, substitutes are necessary, and who better than the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, which acquired Premier League club Manchester City in the summer of 2008 from Thaksin Shinawatra, the ill-reputed former prime minister of Thailand. With an empire worth more than $26 billion, the Al Nahyan family swooped in and snagged the Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid for a record-breaking fee of $55 million for four years.
Since taking over at the Eastlands, City’s new owners have contributed to an inflationary trend on the overvaluation of players. The most notable example was the proposed deal for A.C. Milan’s Kaká, said to be in the neighborhood of $175 million. The 2007 Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year declined the offer.
While the Al Nahyan family has arguably caused damage to football’s reputation, it has done little harm to its balance sheets. They are substitutes simply because they are the only ones who still have money left to buy a bench.
goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/the-credit-crunch-ultimate-xi/
February 26, 2009,
The Credit Crunch Ultimate XI
By Alexander Kotler
Alexander Kotler is the founder of Football Partnerships, a B2B networking group for soccer industry professionals. He is also an adviser to football-related businesses and the host of the Football Partnerships podcast. Here is his Credit Crunch Ultimate XI, with a special focus on England and Scotland. You will note that the positions are fluid and give the impression of an overall lack of strategy. Kind of sounds like economics these days.
Goalkeeper — Phil Wyatt (West Ham United)
Wyatt assumed responsibility for the collapse of XL Leisure Group, shirt sponsor for West Ham, after the company plummeted more than $240 million into the red. Amid rising oil prices and a worsening economic climate, lenders withdrew support and XL was unable to refinance the group’s principal debt.
Adding tastelessness to tactlessness, West Ham temporarily covered the XL name on team jerseys with an unsightly box. Sbobet.com has now assumed the role of shirt sponsor. Thanks to Wyatt’s uncertain hands, he has earned a spot between the sticks.
— Lakshmi Mittal, Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone (Queens Park Rangers)
A bit of continuity at the back, such as it is.
Mittal was rated in 2008 by Forbes magazine as the fourth wealthiest man in the world, and his partners are no paupers. The Taj Mittal, as he is also known, is a steel magnate who owns 20 percent of Q.P.R. The other owners Briatore, an Italian businessman and managing director of the Renault Formula One team; and Ecclestone, considered to be the authority ruling over Formula One, make up the balance. Together, the three enraged fans of Championship football by raising prices to roughly $85 a ticket -– higher than 70 percent of Premier League match-ticket prices.
Their partnership on defense assures no one will get past them, including into the Loftus Road Stadium.
Midfielder — Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson (West Ham United)
Gudmundsson, the former majority owner and chairman of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki, has witnessed his company being taken over by the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority. Thanks to fiscal instability and the Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008, the bank’s Britain-based assets are now frozen and his football club, West Ham United, looks to be a bit hamstrung. Were it not for the rookie manager Gianfranco Zola and his No. 2, Steve Clarke, who have implemented style and form to the run of play, the Hammers would be relegation shoo-ins.
Gudmundsson will play on the left said because his government is currently regulating his commercial affairs.
Midfielder — Steven Crenshaw (Bradford City)
In 2008, the British bank Bradford & Bingley was partly nationalized and partly sold, with Her Majesty inheriting the toxic mortgage division and Abbey, owned by parent company Grupo Santander, purchasing the retail sector. Bradford & Bingley had been both shirt sponsor and naming rights-holder for League Two side Bradford City’s stadium: Now it sponsors the Community Foundation Scheme, which offers in- and out-of-school activities for children.
Crenshaw, though not a soccer guy, should have made proper adjustments after the nationalization of Northern Rock in February 2008. Fortunately, though, the Bantams are not tied to Bradford & Bingley’s misfortunes. Still, it seems only charitable that, since Crenshaw stepped down because of a heart condition, he be on the field somewhere.
Dave Thompson/Associated Press
Tom Hicks,co-owner of Liverpool.Midfielders — Tom Hicks and George Gillett (Liverpool)
Will the center (midfield) hold? After months of feuding, the Liverpool owners Hicks and Gillett finally agree on something: Construction at a new stadium in Stanley Park cannot continue. The credit crisis has temporarily halted development, and further evidence is seen in the club’s meager dealings during the January transfer period and Manager Rafael Benitez’s reluctance to sign a new contract.
A less compatible partnership than even Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, the two will duke out their differences at midfield -– at the expense of Liverpool fans.
Midfielder — Adam Applegarth (Newcastle United)
During Applegarth’s tenure as Northern Rock’s chief executive, the bank went Humpty-Dumpty, fell, and he could not put the pieces back together. This led to the nationalization of the bank in February 2008, which continues to cast doubts on its stability. As the shirt sponsor of Newcastle United, Northern Rock now represents the true English National team.
Perhaps Don Fabio Capello, like Guus Hiddink, would like to do double duty.
Striker — Martin J. Sullivan (Manchester United)
Sullivan, the former president and chief executive of American International Group, supervised while his company accumulated misplaced bets on credit default swaps -– financial derivatives that debt holders can use to hedge against the default by a debtor corporation. In this case, they were speculative, and, with the collapse of the housing market, the value of the mortgage pools that AIG insured fell precipitously.
In April 2006, well before the United States government furnished AIG with an $85 billion emergency loan, the company signed a four-year shirt sponsorship deal with Manchester United worth nearly $100 million. Last October AIG notified the Red Devils that the company would not be extending the contract -– currently valued at $19 million a season. Given Manchester United’s current form and ranking in total revenues for 2007-8 by the Deloitte Football Money League (second place), odds that the club will go without a sponsor are as likely as Brangelina making it through 2009 without adopting another child.
Chris Ronnie (Wigan Athletic/Glasgow Rangers)
Ronnie, the chief executive of JJB Sports, purchased a part of the JJB founder and Wigan owner Dave Whelan’s 29 percent stake in 2007. He was suspended in January after it was revealed that his 27.5 percent ownership stake had reverted to the liquidators of his financial backer, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. The matter is currently under investigation.
With the Wigan sponsorship contract over after this season, the Latics must now look for new investors to buy shirt and stadium naming rights. And Rangers (Scottish Premier League), which signed a 10-year licensing agreement with the sportswear retailer in 2006 for approximately $84 million, surely isn’t immune. It would, however, be something if Walter Smith’s men showed up to the next Old Firm match topless.
Manager — Keith Harris (Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City, West Ham United)
Deal-maker extraordinaire and chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, Harris is the manager. He was responsible for brokering Roman Abramovich’s takeover of Chelsea, Randy Lerner’s of Villa, Thaksin Shinawatra’s of Man City, and Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson’s of West Ham. Harris is one of the most powerful figures in football, and knows better than anyone how to give this side shape.
Harris, a lifelong Manchester United fan, will bleed any color -– as long as it’s good for business.
Substitutes — The Al Nahyan family (Manchester City)
Given the fitness of our starters, substitutes are necessary, and who better than the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, which acquired Premier League club Manchester City in the summer of 2008 from Thaksin Shinawatra, the ill-reputed former prime minister of Thailand. With an empire worth more than $26 billion, the Al Nahyan family swooped in and snagged the Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid for a record-breaking fee of $55 million for four years.
Since taking over at the Eastlands, City’s new owners have contributed to an inflationary trend on the overvaluation of players. The most notable example was the proposed deal for A.C. Milan’s Kaká, said to be in the neighborhood of $175 million. The 2007 Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year declined the offer.
While the Al Nahyan family has arguably caused damage to football’s reputation, it has done little harm to its balance sheets. They are substitutes simply because they are the only ones who still have money left to buy a bench.
goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/the-credit-crunch-ultimate-xi/