04/25/24
November 21, 2006
Hammers and Eggs.: West Ham agreed to be purchased by Eggert Magnusson, Icelandic millionaire, Iceland FA chairman and UEFA Exco member. How does this change the money dynamic among the top London teams (Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham)?
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 01:43 PM - 4 comments
A Norwegian millionaire owner didn't do much for Wimbledon...
posted by owlhouse at 03:40 PM on November 21, 2006
BBC Sport football gossip column says that Pardew gets $15M for January transfers. Since Tevez and Mascherano have hardly made a dent on the field so far, one wonders how their departure will be a problem.
posted by billsaysthis at 09:12 PM on November 21, 2006
Meanwhile, the Guardian's Dan Conn takes a wider and historical perspective of the sale and the accelerating pace of "big money" in the English game. "The Football Association, the governing body charged with protecting the game's laws and spirit, had a firm view when the clubs, in the 1890s, wanted to become limited companies. It allowed clubs to do so, which protected members from personal liability for the clubs' burgeoning costs, and clubs could issue shares to raise new money. However, the FA prohibited directors from paying themselves salaries and limited dividend payments so that football clubs would not become vehicles for investors to make money. Those rules remained in force until Tottenham Hotspur became the first club to float on the Stock Market in 1983. Spurs formed a holding company to bypass the rules and the FA allowed it without a word, just as it has nothing to say now about foreign ownership."
posted by worldcup2002 at 09:39 PM on November 21, 2006
So that'll be Tevez and Mascherano back on a plane to Argentina once the transfer window opens...