A CL final yet we are still poor?

[Rashid]

Our club is run like a corner shop!

 

By: The Financier

Date: 14 February 2008

Chelsea have joined the top five richest clubs on the globe according to Deloitte’s annual financial review of football clubs around the world. They join Real Madrid, Manchester Utd, Arsenal and Barcelona. However, a report in The Independent newspaper (14/02/08) has labelled Liverpool’s status in the rich list as “relative tiddlers”.

 

The Merseyside club earned some £133.9m for 2006-07 while Chelsea’s income was put at £190.5m for the same period. However, using a system that compares ‘like-for-like’, the figures for the top five are as follows;

 

£236.2m - Real Madrid

£212.1m - Manchester Utd

£195.3m - Barcelona

£177.6m - Chelsea / Arsenal

 

Chelsea’s income for the accounting period saw an increase of 28% which will offset the club’s losses – a figure that has come down year-on-year for the past three years.

 

The figures read;

 

2003-04 - £ 87.8m

2004-05 - £140m

2005-06 - £ 80.2m

 

Nick Harris report for The Independent goes on to say, “The data does not inspire Liverpool's hopes of challenging United, Chelsea or Arsenal any time soon. It also highlights the massive gamble Hicks and Gillett have taken in borrowing £350m. Without Champions' League income (£25m-plus), Liverpool would be losing large sums, something Hicks and Gillett cannot sustain.”

 

Harris also predicts that, with the new television deal money to be counted in the Deloitte reports for next season, clubs like Manchester Utd will be challenging Madrid for the title of the world’s richest side, with both Chelsea and Arsenal in hot-pursuit.

[theRedHorse]

So are you accepting Rafa has done a reasonable (EDIT: Brilliant, really) job over the last 3.5 years considering the financial power of the teams he is competing with?

[cochcaer]

A bigger stadium is needed if we're to keep up as a priority.

[Rashid]

So are you accepting Rafa has done a reasonable (EDIT: Brilliant, really) job over the last 3.5 years considering the financial power of the teams he is competing with?

 

No, unless you think that financial power begins and ends on the field... those clubs are run much better than us. Chelsea didn't get to a CL final last season nor do they have a bigger fan base, nor do they have a bigger stadium. They still made much more than us... this thread is about finances not Rafa - I don't think the two are linked.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Oh look another thread for you make your point of view about the manager. This happens because you are quite clever in getting people to take the bait and question you about Rafa. Even though you have stated it is not about Rafa, I fear it will end up that way.

 

The reason we are only classed as tiddlers in this group list, is because we are not marketed as good as the other clubs in the world, our avergae crowd is smaller than the like sof Real, United and Barca.

 

Being 8th "Richest" club in the world is not bad really.

[Guest TK-421]

Our club is run like a corner shop!

 

[philyhamann]

When we get the new stadium, we should be above Arsenal and Chelsea, assuming that we do capitalise on merchandise. Kenyon has gone nuts with the merchandise, which is where a lot of their income has come from.

[Decs]

Arsenal & United have 20-30K more fans per home game

United have a much more efficient marketing / merchandising department

Arsenal can charge London (significantly higher) ticket prices

Chelsea have similar size stadium, larger sponsorship and can charge much higher ticket prices

 

To compete we need much better marketing / merchandising - but we have been saying this for 15 years. Would we all except higher ticket prices to compete in the short term till a new stadium comes online? And even after that the revenue from the stadiums will always be higher in London.

 

I think the first thing that any new owner, DIC or otherwise will do is raise prices to compete straightaway....would we be happy with that?

[Stouffer]

Good work there TK.

 

Gotta love Stella St.

[satmann]

That cannot be right. Wheres the money gone??

[aws]

Don't Chelsea also generate loads of income from Chelsea Village?

[Stouffer]

Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow, everybody needs a bosom.

[Rashid]

Don't Chelsea also generate loads of income from Chelsea Village?

 

No. Chelsea Village is their white elephant. Theyhave made their money from mad ticket prices and Kenyon's specialism in merchandise.

[OnizukaEikichi]

we are like a hotdog stall

[Stouffer]

[BROCK]

A breakdown was just on SSN and it stated that Chelsea made £30m more than us in match day revenue over the course of a season, Arsenal along with United generated £60m more. This is were the bulk of the difference lies. If the cost of catching Chelsea and Arsenal in the rich list is paying £65 for a match ticket then I'm quite happy to remain in 8th thank you very much!

[wiiksie]

A breakdown was just on SSN and it stated that Chelsea made £30m more than us in match day revenue over the course of a season, Arsenal along with United generated £60m more. This is were the bulk of the difference lies. If the cost of catching Chelsea and Arsenal in the rich list is paying £65 for a match ticket then I'm quite happy to remain in 8th thank you very much!

That sentiment will be lost on a lot of people though. "Success at all costs" seems to be the way things are going for us.

[Rashid]

That sentiment will be lost on a lot of people though. "Success at all costs" seems to be the way things are going for us.

 

To a degree it is ticket prices but Chelsea also make much more than us in merchandise and that is a criminal offence. They are nowhere near as big as us.

[Moo]

A breakdown was just on SSN and it stated that Chelsea made £30m more than us in match day revenue over the course of a season, Arsenal along with United generated £60m more. This is were the bulk of the difference lies. If the cost of catching Chelsea and Arsenal in the rich list is paying £65 for a match ticket then I'm quite happy to remain in 8th thank you very much!

 

Exactly.

 

As a direct comparison with Man Utd, who have a similar fan base and similar ticket prices (ie not London prices), they made £72m more than us last season as Champions.

£54m of that was on gate receipts.

 

I'm not saying we are run perfectly (hardly) but it's clear the main reason we are behind is because of the difference in stdium capacity.

[Cardie]

No, unless you think that financial power begins and ends on the field... those clubs are run much better than us. Chelsea didn't get to a CL final last season nor do they have a bigger fan base, nor do they have a bigger stadium. They still made much more than us... this thread is about finances not Rafa - I don't think the two are linked.

 

They also negotiated two new sponsorship deals hence more cash.

[Rashid]

They also negotiated two new sponsorship deals hence more cash.

 

Didn't they have to pay off one to get the next one? I think we are undervalued sponsorship wise. Spurs make more from shirt sponsorship than us.

[Sweeney287]

And Madrid's stadium is almost twice the size ours.

 

I remember watching an interview with some bloke on the Arsenal board and he said the Emirates generated around £3m revenue per game, tickets and club shop, £54m per seaon, the same as United, but a smaller stadium.

[Cardie]

Didn't they have to pay off one to get the next one? I think we are undervalued sponsorship wise. Spurs make more from shirt sponsorship than us.

 

Spurs also had NEW sponsors which means more cash, when we renogtiated with Calsberg the deal, I think, took us up to one of the expected opening dates for the new stadium where the oppertunity of a shirt and stadium deal would have been possible (like Arsenal have) meaning more cash.

 

Our renegotiated deal isn't that much less than Spurs new deal I don't think.

[kop]

Being 8th richest in the world is actually pretty good considering our stadium capasity and ticket prises I would say.

[Cardie]

Being 8th richest in the world is actually pretty good considering our stadium capasity and ticket prises I would say.

 

Not when you need to have a pop at the club it isn't.