It goes without saying that the Premier League is the promised land of English football; especially after a report was released showing how clubs go for broke in their desire to play in the top-flight.
A report was released by accountancy firm, PKF; which after surveying 62 clubs in England and Scotland, revealed that two thirds of these were not expecting to make a profit in the next financial period.
The firm knows all about the reckless spending that can almost destroy a football club, as they have been responsible for the running of Portsmouth since February.
The club’s demise has been well-publicised; and is the most notable example of how a team has chased the dream at all costs.
The mixture of football and business has never been a happy one, as the losses made by clubs would surely cause leading businessmen and women everywhere to blow a gasket; especially when considering the likes of Queens Park Rangers made an estimated loss of £25.8million in their Championship title-winning season.
Perhaps what is even more worrying is the fact that the gap between the Premier League and the rest is only set to increase further; with a new television deal worth a staggering £1billion set to be introduced to top-flight clubs from 2013-14.
Deals such as these look set to attract more wealthy investors from overseas to grab a slice of the action; targeting Championship clubs with significant growth potential, with a notable instance being the Kuwaiti takeover of Nottingham Forest.
But at least the football authorities have recognised the need to curb this out-of-control spending, with stricter financial regulations being enforced as of this season.
UEFA has already stamped its authority on the issue with the introduction of Financial Fair Play; and has held back prize money for a total of 23 clubs who have overdue payments.
Meanwhile, the Football League has enforced a similar model on the 72 clubs from the Championship to League Two, by limiting the amount that owners can spend and setting maximum annual losses at £5million.
Failure to adhere to these rules could involve punishments such as transfer embargos, indicating the seriousness of the problem. Therefore, it is promising to see action being taken to prevent the risks which some sides take in pursuing the Premier League dream.
Although, it will be a long road back to financial parity for the majority of Football League clubs; and one must question whether these rulings have been introduced too late to make a real difference.
The 72 clubs have combined debts of £2billion; and as the Premier League obsession becomes greater each year, it is more with hope rather than expectation that clubs will not bury themselves into the ground.
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