English Clubs Yet To Feel Credit Crunch

Although English football clubs have yet to feel the dire affects of
the credit crunch, there has been speculation that head representatives
of the league fear an upcoming financial hit.

Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney has claimed that the reason football clubs in England haven’t felt the full impact of the economic downturn is because business strategies, such as corporate hospitality and season tickets, were made before the recession hit.

The global economic problems, not heavily impacting the English football world thus far, are thought to catch up with clubs in the next few months.

Last year, Football Association chairman Lord Triesman warned English clubs could be in danger should the economic crisis deepen, due to the large amount of debt. This was especially pinned the Premier League’s top clubs Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, which allegedly hold a third of that debt.

It is suspected, then, that the debt that these clubs’ are in – an estimated £3bn – may worsen as the economy continues to struggle.

According to Football League rules, financially troubled clubs that go into administration will be deducted 10 points, which happened to Darlington last month.

However, after today, teams that go into administration could face having their 10-point deduction suspended.