Culture – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

AS ANDREA Agnelli departed Juventus, he spoke of the need for a new football system in Europe to prevent one league dominating and sweeping-up all the major talent in the world. He was, of course, referring to the Premier League, and in doing so, he echoed the thoughts of La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas.

Agnelli and Tebas are on opposing sides in the European Super League debate, but clearly people are worried about the power of the Premier League. Interestingly, Agnelli is an advocate of a 12-team Super League which would undoubtedly inflict upon European football the sort of damage he fears from the Premier.

Deloitte’s Football Money League for 2023 (based on 2021-22’s financials) underlines the scale of the Premier League’s hold on modern football. There are 11 Premier clubs in the top 20, with another five in the 10-team “bubbling under” section, which also includes Benfica, Ajax, Sevilla and Villareal.

The latest list also shows that Manchester City are now the most compelling force in world football; they have the strongest squad, the leading manager, global reach and powerful backing. While the nature of their ownership will always draw some criticism, they are not just building a team, they are creating a corporate body that includes a multi-club, multi-country structure.

City’s total revenues amounted to € 731 million, a 13% increase on the previous season. Only two other clubs generated over € 700 million: Real Madrid (€ 713 million) and Liverpool (€ 702 million). Liverpool, who had a spectacular season in 2021-22, saw their income go up by 27% – only Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed better growth (29%), taking their revenues to € 523 million.

		2021	Revenues €m	Matchday	Commercial	Broadcasting
1	Manchester City	1	731	64	373	294
2	Real Madrid	2	713.8	88	318	307
3	Liverpool	7	701.7	112	275	314
4	Manchester United	5	688.6	126	309	254
5	Paris Saint-Germain	6	654.2	137	383	139
6	Bayern Munich	3	653.6	68	378	207
7	Barcelona	4	638.2	103	284	251
8	Chelsea	8	568.3	82	209	277
9	Tottenham	10	523	125	215	182
10	Arsenal	11	433.5	94	167	172

Source: Deloitte

Six of the top 10 are from the Premier League, with two from Spain and one apiece from France and Germany. It is fair to assume that within the elite, the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Real and Barca, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich will constantly fight for the top six. While Manchester City have jumped to top spot in the past two years, Liverpool have also risen from the lower reaches of the top 10 to the top three. PSG have become much more proficient in their commercial activity to cement their place, while Barcelona have dropped significantly and find themselves in seventh position just two years after topping the table. Bayern Munich, for all their scale, have also fallen, sixth place being their lowest in a decade.

The London trio, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, all generated healthy increases, but they hover just above mid-table. Since 2014, Chelsea have never gone higher than seventh, never lower than ninth. Tottenham have risen to become a top 10 side, while Arsenal’s slump sent them spinning from top six to below halfway in 2019 to 2021. They edged back into the top 10 in 2021-22.

Deloitte have tried to emphasise the contribution made by clubs with women’s sides, but the figures reveal the challenge of driving growth and popularity of this segment of the game. The Money League’s 20 clubs generated an average of € 2.4 million per women’s team, with Barcelona earning € 7.7 million. Deloitte highlighted that there is great disparity in the domestic leagues in Europe; in Spain, Barca’s revenues dwarfed most of the league, notably Atlético Madrid, whose income totalled just € 0.1 million. Likewise, in England, Leicester City’s € 0.4 million is but a fraction of Manchester United’s € 6 million.

Deloitte, in summing up the women’s game, called for better governance to allow all teams to be more competitive. Women’s football has become as polarised as the men’s game in a much shorter timeframe, but the report says: “The answer is not simply to follow the template of the male equivalent.”

While the concept of a European Super League may have been parked for the time being, it hasn’t gone away. It is worth noting that the dozen clubs who initially announced their involvement are all in Deloitte’s top 16. The top 20 generated € 9.2 billion in 2021-22, the 12 rebels contributed just under 70%. The potential damage is very real.

Meanwhile, the Premier League’s growth rate could introduce more clubs to the top 20 – Fulham, Aston Villa and Brighton could all find themselves knocking on the door in 12 months’ time. And of those who made the 20 this time, Newcastle United, one of the success stories of the current campaign, may make a significant jump in 2022-23, and Manchester United’s position may also strengthen.

EVERTON fans won’t need reminding that they are going through a tough time this season and their recent FA Cup defeat at Manchester United meant the rest of the campaign will be all about preserving their Premier League status.

Everton’s followers have waited 28 years for a glimpse of silverware. It was 1995 when they last won a major prize, beating Manchester United at the old Wembley stadium. Although they have been part of the Premier League since it started, in recent years life has been quite precarious.

For most clubs, winning a trophy is an unlikely event, but success is also measured by promotion to a higher level. Only 43 clubs have won major honours, 49 of the 92 have never won silverware but every single club has, at some stage, won promotion. Of those that have won pieces of objet d’art in the past, Bradford City and Barnsley have been waiting for 112 and 111 years respectively to add to their haul. Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City will all be celebrating the centenary of their last major triumph.

Everton’s 28-year stretch is the longest in their history without a prize for the cabinet. The previous longest barren spell was 24 years between 1939 and 1963, although the club was promoted in 1954 back to the first division. Everton’s run is notable because, for a long time, they were one of English football’s blue riband clubs.

Ipswich Town are another club who are enduring a long, painful period without some form of success. Now playing in League One, they have not won a trophy since 1981 and last enjoyed promotion in 2000. If they don’t go up this season – they are currently third in the table – it will be 23 years without a glimpse of bunting.

Tottenham’s lack of silverware is well documented and fans from rivals like Arsenal and Chelsea taunt Spurs for their lack of the killer touch.

Their last prize was the EFL Cup in 2008 and if they don’t break their duck this season, it will be 15 years since their last hurrah. Tottenham’s trophies down the years have usually come in clusters: 1961 – 1967, five; 1971 – 1973, three; 1981 – 1984, three. They’ve won just three cups in 30 years, a record that wouldn’t be tolerated at some clubs.

		Last success – years ago	Source/Competition	Year
1	Everton	28	FA Cup	1995
2	Ipswich Town	23	Promotion	2000
3	Carlisle United	17	Promotion	2006
	Colchester United	17	Promotion	2006
5	Derby County	16	Promotion	2007
	Walsall	16	Promotion	2007
7	Tottenham Hotspur	15	EFL Cup	2008
	Stoke City	15	Promotion	2008
9	Birmingham City	12	EFL Cup	2011
	Stevenage	12	Promotion	2011
11	West Ham United	11	Promotion	2012
	Southampton	11	Promotion	2012
	Reading	11	Promotion	2012
	Sheffield Wednesday	11	Promotion	2012
	Crawley Town	11	Promotion	2012
16	Crystal Palace	10	Promotion	2013
	Swansea City	10	EFL Cup	2013
	Gillingham	10	Promotion	2013
	Bradford City	10	Promotion	2013
	Mansfield Town	10	Promotion	2013
	Newport	10	Promotion	2013

For Everton, Tottenham, Newcastle United (last trophy 1969) and West Ham (1980 FA Cup), desolate periods without success become all the more galling in this age of winner takes all. In fact, of the 60 domestic competitions over the past 20 years, 88% have been won by just six clubs (Manchester City 14, Chelsea 13, Manchester United 12, Arsenal 7, Liverpool 6, Tottenham 1). On top of that, Chelsea (4), Liverpool (2) and Manchester United (2), have won eight European trophies since 2003.

Of the 92 clubs in the EFL and Premier, 53 have experienced some form of success within five years, while another 24 have waited for between six and 10 years. Only two, Everton and Ipswich, have gone beyond 20 years. How long will they have to wait?

Traditionally, Everton have had to wait an average of around eight or nine years between trophies, but the current gap of 28 years has taken that average to around 10 years. Of the current big six clubs, Liverpool and Manchester United have an average of less than four years, Arsenal five years and Chelsea six. Manchester City’s average between trophies is currently nine years, but each season that passes changes that situation.