Building A Championship Football Club

The Manual

Ever thought about taking over a football club and getting them to promised land of the The Second Division/First Division/The Championship/Woodwood And Stalder Premier Division?

Here's our indispensable free guide guaranteed to work in three five years, or your loan money back.

1. Have money
There are both practical and presentational reasons why you will want to be rich before taking over a football club.

Having bottomless pockets will help fill the inevitable existing and future holes in club accounts, as well as meeting fans’ aspirations for recruiting players that they “have heard of”. But it will also give you important credibility in tough times, since fans will assume the fact you have acquired that wealth means that you “must know what you are doing”.

2. Find your club
Fortunately, there is a ready supply of desperate football clubs. The key is to identify one with real potential. Ideally your club will have a winning blend of:

a. existing directors who have reached the bottom of their own pockets and are looking to share their exposure.

b. evidence of good numbers of fans exhorting directors to “get their cheque books out”.

c. no previous bad experience - whether by luck or design - of “white knights”.

d. fans with an inflated sense of the cub’s potential, perhaps fuelled by relatively recent success (as judged by historical standards).

3. Organise your takeover
It is wise to keep a low profile in the course of the takeover. Have a quiet word with favourable directors. Whilst giving them reassurance about your commitment and the depth of your pockets, let them explain to the fans how things “just can’t go on like this” and that there are no alternatives to your cash injection.

There are often suspicions over the motives of those taking over clubs and, as the takeover progresses, it will help to incrementally raise your public profile and to raise your credentials as a fan yourself. Make clear your passion for the club and take care to be seen in the right places – even visit the terraces if you need to. Indeed, if you can reasonably assert that you “must be mad” to invest in such a poor financial prospect as this football club, then do so.

4. Present yourself well
It is important to cultivate football-director style. You should be seen with a cigar and show a penchant for long coats and expensive cars.

You will need to stress that your door is always open to fans and that realising your ambitions for the club will be a team effort. Exhort the fans to “pull together” at every opportunity.

Avoid accusations of being in it for personal glory – if there is a personality with an appetite for being the figurehead, such as an existing Director, let them go ahead. Be sure to give them early praise and stress that you are in complete agreement. If the figurehead is willing to be Chairman, so much the better: this will be useful in times of difficulty - such as in announcing poor financial results – and for delegating worthy but dull representative roles, such as Football League committees.

From then on, however, spend more time at the club than the figurehead and be sure to assert your view in discussions. Create a sense of indebtedness on the part of the figurehead and other shareholders – for example through further cash injections if possible, to provide the best chance of your view holding sway.

Equally, fans should know who is really in charge, so be sure to take the lead in the press when major announcements are being made.

5. Develop a plan
Once the takeover is complete, you should talk of your “plan” for the club. This is not to be confused with actually having a plan, since that might be more difficult. Given football customers’ generally low IQ, mentioning the plan should be sufficient.

Clearly, becoming a championship football club should be the principle aim of the plan. But it is important to ensure that any stated ambitions are long-term. Leaping 2 divisions in 5 years, for example, whilst generally unlikely, is more difficult for fans to challenge than, say, winning the next match – until year 4 that is.

Announce new long-term ambitions in a new “plan” every 3 years.

Whilst you will need to get into conversation with fans, as part of your open-door policy, don’t get bogged down talking about tedious details like budgets and breaking even. Try to keep fans’ minds on the long-term vision and, where performance is disappointing, stress that change will take time.

6. How to organise the business
In spite of attempts to run football clubs through the application of many different business models, one lesson of history is consistent: football never makes money. But it is important to remember, and to remind fans, that this time is different; that you are in the process of creating a new paradigm.

In order to prove this, you will need to get good people in to all parts of the business. However, it is important not to get rid of all the old guard in one go. Whilst there is benefit in a fresh approach and introduction of new quality, this is a trick that can be played many times and in all departments of the club - the “scapegoats in layers” policy.

Of course good people will cost more. And you might find that some are willing, in return for a slice of your riches, to adopt the language of the new paradigm whilst not actually believing it. You should therefore be prepared to get more good people in beyond the first wave.

You will also want to emphasise to fans and shareholders the need to refresh “the infrastructure”. This goes way beyond turnstiles, goalposts and grass and encompasses all manner of features essential to the new paradigm. Sophisticated new communications and information management systems are excellent candidates for investment, but more established 20th century technology should not be overlooked. The ability of big tellies to dazzle football fans cannot be overstated (they are not termed “idiot boxes” for nothing) and will convey the impression that the club is undergoing a profound process of modernisation.

7. Identify the big idea
The paradigm shift will take a little while and will be dependent on your ability to identify the big opportunity to transform your chosen club. You should be prepared for early losses during this period.

The big idea might lie in more imaginative use of the club’s property portfolio, particularly if you can work with a sympathetic local council. It might equally lie in an alliance with another sporting institution. But you should leave no stone unturned and certainly be sure to drill for oil and minerals.

By following this method, by believing in your ability and by identifying the big idea, you can succeed. A Championship football club to be proud of can be yours.

However, you should note that the author’s liability is limited and excluded to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law. He will not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising under this disclaimer or in connection with this manual, including, without limitation, any loss of profit, contracts, business, goodwill, data, income, revenue or anticipated savings.

10.08.2007. 10:07

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