26 Mar 2025
Remaining English League Fixtures 2024/25
As of 26/3/25 these are the remaining fixtures. Any errors let me know on trickybets youtube channel.
Each team's fixtures are... Read more
That was a bolt from the blue. Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic. They are the ones I knew about as candidates for a 12-point deduction. Newly purchased Wigan Athletic seem to be getting there ahead of everybody else and likely to drop into the relegation zone.
I am now going to offer a shred of support for the EFL. Many of these clubs had major problems before the Covid-19 outbreak. Covid stands as a handy excuse for some.
The EFL are a football organisation. They should not be left deciding if people are fit and proper to run football clubs but, as nobody else is doing it, then they land in the firing line.
Their authority is limited in scope. Fit and proper means that you have not been convicted of anything so the EFL cannot turn you away because they don’t like the look of you.
As regards providing funding, there are reams and reams of pages regarding EFL regulations but rule 16.21.1 is fascinating, about buying a football club, which reads:
The Club shall submit to The League up to date Future Financial Information prepared to take into account the consequences of the change of Control on the Club’s future financial position as far in advance of the change of Control as reasonably possible or, if such submission is not reasonably practicable prior to the change of Control, no later than 10 Normal Working Days thereafter.
The club, under owners must submit financial plans within 10 working days of the takeover. Only then can the EFL act, with sanctions such as transfer embargos.
Somebody with a law degree might be able to put me straight but this does not give the impression that the EFL have much control about who takes over. Meanwhile they are flooded with cases of football clubs failing to abide by regulations, to the extent that they cannot cope with the workload.
The fans suffer as a consequence. Points deductions. Who does that affect? Not new owners who place a club into administration.
If you want more evidence of the fragility of the football pyramid, peruse a few balance sheets.
Most recent information we have is up to end June 2019.
Wigan Athletic. Turnover 11.5m, administrative expenses 24m, shareholder deficit 16.9m.
Charlton Athletic. Turnover 7.9m, administrative expenses 19.7m, net liabilities 43.3m.
Yet people still buy these clubs, not in their own name but through companies that have no money that are owned by somebody else.
If you were contemplating a stock market investment, you would want to see strong profit growth. These clubs haemorrhage money year after year but there’s massive demand for them. With those figures they shouldn’t even be trading but it’s football, which has a special place in the public’s heart and so must not be allowed to go under.
What will happen at Wigan? They likely enter administration, the people in the know will pick up assets cheaply and the people who are owed money will be royally screwed. I wouldn’t want to be selling pies to football clubs.