July 2020
Frank Lampard already has eyes on next season because he is ‘obsessed’ with getting Chelsea back to the top
Frank Lampard says he is obsessed about restoring Chelsea’s former glories, just as he was about the FA Cup final when he was a youngster.
The former England midfielder has the chance to end his first season as Blues manager with some silverware by beating Arsenal in the traditional end-of-season domestic showpiece.
Lampard lifted 11 major trophies as a player at Stamford Bridge.
He goes to Wembley having secured Champions League football for 2020-21 via last week’s fourth-place finish.
That has yet to merit a phone call of congratulation from owner Roman Abramovich however, although victory at an almost-empty Wembley may remind the Russian to reach for the dial pad.
Lampard insists he does not require any pats on the back from the man who bankrolled all that previous success.
That’s because he’s already plotting significant improvements for next term.
“I don’t need phone call or recognition like that because my job when we come fourth is to think about how we can finish higher and close the gap,” Lampard said.
Chelsea boss looking at 20-21
“It will be similar whatever the result is against Arsenal – win or lose, my job is to think what next season looks like.
“I felt support from the owner from the moment I took the job and I felt it for many years as a player.
“I’m happy if I can make him happy, (finishing fourth) last Sunday was a step forward and I want to continue making those steps.
“I would be welcome to take any call because this is my life and I’m obsessed about how we can get to where we want to be.”
Lampard won the FA Cup four times as a Chelsea player, and although the competition diminished in importance for many during that period, he did not feel the same way.
“I grew up watching finals and winning goals and remember them very well,” he said.
“If you give me five minutes I could list them through the 90s.
“The magic is definitely there for myself but I’m not sure we can necessarily expect some of the modern day players to think about Gazza’s injury and certain goals.
“I still have those feelings within me so my job is to ignite the players to feel like that because I know the fans do, particularly as it is a London derby.
“The players have to feel a little bit of what the fans feel now they are on their sofas supporting their team.”
One man who is unlikely to be feeling the magic of the FA Cup is goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has been displaced by Willy Caballero for the second time this season.
The £71million signing paid the price for stopping only just over half the shots that have been fired at him this season, and will be moved on if a buyer and a replacement can be found.
“I treat all the players the same regardless of their price tag or wages,” Lampard explained.
Pedro is hoping for a farewell appearance in a game that could also be a final Chelsea bow for Willian, who has been passed fit for the bench at least.
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More on Chelsea
- Havertz transfer tracker: Latest news on Leverkusen star’s proposed move to Chelsea
- Problem of his own making: Werner’s transfer will leave Lampard with a selection headache
- Lampard has made some statement in his first season and the future is bright
- No room for Pulisic? How Chelsea could line up next season if Havertz joins with Werner and Ziyech
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Celtic begin 10-in-a-row quest with immortality and beating Rangers to the punch on their mind
Glasgow Celtic embark on the new campaign with eyes on a gargantuan prize – immortality.
Neil Lennon’s men will go all out for an unprecedented 10th league title in a row. Such a feat has never been achieved in Scotland. Lennon was in his first residency as manager at Parkhead when he delivered the 2011-12 title and the Celts have been top of the tree ever since. Come kick-off against Hamilton on Sunday, the Hoops will have reigned supreme in Scotland for more than 3300 days.
Celtic have basked in the shine of nine once before. Jock Stein reached nine-in-a-row in a halcyon period between 1966 and 1974. Back then dominance domestically was eclipsed by efforts aboard. In 1967 Stein’s brand of “pure, beautiful, inventive football” saw Celtic become the first British club to win the European Cup – defeating Inter Milan in the heat of Lisbon. By winning Europe’s top prize the Lisbon Lions gained god-like status. And many supporters believe the current crop of players are on the verge of similar veneration.
Against a backdrop of a world gripped in a health and economic crisis, more than 50,000 season tickets have been snapped up. The season ticket waiting list has swelled to 17,000 names. Such fervour is striking considering the season starts behind closed doors. And no refunds will be offered for games with the crowd excluded.
So while the fans of yesteryear watched Billy McNeill and Jimmy Johnstone from terraces, this generation will initially watch from tablets. Season ticket holders must make do with a digital pass to Paradise. Laura Dewar is one supporter who had no hesitation renewing her season ticket despite not knowing when she’ll be allowed to walk up London Road and into her seat.
“I was always going to renew,” she says. “No questions. Celtic is a club founded on charity and continues to support the local community. So I am always willing to support them.
“We are watching history in the making. Winning 10-in-a-row is up there with winning the European Cup. It will be the most significant achievement by Celtic in my lifetime.”
The Green Brigade, Celtic’s most ardent support, were singing about 10-in-a-row as early as 2016. Then the sequence of success stood at five titles. Is the quest for consecutive championships an obsession?
“Obsession is the wrong word,” says Dewar. “It’s about being the first in history to achieve the 10. To me it’s more of a challenge, players are put on the park to win the game and ultimately the season. Winning becomes the obsession.”
City rivals Rangers won nine-in-a-row between 1989 and 1997 only to be stopped by a Celtic side inspired by Henrik Larsson. Dewar remembers that era well: “Celtic where awful for too long during my high school days. I was at a predominantly Rangers supporting school, so it was sweet when we stopped them winning the 10.”
Fellow supporter Jez Stewart, 53, shudders at that period of Rangers dominance as the Ibrox men walked away with the top prize each May: “I remember Celtic didn’t win a trophy of any kind for five or six years. During this era the only satisfaction we got was when Rangers failed. There was a song we used to sing: ‘You think you’re great, you’ve only done eight, you’ll never do nine-in-a-row’.
“But Rangers did reach nine and I just remember the nerves and fear around them going for the 10. But when we stopped them it was such a relief and a great joy. “This time it’s Celtic going for the 10. But it’s not really about the number. It’s about doing something that our rivals haven’t.”
Derek Kirwan, 51, has been a season ticket holder at Celtic for 33 years: “Ten-in-a-row is the holy grail. But it’s purely about rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. If Celtic make it, Neil Lennon will be held almost in as high esteem as Jock Stein.”
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Covid fears explain why FA Cup win and a Europa League spot have never been more important to Arsenal
Arsenal face Chelsea in the FA Cup final this weekend knowing it is their last chance of securing passage to European football for next season.
The Gunners finished eighth in the Premier League this term—their worst position since 1995.
Mikel Arteta was only appointed manager during the winter but has steered the side to within 90 minutes of silverware.
Yet Arsenal will be without a European campaign for the first time in 25 years unless they beat Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.
Plenty is therefore at stake for the north London side, who lost to Chelsea in last season’s Europa League final to miss out on a spot in the Champions League.
Could history repeat itself this time around and frustrate Arteta’s plans for the new season?
And is playing in a second-tier European competition even worth the trouble?
Here, i looks at the costs and benefits of competing in the 20/21 Europa League…
How much will Arsenal earn in Europa League?
Taking a look at the money side first, there is a clear incentive for Arsenal to be in the Europa League—so long as they are successful.
Should the Gunners beat Chelsea they would earn £3.6m in FA Cup prize money and automatic progress to the Europa League group stage, where they will receive a base fee from UEFA of around £2.6m.
Now, assuming coronavirus advice changes so fans can enter stadiums this autumn and Arsenal can fill the Emirates for all three home group games, they would earn an estimated £7.5m from matchday income.
In total, before Arsenal have even kicked a ball in Europe, winning the FA Cup could secure them a tidy £13.7m.
Reaching 20/21 Europa League group stage
- FA Cup win: £3.6m
- Europa League group stage: £2.6m
- Gate receipts (based on non-Covid conditions): £7.5m
Potential minimum earnings: £13.7m
That fee is relatively small to a Premier League giant such as Arsenal—but it’s certainly not to be sniffed at. After all, clubs usually earn around £10m for their pre-season tours, which have all been cancelled this summer due to the coronavirus.
Progress is paramount
But what is important for Arteta and the club is that they progress through the Europa League, because only then is it truly financially worthwhile.
UEFA grant £900,000 for every win secured in the group stage, meaning there is £5.4m up for grabs if the Gunners go all-out this autumn.
UEFA then provides more prize money for each stage of the knockout rounds a team passes, all the way to the final.
Winning the Europa League lands the champions a £7.6m cheque, to add to the prize money already awarded.
Winning 20/21 Europa League
- FA Cup win: £3.6m
- Europa League group stage: £2.6m
- Gate receipts (based on non-Covid conditions): £18.5
- Group wins: £3m
- Top group: £900,000
- Round of 32: £450,000
- Round of 16: £990,000
- Quarter-finals: £1.3m
- Semi-finals: £2.1m
- Winners: £7.6m
Potential Europa League earnings: £41m
Now, throw in additional gate receipts from four home knockout games, and Arsenal could stand to earn £41m by winning the Europa League—and that cash could be crucial to the team as clubs tighten their belts post-Covid.
What’s more, winning the tournament next year also earns Arsenal direct passage into the more lucrative Champions League, where Liverpool earned over £110m by winning the competition in 2018/19.
Negatives of Europa League competition
The Thursday-Sunday issues Premier League teams face when competing in the Europa League are well known.
After all, trying to compete for the title or a top-four place in England is tricky enough as it is, without the added drain of long-haul European trips just three days before weekend games.
It is a cycle teams like Arsenal and Tottenham have got stuck in in the past. The Europa League fixtures drag on Premier League performances, resulting in an inability to fight for the championship.
The Champions League is worth over £100m to clubs who reach all the way to the final, and that’s before gate receipts are taken into account. What’s more, each Premier League position is worth an additional £2.5m in prize money.
But this is sport and teams are not likely to throw away matches simply to avoid playing in a European competition. And Arsenal will head into the Europa League intent on winning it.
How winning FA Cup will affect Arsenal transfers
Therefore winning the FA Cup is more than simply a grand day out for the Arsenal players. Even if gate receipts cannot be factored in due to Covid, competing in the Europa League will earn Arsenal between £6.2m and £22.5m over the course of the season.
This may not be enough to buy a star-studded player of the likes of Nicolas Pepe or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on its own.
But the cash could certainly help the club keep their top performers on decent wages. Aubameyang is one of six players whose contract expires in the summer of 2021.
Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil, David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are the other big-name players would could leave unless new contracts are offered.
It might not be a case of Arsenal plundering the transfer market with their European revenues, but simply plugging the gaps in their current team.
Behind-closed-doors concerns
But that could still be more than what most teams have to play with.
After all, revenue streams at Premier League clubs are set to tumble in 20/21 if fans are not able to access games. Arsenal’s matchday revenue is estimated to be worth around £96m annually.
And that lack of income will severely hurt clubs across the board. Only Manchester United rake in more matchday revenue than the Gunners, while both Tottenham and Liverpool have experienced upturns of late.
So, if Arsenal aren’t able to fill seats and sell corporate boxes at the Emirates next season then the club will have to look around for other income streams.
And that could come from a Europa League adventure.
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FA Cup final: The inspiration Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard can take to trigger new era
Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard are both on the verge of securing their first trophies as managers when Arsenal face Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
The two young bosses will each hope victory at an empty Wembley Stadium will be the first of many titles.
Arteta won the trophy twice as a player with Arsenal, as the gunners seek a fourth victory in this competition in four years.
Yet the Spaniard – in his first year in sole charge of a team – could already add another FA Cup gong to his honours list.
Lampard, meanwhile, helped Chelsea to four FA Cup wins as a player and is also closing in on silverware in his maiden season in charge of the Blues.
Both men will be desperate to end this long season with a winners’ medal around their neck.
And they can certainly learn a thing or two about capitalising on that first trophy success from four of football’s biggest names.
Here, i takes a look four iconic managers talking about their first trophy wins…
Sir Alex Ferguson – St Mirren, Scottish First Division, 1977
Ferguson was managing two pubs alongside his job as St Mirren boss when he led them to the Scottish First Division title in 1977 – his career’s first trophy.
The Scot made his name bringing through the kids at Manchester United but by then it was, in fact, nothing new for him.
The average age of his title-winning St Mirren squad was 19, and the captain was a 20-year-old called Tony Fitzpatrick.
There is a glorious old photograph of a younger, thinner-faced Ferguson with a thick wedge of a tie sipping from a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
It opened doors for Ferguson that would lead, eventually, to the Manchester United manager’s job.
He was approached by Aberdeen the summer after winning promotion, but turned them down.
When he kept St Mirren in the top-flight and they sacked him anyway, however, the Aberdeen offer still stood, and Ferguson went on to win 11 trophies there, proving his credentials as a potential Manchester United manager.
Ferguson has also often discussed the importance of his first silverware at Manchester United and questioned whether he would’ve kept his job without it.
Four years passed, which he later described as “dark days”, before beating Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup final replay.
“Without the FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace grave doubts would have been raised about my suitability for the job,” Ferguson wrote in his autobiography.
Jesse Lingard, I'm sorry.
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“We will never know how close I was to being sacked, because the decision was never forced on the United board. But without that triumph at Wembley, the crowds would have shrivelled.
“Disaffection might have swept the club.
“Winning the 1990 FA Cup allowed us breathing space and deepened my sense that this was a wonderful club with which to win trophies.”
During the first match, fans held up banners calling for him to leave and even after the win a newspaper wrote: “OK, you’ve proved you can win the FA Cup, now go back to Scotland.
Ferguson never forgot it.
Pep Guardiola – Barcelona B, Tercera Division, 2008
Barcelona B were experiencing troubled times when Guardiola took charge, not long after retiring from playing.
They had been relegated from the Spanish third tier and it was their first season in the fourth since 1974.
Guardiola’s route to his first silverware, shaping a side which featured Sergio Busquets and Thiago Alcantara, was transformative.
“It was so good for me,” Guardiola recalled. “It was good because I had one game a week, I had time to analyse my process, and I did not have spotlights, I did not have media.”
Nonetheless, a former player as successful as Guardiola can never completely escape attention. In his first match, against Premia, 2,000 people turned up at the Mini Estadi, four times their usual crowd.
Onlookers included Barcelona’s then-president Joan Laporta and Txiki Begiristain, at the time Barcelona’s director of football who would later join Manchester City and convince Guardiola to follow him. The game finished goalless, but Guardiola’s football stuck in the mind.
During the season, he regularly met with and called Johan Cruyff, the Dutch master, for advice. Guardiola would share his doubts, discuss his relationships with players, how to approach different situations. Cruyff also attended some games.
They ended the season unbeaten at home, winning 19 of 21 games. Winning the Catalunyan league (the fourth tier is a collection of regionalised leagues) earned them a playoff place and they beat Castillo CF and Barbastro to earn promotion to Segunda B.
Cruyff, Laporta and Begiristain were all certain Guardiola was the next Barcelona manager but it surprised outsiders when they replaced Frank Rijkaard with the club’s inexperienced former midfielder.
Everyone knows what happened next.
Jose Mourinho – Porto, Primeira Liga, 2003
Mourinho’s unexpected Champions League triumph with Porto a year later would be his defining moment as a manger.
Yet all of the foundations were laid the season before when he won his first silverware as a manager, when three trophies followed in quick succession.
The Portuguese sees similarities between his spell at Porto and his job at Tottenham now.
When Mourinho took over at Porto they were struggling but full of potential. He blended academy players with shrewd signings of hungry players who were willing to put in the effort to play his pressing football: Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Hélder Postiga, Paulo Ferreira and Maniche.
“Players who had come from the youth team, players I brought from Leiria, players we bought from small Portuguese clubs, players without titles, players ready to work, fight for success, for their future,” Mourinho said.
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They won the league, Portuguese Cup and the Uefa Cup.
“A team of babies won the treble,” Mourinho said.
Mourinho cites the Uefa Cup final victory against Celtic, when they won 3-2 in extra time, as hugely significant.
“That final against Celtic was not the biggest win, it was not the greatest joy, but in terms of intensity, it was my biggest ever game,” he said.
“I’ve played three European finals since, two in the Champions League.
“I’ve won a lot of titles, been involved in so many incredible games.
“But in terms of living with tension, intensity, with emotion raised to the limit, that game against Celtic beat them all.”
It enabled Mourinho to hammer home to his players that they could be invincible if only they believed, a tactic he would use throughout his career to become one of the game’s most successful coaches.
Jurgen Klopp – Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga, 2011
Jurgen Klopp wakes up. He has a black hole in his memory where several hours are supposed to be before he passed out. He sits up and looks around. He is on the back of a large truck in a vast factory hall. He jumps down from the truck to find an exit. He sees a silhouette in the distance. He whistles loudly. The silhouette stops. Klopp reaches it. It is Hans-Joachim Watzke, the Borussia Dortmund chief executive. Neither of them has any idea how they got there.
They find a main road and flag down an old Mercedes station wagon driven by an old Turkish man. They ask for a lift back into town. The man initially declines until Watzke pulls out two hundred euros.
There is only one seat in the front cabin, so Klopp hops onto the back. He is trying to stay awake but keeps hitting his head on the side. He hears a cluck, cluck, cluck.
He realises he is surrounded by chickens. He is so worse for wear he does not even spot the three dead rams.
This is the remarkable story of Klopp waking up the day after the night before, when he had won the Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund, his first trophy.
It was the culmination of years trying to cultivate and perfect his own variation of attacking, pressing football that has become his trademark and was the springboard for the double Dortmund won the following season.
It is what got him noticed by European football’s leading clubs, and started conversations 600 miles away in Merseyside.
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Arsenal team news vs Chelsea: The expected 3-4-3 line up for the FA Cup final
Arsenal can salvage a miserable season on Saturday by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final and securing a spot in Europe for next term.
The Gunners’ finished eighth in the table this season—their worst league position since 1995.
Arteta’s men face another historic FA Cup side in Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.
The two clubs share a staggering 21 victories in this competition and have met in the final twice before.
Arsenal head into the clash having endured a raft of injuries and absentees since Project Restart began in June.
But they will hope to get one over London rivals Chelsea and win a fourth FA Cup in seven years.
Defence
Bernd Leno’s injury means Emiliano Martinez will continue between the sticks for Arsenal. The goalkeeper managed just four clean sheets in 11 appearances this summer, but successfully shut out Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final.
Shkodran Mustafi’s hamstring injury means Arteta will likely play three at the back, which worked well against City. However, that likely means dropping Ainsley Maitland-Niles and keeping a back three of Dan Holding, David Luiz and Kieran Tierney.
Midfield
Ainsley Maitland-Niles got the nod in midfield during the semi-final at Wembley and Arteta appears keen to stick with the youngster, who also dropped into defence for the Watford win last time out.
Were Maitland-Niles to start here it may well be in place of Hector Bellerin, seeing as Bukayo Saka has impressed down the left of late. Bellerin is already a worry for the game with a calf injury. Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka should stick in the centre of midfield.
Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil are not expected to be included.
Xhaka will be tasked with stopping the Chelsea supply lines reaching either Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham. Ceballos, whose only experience of an elite-level final was 10 minutes in the second leg of Real Madrid’s 5-1 spanking of Barcelona in the 2017 Supercopa de Espana, managed just two Premier League assists this season, but should start.
Attack
When fit the Arsenal attack takes care of itself. Between them, Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have scored 47 goals.
Lacazette will lead the line but it is Aubameyang coming off the wing that will likely scare Chelsea the most. The Gabon international scored both goals in the 2-0 semi-final win over City and has 27 for the season.
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Don’t be surprised if Eddie Nketiah gets a run-out at Wembley, having scored four goals since his return from Leeds United on loan.
Arsenal predicted XI: Martinez; Holding, Luiz, Tierney; Maitland-Niles, Ceballos, Xhaka, Saka; Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang
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Kepa Arrizabalaga has become a problem for Chelsea – but £30m Andre Onana could be the solution
The best goalkeepers make the most difficult position on the pitch seem less so.
Routine decision-making and the solutions to the problems they face are made without much fanfare and while the spectacular is always applauded, it is also expected.
We are just two years shy of the anniversary of Kepa Arrizabalaga’s arrival at Chelsea and it isn’t difficult to assess whether the expectations surrounding him at the time have been met. Quite clearly they have not.
Just like Wilfried Zaha’s 30-yard strike in Chelsea’s visit to Selhurst Park earlier this month, the bar set by Kepa’s predecessors Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois has been at a height beyond his reach.
Whoever took the decision that Kepa’s potential was worth such an extravagant outlay should be questioning themselves.
Meeting a £70m-plus buyout clause for a player whose real value was only a third of that provided a stick with which to beat him with when his performance level dropped, giving the young goalkeeper little time to settle.
Ederson and Alisson – at Chelsea’s rivals Manchester City and Liverpool – have made their huge fees seem extremely good value, not only adding to their teams’ overall standing but being influential beyond their monetary value.
That’s where Kepa’s downfall was always going to come. Ask yourself how he makes Chelsea stronger and you are left pondering.
Kepa’s problems
There’s an old adage that “a good big’un is better that a good littl’un” but when it comes to goalkeeping, physical presence can be overcome by positional acumen and brave decision making.
Kepa’s stature is often cited as a negative – that he lacks lacks presence and authority – and in a team that has struggled so much at set plays it is natural for defenders to look over their shoulder for someone to bail them out. Kepa has struggled to do that.
Not all the blames lies with him, of course. Defensively this season, Chelsea are nowhere near as efficient in protecting their goalkeeper as they have been in the past – you would have to drop down to Southampton in 11th place before you find a defence that has been breached as much as Chelsea’s this year. But as David de Gea and others have shown – that is the time for goalkeeping greatness to shine.
It’s not a coincidence I mention De Gea. Parallels could be drawn between the two compatriots in terms of early teething problems in the Premier League but unlike the Manchester United keeper a resurgence doesn’t look to be on the cards here.
If anything, Kepa looks to be in decline.
The alternatives
So who should Chelsea be looking at, assuming they have conceded defeat on their current No 1? The three names of Jan Oblak, Andre Onana and Dean Henderson have already been linked.
The first question to be asked is what kind of side is Lampard building? If he is looking for someone in the same mould as Cech and Courtois then Oblak is their man. The Slovenian is a monster shotstopper who has always had the maturity of a keeper much older than he is, a quality much needed in Chelsea’s fresh-faced side.
Oblak has overtaken Gigi Buffon’s mantle of goalkeeping’s Mr Consistency but a nine-figure fee might just be too much of a stretch for Chelsea, unless they are willing to break the bank to almost guarantee success.
Henderson’s ambitions know no bounds and regardless of Manchester United’s promise of a place in the side in the future, he will most certainly have to wait for De Gea’s exit to become No 1 at Old Trafford. But with Spurs also waiting in the wings for England’s top performer and United an unwilling seller, Ajax’s Onana looks to be the best choice all round.
Onana is more aggressive in his position than Henderson, more positive when rushing off his line and has shown to be superior with his feet, albeit playing with a different directive in his distribution than Henderson.
At less than £30m and with Willy Cabellero still an option as third choice, Onana’s arrival might not even spell the immediate end of Kepa but will surely leave the 25-year-old questioning his future at Stamford Bridge.
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More on Chelsea
- Havertz transfer tracker: Latest news on Leverkusen star’s proposed move to Chelsea
- Problem of his own making: Werner’s transfer will leave Lampard with a selection headache
- Lampard has made some statement in his first season and the future is bright
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Championship play-off final 2020: How much money the winner of Brentford vs Fulham could earn with promotion
The Championship play-off final is known as “the richest game of football” – and with good reason.
Not only does the winner guarantee themselves a place in the Premier League, but they also stand to make an absolute fortune too, even in an economy bludgeoned by Covid-19.
Brentford were in possession of two golden tickets granting entry to the Premier League but allowed each to slip through their fingers by losing to struggling Stoke and Barnsley. They now have a third after a thrilling 3-2 aggregate victory over Swansea booked their place in the final.
It could have been a south Wales derby, but instead, it is an all-London affair as Fulham reached their second play-off final in three years by the same aggregate scoreline over Cardiff City. A twinkle-toed run from Josh Onomah and inch-perfect free-kick from Neeskens Kebano in the first leg all but secured the Cottagers’ passage, although it was not without a few nerves as the Welsh side won 2-1 at Craven Cottage, not quite enough to see them through.
For Brentford, victory at Wembley would see them start life in their new Community Stadium as a top-flight side for the first time in 73 years, while Fulham will be desperate to show that lessons have been learned from their disastrous one-season stay in the Premier League in 2018-19.
How much is the Championship play-off final worth?
The Premier League earned approximately £9.3bn from domestic and overseas broadcasting revenue for the three-year cycle starting in 2019-20 and ending in 2021-22.
Each Premier League club gets a healthy slice of that revenue pie worth approximately £100m per club, significantly more than what is on offer in the Championship.
“To be part of that [the Premier League broadcast deal] compared to the EFL deal which is worth around about £7m per year for a non-parachute club is critical,” football finance expert and lecturer at the University of Liverpool Kieran Maguire tells i. “We’re looking at about £100m for a club that is going to be bottom three or four in terms of televised matches.”
On top of broadcast revenue, promoted clubs are also guaranteed a minimum of two years worth of parachute payments which equates to around £70m, hence the “£170m match” tag for the play-off final. Promotion would be even more lucrative for Brentford as they have not been in receipt of parachute payments having never been in the Premier League.
Fulham banked a parachute payment of around £41m for 2019-20 after succumbing to relegation and are entitled to a second year should they fail to beat Brentford. For promoted clubs who survive their first campaign in the Premier League like Sheffield United and Aston Villa this term, there is a further safety net in place.
“By staying in the Premier League, it automatically gives you a third year of parachute payments should you come down next season, so there’s that benefit,” says Maguire. “For Villa to maintain their position they get the Premier League deal, they get the sponsorship deals and the chance to keep Jack Grealish.”
No wonder Dean Smith looked so pleased after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham sealed a 17th-place finish.
Here we go with Leeds United… ????@LUFC: Champions ????#ReadyForSport pic.twitter.com/RuwXOzr4bu
— adidas UK (@adidasUK) July 22, 2020
Promoted clubs also see a hike in sponsorship income, either through bonuses from existing sponsors or through lucrative deals with new investors. Leeds United announced a “record-breaking” five-year deal with Adidas last week shortly after being confirmed as Championship champions.
This week the government set out a target date of 1 October for supporters to be allowed back in stadiums at a vastly reduced capacity. Clubs have and will continue to suffer from a loss of matchday revenue with limited or no attendance in the stands, but as Maguire explains to i, that will barely impact those in the top-flight.
“TV and sponsorship money will, to some extent, more than mitigate for the loss of matchday income which for many clubs in the Premier League is their smallest revenue earner overall,” he says.
“If you look at the Championship, there are clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday where matchday income is 40 per cent of their total so, therefore, they’re going to be hit more.”
Getting into the Premier League is one thing but staying there and maximising earning potential is another. As Maguire tells i: “If you drop out of the Premier League into the Championship, you’re jumping off a cliff financially.”
All things considered then, even in these potentially bleak financial times, the Championship play-off final remains the most lucrative in the game.
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An apology to Man Utd’s Jesse Lingard: I’m sorry for taking the mickey
“Jesse Lingard has now gone 29 Premier League games without a goal or assist,” I tweeted on 1 January. No context, but factually correct. No doubt I was keen to hoover up some easy numbers to break in the New Year. There’s nothing quite like reading your old tweets to throw yourself into a shame spiral that ends only in self-reproach. Until the next time you get bored and stumble across another slightly interesting, mostly boring statistic.
By 26 July, Lingard’s drought had only increased by four games; more grey cloud than silver lining. The return to fitness of Paul Pogba and arrival of Bruno Fernandes had pushed Lingard so far down Manchester United’s midfield queue that he stood halfway down Matt Busby Way. His goal against Leicester City may well be his last for a club that have either run out of faith or run out of use.
That might well have been that. “Player X is not good enough for Club Y” is hardly an unusual take. This is the Premier League, not a school sports day. Not everyone is guaranteed a prize and loyalty is a two-way street. The multi-billion pound transfer market is founded upon two simple principles: Players often believe they are better than their clubs; clubs often believe they need better players.
But three days after the end of his fifth – and comfortably most disappointing – Premier League season, Lingard had something to say. He used his Instagram account and an interview to discuss the personal problems he has faced over the course of this season. His mother had suffered extended periods of depression that had finally come to a head and forced her to travel to London to seek help. His younger brother and sister had moved in with Lingard to ease the burden on the family, and he had become their primary carer. The changes had, not unreasonably, affected Lingard’s on-field form.
The most interesting thing about Lingard’s words this week is that he was repeating himself. Last December, he spoke at length to the Daily Mail about the issues of his mother’s depression and strain on him and his family while she finally sought professional help. One quote stands out: “I have been down and glum; just worrying. I felt like everybody just passed all the stuff to me and it weighed on my shoulders. It has been tough to see my loved ones struggling and then I have to come to work and try to do my job.” Two weeks after that interview, I tweeted the statistic about his ineffectiveness in the final third. I hadn’t read that quote. If I had, I might have thought twice about such glib condemnation.
Criticism is an inevitable part of a writer’s job; the same applies to commentators, pundits and, increasingly, supporters too. That criticism is partly born out of frustration at unfulfilled potential, partly from the persona a player chooses to create for marketing purposes and partly – subconsciously – because censure sells better than praise.
But we – I – too rarely bother to wonder why. For all the noise of football discourse, so little of it scratches below the surface. If a player is out of form, is that more likely to be proof that they are a) not very good, b) don’t care, c) are ungrateful or because there is something in their personal lives that make the job harder? We have all had periods in our lives when the demarcations between the personal and professional become blurred, and family depression would rank highly as an aggravating factor. We’re humans, not robots. And forget the money; nobody reasonably believes that depression and heartache can be magically solved by one wave of an expensive wand.
That is not to say that criticism is never appropriate. Managers and players suffer periods of underwhelming form when they fail to match up to transfer fees, salaries and hype. Some behave inappropriately in public and cave into the same everyday sins as you or I. Part of the reason for footballers’ high earning potential is that they commit to avoid temptations. But we owe it to them to examine other possibilities first.
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There is an obvious solution: Open up about everything in the moment in a bid to earn public empathy and patience. But then that leaves footballers in an impossible situation: Lose all privacy in a life played out in the spotlight’s glare and suffer the media inquisition that goes with it, or maintain your – and your family’s – privacy and await the slings and arrows. Neither is particularly appetising.
Lingard is not a bad footballer nor a bad person. Three different Manchester United managers have picked him regularly. Gareth Southgate started in him in five World Cup matches in 2018, the only exceptions being a dead rubber group match and third-fourth place playoff match in which he made wholesale changes.
Lingard is merely a byproduct of modern football discourse in which the middle ground has been evaporated by tribalism, hyperbole, extremism and impatience. If he’s probably not talented enough for a team of Manchester United’s new ambition, that should not provoke any shame or apology.
But as Lingard continues to juggle personal strife with professional decline, you find yourself rooting for him to find a happy home on and off the field. Perhaps that’s partly for the absolution of personal guilt; I’m happy to say I’m sorry. But it’s also because he’s just a young man trying to do his best by his family and realise the dreams of the player that so many demanded he become.
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Newcastle takeover collapses: Saudi Arabia’s backing looked like an attempt to sportswash its appalling human rights record
Many Newcastle United fans will be dismayed that Mike Ashley’s dismal ownership of the club continues, after the collapsed £300m takeover deal, one of the most controversial in football history. They deserve to have their torture brought to an end.
No one should shed a tear for the buyer that has walked away, though: the consortium included PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of fun lovin’ Saudi Arabia.
The investment group insists it is autonomous and that the Saudi state would have had no day-to-day operational involvement. Yet Saudi Arabia’s backing for the purchase looked like an attempt to sportswash its appalling human rights record.
PIF’s chairman is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, accused by Western intelligence services of ordering the murder and dismemberment of journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi. (MBS blames rogue employees – and which other thrusting young executive has not had similar problems with workplace misunderstandings?)
Readers can decide for themselves whether or not the Premier League Owners’ and Directors’ Test allows for such activity, but it’s probably not great fodder for page 5 of the matchday programme.
Premier League lawyers were struggling to establish the exact relationship between PIF and the Saudi government. Good riddance then. Many football fans will join Newcastle’s supporters in hoping for a more agreeable new owner soon.
Male grooming – skip… Hobbies and Crafts – yes… Kitchen and Laundry – no, thank you… TOYS and GAMING, now we’re in business.
Many people born in the past half-century will have spent happy hours as a child browsing the “Book of Dreams”, a compendium of things that you could not afford and probably didn’t need. So the end of the Argos catalogue will – apart from ruining childhood – confirm 2020 as a year not to be remembered fondly.
Indulge me in my nostalgia. Which of you read it in bed with a torch under the duvet? Circled what you wanted for your birthday or Christmas (Mr Frosty), knowing that you would never get it? Staggered bleeding into the kitchen thinking of a games console, with an arterial bleed from a paper cut? As Bill Bailey put it: “You know why they laminate the Argos catalogue? To catch the tears of joy.”
Goodbye, then, to Europe’s most widely printed publication, stronger than a breeze block, pipped only by the Bible for its ubiquity and found in three-quarters of British homes.
Twitter: @olyduff
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Newcastle United: Why Saudi takeover collapsed and the new buyers who could still be interested
The proposed takeover of Newcastle United is off after a consortium headed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund withdrew their offer.
The consortium, which also had backing from Amanda Staveley-led PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers, had submitted paperwork to the Premier League outlining the deal to buy the club from Mike Ashley back in April.
However, they have decided to pull out due to the length of time the Premier League were taking to ratify the deal allied to the financial uncertainty caused by Covid-19.
A statement from the group read: “With a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club.
“We do so with regret, as we were excited and fully committed to invest in the great city of Newcastle and believe we could have returned the club to the position of its history, tradition and fans’ merit.
“Unfortunately, the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable.”
News of the failed takeover has predictably been greeted with bitter disappointment from Newcastle fans, desperate to see the end of Ashley following a controversy-filled 13 years at the helm.
Another takeover bites the dust
This is not the first time that Newcastle United has been the subject of interest from prospective new owners only for a deal to go up in smoke and supporters will be forgiven for feeling like this is groundhog day repeating itself.
After making his money with Sports Direct, Ashley bought out Newcastle from Sir John Hall and Freddie Shephard in 2007 for £135m but he has attempted to sell the club on numerous occasions since.
Ashley first sought to sell the club in September 2008 following a backlash from fans over the departure of club legend and manager Kevin Keegan before backtracking three months later over a lack of interest.
Soon after the club’s shock relegation to the Championship in 2009, Ashley again put the club up for sale and although there was interest from a local businessman Barry Moat, the club remained in his hands.
That same year, a group called Fans 410 Consortium led by former Tottenham defender Graham Roberts declared an interest in introducing a fan ownership model at St James’ Park but they were unable to make any inroads either.
Rumours regarding a potential sale began again in 2017 a year after a second relegation from the Premier League, this time involving mystery investors based in China before that too went quiet.
Then came Staveley’s first reported interest in 2017. Staveley, backed by Dubai-based PCP Capital Partners Middle Eastern investment fund, looked set to complete a £300m takeover in December. However, it fell through in January with a source close to the Newcastle owner telling Sky Sports News: “Attempts to reach a deal with Amanda Staveley and PCP have proved exhausting, frustrating and a complete waste of time.”
In 2019, Newcastle had two prospective buyers: one from the United Arab Emirates by Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan and another fronted by former Manchester United and Chelsea director Peter Kenyon’s American investment fund GACP Sports. Although Sheikh Khaled’s representatives insisted that terms had been agreed, that proposal fell through, while Kenyon’s never got off the ground.
What happens next?
Attention will now switch to other potential buyers and Newcastle fans will be hoping that reports of a £350m bid from American tycoon Henry Mauriss are accurate.
Mauriss’ alleged offer for Newcastle is £50m more than was proposed by Staveley’s Saudia Arabia Public Investment Fund which would, in theory, attract Ashley’s interest.
The Californian initially made his money in the credit card business and since 2014 has been the CEO of Clear TV – a company that provides television broadcasts to airports and hospitals.
Outside of Mauriss’ apparent interest, no other interested buyers have yet been reported and it remains to be seen whether Staveley has a third crack at buying the club after saying she was ‘heartbroken’ at the latest takeover collapse.
It seems highly improbable, bordering on impossible, that Newcastle will become flush with cash from a new owner with deep pockets before the 2020-21 season kicks off on September 12.
Far more likely is that the club will enter its 14th season with Ashley at the helm, a prospect no Newcastle fan will welcome nor have envisaged a few weeks ago.
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Newcastle takeover collapses: Saudi consortium walks away from £300m deal
The sale of Newcastle United has collapsed after the Saudi-backed consortium in talks pulled out of the deal.
A £300million bid was accepted in April between Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and a consortium led by financier Amanda Staveley, made up of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers.
Billionaire businessman Ashley, who owns discount sports gear retailer Sports Direct, is disliked by Newcastle supporters and has been open to offers to end his 13-year reign.
The Premier League has been scrutinising the deal for several months as part of its owners’ and directors’ test, forcing the consortium to pull out yesterday, citing the current global financial uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus crisis and that their commercial agreement with Newcastle expired.
“With a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club. We do so with regret, as we were excited and fully committed to invest in the great city of Newcastle and be,” the group said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable. To that end, we feel a responsibility to the fans to explain the lack of alternatives from an investment perspective.
“As an autonomous and purely commercial investor, our focus was on building long-term value for the Club, its fans and the community as we remained committed to collaboration, practicality and proactivity through a difficult period of global uncertainty.
“Ultimately, during the unforeseeably prolonged process, the commercial agreement between the Investment Group and the Club’s owners expired and our investment thesis could not be sustained, particularly with no clarity as to the circumstances under which the next season will start and the new norms that will arise for matches, training and other activities.
“As often occurs with proposed investments in uncertain periods, time itself became an enemy of the transaction, particularly during this difficult phase marked by the many real challenges facing us all from Covid-19.”
The potential deal was opposed by human rights groups and Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but was welcomed by some Newcastle fans.
Andrew Smith, the media co-ordinator of Campaign Against Arms Trade, said last night: “This is the right outcome for the wrong reasons. The negotiations should never have taken place. The history and character of the Saudi regime should have been enough to prevent it even being considered.
“The message this deal would have sent is a terrible one. The FA must look at the fit and proper persons test and strengthen it to ensure that clubs are not entering negotiations with human rights abusers in the future. Football clubs should never be propaganda vehicles for dictatorships.”
Amnesty International UK said in a statement: “This deal was always a blatant attempt by the government of Saudi Arabia to try to sportswash its abysmal human rights record by buying into the passion, prestige and pride of Tyneside football.”
The consortium’s statement added: “We feel great compassion for the Newcastle United fans, with whom we shared a great commitment to help Newcastle United harness its tremendous potential and build upon its impressive and historic legacy while working closely with the local community.
“We truly appreciated your incredible expressions of support and your patience throughout this process. We are sorry it is not to be.”
American television executive Henry Mauriss is said to be interested in buying the club from Ashley.
Staveley said: “I’m absolutely heartbroken for the club, the fans and the community.”
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