Liverpool FC – Moneyball in play off the field?

When Fenway Sports Group (FSG) acquired Liverpool FC in 2010 there was much enthusiasm from the fans that were aware of the owners’ history.  The owners successfully adopted the Moneyball strategy at their MLB franchise, the strategy was first introduced to sports fans worldwide by Michael Lewis’s eponymously named book and the consequent movie starring Brad Pitt. There has been a lot written about it since the 2010 takeover as it has been a particularly expensive experiment with minimal return on the field of play. The strategy employs an array of on-field statistics in order to identify undervalued assets (players). In its simplest form Moneyball advocates the timeless axiom in finance:  buy low and sell high.

Two years on and several ill-fated transfers later, Liverpool FC is clearly experiencing teething problems with the system. The system’s proponent and Director of Football Strategy, Damien Comoli is no longer at Liverpool FC. After this season’s transfer activity it seems these problems are far from being ironed out – Borini is a revelation. However, amongst all Liverpool’s on-field waywardness the cogs have been turning in the glass offices.

Liverpool secured the largest kit sponsorship deal for any Premier League club with US manufacturer Warrior. The deal is worth a reported £25million a year for 6 years. The clubs shirt sponsor Standard Chartered pays a reported £20million a year to embellish the chest of Jordan Henderson and his equally average Liverpool team mates. Chevrolet signed on to become the new car sponsor and Garuda of Indonesia has become the global official airline of Liverpool FC. The club also ramped up its efforts in the sports betting department by signing deals with both Paddy Power and 188Bet.

Liverpool’s endless drove of supporters around the world ensures it places within the top 10 clubs in terms of revenue earned according to Deloitte. It is the only club that holds a top 10 spot without playing in the prestigious (not so much after Chelsea won) Champions League. It seems Liverpool’s owners spotted an undervalued asset in the club itself. Commercial revenues are on the up and broadcasting revenues will increase significantly if Liverpool is able to qualify for the Champions League. Whilst the transfer policy will continue to vex even the most ardent supporters, at least the their finances are much healthier than their league position.

Author : Shiraaz Abdullah

Gunned down: What’s happened to the Gunners?

At the time of writing, it’s been 7 years, 4 months and 20 days since Arsenal Football Club last won any form of silverware. It’s also been 8 seasons since ‘The Invincibles’, recently voted the best team ever in the history of the Premier League, went through a whole season unbeaten. Any club, let alone Arsenal, would do well to repeat such a feat again.

Since then, the success of the club, or lack thereof, has been a cause of frustration for millions of supporter’s worldwide.

To compound matters, many of their top players have jumped ship in recent years, citing lack of ambition on the part of the club as an excuse. Thus, many of the clubs critics have labelled it a ‘selling club’. Predictably, club officials have been quick to deny such accusations. In a time where Russian oligarchs and Sheikhs spend with reckless abandon, Arsenal, along with many other clubs, face the prospect of being left behind.

At the centre of all these concerns lies the ethos of the club, which has been built over recent years. Self-sustainability has become the primary objective of the football club ever since plans were made to move to the impressive Emirates Stadium over a decade ago.

Back then, it was clear that if the club was going to remain a force within the game, a move away from Highbury was a necessity. However, to do this, the club needed to develop a way to make the move feasible. And thus the era of ‘self-sustainability’ was born.

As a result, the club has had to sell many of its best players, while the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have spent millions. The truth is, ever since Arsenal moved to the Emirates, they have been the only top English club to be net sellers in terms of transfers.

This has had a visible effect on performance on the pitch. At the beginning of this year, protests were staged by a section of fans fed up with poor results and a supposed lack of ambition in the transfer market. Added to this, Arsenal supporters are charged the highest season ticket prices in the league. One can therefore understand their obvious frustrations.

However there are reasons for supporters to be optimistic. Latest financial results released by the club show that the club is, at least financially, on a sound footing. Added to this is the soon to be implemented Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations by UEFA, which aims to level the playing field and make football more sustainable. There are a few pressing concerns though. A Brief look at the results shows that the club is still highly dependent on revenue earned from player sales. Another concern is the lack of growth in commercial revenue. The club is way behind other English clubs in terms of shirt sponsorship and kit manufacturing deals. Their £5.5 million a season shirt deal with Emirates, is less than the £10 million a season deal that Manchester United receive from DHL to sponsor their training kit! In saying this, many key sponsorship deals for the club are soon going to be up for renewal, which could see a significant rise on existing deals. However, how much leeway the club is afforded in negotiations is debatable. Ultimately, football is results based business, and performance on the pitch largely determines performance off it.

In light of the economic turmoil that the world is currently experiencing, one could argue that the club has been one step ahead of the rest in terms being financially prudent. There is no doubt that the excessive spending currently seen in football is unsustainable. In this sense, the club is in prime position to benefit from FFP.

Few football fans around the world would argue with the statement that Arsenal play the most attractive brand of football in the Premier League. With a solid financial base, and FFP on the horizon, Arsenal fans hope that this attractive football translates into silverware sooner rather than later.