Premiership, Have You Lost Your Soul?

by Clinton Ooi

As Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnusson and Iranian-born Kia Joorabchian fight out for control of London club West Ham United, either of their successful bids would mark an 6th club falling into the hands of foreign ownership. Currently, non-English investors own Chelsea, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Manchester United and Fulham.

The key issue here is not that offshore investment in the clubs are necessarily all bad, however there must be a process of policing of the foreign investors that come into play.

The test should be one of a case-to-case basis, depending on the financial resources and intentions of each investor. Here, the process of investigating each proposed offshore investor should be detailed and comprehensive.

Aston Villa – Randy Lerner
Dissatisfaction with Doug Ellis’s long term of mediocrity and underachievement, it’s fair to say Villa fans would be happier if Austin Powers took over the reigns. It’s still too early to judge, whether it’s Martin O’Neill’s appointment or Randy’s arrival that has sparked a mini revival at Villa Park.

Chelsea – Roman AbramovichThe Russian revolution brought Chelsea out of huge outstanding debt and transformed them into a major power in European football, eclipsing the likes of United and being on par with Real Madrid. Two titles in two years, so the Roman rails are still running. The major concern here however, is Chelsea have recorded losses for both of the last two seasons.

Fulham – Mohamed Al-Fayed
The Harrods owner has been the longest of the foreign investors and his term has brought stability and quick promotion into the top flight to this London club.

Manchester United – Malcom Glazer & Sons
Still to be proved, United were not in the financial doldrums and were in fact the world’s richest club when the Glazers took over and immediately put the club in debt by borrowing against the future earnings of the club. This is a dangerous exercise as Leeds United fans will remember. Only time and immediate success for United will tell.

Portsmouth – Milan Mandaric
Arguably Milan’s millions provided Harry Redknapp with the resources to make those key buys in last season’s January transfer window to save Pompey from relegation. But there have been many cases of Milan being too involved in the team and at times a hindrance to his manager, prompting Redknapp’s first exit from the club.

Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger sums it all up very well when he said, 'This trend [for foreign ownership] does worry me. Generally you want the clubs to be in control of their own destiny. If you suddenly have 20 foreign investors who buy 20 English clubs you are in danger.'

'The manager is foreign, the players are foreign, and you need to draw a line. England doesn't control it any more. I feel the soul of football in this country is first granted by the owners of the clubs. Here, for example, at Arsenal I feel I am really at an English club. Traditionally the people who owned the clubs were first and foremost supporters. If that ceases to be the case then the clubs lose something.'

Has the English Premier League lost its soul?