English football
Thesis
English football, particularly the Premier League, has been held up globally as a model for other countries to follow in developing their own football industries through application of sound management skills.
History of English football
Football game in England started as early as 9th century where it was played in varying forms among different villages in the regions of this country. Early football consisted of many players who would gather in wide open places and streets and engage in a game that had no rules of play. By then, football had not gained flavour as it has today due to the high level of violence that was involved in the play. As there were no specific places of play, it was common to find large groups of young men playing football on the streets and any open space available. As a result, the game always resulted to personal injury among the players due to physical pushing, kicking, and punching by the opponent players (Shobe, 2008). In addition, immense damage to property and objects occurred in the process of playing of the game. Early development occurred in the reduction of players in an individual game as groups started organising tournaments. By 16th century, there were organised teams which used to play football between schools. These school teams and their management helped a lot in development of early football codes. At this period various teams were also formed outside the confinements of schools. England boasted as the home to some of the first and oldest football clubs in the world.
The Londons Gymnastics society is thought to be first organised football club in the world which was formed in 16th century. On the other hand, Sheffield Football club which was formed in 1857 is thought to be the oldest football club in the world. England also have played a significant role in giving leadership in football such as the organising the first trophy in football commonly known as the Yodan Cup. The FA cup is also one of the earliest football competitions held at the national level which was formulates as early as 1871. In the last two centuries, English football has expanded and become more successful through formation of football leagues which has overseen the management of football at different levels (Barry, 2001). The success of these leagues has a lot to do with the massive media coverage and advertising that have been carried out about it adding to its glamour and fame.
Role of premier league body
The Premier League came into existence in 1992 after a unanimous decision which was made by top twenty clubs in English football set themselves apart from the mainstream football clubs in the Football league. Football League was left with 72 team members who are divided among three divisions. These include the Champions League, League One and Two. Their aim was to increase their revenue base compared to the clubs in the lower divisions. They however did not break their links with the Football League as the three underperforming teams in the premier league are relegated to the Football League. Their positions are always taken up by three other strong teams from the Championship League (Davies, 1998). Each team in the Champions League takes up one twentieth of the return s gained from the championship. All these teams are expected to express all their roles in meetings their relationships and other rights. Present day football has transformed to that of professionalism with a great need to employ all tactics in administrative and organisation of the game. This has been brought about by the need to run the game as both as a form of recreational activity for the audience and as a profession to the players as well as a profit making organization like any other business organization.
The premier league organising body has successfully continued to have success in planning of football. This have been so through the application of its strict rules in regard to competition, scheduling of games, mobility of players and the existence of teams in the league thorough the relegation process. The premier league body plays a significant role in ensuring that every team employs economic sense of management. Other football bodies in the world should emulate this body in acting as management body of a larger enterprise with units which abide to decisions made and put into action at this higher level (Davis, 1996). The success of football in other countries has been marred by too much freedom in each and individual team and lack of definite rules from the responsible leagues.
Despite being the most prestigious league in the English football, Premier League has not prevented the existence of other leagues which operate independently. However, the lack of competition can be to some extent being attributed to the large costs in demand for professionals and maintaining them. It is arguably true that, all the teams in the Premier League enjoy a relatively high number of professional players compared to other teams outside of this premiership. In addition, whenever a team is relegated to lower leagues, it loses most of its best player talents to other teams in the premiership through transfers. This supports the notion that, the Premier League is very much dependent on the existence of other lower leagues. As the team in lower leagues tries to upgrade their individual performance so as to enter this league, the teams in this league on the other hand try to keep up their game so as not to face relegation. On the process the enthusiasm creates a more and more entertainment to the fans that are always keen to follow the proceedings of these games.
A closer look at the premier league portrays a form of monopoly in itself which helps clubs to operate in competition under its control. As a governing body, it sets basic guidelines within which the clubs operates freely. The club however maintains the autonomy on how to utilise the revenue generated by it. The Premier League has no control on the clubs spending on acquiring new players, or infrastructure developments. However, the body has always a vital role in controlling the number of matches played by each team (Jebsen, 2007). This allows the clubs to have an equal opportunity of playing with each other regardless of their financial status as a way of ensuring a common interest in competition.
In the regard of clubs in making their independent financial decisions, there is need to have a critical look at the main objectives of these clubs. We cannot refute the fact that all these clubs aims at operating at a profitable end. To break even, most of these clubs have at one point or the other been acquired by tycoons who have made money out of other fields but have a lot of interest in growing the football talent. Premier League is held high in terms of prestige associated with professional football. It is therefore true that, the good managerial skills employed by this body in running of English soccer have helped the teams to finances from other areas. Those who buy this clubs may be motivated by something else than the immediate financial gain they are likely to acquire from the club (Hunter, 2008). Most of them acquires these clubs at critical times in their financial solvency but hopes to help the clubs to break even at some point in future.
Management in English football
Success of every business organisation is dependent on selection of the best and well equipped manpower and placing them in their workforce. This style of management has not been left out in football as it has been well portrayed in English football. In this field, top teams are always in search of the best players to place them in their teams. There is one significant aspect about football that sets it apart from other business organisations. Unlike other businesses where their survival always targets at eliminating competition and controlling a significant share through monopoly, competition in English football has played a big role in creating uniform growth among clubs (Seymor, 2009). These clubs also acknowledges that if they accumulate all good players in their teams, they will acquire undue advantage over other teams.
In football, competition among teams is more advantageous than having a monopoly in this sport. Even if each team employs management skills like any other enterprising firm, it does not make any economic sense for a team to dominate the whole field. A game is a win-lose state of affairs whereby at the beginning any game, the two teams always has equal strengths and chances of winning. It would be illogical to have all talents in one team while the other team has least and yet the two teams be expected to compete favourably. Every team needs the other to play therefore, rivalry in the field is just a competition to win the game of the day at a uniform platform (Davies, 1997). There is therefore a need to have a cooperative assembly between the competing teams to maintain a balance in sport.
In addition, uniformity in player distribution eliminates chances of reaching at a point where a club may experience diminishing returns. In order to maximise their profits, these teams distribute the talents of the players evenly. The premier league has ensured a free market system of players moving from one team to the other during their transfer window period. Every team works in the interest of not becoming so strong in relation to its competing teams. The distribution of players in the premiership teams is guided by incentives present that ensure maximisation of investment value of the services to be supplied by the player. Transfers depend on the availability of a team which can offer a higher investment price for the player with an aim of getting a higher value from the player than his present team. This has a lot of advantage for the team and the player through the contractual transfers.
All the teams on the premier league are situated in major cities around England. This has helped them to build their fan base from their backgrounds while their performance in the leagues has continued to win them fan support outside their backgrounds. It is arguably true that, English teams enjoy a fan base all over the world. This has made many people continue to envy the style of management of employed by these teams (Jones, 2002). Through the application of sound management, English football has become a lucrative employer for the players by offering best salaries for best talents than what they could have earned in any other employment field.
The ever increasing fan base in these teams has been evidenced by the building of even larger stadiums with larger sitting capacities for each and every team. These large stadiums have helped the teams to operate on a larger scale thanks to widening enthusiasm from the fan base. All the people attending these championships as spectators buy tickets which in turn helps the clubs financial status. The championship has created a big market for advertising through field advertising boards, television broadcasts and even newspapers who sells sport news as a product. It is therefore true that, good management in soccer has the potential of attracting finances from other fields to the countries that arte still struggling in management of their clubs.
Acquiring reliable players
Football is a game of teamwork which is dependent on individual contribution of each player in collaboration with other players. Premier league has demonstrated to the rest of the world the magnificence of organising top talents to arrive at a best kind of soccer. Just like in the qualifications of a good staffing other business fields, there are various characteristics that determine the efficiency of a player in the field. This includes high level of decision making as a player, positive attitude towards the game, high level of endurance and flexibility. It is also admirable for any player to portray the characteristics of self motivation, have good physical and mental health, and discipline. When the managers are selecting the players to acquire, they seek for players with these talents (Tanner, 2001). However, the common trend in competition for the best players in the top teams has created a rise in the salaries of the players through their transfer fees. At some instances the teams are seen to benefit more from the fees charged during these transfers from receiving teams.
Economic analysis
In analysing the economics of these clubs, one can draw various factors which remain as objectives driving their success. This includes the profit gain, generation of revenue, success in game and even security of managers and players. The greatest driving force in football is the success that associated in playing a good organised football. Spectators are always looking and want to be associated with a team that has success in the pitch. On the other hand, players always aspire to play for certain teams which would create a climax in their career (Fisher, 2003). Those intending to invest in a club always look for a club that have a relative a high level of success. This acts as a measure of investment worth when determining return on their investment.
Even though it is hard to maintain a continuous profit making without a win, profit has remained a major driver in professional football. This is so because no club can afford to run and expect to have future developments without making a significant profit in its operations. This is the basic reason behind the charging of high priced tickets before attending any match compared to an instance where the tickets would have a flat charge price regardless of the team which is playing in the lower leagues. Furthermore, the spectators intent to have a greater value of entertainment from this kind of football compared to that played in the other leagues.
All the team in the Premier league are always in competition for fan base. These fans are the ones who come to watch whenever their teams are playing. The presence of sizeable fans in itself is a good sign of club success. In recent times, there has been a rise in ticket value when certain teams are playing. Such activities are aimed at increasing the revenue base for these clubs by taking advantage of the fans that are willing to pay for these tickets regardless of their price. In economic view, this is a very advantageous point for the clubs as they have the control of their incomes compared to situations where a club is not assured of unwavering support. The presence of strong base of supporters in the field is always seen to affect the outcome of the matches by forming a bond with their teams (Charleston, 2008). They also tend to instil a lot of encouragement to the players as well as criticising the poor performers. In economic view, spectators represent the demand for the product and they have a right to demand a quality product which corresponds to what they have paid for. It has therefore become very important for the teams to maintain a high quality in their plays to the satisfaction of their fans. On top of valuing team work of the players, the team recognises the individual contribution of each and every player.
These clubs have also been known to have a better performance due to their increased security in terms of revenue gain, better payment for the players and the management team. For economic survival, the league management allows for the transfers of the players between teams regardless of the expiry of their contractual period. This is seen as a way of getting the clubs out of financial strains such as liability to pay expensive players. This is done regardless of their high value in the club which might even be higher than the financial gain derived by the club. It has therefore become evident that, financial security is always a matter of concern for these teams. The teams can therefore undertake a financial risk in either acquiring high value players who can help their performance and secure their survival in the league (Peterson, 1997). On the other hand, they can also reduce a financial burden by disposing expensive players in due time.
The premiership football has created an important focus on the management of a team in order to achieve the desired field and economic results. The situation has created for the need of a manager to control the contribution of each player through performance in the field. A poor performance of a team is associated to lack of managerial skills of a coach who in most cases dubs as the manager. The most appropriate actions that are always taken by the teams management is termination of their contracts. This is done as a way of trying to improve the image of the team in the eyes of the spectators. This is a classic example of a characteristic facing the managers of these teams where job security is not guaranteed but it has been pegged on performance. In most cases, termination of services of a manager is a logical decision taken with a view of improving the fortune of the club (Norwood, 2004). In some rare cases, disruptions in change of managers cause short-term disruptions on the teams. New managers may take time before organising football in short-term. However, for the poor performing teams, change of managers has resulted in significant improvement of the quality of their field performance.
The issue of the costs incurred in building of large capacity stadiums has become a hotly contested issue. This is in the view of the benefits these stadiums brings to these cities. Even though these games may have the capacity to generate a large income in one sitting, they occupy a large space in terms of land which could be used in other daily activities. In addition, these games are not played in daily basis which beats the logic behind utilising such a large mass of land for a single project (Greenlee, 2001). However, the councils and other businesses near the stadiums derive a lot of benefits during such matches.
Branding
All of the teams in the English football have become identical in the way they identify themselves using team brand names in and out of the field. These brand names have helped the teams to advertise themselves without any confusion with other teams. In this these teams have had the capacity to improve their revenue base through sale of merchandise like team branded T-shirts, scarfs, key holders to people who wants to be associated with these teams (Shobe, 2008). To other teams in the world, successful branding of a team can go along way in helping the team gain economic in and out of the field.
Recommendations management and governance of English football
Even though there is a great deal of success associated with English football, there is need to improve the financial management of teams to reduce the large burden of cash deficit that always sends these teams into economic hardships. Most of these top teams have debts incurred in the process of acquiring expensive players who do not necessarily translate to improved team earnings on the ground. The aspiration to arrive at a profitable end and reduce their debts should push clubs to employ stringent economic principles which govern ns their expenditures based on their income. The teams involved should also be made to give their managers a security in their service so as they can have enough time to prove their worth. Some of the best performing teams have been consistent n retaining their managers who have on the other hand given their best. If this is emphasised in other teams, there would be greater improvement (Barry, 2001). To control the rogue spending patterns in clubs, the league organisers should institute rules governing the maximum amount of money a team can spend on buying of players. This is aimed at regulating the distribution of the players among the top teams
English football has gained a lot of significance in the world football arena especially after the formation of the premier league. Other than having the first national team in football, England has continued to give a leadership in various fields of football. The style of management of this league is without doubt one of the best in the world. There is however some areas that the league and the English football as a whole can improve on. The relevance of English football is in the way it incorporates a coalition of best layers from different countries hence becoming the pacemaker of the world football.
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