Modernisation in sports is becoming increasingly important, and clubs and teams have started adapting to a new era in the modern world.
Ownership plays a key part in this modern shift, and clubs all across the football pyramid are looking ahead to what promises to be a competitive future in English football.
Focusing on the EFL (English Football League), the division has seen many changes in teams, and sides are becoming less able to cope with the financial pressure and power of other teams.
Teams such as Wrexham, Stockport County, and Birmingham have used their financial power to boost their on-pitch results, with Wrexham boosting themselves from the National League all the way to the Championship under their famous owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
However, in a podcast with Preston Johnson, the Crawley Town chairman, Johnson answered about why we are seeing such big names from abroad, linked to purchasing stakes in EFL clubs:
“I think of one thing that is the stark difference between American sport in general, no matter if it’s football or American football, basketball, baseball, there’s no such thing as promotion. Relegation, especially in American soccer.”
“The stakes here (England) with promotion, relegation and the upside in putting something together, and you know, moving up the ranks, it just is not something that Americans can get a piece of over there, and so, that’s probably like the competitiveness of that angle is definitely a part of it.”
Mentioning the competitive side gave a new level of understanding of the reason why English football attracts so much interest from overseas, but Johnson also mentioned another potential reason.
“I think for others that are just either football fans, sports fans, business minds that want like a passion project, they’ve already… made their money and they’re in a good place and want to try to do something unique and attach themselves to.”
Despite the excitement of a new era of ownership at your club, the road is not always a smooth one, with many ownerships causing issues and losing trust with their fan bases, something that has happened with teams such as Southampton, Crawley Town, and Gillingham.
Johnson dealt with issues just nine days into his reign as chairman of Crawley, the issue being an extremely large one.
Former Crawley Town manager John Yems was hit with a ban and a racial discrimination charge by the FA, leaving Johnson in a position where he needs to hire a new manager.
Johnson spoke on this and described it as:
“the biggest scandal in the history of the EFL”
Winning over the fans is also a key part of foreign ownership, with teams such as Birmingham and Wrexham. This was easily done due to their big, famous names and the passion they showed early on, however, this was not easily replicated when Johnson joined Crawley.
Johnson and his ownership group, WAGMI United, struggled to make a strong impression and were quickly disliked by a large number of Crawley Fans.
Johnson spoke on this: “Even our own fans kind of mocked us in the summer with our recruiting process”
With American ownership increasing, there is no guarantee of a smooth journey up through the leagues, but one thing that is guaranteed is excitement.
Hear more thoughts on our podcast with Preston Johnson – https://soundcloud.com/sam-fry3r/ownership-takeover-podcast?si=d5a9da9798ea488eb2c7120adc817f38&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
