Qatar World Cup Football Updates

On Twitter everyone has praised the goal, especially the Australia fans, not many Tunisians.     Was this just a one off or will we see more action in this game? It's still going on so we'll have to wait and see. Leckie and McGree are sure doing their job and representing in this match. 

Australia are looking like they are dominating the match, unlike England yesterday when they left the match goaless. Other games to be held today in the barrage of Qatari football are Poland Vs Saudi Arabia, France vs Denmark and Argentina vs Mexico. Things are about to get too spicy for the pepper, here in the middle eastern heat. Check back on our blog soon for more football news. Make sure you also subscribe to the Mike Garlick blog here. 

Burnley FC Wins against Sunderland

Welcome back to our football blog. Burnley, who are third in the championship now, have beaten Sunderland FC in their game yesterday with a 4-2 result to Burnley.  Goals were scored by Tella, Benson, Zaroury and Brownhill for the Clarets, with Sunderland's Amad Diallo and Dan Neil getting their own goals against us. The team were thrilled with their second half comeback, after being 2-0 down at the break and overall result at the end of the match. 

Nathan Tella, who scored with a header, has given his verdict on the teams performance and said they didn't play to their full capability in the second half, and that Sunderland gave them a challenge in the first half, however the Clarets emerged victorious once again. Clearly Mike Garlick's team are in top form. 

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 The £65m loan to buy Burnley – and what it means if they go down

Due to a quarter of the Premier League’s central distribution of media income being made up of merit payments, where Burnley finish in the league table plays a big part in how much they bring in.

In 2017-18, when they achieved seventh place, media income was £121.5 million. In 2018-19, when they came 15th, Burnley earned £115 million, a figure boosted by UEFA money from their Europa League campaign. In 2019-20, a 10th-place finish brought in £113.5 million and last season’s 17th place was worth £103.9 million. These two payments were slightly reduced by Burnley’s share of the rebate the league gave to broadcasters after the 2019-20 season was suspended for three months.

Match-day income (£4.6 million to £355,000) and catering sales (£2.1 million to £115,000) naturally saw significant drops as fans were unable to attend games until the final home game of last season, and only then in a reduced capacity.

There was also a drop in commercial activities from £11.8 million to £9.2 million. This is an area ALK targeted to improve when it arrived. It is perhaps unfair to criticise their efforts after just seven months, particularly as they came during a pandemic, but it shows the challenge of making Burnley everybody’s favourite underdog.

Much will depend on what ALK learned from the commercial review it undertook last year.

The first move after the review was to terminate the shirt and sleeve partnership with Asian betting company LoveBet. ALK says it has lots of ideas for growing Burnley’s commercial income. Only time will tell how successful they can be at that.

Retail sales dropped slightly from £1.8 million to £1.6 million but £1.8 million was also the figure in the 2018 and 2019 accounts, which suggests there might be a finite number of people in the world willing to buy Burnley merchandise.

Their total wage bill has gradually increased during their ongoing six-year stay in the Premier League. It hit £100 million in 2019-20, although this was due to the club extending their financial year to 13 months to better reflect the pandemic-stretched campaign. A fairer 12-month comparison, with 2018-19, put the figure at £94 million.

Last year, Burnley’s wage bill fell to £86 million — the first time it has decreased since 2016, when the club returned to the Premier League with a payroll of £61 million. Investment over several years in the recruitment department and academy, which has risen to category one status, were key reasons behind the increase in costs.

However, despite the drop in wages, the total number of staff actually increased from 251 to 267. This increase in staff was seen away from the field with the number of players, managerial and training staff decreasing from 156 to 133.

Due to the reduced turnover, Burnley’s wage-to-turnover ratio increased from a respectable 70 per cent to 75 per cent, which is more of a concern but not unsustainable if they manage to remain in the Premier League.

Former chairman Mike Garlick got the club ready for a takeover boosted the bank balance but meant signings were rare. Burnley signed Collins, Dale Stephens and Will Norris during the accounting year, with those arrivals largely offset by the departures of Jimmy Dunne, Josh Benson and Ben Gibson.

This relative inactivity can be seen in the falls in the club’s amortisation bill from £32.3M to £21.4M and the profit made from player trading, which was down to £5.1M. According to a recent post, amortisation is the accounting method for writing off the cost of new players over the course of their contracts.

These numbers do not include the signings of Cornet last summer or the winter-window sale of Chris Wood to Newcastle, but a note tells us the net expenditure on transfers since June 2021 is £1.3M.

What these accounts highlight is just how crucial Premier League survival is for Burnley. If they do not succeed in their quest to stay up, alarm bells will do their thing.

Alan Pace has maintained the ALK takeover is sustainable from day one and that plans are in place for relegation. Those plans may be put to the test far sooner than he would have hoped. Keep up-to-date with the latest Mike Garlick Burnley news here. 

 August Fixtures

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 Kompany apointment as manager of Burnley FC

Burnley chairman Mike Garlick has reiterated the club's takeover stance insisting that the future of the Clarets is in prime focus.

Burnley are in talks with two interested parties with Egyptian businessman Mohamed El Kashashy and sports lawyer Chris Farnell and American investment group ALK Capital LLC keen on a deal.

El Kashashy and Farnell are confident of securing a deal and it is understood that the pair have signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA), provided proof of funding and are awaiting Owners' and Directors Test clearance.

But ALK remain very much in the running and harbour hopes of completing a deal themselves having continued to hold talks with Clarets officials last week.

Burnley released a statement during the international break to confirm talks were ongoing and Garlick has now had his say on the subject.

"You will have read the statement I issued recently regarding investment in the club," said Garlick in the programme for Burnley's Premier League game with Crystal Palace on Monday night.

"Nothing has changed on that front, other than to say we remain in discussions with interested parties regarding future investment in the club.

"We won’t comment further until any discussions reach a conclusion, but I would just reiterate and reassure everyone that the future of Burnley Football Club remains the primary concern in these issues.

Any potential investment needs to support the club’s long-term sustainability and retain its position as a cornerstone of the local community.

"As custodian, you would expect nothing less from me and so, any final decision will only be made once we are satisfied all criteria have been met."

The future of the club being at the forefront of Garlick's mind will be of great significance to Clarets fans who have been concerned about the involvement of Farnell given his associations with Charlton.

It is understood that should he and El Kashashy come in then they would not be looking to asset strip the club or secure funding against either Turf Moor or the training ground while they would be keen to retain all staff.

That won't prevent a degree of trepidation from the supporter base with some voicing their discontent at the prospect of an El Kashashy/Farnell takeover on social media, although Burnley's statement that the future of the club remains the primary concern should come as some reassurance.

With the two camps both painting a positive picture, it remains to be seen who, if either, will get a deal over the line but everyone involved wants a resolution in the coming weeks.

There was hope from both interested parties that concluding something by the end of November was a possibility but it now seems likely any resolution won't be reached until next month.Find out more about Mike Garlick Burnley here 

Football News

Welcome to the latest post on our football blog. Chelsea and their players have been in a state of limbo after the UK government imposed sanctions on Roman Abramovich, putting the sale of the club on hold and leaving the European champions at risk of falling into financial difficulties. Roman Abramovich’s attempts to sell Chelsea stopped following his UK asset freeze. Club given licence to carry on with football-related activities. This has been the focus of intense focus online:

Players are concerned about the direction of the club and, by extension, their own futures, and are desperate for clarity. They are alarmed because one of the stipulations that have arisen from the sanctions is that Chelsea are unable to sign players or renew existing contracts. One dressing-room source said it was “chaos”, with people fearing that the club could go into administration.

 The club have been given a special licence that will allow them to fulfil their fixtures, but faces an uncertain future after Abramovich’s assets were frozen because of the oligarch’s said connection with Putin and the Russian government. Chelsea have confirmed that their men’s team’s Premier League game against Norwich on Thursday night will go ahead. In a brief statement the club said it will ask the government to alter the terms of the licence.

Abramovich, who has come under intense scrutiny after Russia’s invasion, will not be allowed to profit from the sale of Chelsea. Government sources said they are open to considering an application for a new licence that would permit a new owner at Stamford Bridge if a suitable bid emerges. However, there lacks clarity about where the money from any sale would go, it is said.

We will be keeping a close eye on things to see how they unfold and what impact this has for the game. Find out more about this ongoing situation on our football blog. You can also check back for the latest Burnley FC and Premier League Updates coming soon! Find out more about Mike Garlick Burnley Football Club and the team here. Make sure you subscribe to our blog and leave your comments below. 

 Burnley FC announce charity support

In the run up to their game against Watford, which resulted in a 0-0 draw on Saturday, Alan Pace has made some announcements. He stated that £2 from every £10 ticket will be donated to Tommy’s, a charity close to Ben’s heart. Tommy’s helped continue to help thousands of people every day who have been affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth. Hoping to get the team up the league, and also support their local community, Burnley FC have also announced more donations and ticket price freezes.

The Clarets also agreed to donate a thousand tickets for the game to their award-winning charity. This is called Burnley FC in the Community. The charity has been distributing the tickets to local schools in return for a donation to ELHT&Me, the charity of East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. ELHT&Me fundraise to help enhance patient and staff environment and experience across five local hospitals - Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, Burnley General Teaching Hospitals, Accrington Victoria, Clitheroe, and Pendle Community Hospitals.

They have decided to freeze our season ticket prices again, as we have for a number of years now. Good news, season tickets are now on sale at the frozen prices. Mike Garlick is known to attend the matches, and so you may just see him there. Burnley FC in the community is focussed into key areas: Education & Employability, Community Welfare & Inclusion, Football Development and Community Facilities. They deliver over 50 community projects that touch the lives of people of all ages in communities in and around Burnley.

Their aims include to Support the community to live healthy lives, create a level playing field for all to engage in sport and physical activity, ensure we are a needs-led charity and focus on addressing the ‘root cause’ of social issues. Burnley FC in the Community also support and inspire children and young people to reach their full potential. You can get in touch with the registered charity by email at: community@burnleyfc.com . Find out more about the football club and director Mike Garlick online.

 Watch this video with Mike Garlick to learn more:

 Burnley FC Fail to get Win against Watford