English fans pool cash to buy their own soccer team

Costs can exhaust the deepest pockets and revenues plummet if you get relegated to a lower division, notes Rory Miller, an expert in the financing of soccer at Liverpool John Moores University.

"In this country, you don't have salary caps, and you have to invest in academies because you don't have the college system from which to recruit," he says.

Take Leeds United. It was once a high-flying club that reached the semifinal of the European Champions League just seven years ago. Now it is relegated to the third-tier league.

A BETTER BUSINESS MODEL

Experts expect the new US owners (the Glazers at Manchester United, Hicks and Gillett at Liverpool, and Lerner at Aston Villa) to try new ideas to boost revenues. Merchandising (selling items with team logos) is close to the saturation point in England, but there may be growth potential overseas, they say.

And there are always match innovations to try. An English soccer match is a far briefer experience than, say, a baseball game; it's over in less than two hours.

But owners could try ramping up match-day retail sales and securing better deals for naming rights, an area in which US investors bring considerable experience.

But the popularity of Brooks's myfootballclub.co.uk reflects the concern that the arrival of astute US businessmen will pull the sport further away from its working-class roots. [Editor's note: The original version misstated the web address of the site.]

Ticket prices are rising sharply; the average premiership game costs £35, practically a day's take-home pay for someone on minimum wage.

This is where Brooks fits in. "The atmosphere at these games is petering away because there's a different type of supporter now. It's often corporate. The people who sing at games don't go any more," he says.

He cites friends, die-hard fans of Manchester United or Arsenal, who now "feel left out. People are ready to adopt a new club, and what better than a club where you can have a say in picking the team," he says.

There have been several cases in recent years of lower-tier clubs being rescued by supporters banding together in a trust. But decades of history helped spur those fans into action.

Miller says decisionmaking could be tricky. "The key thing, which applies to a big US investor or a group of fans, is who is going to choose the team manager and have you got the knowledge to do it," he says. "Because if you can't choose the right manager and your results deteriorate, you face the threat of relegation and a loss of revenue."

EUROPE'S TOP SOCCER CLUBS, 2005-06 SEASON

Although Manchester United recently ceded the top slot to Real Madrid, the English league has four of the top 10 and eight of the top 20 teams - more than any other country.

Club, revenues (millions of euros) nationality

1. Real Madrid 292.2 Spain

2. FC Barcelona 259.1 Spain

3. Juventus 251.2 Italy

4. Manchester United 242.6 England

5. A.C. Milan 238.7 Italy

6. Chelsea 221.0 England

7. Internazionale 206.6 Italy

8. Bayern Munich 204.7 Germany

9. Arsenal 192.4 England

10. Liverpool 176.0 England

Source: Deloitte & Touche

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