Ryan McKnight, contributor, MSN Money, 28/08/2011 20:45

Sunderland

Play

Pause

13 of 18

Sunderland (Image: Owen Humphreys - PA Wire)

Image: Owen Humphreys - PA Wire

Owner: Ellis Short

Sunderland find themselves in a very difficult position. Successive years of losses of over £25 million and additional spend this pre-season of £7 million makes it hard to see how they are going to get anywhere near reaching a break-even position.

Chairman Niall Quinn has bemoaned the lack of capacity crowds at the Stadium of Light but in reality their big problem is a wages-to-turnover ratio of over 80%, a weaker commercial proposition than other clubs and a policy of spending to survive.

In owner Ellis Short they have a man who can afford to pay the losses, but with debts of over £50 million the future for Sunderland remains murky at best.

Profit Likelihood: 1/10

Play

Pause

13 of 18

12Comments

Best

michael (mickythefish)

29/08/2011 11:13

Get rid of ALL debt in football, Football is a sport and should not be treated as a commercial enterprise. Big teams with big names can borrow money against the club assets this gives an unfair advantage over smaller clubs. All should be given a five year period to sort out any debts. Any club not showing a black figure in the bank at the start of the season should be barred from cup football and persistant offenders docked points. Lets get the game back to being a game and not a rich mans toy for making money.

Previous replies

peter dickson (NovoCat)

29/08/2011 19:30

Football used to be a Saturday afternoon sport, with Wednesdays for cup replays and to help with fixture pile-ups. TV now dictates days and times of most top matches, without a thought for the fans. Top clubs nowadays have become status symbols for shady mega-rich characters(for want of a better description), who buy in foreign players as a ready fix, instead of nurturing home grown players. This is the crux of the problems the national team has, with so many imports and not enough British players in the top clubs.

Previous replies

Someone (MrBenggo)

29/08/2011 15:24

If football clubs were manufacturing firms the whole lot of 'em would have gone to the wall ages ago.Paying someone ridiculous amounts of money to kick a ball round a field for 90 minutes is just bloody mental.

Previous replies

Aidan Phillips (HUFC 47)

29/08/2011 21:50

Its a shame that football clubs can't fill their gounds.

The premiership may be the best league in the world but it looks bad on tv when no ones in the grounds.

Previous replies

Micheal

29/08/2011 18:17

as we all know football has gone down a very dark road like most people who take the time to write on these pages I love the game but we all know that two things are driving football that is money and greed and as usual the people who should be taking the lead like the FA and the likes of scudimore sit in their offices and do noting they just say its noting to do with us what is it they do must be a great job and yes I know we all know this but until we get someone in charge who hasn't got their snout in the trough then things will sadly remain the same so don't hold your breath

Previous replies

Dave R (One Muscateer)

11/09/2011 20:00

Anyone who believes that thetaxman gets half of the money paid to foreign footballers (and some home growns too) is deluded. They are using offshore companies as tax shields and paying very litlle if anything back to the UK. It needs sorting and quickly. Tevez has barely paid a penny in six years in the UK.

Beyond that they are overpaid anyway. All Premiership footballers should be on a base wage of not more than £2k per week which is enough for anyone. Then they can ber paid appearance money for playing for the first team, say £25k. Players on the bench are then paid proportionate to time on the field. That'll sort them out and stop clubs hoovering up all available talent.

Time to get this all sorted.

Previous replies

chris (Pandora can eat lead)

30/08/2011 17:04

I have no issue paying them big wages. They are entertainers and half goes to the taxman anyway. Falling or stagnant crowds at small - mid clubs is dissapointing but Footie is now v expensive unless you support a L1/2 club. So why not do that, rediscover what English football is all about in the lower leagues and support your local team! In answer to the Question: yes clubs can win trophies and make a genuine profit, albeit the Johnstones paint trophy or Championship title.

Previous replies

Someone122

30/08/2011 15:13

Footballers get paid massive wages because guess what? No one pays to see the chairman, club manager or groundsmen. They are the reason why so much money goes into football, want clubs were there's no debt then go and watch third division football and stop being green eyed over the fact that footballers get grands a week and you don't because you fail at life.

Previous replies

Eddy Hutchinson (annoyed red)

07/09/2011 08:56

Ryan McKnight - your obviously a very deluded Man Utd fan. Look further into the figures especially at liverpool and you will see we are more than likely to make a profit in the near future. We have agreed a new kit sponsor with Warrior Sports (record fee i beleive), we are 90% likely to extend anfield to 60,000 seater which will be full every game, we have coca cola asking for naming rights to the stadium to the tune of £200million and the owners are continually getting investment for the club, oh and we have reduced our wage bill by approx £12million! - so why you say we have no chance of profit in the near future proves you dont really know what you are talking about - do your homework before you do a right up, you gave MU 7/10 - funny. MSN - worse than the Scum newspaper

Previous replies

Mike Smith (branditus)

13/09/2011 16:40

Swansea posted a profit last year in the championship. 'if' we can survive this season, we will make a hefty profit this next year

Previous replies

william hill (Kirkby Corky)

16/09/2011 20:25

The only answer is "STOP GOING TO THE MATCH FOR A MONTH" see how the administraters and FA and Sky Sports get on with that

Previous replies

Sean Caldwell (Mr O Scar)

03/09/2011 23:03

I get annoyed when people say the premiership footballers get paid too much... they are at the pinicle of a massive sport, and just like any other business that tries to maintain tallent within its ranks, thay have to pay thier employees enough so that another employer does not snap them up.

All players are actually getting the market rate for their services... well, except for Torres.

Previous replies

Please note that articles on MSN Money do not constitute regulated financial advice, which recommends a course of action based upon the specifics of your personal circumstances. The articles are intended to provide general personal financial information. We urge you to consult an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) before making any important decisions about your finances. You can search for an IFA in your local area. Any statement regarding financial services products and tax liability is based on legislation and tax practices as at 6 April 2011, which is, of course, subject to change. The value of any tax benefits or reliefs depends upon the individual circumstances of the investor. When investment performance is mentioned you should remember that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Where products have an underlying investment content, in many cases the value of the investment can fall as well as rise. For with-profit based investments, there is no guarantee as to the level of bonuses that will be declared, if any. Where mortgages or secured loans are explained do remember that your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it. All mortgages are subject to underwriting, status and are not available to people under the age of 18.

What current account benefit would you like more of/value the most?

Medical/life insurance

35 %
Medical/life insurance
150 votes
Travel insurance

8 %
Travel insurance
33 votes
Breakdown cover

5 %
Breakdown cover
23 votes
Legal aid

5 %
Legal aid
20 votes
Tickets for cultural or sporting events

4 %
Tickets for cultural or sporting events
16 votes
Lower charges

43 %
Lower charges
183 votes
Skip to results
Back to voting

MSN Money's top five searches