Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Despite not being involved in the final stages of the highest quality club competition in the world, the Premier League flexed its financial muscles when Chelsea were paid an astonishing £151m for winning the title, a whopping 50 per cent increase on last year.
The recently-concluded season was the first in which finances were distributed from the latest TV deal – a total of £2.4bn was paid out to all of the clubs participating in the top flight.
Even Sunderland, whose season finished in January (there may be a little poetic license there) received £93m, more than Leicester City received the previous season when they won the title.
Despite the phenomenal funds available, the Premier League has the best record of all European countries in distributing revenues evenly, with a differential of only 1.6:1 between the top and bottom clubs.
This all helps to explain why English clubs feature heavily in the list of the richest clubs in the world, with six ranking in the Top 10.
Another interesting fact is that only a handful of Premier League clubs are now owned in the UK, with only Stoke City and West Ham United of those remaining from last season being able to proudly fly the Union Jack.
The US is the best represented with seven clubs owned across the Atlantic. The Financial Fair Play regulations (FFP), that have made clubs more profitable, have continued to attract investors with many now owning clubs via tax havens.
The Premier League also paid out £220m in parachute payments to teams in the Championship with those relegated the season before (Newcastle, Aston Villa and Norwich) the highest earners.
It is therefore refreshing to see a club as well managed as Huddersfield Town succeed in securing promotion from the Championship, beating numerous clubs who spent far more, in the process securing a windfall that will exceed £200m.
If they succeed in staying there for another season (and 18 of the 30 clubs promoted in the last 10 seasons have managed this) then this figure will grow past £300m.
The Championship is not immune to overspending. If anything it is worse as investors strive to reach the ‘pot of gold’ that is the Premiership.
Former champions of Europe, Nottingham Forest are one of the worst examples (albeit now under new ownership) when their spending on salaries alone represented 166 per cent of their total turnover.
All of this is puts Huddersfield Town into dreamland, particularly for those supporters bemoaning their position when they opted to sack Chris Powell as manager with their side languishing in 19th place.
The mood hardly lightened with his replacement being plucked from leading a reserve team in the Bundesliga. Few, if any, had heard of David Wagner.
However, the fact that he was understudy to Jurgen Klopp and has clearly learned from the master has proven a smart piece of business. The two best friends spent four seasons coaching Borussia Dortmund together - Klopp with the first team and Wagner with the 2nds.
Occasionally dubbed ‘Baby Liverpool’, one of Wagner’s key signings was ’keeper Danny Ward on loan from the Anfield club.
Wagner, and their teams play a very similar brand of football. High energy football, with emphasis on ‘gegen-pressing’ (counter-pressing), winning second balls and attacking fluidity, speed and balance make up the essence of the pairs’ philosophy.
This system requires a particular type of player in each position to adapt to and thrive in this system, traits such as stamina, tactical intelligence and smart decision-making are essential for all players. The Terriers certainly got there the hard way, qualifying through the play-offs after securing the majority of their wins by a single goal.
The Wembley final could not have been much closer with Town securing their route to the Promised Land via a penalty shoot-out victory.
While this will be the first time that they have played in the Premier League, the club does have a rich history having last played in the top flight 45 years ago.
They also one of only four clubs (Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are the others) to have won the top league title three years in succession – although there will not be many who will be able to recall this with the hat-trick having been secured in 1926!
The Town has been quick to celebrate the club’s achievement with everything from wedding dresses and statues being draped in blue and white scarves.
Quite impressive for a town better known for inventing rugby league! Football has once again give the locals a chance to dream and make a difference – now they all feel like Giants!
