The new premier league 2014/2015 season starts on Saturday 16th August 2014 and will conclude on Sunday 24th May 2015.
Wether you support one of the big clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City or one of the three new teams Burnley, Leicester City or Queen Park Rangers the journey will be full of up's and down's for the fans and owners of the clubs.
Football is believed to have descended from the ancient greek game of harpaston. The rules of this anicent sport were quite simple: points were awarded when a player would cross a goal line by either kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player. The other team's objective was simply to stop them by any means possible. Football didn't really begin to take on any consistency of rules and boundaries until it was picked up as a sport in the seven major public schools of England in the early 1800's.
Many high profile business men buy a football club with the aim to make a profit. However it is still the case that buying a football club is unlikly to yield much of a return. Despite the significant TV and other commercial revenues, football clubs in England's top flight still struggle to break even. Only half the clubs in the premier league made an operating profit in the last football season 2012-13. A similar argument might explain why rich individuals buy football clubs - to make them highly recognisable figure around the world.
Running a successful business in football terms there is four basic principles. Firstly: employ a manager who knows what he is doing, Secondly: unless absolutely necessary - do not sack him, Thirdly: use all income generated to run the club, Fourthly: to generate further income.
Despite the clear difference, in order to guarantee the future of all football clubs, the worlds of football and business have to work together.
So remember when you are shouting on your team that they are a business and need your finance backing.
Bring on the new season.
Written by Thereza Dovey
