Unfit & Improper Persons: An Idiot's Guide To Owning A Football Club
A smart and irreverent guide to running a football club, brought to you by the team behind the acclaimed Price Of Football podcast.
Buying a football club will set you back a few quid, but you've also got to pass the FA's 'fit and proper persons' test. That all seems like a bit of a faff to the team behind the popular podcast The Price Of Football, so acclaimed comedy writer Kevin Day, football finance expert Kieran Maguire and producer Guy Kilty start an imaginary club instead.
In Unfit And Improper Persons they take West Park Rovers* on a journey from the lowest level of the FA pyramid right up to the English Football League, the Premier League and, if fortune favours the fictional, into the heart of Europe.
At least that's the plan, but inevitably they face a few challenges along the way. Where to find a shirt sponsor? What should the mascot be - is a dog called Rover too obvious? Can they pay the women's team the same as the men's team? (Spoiler alert: no-one else does.) What's the best way to avoid money laundering charges? And how can they get Messi to the Kleanwell Stadium next season, like they promised the fans?
Roofing over the toilets, paying the electric on the floodlights, salary caps, parachute payments and avoiding bankruptcy, never mind relegation - owning a football club isn't all about stuffing prawn sarnies and quaffing champagne in the directors' box.
With contributions from those in the know and celeb fans, including Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Ainsley Harriott and Jo Brand, Unfit And Improper Persons lays bare the labyrinthine world of football finance, and discover what's really going on behind the scenes of the beautiful game.
*Merch available
First published: Thursday 12th October 2023
- Publisher: Bloomsbury
- Pages: 304
- Catalogue: 9781399407540
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- Publisher: Bloomsbury
Buy and sell old and new items
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BCG may earn commission on sales generated through the links above.
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