Author: Guy Thomas

Yesterday the BBC broke news of the latest claims against Portsmouth Football Club. This week it’s Sol Campbell, the short lived Notts County player who was also recently reported as having signed a new deal with Arsenal FC. Click here to view the article on the BBC.

Football clubs are no different to any other businesses in the need to keep a tight rein on their finances during a recession.What is “different” about them is the intense and sometimes intrusive public scrutiny that they are under compared to other companies of similar turnover. This scrutiny applies double if the team is not perceived to be performing on the pitch or the choices of the management are not supported by the fans.

“Increasingly, matters off the pitch are taking centre stage in the media’s mind as they seek to tell the full story of what is taking place on it” says Paul McGoohan, Sports Director of Square1 Consulting, who have advised a number of Premier League and Championship Clubs. “The media’s thirst for information and the emotive subject matter mean that is essential for executives to get the right message into the public domain. Good legal and communications advice can help club executives in successfully managing this process and ultimately assist in not losing the public battle.”

I agree with Paul’s points above; It is a truism of a financial downturn that when a company is perceived to be “in trouble” that its troubles are doubled. It is for this reason that football clubs and their stakeholders routinely employ PR consultants to work alongside their legal team during difficult times.

My top tips (below) can apply to Football Clubs, but are also transferable to any business:

1. Communicate with stakeholders and creditors concisely and accurately.

2. Don’t hide - its not going away and may get worse if you do nothing.

3. Keep on top of the “message”; if you lose control of it then you risk losing your company’s goodwill and hard fought business relationships.

4. Take advice to address the root problems. Good communications can only buy you time. Use the time wisely to address the problems behind the immediate crisis.

5.  Act quickly – try to get your message in before the rumours start.  Efficient communications with stakeholders and creditors engenders trust and can provide a useful foundation when the time comes to implement solutions and take your company forward.