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Contract chaos in the National League

• The National League, known as the Vanarama National League, is the highest level of the National League System and the fifth-highest in the overall English football league system. With notable teams such as Wrexham and Notts County currently competing within the league, the recent news about upcoming contract changes has resulted in a backlash from the football community within England.
• The controversial changes to player contracts state that a player who gets injured while playing will only be paid in full for 12 weeks. Those who are sidelined for longer will then move onto statutory sick pay — £99.35 a week, payable for 28 weeks until they are fit again. In my opinion, this is a shambolic move from the PFA.
• Vanarama League players on average are earning around £700 per week. The additional stress of having to be mindful of injury whilst playing, as this would leave them unable to pay bills and make mortgage payments, will not only affect the players’ mental health but also their performances on the field. One would hope that the players take strong action against the PFA, with reports stating that player strikes are on the cards.

A new era begins — Kylian Mbappé the new France Captain.

• Kylian Mbappé has been named the new captain of Les Blues after Hugo Lloris retired from International duty in early January. The decision for Deschamps was never going to be an easy one in a squad filled with talented players and leaders, but the question is what leadership qualities does Mbappé have that put him ahead of more senior players in the squad ?
• The 24-year-old has reportedly been picked by Didier Deschamps to facilitate a specific role within the team as it goes through a major transition with various youngsters coming through the ranks. According to Mbappé his role is to “be a unifier, to bring my team along with me. I am the link between the generations.”
• It hasn’t been a smooth process for Mbappé as there are some teammates who are disappointed by the decision such as Vice-captain Antoine Griezmann which is very much understandable. The Atlético de Madrid forward has been one of Didier Deschamps most reliable players since he made his first appearance for France in 2014. Thus, one can understand why Griezmann would feel frustrated .
• Deschamps stated that “Antoine’s disappointment lasted two minutes. There is not the slightest problem, like the whole group. Everyone gave off positive vibes’’. For me I do believe that it is all just smoke and mirrors…. Griezmann deserves to be frustrated, as Kylian’s on the pitch attitude does not often exude qualities you would associate with a leader. For now we will have to wait and see. Will this decision help France towards another European honors or will it turn into a footballing nightmare for Deschamps.

Brighton are in dreamland — both football-wise and finance-wise.

• Brighton & Hove Albion’s financial statements for the year ended June 2022 cover an impressive season in which they finished 9th, their highest ever Premier League finish.
• Since then, the club has replaced Graham Potter with Roberto De Zerbi and are continuing to light up the Premier League with their possession-based football.

Profit/(loss) 2021/22

• Brighton swung from a loss of £53.4m all the way to a large profit of £24m, representing an enormous £77.4m improvement. Brighton can pay homage to their impressive scouting network as well as player development processes at the club, as transfer fees received for players such as Ben White and Dan Burn were the driving factor behind the improvement.
• Overall, revenue growth increased 19%, an impressive improvement for the club but this came with £11.5m (5%) increase in operating expenses. Below is a graph illustrating Brighton’s profit in relation to other teams in the Premier League.

Prepared by Tobi

• Brighton’s revenue was boosted by fans returning to the stadium, leading to a £20.1m increase in matchday income, which also helped drive an increase in commercial income up to £15.3m. There were further increases in broadcasting revenue, which helped drive the 19% turnover growth for the year.
• On the other hand, there has been a increase in the club’s administrative costs as a result of increases in player bonuses due to finishing 9th last season, as well as increased crowds attending the game, which resulted in additional operational costs such as more stewards for matchdays, increased matchday hospitality offerings and kiosk operations.

• Given that Brighton are only 7 points away from the top 4 with 3 games in hand, I would expect them to be playing competitive European football next season, which for me would be quite a remarkable achievement. This will come with additional benefits, such as more commercial brand deals, being able to attract top talent within Europe, and increased turnover.
• Furthermore, fees for Yves Bissouma, Marc Cucurella and compensation monies owed following Graham Potter’s departure have not been included in this year’s accounts… Don’t be shocked if Brighton’s reported turnover and profit for the 2022/2023 accounts are even better.

The most boring part of the football calendar

The last time we saw any international football we were watching what was arguably the greatest World Cup Final of this century.

In this week we have Spain playing against Norway without Haaland fit, Germany against Peru, Croatia against Wales (a side no longer able to boast having Gareth Bale in their ranks). My favourite of the games we can watch this week: Georgia vs Mongolia.

The footballing world stops when there’s an international tournament and its almost always a great spectacle and an extra treat at the end of the season or even during the season when we think about AFCON. I don’t think people dislike watching countries play football, it’s clearly the opposite, it’s just how low stakes some of the international games feel that makes international football such a tough watch sometimes.

The idea of competitions like the Nations League are of course aimed at addressing this issue but I’d argue that they still feel like glorified friendlies at an inconvenient time of the season. In 2021 Arsene Wenger as a member of FIFA shared that there had been a proposal for the international fixtures to all take part in October as one block of fixtures but that that idea had been turned down. In addition to this, the idea of a biennial World Cup had also been rejected, the important thing to note here however is the recognition that this is an issue recognised not just by fans with club allegiances but by football’s largest governing body.

Still though, football is football, being able to watch how players perform for their nations’ in comparison to what they do at club level is always interesting for those willing to take the time to engage with what at times truly feels like a different game to what we typically see on a week to week basis. Memphis Depay (before his move to Atletico Madrid served as my favourite example) as well as players like Iago Aspas, or even Kalvin Phillips who doesn’t need to play at club level to get selected for his country, or someone like Verthonghen who currently doesn’t play for a football team that the average fan watches, because of international football we’re stil able to watch players like him perform.

The shift from international football to club football is a massive and at times extremely frustrating one, but there is still a lot to appreciate about it, looking at it in comparison to club football does it a disservice because it is so starkly different, we’ve got players training in different environments with different coaches over such a compressed period of time expecting what we get from club football would be unfair, ultimately though with all its problems one could only hope that as fans we find a way to enjoy what is still the game we all love. Watch a random game if you have the time, sometimes a game where none of your personal emotional attachments are at stake is as rewarding as watching your favourite team.

My serious game of the week: Turkey vs Croatia. Anytime you can watch Modric for Croatia I think its worthwhile, that game might be kind of good, who knows?

Written by Tobi Animashahun & Khanya Moselthi