American investment in 'soccer'.

[Domino 1879]

Hot on the heels of Americans buying into Palace and Bournemouth, we read of more American investment in the game with potential take over of Everton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35167102

So thats Manure, Villa, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bournemouth, Palace, us...........
Whats the motivation here?
Do any of these ventures (expt Manure) make a profit?

[Carborundum]

Owning a football club is surely, at its root, a vanity project.  Sure, use sensible business methods, keep tight purse strings etc.  But it's often what people do when they realise that, for them, the true scarce resource is time rather than money.  Mr Al Fayed didn't really try to disguise it, twirling his scarf as he ambled across the pitch to general applause.  Why is the USA providing a lot of the owners?  Well, having worked with many Americans for a long time, I'd say it's mostly because they recognise that spending time here is pretty fantastic.  I think so and don't have their boundless amounts of money.

[nose]

A vanity project?
i think that is a very nice way of putting it and i think it was ever thus.
However why american's want so to be part of what is after all an alien sport to the mainstream there is a slight mystery and to be part of a lower league team too, in our case an even greater mystery.

[Forever Fulham]

I just hope they don't leverage the club with debt to buy it (like the Glasers did with ManU).  I wonder if TV revenues hold the key.  If, say, the buyers wanted to buy U.S. TV broadcast rights, then it would more than pay for itself, especially in ad revenues... 

[YankeeJim]

A vanity project?
i think that is a very nice way of putting it and i think it was ever thus.
However why American's want so to be part of what is after all an alien sport to the mainstream there is a slight mystery and to be part of a lower league team too, in our case an even greater mystery.

I don't know how many Brits play soccer but 13 million Americans do. Aside from basketball, it has more participants than any other sport. It is also growing quickly in interest as the traditional big three (pointy ball, baseball and B-ball) show very little growth. If you are going to spend millions on a vanity project, might as well make it one that has strong growth prospects.

[Forever Fulham]

To your point, YJ, see https://www.umbel.com/blog/sports/10-data-points-prove-soccer-has-made-it-in-america/

[ToodlesMcToot]

All the Englishmen and Women I know play Football.

They play soccer too. They just have silly hangups that don't allow them to admit that the sport can have more than one proper name.

[ToodlesMcToot]

There is only one proper name, and that's Football.

Nope

[bobbo]

Yep

[YankeeJim]

There is only one proper name, and that's Football.

Then why did you lot start calling it soccer? The term comes from O' Blighty ya know.

[bobbo]

Someone must have made a mistake then, we all do sometimes that's why they sell prams , cots etc

[YankeeJim]

To your point, YJ, see https://www.umbel.com/blog/sports/10-data-points-prove-soccer-has-made-it-in-america/

Yep! We own much of the world (OK, we had to borrow the money from China) and will soon own feetball. Come the WC of 2028, 11 Americans named Martinez, will take the field and bring home glory to US soccer.  :hook:

[YankeeJim]

Someone must have made a mistake then, we all do sometimes that's why they sell prams , cots etc

Agree but the proper name is baby stroller.

[win-dup]

All the Englishmen and Women I know play Football.

They play soccer too. They just have silly hangups that don't allow them to admit that the sport can have more than one proper name.

I have never, ever heard any football supporter refer to the game as soccer in over sixty years of watching the game. It's the preserve of rugby types when they refer to football.

[bobbo]

Jim we invented it it's called a parambulator short is pram.

When I was working I directed a very pleasant American family to the airline be ticket desk , told them to take the lift , they sharply replied do you mean the elevator I said no we invented the language and it's a lift so they sharply replied we invented the elevator.
 
Horses for courses mate

[west kowloon white]

Why not?(Glaziers apart)We have dodgey Thai .Malay,PRC etc.
Any US money arriving for Championship clubs?

[west kowloon white]

The Greeks invented the "elevator" not the yanks.
Otis did a bit of tweaking.

[nose]

All the Englishmen and Women I know play Football.

They play soccer too. They just have silly hangups that don't allow them to admit that the sport can have more than one proper name.

I have never, ever heard any football supporter refer to the game as soccer in over sixty years of watching the game. It's the preserve of rugby types when they refer to football.

It's football because we invented it, and we called it that and strangely for the unimaginably brilliant reason the game is predominantly played with a ball and the feet.. ball, feet; feet, ball. Amzing don't you think. Football it was, football it is and football it will ever be. no special equipment just a ball and people.

Now what is truly bizare is to invent a game with vast amounts of armour, played predominatly with an obkject that is clearly not a ball because it is not round, and barely touched by anyones feet and call that football, just to p off the colonial masters and then pretend we play something else. Bizarre indeed.

What the fulham football club is supposed to play is 'football' not soccer. No offence and i wonder if this bit of thread was just chucked in to encourage me!

merry christmas.

PS and in England we tend to cll the premiership the Prem or premier league not the EPL, nobody here, where it is played and where it remains calls it the EPL.

[Tonywa]

They play soccer too. They just have silly hangups that don't allow them to admit that the sport can have more than one proper name.
[/quote]

I have never, ever heard any football supporter refer to the game as soccer in over sixty years of watching the game. It's the preserve of rugby types when they refer to football.
[/quote]

Only the appalling David Mellor on that Radio Five phone-in he used to try to present. 'Ninety Minutes Of Red-Hot Soccer Chat'! What an idiot! 

[ToodlesMcToot]

All the Englishmen and Women I know play Football.

They play soccer too. They just have silly hangups that don't allow them to admit that the sport can have more than one proper name.

I have never, ever heard any football supporter refer to the game as soccer in over sixty years of watching the game. It's the preserve of rugby types when they refer to football.

But you've read it referring to the game plenty.