Football clubs need to get their houses in order

Wage pressures are depressing the value of football stocks, according to David Poole, director at Singer & Friedlander. Over the 12 months to the end of April 2001, Manchester United stocks are down 51.60% while Newcastle stocks have fallen 31.83%. Over the same time period, the FTSE All Share has fallen by 4.43% while the FTSE Leisure, Entertainment and Hotels index, of which Manchester United makes up more than 1.5%, returned -11.74%. Poole says the pressure to pay players higher wages is taking its toll on many clubs. Chelsea, Leeds, Blackburn and Wimbledon all have high wage to play...