Pastures new

This will be the last blog for the foreseeable future as I concentrate on my new role as CEO of the World Match Racing Tour as of June 28th.


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Jim O'Toole
Chief Executive






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A solution to spiralling debt in English Football

As the crisis at English Premier League club Portsmouth lurches on and the ownership of a good old fashioned English club passes from one disinterested overseas owner to yet another, the simple cause of their problems and those which will all clubs must face is blatantly obvious......the money all goes on players.

Acquiring,paying, motivating players, and paying their agents to get them in, and sometimes to move them out.....that,reader,is the cause of the problem....The Premier League will soon be announcing the millions of pounds they have generated centrally from overseas television rights. The destination of the money, after it has been divided and allocated...players.

Why? Simple a vicious, nasty and self destructive circle that get a club to the promised land of the Premier League, then suck the life out of it...buy better players, pay big fees to acquire them, pay them top dollar, we must stay up/we must make Europe/we must make the Top 4/we must get to the group stages of the Champions League....All to feed the all consuming monster that is the wage bill.

Here is an alternative plan; The PL collectively say enough is enough. We need to draw a line in the sand that says at the end of season 2013/2014 we will have standard contracts for all our member clubs that offer four tiers of player salaries. (The numbers used are to illustrate the concept)

Tier One Big Star, base salary £2.5m per year.
Tier Two,established player base £1.5m per year
Tier Three younger player base £ 1.0 per year
Tier Four; entry level potential star,base £750k per year.

The club then allocates an agreed and transparent percentage of revenues to a huge incentive scheme in which all tiers are incentivised to deliver on and of the pitch, with each category getting an agreed slice of the money. Everybody knows where they stand, everybody knows what is expected of them.

Challenges: The players won't come to England.....so what, get back to growing home grown players let them try and make the big money in failing Euro economies like Spain.....good luck

This will give the businesses, the clubs, control of their industry, not their employees and the headhunters they use to acquire talent.

All it needs is a collective view and the vision to see it through

A short essay on sports stars as role models

The new rules on sports stars as role models:


They are famous for being good at sport, it doesn't make them role models.
They are people, just like us,enjoy them for what they excel at but don't expect them to provide you or your kids with moral guidance. We have no right to judge them for human failings.

Two Frenchmen misusing their hands...slightly different approaches by Football and Rugby

Case One: Gouging in Rugby

Stade Francais prop David Attoub has been banned from rugby for 70 weeks for gouging an opponent's eyes during a Heineken Cup match. His teammate Julien Dupuy had already been banned for 23 weeks for a similar offense in the same match but disciplinary officer Jeff Blackett says Attoub's behavior constituted "the worst act of contact with the eyes that I have had to deal with."

Tournament organizer European Rugby Cup imposed the punishment Tuesday, four days after finding Attoub guilty.

Attoub is banned until April 22, 2011, but can appeal against the sanction any time in the next three days.

Case Two : Deliberate Handball in Football


FRANCE'S captain, Thierry Henry, has escaped punishment for his infamous handball in the 2010 World Cup finals play-off against Ireland, FIFA has announced.

France was losing 1-0 at the Stade de France on November 18, having won the first leg 1-0, when Henry set up William Gallas in extra-time for what proved to be the decisive goal after illegally controlling the ball with his hand.

FIFA's disciplinary committee said it was powerless to punish the striker because the original misdemeanour had not been seen by match officials. ''There is no other legal text that would allow the committee to impose sanctions for any incidents missed by match officials,'' it said.


Ok, handball doesn't hurt anyone,gouging does and is the most disgusting foul in rugby if not in any sport....but the comparison show the difference in how sports are embracing video technology......FIFA, time to catch up with ERC who have shown in several recent cases that they are prepared to take a stand to defend the integrity of their competition and their sport

Hicks Jr , CRM and delicate souls

OK, he was wrong to vent his frustration in an e mail to a persistent fan and Hicks Jr has paid the price, pro tem, with his place on the Liverpool board. He is perfectly entitled to think what he wrote, indeed to type it in a late night giggle to himself, but pressing send was an unfortunate error. Not smart, but 'fess up, who hasn't done it, had a laugh and pressed delete.

Indeed who has done all of the above and then accidentally pressed send or indeed cc'd the subject of e mail vitriol accidentally.

Think for a second of the counter argument, how many fans had access to his e mail address and how much abuse had HE received.

I also smiled at the specific fan group involved, whose delicate soul of a spokesman who " couldn't bring himself to repeat the vile comments" included in said mail, as if he'd never heard swear words at Anfield

Togo & the Cup Of Nations in Angola

Much furore this weekend about the sad events in Angola which saw three people die and several injured in a gun attack on the Togolese national Team coach en route to Cabinda City for the African Cup of Nations and whether the event should be allowed to continue. Emmanuel Adebayor's incredibly lucid and descriptive interview with the BBC just hours after the event convey some sense of the horror. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/8449611.stm

I am struck by the unfortunate approach of many British and European media and the willingness to involve South Africa as hosts to this year's FIFA World Cup in the same argument about security. Yes it's the same sport, same continent but totally different geographies .Cabinda to Cape Town is approximately the same distance as London to Tunis. Nobody cancelled the Ashes Tour

I also feel for the organisers CAF and the national federation of Angola but the question remains, why on earth was a high profile National sports steam allowed to drive through a region that was so obviously dangerous?, cost,convenience or rank carelessness? . The decision making process that allowed that trip to take place is where the questions should focus not on a small African state's ability to host a major event.

My view is that the event should continue and the decision on Togo's involvement should rest entirely with the players and team management, they are the ones who have suffered, it is their call. We often hear and use the expression , "It's only a game and nobody dies", in this case someone did die and the group responsible have achieved their goal, cancelling the tournament would only serve to amplify their message a hundredfold. Play the tournament and give Togo all the support they need either way.

A refreshing little antidote to cheating in pro sports

I stepped in to referee my son's Under 10 team's big match today, Holy Trinity Hawks v St James Harriers, two teams first and second in their league.


It was a great match played in the right spirit with two well drilled, enthusiastic kids and the hardest decisions the rookie ref had to make was a handball (against us)that lead to the first goal and a couple of over enthusiastic tackles.

Fast forward to the second half, we are 2-1 down and crawling all over them looking for an equaliser that would set us up nicely for the second half of the season after Christmas.

3 minutes to go we get a corner, our midfielder hits it and it ends up in the back of the net without another player touching it....a George Best moment, wild celebrations all round... but wait, the goalie and the away coach who was on the goal line said it had gone in through a gap in the side netting.....drama.... what the hell to do???, looked like a goal to me, easy to look like a cheating "homer" so I did the simple thing and asked the kid who took the corner.....answer : "It did go in through the side netting", no goal.... peep, goal kick and despite a couple of good chances Holy Trinity Hawks lose 2-1.

Well done Master B, Mum and Dad should be proud of you.

The great news is that the Thierry Henry Factor hasn't filtered down yet and kids understand the difference between right and wrong and that drawing or winning by a lie or cheating doesn't feel anywhere near as good as doing it the right way, long may it continue !

Who would be a football manager?

It has been an interesting week for football managers with episodes highlighting the trials and tribulations of management at different levels in the English game.

Just look the scenarios of Messrs Pullis, Deehan and Magilton.

Pullis of Stoke City in England's Premier League was disappointed in his team's lack of guts at Arsenal last Saturday and decided on the spot that the previously approved Players Christmas Party would now only mean one day off not two....poor James Beattie stood up for his teammates heartbroken at the thought of only one night partying in the Smoke and allegedly got up close and personal with the Boss. Club back manager player probably on his bike in the January window.

John Deehan, assistant Manager of non league Kettering Town ( much loved as the first ever English club to have a shirt sponsor under legend Derek Dougan in the 1970's and fathers of an entire industry) gets the boot for making three substitutions,in an FA Cup replay against Leeds United, his manager was playing in goal at the time. In another throwback to the 1970's the owner was so annoyed at missing the chance of playing Man Utd in the next round, he chopped him on the spot. Manager backs assistant, but openly admits he really needs the job and the money, tough situation for him.

Now Jim Magilton of Championship side QPR, who had been on a great run but have stalled, has been suspended after another alleged close discussion with a player who had disappointed him in the performance against Watford. Owners suspend manager, backroom staff walk out in solidarity, player asks for a transfer.

The common thread is that all three are very experienced football men who have been around the block and seen it all in dressing rooms across the various levels of professional football.

A football manager does not have the same range of management tools available to him that managers in Industry and there are times when, in a man's environment the only answer is a full and frank man to man conversation.

Similar restrictions apply to managing upwards, with the quixotic behaviour of some owners presenting situations that they don't teach you at Harvard Business School.

Add to that the day to day pressure of managing extremely well paid athletes who have their own agendas and it is a real challenge.

Who would be a manager?

Tiger Woods is not a robot after all.

So Tiger has come clean and issued a mea culpa over transgressions and sins, blaming the media for catching him on and kicking up a storm. Media commentary goes mad and speculation about sponsorship deals is rife.

The curse of the Gillette Three has Procter & Gamble marketing guys reviewing media spend commitments and Frau Federer on edge and checking her hubby's voice mails, and in certain sectors of the media and sports marketing world there is an unhealthy dose of schadenfreude that Mr Perfect has taken a fall.

So let's forget for a second that this is a major drama for him and his family and think about the Tiger Woods brand.....most of his endorsements are, (or have been) from heavyweight safe, blue chip corporate brands that appeal to the mass market of 25-54 year old males who follow golf..Gillette,GM, Netjets, Nike etc, Brands which fit the projected image of the corporate golf world.

Here's a prediction....his image among younger consumers will go from Boring Robot who plays perfectly and says nothing of interest other than the odd expletive of frustration on the course to Cool Guy, and you'll see some big new slightly edgier brand endorsements in the pipeline.

Looking objectively at it, it is not a surprise and he shouldn't be damned for his situation. He'll be back and maybe we'll all like him a little more as he's proved he is actually human after all.

It takes a big man to put his hand up when he's wrong

OK,first things first a confession, I'm Irish and I support the Irish football team and I'm a tad disappointed at the result of last night's World Cup Qualifier in Paris. Although I fully expected France to build on their first leg lead and win comfortably,the outcome was not a shock, the way it transpired was.

Thierry Henry; let's give him the benefit of the doubt on the first touch, it may have hit his hand, the second touch in which he scooped the ball round was blatant, clear and unequivocal cheating. Adrenaline took over and he couldn't help himself, pass to Gallas, un-zero, les bleus. 15 minutes later , tout fini, France off to South Africa, an average Irish team stays at home and goes off to the beach.

I wake up this morning, annoyed but hey ho, on we move, it was a game of football and nobody died. I'm lying in bed listening to a sports talk radio station when an irate caller said, "I'll never buy another Gillette product again"

Gillette spend millions a year using Henry, Federer and Woods in product advertising, all chosen for their clean images, character and manliness.

It leads to the question: Can we envisage the morning after the US Masters a similar debate on Tiger taking an air shot and denying it to the world's press.....highly unlikely....ditto Federer on a dodgy line call, can't see it.

Imagine the flip side. 10 seconds after the ball hits the back of the net Henry does the decent thing goes to the ref and says "Sorry, No I handled it" and becomes one of the world's greatest ever sportsmen, sports heroes and a genuine role model, France go on to win in extra time or on penalties and he is a global icon.

Wouldn't that have been something? How in awe would the world have been? Sponsors would have been lining up,a global hero to kids and adults alik.

Back in the real world, will an Henry endorsement ever have the same ring and is this his defining moment in terms of his personal legacy....?


Shame,,,,,,great footballer, but putting his hand up was a step too far

PPV Internet Streaming of Ukraine v England Football Match is progress, not a drama

Today's announcement that the Ukrainian FA have sold the UK broadcast rights to the Internet streaming operation of Perform Group has been greeted with howls of protest from media and traditionalists that all England games should be broadcast on free to air television at best and digital broadcasters at worst.

A couple of points some to mind;

It is not an FA decision, the broadcast rights belong to the home federation and they make the call on the offers they receive from international broadcasters, so no point making a drama on the airwaves or in cyberland forums.

This medium will, with the convergence of technologies, be an accepted part of our sports media industry landscape and a way in which we consume sport,very very soon, so we need to test it as sports marketers, as broadcasters and importantly as consumers.

The game is a dead rubber as England have already qualified, so what better opportunity to introduce the concept?

Another example of the speed with which the sports media landscape is changing, next stop live streaming on hand held devices.

can you blame sponsors for pulling out?

From the excellent www.sponsorpitch.com website anda very short blog from me, can you really blame them, who wants their logo all over images of blatant cheating? Clients always used to use the argument, " We don't want our logo on images of a crash"....

Hard to get brands into the sport when their sector is on its knees, easy way to give them an out.

Renault's sponsorship programme will recover but sports lawyers worldwide
will now working on a new clause....team corporate morality.

ING announced today that in light of the verdict of the World Motor Sport Council of 21 September 2009 concerning the events that occurred at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, ING will terminate the contract with Renault Formula 1 with immediate effect.

ING is deeply disappointed at this turn of events, especially in the context of an otherwise successful sponsorship. As announced on 16 February of this year, ING decided not to renew the three year sponsorship (2007-2009) contract with Renault F1 and to end its presence in Formula 1 after the 2009 season.

Earlier today, fellow Renault sponsor Mutua Madrilena, a Madrid-based insurance company, also cancelled its sponsorship of the French team with immediate effect.

Dubbed "crashgate," the wrath of F1 and its sponsors have come down upon Renault after it came to light that the team deliberately caused a crash in order to fix the result of Singapore's Grand Prix. ING had previously announced it would end its sponsorship of the Renault team at the end of this season

Cheating in sport, let's live with it?

Another day another cheating scandal in sport. Diving in football, false blood in rugby, staged crashes in Formula 1, mass indignation all around in the media and in general everyday conversation.

All these instances were about gaining an advantage, to win a game, to progress in a tournament or to win a race.

These examples reflect the pressure to compete, win and succeed whether the success is ensuring your team gets to the group stages of the Champions League(££££), the semi final of the Heineken Cup(£££) or wins a Grand Prix and sells more cars(££££££).

The pressure comes from the overriding need to deliver, on players, coaches/doctors and team management.

The Renault case is the most disturbing because a young man was allegedly asked to carry out the antithesis of his sport, crash the car rather than try to win, in the process putting himself and his competitors in potentially mortal danger.


All sad when looked through the rose tinted glasses of the Corinthian spirit that we try and engender in our kids as we teach them the importance and values of sport as a life improving activity.

Perhaps we need to add a new chapter to that book of sporting instruction. It would read something like this....when money kicks and sport becomes a business,all bets are off on the integrity front, people will do anything to win regardless of the impact on the sport and the hopes of fans and spectators, so expect it.

A simple and increasingly true perspective that perhaps we just need to acknowledge and live with it.

Club Rugby at Wembley with Saracens

On a beautifully sunny Autumn Saturday I decided on a whim, after hearing a pre event radio interview to go to the Saracens v Northampton Saints Premiership rugby game at Wembley Stadium, the first club match to be played at Wembley in the modern era. £10 tickets for adults and £5 for kids was too good a bargain to ignore, and getting there was easy on the Chiltern Line.

With number 2 daughter interested neither in a a day out with Dad or the rugby but the pre match entertainment supplied by Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity, off we set.

The daytrip got even better when we met a friend from Beaconsfield Rugby Club who had extra tickets in The Club Wembley seats.

Leave aside the dull first half when two defences cancelled each other out,and this was a fantastic experience for which Nigel Wray, Chairman of Saracens must be congratulated. The club took a serious financial risk, £300k-400k in venue rental, depending on who you believe, and got the result they wanted with a crowd in excess of 44,000. They probably still made a loss but they made a huge statement of intent about the building of the Saracens brand as the London Tribe.

Apart from excellent weather , several factors contributed to a great experience; 44,000 people makes Wembley a great venue, not to busy and everything works so much better, queuing for access, trains, food and beverage, merchandising programme sales, betting etc.

Saracens created a crowd friendly,kid friendly example of experiential marketing where thousands of people of all ages sampled Wembley for the first time and many will have samples a Sarries home game for the first time.Excellent family entertainment with bands, dancers, and 100 kids on pitch side at half time.

The proof will of course be the numbers who become loyal or occasional paying cuatomers at Vicarage Road, on this experience they deserve to succeed.

Congratulations of thinking outside the box, Wasps, Irish and Quins will need to be careful they don't get left behind by the Saracens marketing campaign.

FIFA World cup sponsorship 1966 versus 2010

My neighbour Keith Telfer was a match day steward at Wembley Stadium for a number of games during the 1966 World Cup finals and had been promising for some time to share his memorabilia including his programmes stewards passes and badges. We spent a very enjoyable hour reading his superbly well preserved programmes from the tournament and listening to stories of other big games at which he volunteered and ushered people to their seats.
Aside from discovering that England full back Ray Wilson was actually named Ramon, and that stewards had to be on site 4 hours before kick- off, the biggest discovery was the English FA’s Acknowledgements page- the mid sixties version of sponsor accreditation- in which they thanked the tournament Sponsors which for the sake of accuracy I copy here:


The Football Association World Cup Organisation wishes to acknowledge assistance it has received from many firms and organisations. The promotional success of the eighth Jules Rimet Cup competition has been aided by valuable contributions of services and facilities from many sources including:

The Royal Garden Palace Hotel, for making available the location for the FIFA Secretariat

The Imperial Typewriter Company, Limited for the provision of 750 typewriters for use in Press Centres and Press Working Rooms in all the staging towns and cities

Roneo Limited for the loan of duplicators

Umbro International Sportswear, for supplying the shirts, shorts and hose, and Adidas the football boots, worn by the 320 boys representing the 16 participating countries during the opening ceremony, each boy will retain his equipment as a momento of the occasion

Bridport-Gundry Limited, for providing the specially designed goal nets being used on all grounds staging World Cup final series matches
W.D & H.O Wills for supplying the briefcases and portable desks for the use of officials, press radio and television personnel

Note the loan of the photocopiers and the fact that the briefcases were supplied by a cigarette manufacturer

Compare this with the multi-million dollar 8 year, category exclusive sponsorship programmes, global activation, brand integration activities now operated by FIFA for South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014 and smile at the simplicity and pragmatism of it all and how much our industry has grown in a mere 44 years!

the vices of sports stars, new depths plumbed by Michael Vick

In the UK , we are used to sports stars excesses, e.g. drink driving, spending gazillions on a team ates birthday party,thousands on the horses, playing hide the sausage with page three girls etc etc...all fairly routine and boring News of the World fodder....imagine the headline "Premier League player vows to give organising Dog Fights and to campaign for dog welfare"

step up Michael Vick of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles

Vick Vows To Help End Dogfighting –, Michael Vick spoke out and told the world that he will now be an advocate to help stop dogfighting. He continued on to apologize once more for all that he has done wrong and admits that he was at fault for running an illegal dogfighting chain. Later this week CBS Sports’ James Brown who interviewed Vick commented that he felt Vick’s apology was sincere and that he was deserving of another chance on the field to prove so. Now keeping in mind that Vick has officially signed a short-term contract with the Philadelphia Eagles
and that the NFL is giving him another chance, do you think we will ever see Vick land a solid sponsorship agreement in the future? The Eagles think Vick will be a positive face for preventing animal cruelty in the community.


Sir, we salute you for Celebrity Innovation....you could not make it up

Ashes Alcohol sponsorship bandwagon frenzy

Disappointing to see serious sports journalists in the UK jumping on the Silly Season bandwagon screaming that alcohol sponsorship should be banned because a few beered up English cricket fans gave the Aussie Cricket captain a bit of stick at the Birmingham Test.

A couple of thoughts:

The media can't have it both ways...righteous indignation at exuberant fans after weeks, no months, of over hyped media build up, from Beefy to Jerusalem to 2005.

The Aussies thrive on confrontation on and off the pitch. Ricky Ponting is a master of the mind games and a bit of stick from a pissed up Brummie isn't going to offend him.Google him to see how many sportsmanship issues over the year.

Australia is the home of cricket sledging, they invented that part of the game. Professionals of any sport that has taken them to Australia will attest to the lively interaction with fans.

Lastly, every organisation in the sport welcomes beer and other sponsors with open arms, from the media corps to the players to national federations to the global governing body.

Does having beer sponsors involved with the teams change the fan behaviour, not a jot.


Drinks sponsors are a key part of our industry.....not their fault, so jump off the bandwagon guys.

The Harlequins Blood Injury Mystery

I was at the Quins v Leinster Heineken Cup game which recently resulted in a one year ban for the player involved, winger Tom Williams and a £215k+ fine for Harlequins.

I recall the animation on the Leinster bench when Williams did his Ronaldo style wink to his bench as Nick Evans re-entered the fray at a point in the game when his kicking could have swung the game Quins' way. I put it down to a technical rules argument about whether a player who had already been replaced could re enter the game.

Little did we know that it would result in a huge fine for the club and a year long ban for the player.

It begs some interesting questions.....if he was using fake blood, did the coaching/medical staff give it to him? in which case why punish the player so harshly, surely it wasn't his call to use the alleged fake blood, presumably in capsule form?? Is fake blood a standard item in a physio's kit bag?

If the infringement did take place, why not punish the doctor or the physio, both of whom have been exonerated? and finally does it matter that much? Have the European Rugby Cup overreacted in trying to protect the integrity of the game, .....the penalties are indeed draconian....

I suspect an appeal will see reductions all round.

when your football team are suddenly the rich kids

A slightly odd feeling as Manchester City splash another £25m on Carlos Tevez, a great buy as he is a real footballer, combining top class skill with the right attitude but it reinforces the barely credible position that we are now the financial powerhouse in the Premier League.

Zabaleta, SWP, Santa Cruz, De Jong, Kompany, Bridge, Given, Tevez, possibly Adebayor and goodness knows who else before the window slams shut in August.....compare this to not very long ago when we were in the old third division playing(and losing twice to) Wycombe Wanderers, with stars like Big Bob Taylor, God Bless Him!.

The debate over City and the new money is futile, it is what it is, our owners are the owners and they can if they so desire have a multi million pound star in every position.

Will we City fans for whom the phrase long suffering was coined, be comfortable as the new Chelski, who sooner or later everyone will resent as we (hopefully)start winning things and delivering against the current owners business vision and a few hundred thousand people's dreams?

How will we cope emotionally with the rich boys label? Will winning things make the spend irrelevant, especially if we do so in a cavalier style? or will we be a tad embarrassed a la Blackburn Rovers at buying success.

Being a City fan for 40+ years has presented many challenges.....let's see how this phase of being a Blue plays out....Interesting times.

The British & Irish Lions Phenomenon

I have watched several Lions Tours as a general sports fan,but with with my 9 year old son's increasing passion for the game giving me an opportunity to learn the game from the basics with him, plus a low level involvement in mini rugby administration I have come to appreciate the sport as a game rather than an excuse for a social beer.

Understanding the basic rules of a sport makes a difference to your enjoyment, and understanding the very particular spirit of rugby makes a massive difference.

A great example of this spirit is the current Lions tour, the best players from four countries sent off to Australia, New Zealand or South Africa knocked into a team over a very short period of time,and asked to take on a team that has been playing together for years in a high intensity three test series. On balance , they lose more than they win, making a series victory all the sweeter.

As a sporting spectacle the first two tests against the Springboks were top drawer, drama, physical battles, flowing rugby, big hits, injuries, referring errors, gouging, last minute mistakes and a last second winning penalty. Huge sporting drama on the field but it is the off the field impact of the Lions brand that has impressed me.

Media pundits claim a Lions tour will generate in excess of £100m in revenues in the host country, a phenomenal number for a tour by one team. Add to that replica merchandise ,sponsorship and television revenues in the home markets and the zeros keep cranking up.

After 20 years in sports marketing I am usually averse to the U word, unique- my usual line is that there is nothing in sport that is unique, it has all been done before- but this is different, I can't think of a similar concept in any other sport other than the European Ryder Cup team , which, whilst enjoyable for 3 days, doesn't have the same impact as a Lions tour on any level, emotional,sporting, marketing,or financial.

I tip my hat to the Lions business management team they have done a great job in driving revenues whilst protecting the incredible essence of the Lions brand at home and away.

Roll on 2013.