Football Whistleblower Cautions Financial Prudence

Tuesday 23 August, 2005

Dr Bill Gerrard, the academic whistleblower who exposed a looming financial debacle to shareholders of Leeds United Football Club in 2002, and one of the world's foremost experts in the business of sport, was at Sydney Olympic Park on 23 August fo a Sport Knowledge Australia (SKA) workshop in Telstra Stadium where he addressed the country's top-level sport administrators and coaches.

The Leeds United financial woes and subsequent relegation should, said Dr Gerrard, act as a stern warning to sports chiefs tempted to splash out on player salaries beyond their means in the chase for a title. “ Leeds is an extreme case,” he said. “They got carried away and, almost you could say, developed an arrogance where the normal financial rules didn’t apply to them”.

“They were over extending the club with player salaries which would have been sustainable had they achieved a very high level of success. But, when they failed to attain that success, they gambled by spending more money. Ultimately their luck didn’t change and they sunk further and further into debt”.

“It’s a case study where passion overtakes prudence.”

In certain environments, Dr Gerrard says well-policed salary caps are a must, “Without an effective salary cap, football codes have less chance of properly managing their opportunities.”

“It comes down to winning the numbers game with emphasis on getting value and using the latest scientific research to help teams allocate their budget to try and gain that competitive advantage.”

In his SKA workshop, Dr Gerrard, who is renowned internationally for his expertise in player valuation, revealed new research designed to improve the effectiveness of player recruitment and tactical deployment. He also highlighted the value of a scientific recruitment approach using as inspiration a study of the Oakland A’s, a Major League Baseball club which flourishes despite working with one of the competition’s smallest payrolls.

Photo:SKA