standing on the brink - what causes a clubs decline

As a ‘Sports Fan’ from the North-East, I’ve seen my fair share of misery. In May 2009 Newcastle United were relegated into the second tier of the English football pyramid, ending their 16 year stay in arguably the world’s greatest domestic football league. Their relegation was well publicised, and thankfully the year in the championship wasn’t damning, even turning out to be a blessing in disguise, as The Magpies cleared out the dead wood, and a combination of class and character saw Newcastle take the championship by storm. Two and a half years later, Newcastle sit in 7th place of the Premier League, on course to make a return European football for the first time since their UEFA Cup campaign of 2007 five years ago, which ended in defeat to AZ Alkmaar, the Dutch club going through on away goals.

However not all clubs respond so well to sports setbacks, and it would be unfair not to give focus to clubs whose struggle is not as well publicised, with the giants on Tyneside already receiving a large share of the region’s media attention, possibly linked with why they bounced back so well.

In Rugby Union, Newcastle Falcons currently lie at the bottom of the Aviva Premiership 9 points adrift of safety, with even the most ardent of Falcons fans writing their team off as relegation fodder, and, as West Hartlepool RFC showed us in 1999, a club can easily fall through the divisions, and into the rugby wilderness, with the once Courage and Allied Dunbar Premiership side now playing in National League 3 North. Newcastle Falcons have been facing an uphill struggle for years, losing talented youngsters, Matthew Tait and Toby Flood, as well as club stalwarts, Carl Hayman, Jamie Noon, Tom May, and Jonny Wilkinson. The club, in these players, undoubtedly lost irreplaceable class. You would be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t familiar with the RWC heroics of Jonny Wilkinson in 2003. However, it was the attitude and character of these players, as much as their ability that kept Falcons from the drop.

Ask anyone what they’ll remember about ‘Wilko’ and they’ll probably tell you about a certain dramatic World Cup winning drop goal with his weaker foot and only seconds left on the clock or maybe some will say helping Newcastle win the 97-98 Premiership title or being one of the world’s all-time top point scorers. For me, it was something a little different. Jonny proved his dedication to the club, the area and having a strong relation with the fans, when he took the time to speak to a somewhat star struck 16 year old about his own rugby ‘career’ and how he was doing with his school work at a book signing in Hexham. I’ll always remember how interested Jonny seemed in what I had to say, and whilst he was clearly busy, he was happy to give me advice, and talk to me like he was just a normal person. It was his ability to connect with the fans that made him a key player in the Falcons side on and off the field. He and players like Tom May, my all-time favourite player who could play anywhere from 9 to 15, really made fans feel like they were cheering on friends, and the Falcons were a true representation of dedication. The Falcons may not have the financial backing to take them to the pinnacle of club rugby, but with a few more characters like May, Wilkinson and Noon to see them through their darkest hour, they will swiftly return to the Aviva Premiership.

No one can doubt the quality of support from the regulars of the region’s smaller clubs but perhaps the popularity of football and the City’s premier sports team have had an adverse effect on the quantity of neutrals, who turn up for entertainment.

It is the current state of Ice Hockey in Britain that led to Newcastle Vipers fading into the abyss. For me the writing was on the wall, when the club, playing in the top flight of British Ice Hockey, could no longer financially justify playing at the Metro Radio Arena, and moved to Whitley Bay Ice Rink. Ice Hockey does not have the same kind of cult status as it does on the other side of the pond, and whilst now defunct side Durham Wasps had a fantastic support and the atmosphere at Durham Ice Rink was always electric, Ice Hockey struggles to compete with a number of other more popular sports, for a contingent of neutrals, taking in the sport purely for the spectacle of athletes performing at the top of their game.

To a lesser extent the same can be said for rugby. The UK is very much a football country, and it’s unlikely that with the amount of television exposure and history that football clubs have, it will be difficult for any sport that shares a city with one of the top football clubs, to compete for neutral viewers. It is up to the regulars to continue their fantastic support, whether it is roaring the Falcons on through a tricky championship campaign, or packing out one of the regions ice rinks, should the Wasps or Vipers make a return.

Finally, it’s time to take a look at a club on the brink of liquidation. They compete in the world’s most popular sport, at a 25,000 capacity stadium and unlike the Falcons and Vipers, they are the only club in town, and are very much the town’s club. For those of you whose finger isn’t on the non-league pulse, I am referring to Darlington F.C. who has just entered administration for the third time, the last resulting in the Quakers being exiled from the football league. Like NUFC, Falcons and Vipers, the club has outstanding support from its regulars, unlike the Tyneside clubs; it has no other clubs to compete with.

Darlington’s decline is the result of over ambition. Much like the Greek myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, George Reynolds invested a large amount of money in Darlington in order to reach the dizzy heights of the premier league, with a £20m stadium being built as a statement of ambition. However, Darlington’s average attendance is 1885. Reynolds clearly hadn’t investigated how much return he would make on his investment, and whether the Quakers had the fan base and regular income to make it as a premier league club. He wasn’t satisfied with the lack of instant results, and left the club in 2004, Darlington have been struggling to keep on top of the running costs of the ‘Reynolds Arena’ ever since, leaving the club in a very vulnerable state, with the club’s fans facing liquidation. No fans want to be told that their club is too ambitious, and that there is a limit to what they can achieve in set period of time, but Darlington struggled to match Reynolds ambitions.

One thing that binds all these clubs together is the outstanding dedication, through thick and thin, of the fans, who are so emotionally invested in the respective clubs. I was devastated to see Vipers cease to exist, and will be more so if the same happens to Darlington F.C. I pray that something will save Darlington F.C. but if their 128 years history is to come to an end, then the club will always be remembered for the passion of the fans, who stood tall when they looked the end of their club in the eye. The Quakers may not have had the quantity of fans to reach the Premier League, but they undoubtedly have the quality.

There are three things that send any professional club to the brink.

1) Wages
2) Wages
3) Wages

a fair point, however i was trying to investigate why some clubs may struggle to make ends meet in regards to wages and running costs - fanbase seeming to be a large issue

In Darlington's case, having to pay a huge amount of rent on their ground, while getting relatively small crowds also seems to have been a factor.

I think ultimately what causes any club's decline is poor management at boardroom level and failure to plan for the future.

Obviously, swift and sudden changes can't always be planned for (manager having a row with the chairman and resigning, or a string of injuries / suspensions to key players, loss of sponsors etc.).

However, in most cases I believe the buck stops with the chairman / CEO. They're the ones that take on the manager and facilitate the buying and selling of players. If they foresee dwindling finances due to falling crowds, loss of sponsors etc. its their job to plan accordingly.

I think smaller clubs tend to depend a lot more on ticket and merchandise sales, whereas Premier League clubs look to billionaire owners to pump in the cash for players and wages.

Call me cynical, but I don't think it will be too long before we can add "loss of billionaire tycoon owners" to the list of reasons.

An interesting read JRW - might be worth contacting an admin to get it placed across all the boards rather than just Football, because it is a subject with relevance to several sports.

As someone with connections to both Leeds and Scarborough, the failure of football clubs is of interest.
Leeds issue was expenditure on the playing side (Robbie Fowler ) - chasing the dream of the Champions League without the benefit of a benefactor with extremely deep pockets. The problem with borrowing money from the bank is that they expect a return on it, and so if you fail to meet your income targets (by failing to qualify for the CL or through relegation from the PL), the debt just snowballs and you end up in real trouble. Fortunately, after a number of years stumbling round the second and third tier of English football (and being easily the biggest club in terms of supporters in their division), the club does seem to be back on a fairly even keel at least in playing terms, even if there are some questions over how Bates is actually financing things.

Scarborough's problem was more similar to Darlington's situation - not owning their own ground and so being committed to a fixed outlay just for basic operations. Scarborough's further problem was falling out of the League rather than over-ambition of the chairman and subsequent over-extension. The problem of simply not having the crowds that could support the club financially was similar to Darlington.

Newcastle were lucky in that they are probably one of the few PL teams that was equipped to go down and not suffer too much financially, because of the financial buffer provided by the most ardent and loyal group of supporters in the League. Oh, and of course heating bills at St James's Park (I'm not giving it it's other name) are much lower because the fans seem to tolerate the cold

As a Palace fan I have seen it all in the last decade...2 administrations, promotions, relegations and everything in between!!

Obviously the last administration which signalled the end of the Jordan era was a real turning point in our 106 year history. We have attained new owners in CPFC2010 a consortium of Palace fans, very rich Palace fans I may add. Instead of spunking money up the wall they have been very shrewd and brought back some stability into the club which is much needed. I would have loved mid table obsecurity but as it stands we are 1-0 in the Carling Cup Semis and sniffing around the playoffs!! Instead of spending big we have acquired a few frees and small fees and let go some of the high earners. They are actively trying to increase the fan base and improve the whole game day experience. (Google the Crystal Girls- you'll thank me ). At the moment they are offering free under 10 season tickets with an adult!

I think the key thing to remember I guess, is that growth of club has to be organic and some level...whilst pumping in cash in the short term might result in a brief success it's the strategies that are long term that are needed to get people into the grounds and supporting the team. Palace have a renowed academy with the likes of Clyne, Zaha, Williams etc. all being touted by Top 4 clubs which obviously not only will result in great players but will also lead to large transfer fees to keep the club going but thats is not an ideal position to be in. If you look at other teams such as Pompey, Charlton, Leeds and so on they tried to do too much too quickly and went belly up.

Investing in the fans of tomorrow is the key to long term success...unless you have bottomless pockets like Chelsea and Man City

You answered your own question with regards to Darlington, idiotic management from the blazers saw them dwindle away money they never had for a stadium they didn't need with a capacity they'd never fill


The expansion of the English Premier League is the crux of the problem though, it has become the be all and end all and the gulf has taken football clubs in it to a different World, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, more teams will be lost forever over the next five years, money simply has to be spredd far more evenly throughout the entire game.

The Premiership isn't the only problem though, Hillsborough was also the beginning of the end for a lot of teams in the United Kingdom, the Taylor report while well meant was a cancer to many clubs, almost every club in the land was expected seat their stadiums to great cost, many clubs realised just seating those stadiums would cut their gate dramatically so many took the decision to re-build their ground or relocate to a brand new arena, most clubs went into debt and while a lot of money was pumped into the English game the same was not afforded to Scottish sides and teams like Dundee Utd, Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibernian never recovered, in 1991

The mix of the Taylor report and the inception of the Premiership for me are by and large the biggest factors

I'm also not a fan with how the Champions League has evolved, it has breed a mind-set that is so devoid of ambition it's unbelievable, you never hear a fan now talk about challenging for the title, it's all about the top four, the Champions League itself is even worse, teams who are 4th seeds generally need to play two ties before they get in the CL then when they get there the whole competition is rigged so they become whipping boys in a tournament that is designed to make the rich richer

Seedings kills fair competitive football and sport in general, luck of the draw is far more appealing be it Football, Tennis or Darts