The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast - Episode 44

Welcome to Episode 44 of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom. A serious one this week folks and a MUST for any fans of Championship, recent Championship, League One and even other clubs in the pyramid....... Sadly inspired by the demise of Leicester City and the very real possibility that they may well go to the wall, (which no fan of any other club wants to see), we have dug deep into the financial precipice that many Championship, former Championship and League One clubs in particular are hurtling towards, so we have entitled this week's episode: "The Sorry State of Football Finances - Will Football Eventually Eat Itself?" Some references by Dom in the podcast to a great read - "States of Play" by Miguel Delaney, which we would also highly recommend. But we don't care about the Premier League enough and there are plenty of other podcasts who cover their finances in depth.  So yes, Leicester City are the current Poster Boy Club for absolute financial mis-management, but what about many others? We discuss some eye-watering collective losses and numbers and some specific club situations including: Bristol City Middlesbrough Preston QPR Cardiff City Norwich Swansea Why are they spending the money they spend - primarily on player's astronomical wages - is it in pursuit of the Premier League dream? Does that even pan out, because we also look at the financial problems of some of those who have "made it", including: Leeds Nottingham Forest Fulham Southampton Are they any better off by being in the Premier League and are Sunderland one bad second season away from doing a Leicester? Then there are individual weekly wages. Who are the Top 7 earners in the Championship this season and how the hell can ANY of them claim to be worth ANYWHERE near their weekly wage? Clue - Leicester City are well represented in the Top 7. On Leicester City - there is a great post in the Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast Group on Linkedin by Andy Costigan going into depth about the Leicester City spiral of decline over 10 years since they lifted the PL title – well worth joining the Group and also having a read – great work Andy. Link here - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7452602508859920384?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAGZUtIB7fehCgVOGNaPEGmSPZrP2n-4paI Headline - They have spent £116m MORE than any other club in the Championship since 2020, despite a promotion in there – caused by two relegations – and they are now “broken” and in League 1. Then there is League One - how much have the aggregate losses increased by over the last 4 years and where is that going to lead? Is it inevitable and unstoppable? Worrying content, but something for EVERY fan to listen to. We share some of our thoughts and ideas, but what are your thoughts?  We would be more than happy to have your views and comments. We hope that you will "enjoy" this episode as much as we enjoyed researching & recording it. The podcast, as ever is available on all major podcast platforms - just search: "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast with Nick & Dom" on whichever platform you normally listen to your podcasts on and we will be there. Don't forget to give us a nice 5 star rating and a like, and please subscribe and share from your favourite podcast platform too - to help us to grow our audience and also to automatically get your fix of The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast every week as we progress through the 2025/26 season, and hopefully beyond. We also have an open Group on LinkedIn with over 200 members and rising - just search "The Half & Half Scarf Football Podcast" on LinkedIn Groups and join for additional content and background information. This Episode is again brought to you in association with our EFL & National League Fan Welfare & Mental Health Partners huddleUp. If you have any influence in a club, in a supporter’s group, as a sponsor or in a commercial role - they want to hear from you. To contact Adam Franklin or Conner Botterill at huddleUp, you can an email them at - [email protected] or if you are a business or representing a business on LinkedIn, you can connect and follow the business at - https://www.linkedin.com/company/huddle-up-uk Thanks for your support with this and with our YouTube channel too.