A Gooner’s Guide to Arsenal’s Finances Part 1 (24/7)

[gooner.ed]

usual thread starter... so the question is... if david dein turned arsenal around in the 1980s and onwards, can the current board continue arsenal's success without him? or are we on a slide overseen by the blood of the old guard who let things go after world war II guess the x-factor is danny fiszman and keith edelman... those are the new boys.

[Cus Geezer]

One major reason football became a growth industry was that the baby boomers, as teenagers, had time on their hands and more disposable income than the previous generation. As a result the leisure industries thrived, particularly music and sports so football with its large crowds was well placed to reap both the financial benefits but also the ugly side. What happened in the 1970’s was the advent of major football hooliganism, this frightened away both genuine fans and investment and as a result delayed the process of football hitting the big time financially

I think the time and income thing hurt post war football rather than aided because there were simply more things to do than there were in the 30s. Plus many traditional supporters no longer living on the doorstep in the Cities that the clubs were based i.e. suburban growth and new towns.

And I think it was television that delayed the process rather than hooliganism. As the BBC and ITV had the duopoly they formed a cartel that held down the amount Football got from television. Television got cheap entertainment and football got an amount that didn't reflect it's popularity.