1.0MRKT Insights - Football Consultancy Serviceshttps://mrktinsights.comrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="zlgyKIBtAj"><a href="https://mrktinsights.com/index.php/2024/10/09/step-changes-climbing-the-footballing-mountain/">Step Changes – Climbing the footballing mountain</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://mrktinsights.com/index.php/2024/10/09/step-changes-climbing-the-footballing-mountain/embed/#?secret=zlgyKIBtAj" width="600" height="338" title="“Step Changes – Climbing the footballing mountain” — MRKT Insights - Football Consultancy Services" data-secret="zlgyKIBtAj" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /** * WordPress inline HTML embed * * @since 4.4.0 * @output wp-includes/js/wp-embed.js * * Single line comments should not be used since they will break * the script when inlined in get_post_embed_html(), specifically * when the comments are not stripped out due to SCRIPT_DEBUG * being turned on. */ (function ( window, document ) { 'use strict'; /* Abort for ancient browsers. */ if ( ! document.querySelector || ! window.addEventListener || typeof URL === 'undefined' ) { return; } /** @namespace wp */ window.wp = window.wp || {}; /* Abort if script was already executed. */ if ( !! window.wp.receiveEmbedMessage ) { return; } /** * Receive embed message. * * @param {MessageEvent} e */ window.wp.receiveEmbedMessage = function( e ) { var data = e.data; /* Verify shape of message. */ if ( ! 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When the ready message is received by the post embed window, the * window will then (re-)send the height message right away. */ source.contentWindow.postMessage( { message: 'ready', secret: secret }, '*' ); } } window.addEventListener( 'message', window.wp.receiveEmbedMessage, false ); document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', onLoad, false ); })( window, document ); //# sourceURL=https://mrktinsights.com/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.js /* ]]> */ </script> https://mrktinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Business-Infographics-Google-Slides-Template.jpg25001406TLDR version: Clubs have a natural level based on their income The only way to add significant value to a club is to break out of their peer group and go up a level. This happens by getting better players on the pitch. You can only do this by doing something significantly different than your peers. Building this competitive advantage is likely a 5-10 year project, so separate project management from day to day pressures. Q: How do you climb a mountain?  A: One step at a time. When faced with the fundamental question of how to make a football club better the easiest answer is just that. Keep on moving forward one foot in front of the other, each day you improve a little, and those small improvements compound over time and eventually you succeed. No doubt this is good advice, everyone should look for improvements and aim to maximise efficiency. But at some point on that path up the mountain you will hit a section that steady progress can’t overcome.  That is because when we talk about improving football clubs we aren’t talking about a steady path, leading to the summit of a mountain. We are talking about a path with sheer cliff faces, and climbing sections.  Pyramid or Mountain In football we often refer to the pyramid. As clubs improve they make steady progress through the leagues, smoothly moving up through the system to the very top. Steady, predictable, and incremental. Each step is as far apart as the last. The reality is more like this. Steady progress can only get you so far. When you reach a certain level being able to out-compete teams with a budget 25-50% larger through your efficient spending isn’t enough. Teams with budgets 2-3 times as large simply buy the players you would want to sign. Your coach gets offered a better job. Your Sporting Director leaves.  But why would I want to climb a mountain? A nice stroll in the foothills may be the right thing to do. Running a club well is something to aspire to. Not every club can realistically build to the Champions League level, even over time.  However, most clubs bleed money. Running a football club at any level is really, really expensive. The biggest clubs lose tens of millions a season on the underlying costs of putting on football matches, even smaller clubs can lose a few million. At some point you have to think about sustainability.  In the last few years, I have seen hundreds of pitches for clubs seeking investment. Very few of them have any prospect of the investor making a return. Most are just invitations to burn tens of millions before eventually selling to some other unfortunate person. There are a few exceptions to this; blue chip clubs that have very large revenues and prestige, clubs in specific markets with the ability to massively profit from player trading, and clubs that are in markets where there is potential to access the elite. The final category is clubs who have the potential to “level up”. Moving a club up a league or two and establishing it at the higher level will add value to the investment. That isn’t easy, it requires a step change. Step Change A step change, or paradigm shift, is a major change in how something is perceived.  In mountain climbing the earliest people to attempt to scale the tallest mountains would have done so with minimal equipment. They would have reached seemingly impossible sections and would not have made it to the top. After the invention of climbing rope and metal fixings, these previously un-climbable mountains were conquered. People have found a way to do the impossible. Nobody could climb Everest but with oxygen supplements over 6400 climbers have made it to the top. We no longer think of mountains as un-climbable and we no longer think we will drop off a flat earth if we travel too close to the edge. If we consider the Champions League as football’s Everest and look at the last 20 years of winners we’ll see the football elite with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Liverpool regular Champions and runners-up. The only teams to have won their first Champions League trophy are Chelsea and Manchester City.  So clearly one method of climbing Everest is to build a pile of cash as high and simply step across.  But what if that isn’t an option? How do you level up so you are at least starting your assault on Everest from base camp rather than sea level? This is the point where we need to consider the difference between short-term competitive advantage and long-term transformation. Meta Games vs Step Changes Smart clubs are always playing meta games. Looking for quick-to-exploit differences that enable them to get ahead of the competition. They are efficient and maximise their budget, they may get the occasional glimpse of the promised land through an unexpected promotion, but they are soon to slide back down to their level. Luton Town may be a good example of this. Smart enough to win promotion but ultimately not ready for a sustained spell in the Premier League.  A Step Change is something different, this is a sustainable long-term transformation of what the club is perceived as, both internally and externally.  If we wanted to define this we would say it is when it would be a shock if the team were to be relegated from the level. The club has broken away from their perceived natural level and settled at a higher level. The obvious example in England is Brighton. They are now firmly established in the Premier League. Brentford are coming close to reaching that point too. The Brighton and Brentford model Everybody has data now. What Brighton and Brentford have is ownership who buy into it. Their systems and data have received (tens of) millions of investment as they rely on data in their non-football core business of