The ‘R’ Word.
When I hear football fans of clubs from outside of the county mock the idea of Forest being sucked back into the Championship, I don’t think they understand the real cost of relegation.
If these ‘fans’ live in Nottingham or the East Midlands, they really should be hoping that Forest survive in the Premier League and prosper.
And to those people, I have to ask, ‘Do you really want to see Nottingham Forest relegated? Do you really understand what you are saying?’
If Forest are relegated this season, it’s a lot more complicated for the people of Nottingham than a football match. It goes deeper than the game; it’s very economical and carries external financial implications that many overlooks.
In a media-obsessed, multicultural society, the world is a smaller place now. We can now stream our team and see live football, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.
Premiership football is the most popular and most watched football in the world with a global audience in excess of 1.5 billion.
From the edge of our sofas, we can immerse ourselves in a high-definition game and experience the atmosphere without the travel and the frosty slap of an evening breeze that whips across a damp pitch in January.
You can buy a Real Madrid shirt, watch La Liga on a Sunday evening in snowy Radford, from the comfort of your own home, and claim to be a Madrid fanatic whilst subconsciously developing an aversion for Nottingham Forest.
Forest Fan Rivalry
I don’t know what it is but, have you noticed how some football fans from Nottingham who don’t support a local team, harbour a deep-seated hatred for Nottinghamshire clubs? It’s bizarre. They often seem more vehement than the fans who don’t live in Nottingham.
I’m not just talking about the obvious fan rivalry from Derby, Leicester or Notts County either. There is always a group of Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal fans who congregate in the pub, speak so highly about ‘their’ clubs and publicly denounce their local club as if they are responsible for genocide and sponsored by the Tories. It’s almost unhealthy.
I couldn’t imagine living in another city and openly mocking the local team when they struggle to maintain Premiership status. It just seems absolutely absurd, especially when you consider the economic advantages of living in a city with a successful Premier League football team playing in it.
“Shut up and show more football.” – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05cj7pg
Brian Clough would be pleased to hear that, although the commentary teams haven’t ‘shut up’ – their opinions have more exposure than ever before – the television companies are certainly showing more football.
Subsequently, Nottingham is a city that is awash with a variety of football fans who claim to support clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea, United, Barcelona and Brighton.
Growing up in the 1970s, you would see more Forest kits adorned on the streets than any other club and it was rare to see a Manchester City, Chelsea or Arsenal shirt on the back of a kid playing football in the park after school.
Manchester City had a unique black and red striped shirt (a la AC Milan) that was quite unique in its day – made by Umbro I think – and you never saw one.
Of course, there was an aesthetical aspect whereby a few kids received the Southampton kit for Christmas when Kevin Keegan signed for them in the early 80s, and 70s’ en vogue sporting entire manufacturer, Le Coq Sportif, produced the successful Spurs and Villa strips that always looked quite cool.
Concede from a winning position
The average plastic fan no longer has to take a train or drive for several hours in the pouring rain, they can subscribe to a communications channel, wear their club strip, and sup Carling in their front room as they witness their team beat Nottingham Forest.
As they put their feet up and watch Forest fall down the table before their very eyes, after Forest concede even more points from a winning position, they are blissfully unaware of the local economic ramifications.
Forest cling on and fail to show an attacking threat once again but they are also chipping away at the local economy.
And here’s why…
Perfectly put by City Rise – https://www.cityrise.co.uk/do-football-clubs-invest-in-local-infrastructure/ – a property investment company with far-reaching economic knowledge, they highlight the financial benefits of a football team maintaining Premiership status.
The global appeal of the Premiership brings active involvement with local Nottinghamshire communities, contributing significantly to the local economy, and bringing visitors and revenue to the area, year-on-year.
Since 1998, the economic contribution from the Premier League has grown by a whopping 1000%. Premier League players and staff generate over £1.5 billion in wages – just part of over 90,000 jobs that are supported by the league – with an economic footprint that spreads nationwide.
And who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
If Forest are relegated, the city will no longer be part of an £8 billion industry. Jobs will be lost and Nottingham will lose many lucrative visitors.
Breaching PSR.
An independent study looked at Brighton and Hove Albion, a club that has only recently maintained its premiership status, providing experts with a model of sustainability. The study concluded that, as of 2022, the club’s brand and media value was worth £222 million. Since the club was promoted in 2017, it has quadrupled its financial contribution to the city and is often uphold as an exemplary example of how to run a football team without breaching FFP or PSR.
Every year, over 600,000 people visit the library that is the American Express Stadium with 54,000 consumers regularly coming from overseas.
Imagine the wealth.
These aren’t arbitrary numbers we are dealing with here, Forest remaining in the Premier League is a big deal, and these figures affect the local economy and potentially benefit any football fan living in Nottingham and the surrounding areas. Whether you ‘support’ Chelsea, Arsenal, Hull City or Boca Juniors, you could potentially feel the pinch if you live in Nottingham and Forest go down.
Technically speaking, living in the East Midlands, we could all benefit from Leicester, Derby, Forest, Notts County, Mansfield Town and Lincoln City all regularly visiting the Premier League. Imagine the wealth that would create for the region.
In these uncertain economic times, with growing inequality and poverty, when you say that you can’t wait to see Forest relegated, think about the real cost to the city. Game in, game out, Forest aren’t just losing points, they are ever closer to losing revenue for local people – COYR!
n Saturday? They really messed up, big style.
We can blame officials as much as we like but, if we are looking up from the Championship next season, it will be because we lost to the likes of Luton Town and are deservedly back in the second tier of English football, where many like to think we belong – COYR!
