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Wanna Argument?
Falling out of love with football?
To merge or to move?
Just as a business can benefit from combining its resources with those of another firm, so can football clubs merge to produce a more competitive operation. Many of the examples of this happened years ago, when organised football was beginning to take shape. (See the Centre for Football Research at the University of
Leicester) However, an excellent case study of how it can be achieved is the story of Rushden and Diamonds Football Club.
Rushden and Diamonds have only been in existence since 1992, when local entrepreneur Max Griggs encouraged the merger of Rushden Town (founded in 1889) and Irthlingborough Diamonds (founded in 1947). Griggs is a successful business person, having overseen the expansion of shoe manufacturing under the Dr Martens brand. His business skills and his company's sponsorship of the
newly-created club, have been instrumental in the development of the club, both on and off the field.
Rushden and Diamonds began the 1992/93 season playing in the Beazer Homes League Midland Division, but soon won promotion to the Nationwide Conference and then in 2000/01 season became champions of the Conference, winning promotion to the Football League. This season (2001/02) draws to an end with Rushden and Diamonds achieving a place in the play-offs for promotion to Nationwide
Division Two.
But radical change in football is not limited to mergers. At times a club can act as would any firm, to try to maximise revenues and produce profits for the owners of the business. In the case of Wimbledon FC, this has involved extended talks over the re-location of the club to a different region of the country, or indeed, to another country. Hampered by their failure to attract
sufficient numbers of supporters, the club initially agreed to move from their Plough Lane home to groundshare with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. When this and their relegation from the Premiership failed to improve the club's finances, more radical action was suggested. A possible move to Dublin was rejected but talks continue over a re-location to Milton Keynes. Either way, the
story of Wimbledon and their efforts to change the 'Place' element of their marketing mix, is likely to be of lasting interest to business students.
