The Great Crash of English Football Around the Corner
In 1997, twenty seven days after Tony Blair became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mohamed Al Fayed completed his takeover of Fulham FC. In the process, he became the first foreign owner of an English football club. Six years later, Roman Abramovich bought into Chelsea FC and his success then led to many others following suit.
The rich had always clambered to get a piece of the action in previous decades, with clubs traditionally being owned by local business …