Current Account has always been absolutely bamboozled at the way English premiership soccer clubs are valued.As an investment option, most of the Premiership clubs have the investment attraction of an exploration sector minnow and some have one thing in common with the exploration flotsam of the AIM and ESM markets - they have "penny share" status.
Let's look at Leeds United, managed by the loveable Dave O'Leary and populated on the field by charmers such as Lee Bowyer, Jonathan Woodgate, Danny Mills and Alan Smith. The share are just 7p sterling (11½ cents) and the club has a stock market value of £26 million - less than what Mr O'Leary paid for Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler, and the wage bill for about 10 of Leeds's under-performing players.
Now Leeds - having been turfed out of the UEFA Cup and 11 points off fourth place in the Champions' League - are faced with having to offload some players to cover the loss of revenue that the Champions' League brings.
To put the loss of Champions' League revenue in context, Manchester United said in its last annual report that it accounted for 60 per cent of its total operating profits.
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