• An Examination of the Motivations and Consequences of Foreign Direct Investment in the Premier League 1992-2012

      Cook, Dr Mark; Haynes, Prof Mike; Jones, Andrew Martin (University of Wolverhampton, 2014-07)
      The English Premier League is regarded as one of the most prominent sporting competitions in the world. In the last decade the league (and by definition it’s member clubs) have become highly attractive to wealthy foreign investors, having taken ownership of a number of clubs across the league. This thesis seeks to investigate the motivations and consequences behind this foreign direct investment (FDI). The study uses a multi-method approach not commonly found within the sports economics or FDI literature combining both quantitative and qualitative methods. The thesis has generated responses from ‘elite’ level respondents at Premier League clubs together with members of the supporters’ movement. Existing data from club sources and market reports has been collected in order to assess the motivations and consequences of FDI. The thesis finds the motives behind football FDI to be somewhat different to those held by other forms of business organisation. Football is a mostly loss-making industry, but despite this weakness, some investors have purchased Premier League clubs for economic reasons. The importance of non-economic motives, such as profile enhancement, and the notion of the trophy asset were also found to be influential motives behind some football FDI. These aspects are not strongly reflected in the FDI literature, and they imply football is different to other forms of investment. FDI is shown to be mostly beneficial for the clubs receiving the investment, but for non-acquired clubs negative consequences are found in terms of wages, transfer costs, profits, and debt. For the Premier League itself, FDI has been positive in terms of enhancing the league’s stature, revenues, and the quality of matches. Some benefits were found at the regional level. This thesis covers the gap within the literature surrounding FDI and football, and also raises wider points about the generalizability of FDI theory to all industries.
    • The effects of pre-game carbohydrate intake on running performance and substrate utilisation during simulated Gaelic football match play

      O'Brien, Luke; Collins, Kieran; Webb, Richard; Davies, Ian; Doran, Dominic; Amirabdollahian, Farzad; School of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool L16 9JD, UK. (MDPI, 2021-04-21)
      Previous research has reported that elite Gaelic football players' carbohydrate (CHO) intakes are sub-optimal, especially, in the lead up to competitive matches. Despite clear decrements in running performance across elite Gaelic football matches, there are no studies that have investigated nutrition interventions on match-related Gaelic football performance. The aim of this study was to determine whether a higher-CHO diet in line with sports nutrition guidelines can improve Gaelic football-related performance compared to lower CHO intakes previously observed in Gaelic footballers. Twelve Gaelic football players completed a Gaelic football simulation protocol (GFSP) on two occasions after consuming a high-CHO diet (7 g·kg-1) (HCHO) or an energy-matched lower-CHO diet (3.5 g·kg-1) (L-CHO) for 48 h. Movement demands and heart rate were measured using portable global positioning systems devices. Countermovement jump height (CMJ) and repeated-sprint ability (RSA) were measured throughout each trial. Expired respiratory gases were collected throughout the trial using a portable gas analyser. Blood samples were taken at rest, half-time, and post-simulation. There was no significant difference in total distance (p = 0.811; η2 = 0.005) or high-speed running distance (HSRD) covered between both trials. However, in the second half of the HCHO trial, HSRD was significantly greater compared to the second half of the LCHO trial (p = 0.015). Sprint distance covered during GFSP was significantly greater in HCHO (8.1 ± 3.5 m·min-1) compared with LCHO (6.4 ± 3.2 m·min-1) (p = 0.011; η2 = 0.445). RSA performance (p < 0.0001; η2 = 0.735) and lower body power (CMJ) (p < 0.0001; η2 = 0.683) were significantly greater during the HCHO trial compared to LCHO. Overall CHO oxidation rates were significantly greater under HCHO conditions compared to LCHO (3.3 ± 0.5 vs. 2.7 ± 0.6 g·min-1) (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.798). Blood lactate concentrations were significantly higher during HCHO trial versus LCHO (p = 0.026; η2 = 0.375). There were no significant differences in plasma glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), and glycerol concentration between trials. In both trials, all blood metabolites were significantly elevated at half-time and post-trial compared to pre-trial. These findings indicate that a higher-CHO diet can reduce declines in physical performance during simulated Gaelic football match play.
    • Recovery kinetics of knee flexor and extensor strength after a football match

      Draganidis, D; Chatzinikolaou, A; Avloniti, Alexandra; Barbero-Álvarez, JC; Mohr, M; Malliou, P; Gourgoulis, V; Deli, CK; Douroudos, II; Margonis, K; et al. (Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2015-06-04)
      We examined the temporal changes of isokinetic strength performance of knee flexor (KF) and extensor (KE) strength after a football match. Players were randomly assigned to a control (N = 14, participated only in measurements and practices) or an experimental group (N = 20, participated also in a football match). Participants trained daily during the two days after the match. Match and training overload was monitored with GPS devices. Venous blood was sampled and muscle damage was assessed pre-match, post-match and at 12h, 36h and 60h post-match. Isometric strength as well as eccentric and concentric peak torque of knee flexors and extensors in both limbs (dominant and non-dominant) were measured on an isokinetic dynamometer at baseline and at 12h, 36h and 60h after the match. Functional (KFecc/KEcon) and conventional (KFcon/KEcon) ratios were then calculated. Only eccentric peak torque of knee flexors declined at 60h after the match in the control group. In the experimental group: a) isometric strength of knee extensors and knee flexors declined (P<0.05) at 12h (both limbs) and 36h (dominant limb only), b) eccentric and concentric peak torque of knee extensors and flexors declined (P<0.05) in both limbs for 36h at 60°/s and for 60h at 180°/s with eccentric peak torque of knee flexors demonstrating a greater (P<0.05) reduction than concentric peak torque, c) strength deterioration was greater (P<0.05) at 180°/s and in dominant limb, d) the functional ratio was more sensitive to match-induced fatigue demonstrating a more prolonged decline. Discriminant and regression analysis revealed that strength deterioration and recovery may be related to the amount of eccentric actions performed during the match and athletes' football-specific conditioning. Our data suggest that recovery kinetics of knee flexor and extensor strength after a football match demonstrate strength, limb and velocity specificity and may depend on match physical overload and players' physical conditioning level.
    • Six-week combined vibration and wobble board training on balance and stability in footballers with functional ankle instability.

      Cloak, Ross; Nevill, Alan; Day, Stephen; Wyon, Matthew (Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2013-09)
      Objective: To compare the effectiveness of a combination of vibration and wobble board training against wobble board training alone in footballers suffering from functional ankle instability (FAI). Design: A 2 · 3 prefactorial–postfactorial design. Setting: University research laboratory. Participants: Thirty-three male semiprofessional footballers with self-reported unilateral FAI were randomly assigned in 3 groups: vibration and wobble board (mean age 22.2 years), wobble board (mean age 22.7 years), and control (mean age 23.1 years). Interventions: Participants in each intervention group performed a 6-week progressive rehabilitation program using a wobble board, either with or without the addition of vibration stimulus. Main Outcome Measures: Absolute center of mass (COM) distribution during single-leg stance, modified star excursion balance test (SEBT) reach distances, and single-leg triple hop for distance (SLTHD) were measured before and after 6-week intervention. Results: Combined vibration and wobble board training resulted in AU3 reduced COM distribution [P # 0.001, effect size (ES) = 0.66], increased SEBT reach distances (P # 0.01 and P # 0.002, ES = 0.19 and 0.29, respectively), and increased SLTHD (P # 0.001, ES = 0.33) compared with wobble board training alone during the course of the 6-week training intervention. Conclusions: Combined vibration and wobble board training improves COM distribution, modified SEBT scores and SLTHD among footballers suffering FAI, compared with wobble board training alone.
    • Soccer Hooliganism in the German Democratic Republic

      Dennis, Mike (London: Routledge (Taylor & Francis), 2005)
      This topical book provides unprecedented analysis of football's place in post-war and post-reunification Germany. The expert team of German and British contributors offers wide-ranging perspectives on the significance of football in German sporting and cultural life, showing how it has emerged as a focus for an expression of German national identity and pride in the post-war era. Some of the themes examined include: footballing expressions of local, regional and national identity; ethnic dynamics, migrant populations and Europeanization; German football’s commercial economy; women’s football. Key moments in the history of German football are also explored, such as the victories in 1954, 1972 and 1990, the founding of the Bundesliga, and the winning bid for the 2006 World Cup. (Routledge)
    • Soccer referee decision-making: ‘Shall I blow the whistle?'

      Lane, Andrew M.; Nevill, Alan M.; Ahmad, Nahid S.; Balmer, Nigel J. (Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 2006)
      Evidence points to the existence of a home advantage effect in soccer with referees giving more decisions to the home team being a plausible explanation for this effect. The purpose of the present study was to use qualitative methods to explore the factors that influence experienced referees when making decisions. Five experienced referees volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews of 30-40 minutes duration. Examples of questions/probes included ‘Are there times when it is difficult to make a decision on whether there was a foul or not? When? Why?’ and ‘Do you worry about making the wrong / unpopular decision? What affect does this have on you?’ Content analysis identified 13 inter-related themes that describe four higher-order themes. The themes ‘accuracy-error’, ‘regulations’, and ‘professionalism’ form a higher-order theme labeled ‘ideal-decision making’. The themes ‘opinion’, ‘concentration’, and ‘control’ represent a higher-order theme labeled ‘individual factors’; ‘experience’, ‘personality’, and ‘personal life’ represent a higher-order factor labeled ‘experience factors’, and crowd factors, player reaction, environmental factors, and crowd interaction represent a higher-order factor labeled ‘situational factors’. Findings from the present study offer some insight into difficulties and coping strategies used by referees to perform consistently in professional soccer. Future research could use quantitative methods to test the relative contribution of themes identified above to the decisionmaking process in referees. At an applied level, practitioners should develop strategies that accelerate the process of learning to cope with performance-related stressors such as the crowd noise.
    • Standing on Honeyball’s Shoulders: A History of Independent Women’s Football Clubs in England

      Williams, Jean; Elsey, Brenda; Pugliese, Stanislao (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017)
      The essays in this volume use football to create a dialogue between history and other disciplines, including art criticism, philosophy, and political science. The study of football provides fertile ground for interdisciplinary initiatives and this volume explores the disciplinary boundaries that are shifting “beneath our feet.” Traditional disciplines in the humanities and social sciences have come to embrace diverse research methodologies and the increased scholarly attention to football over the past decade reflects both the startling popularity of the sport and the trends in historical scholarship that have been termed the “cultural,” “interpretive,” or “linguistic” turns. This volume includes work on gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, which have challenged disciplinary fault-lines.
    • The changing shape of “successful” professional footballers

      Nevill, Alan M.; Holder, Roger L.; Watts, Adam (Routledge (Taylor & Francis), 2009)
      Football coaches and sports scientists are always seeking to identify key characteristics that can distinguish between successful and less successful footballers and teams. The purpose of the present article was to identify whether any body size, shape, and age characteristics might be associated with more successful professional footballers and whether any such characteristics might have changed over time. We found that despite a significant increase in professional footballers’ height, body mass, and body mass index (BMI) from 1973–74 to 2003–04, no differences in the body shape parameter, reciprocal ponderal index (RPI) or age were identified. Goalkeepers, central defenders, and central strikers were found to be taller (P50.001), heavier (P50.001), and older (P50.001) than players playing in wider positions, but midfielders and wider players were found to have both lower BMI and RPI than central players. However, when players from successful teams (top six) were compared with less successful teams using binary logistic regression, players from successful teams were found to be taller and more linear (as identified by a greater RPI and ectomorphy score; both P50.05) and also younger (P50.05), a trend that appears to have increased in the most recent season studied, 2003–2004, a characteristic that is most marked among forwards (P50.05). In conclusion, these results suggest that football coaches and talent scouts should pay attention to the body shape (selecting taller/more linear athletes with a high RPI) when selecting potential players for their squads.
    • The effect of vibration training on balance and muscular performance within functionally unstable ankle populations

      Wyon, Matthew A.; Cloak, Ross James (University of Wolverhampton, 2011)
      Ankle injuries are one of the most common injuries in sport, often leading to functional deficits and instability, a vicious cycle of recurrent sprains and time loss due to injury. Although research has been conducted on the best methods of treating such deficits and instability, new training methodologies are continually being sought to help improve clinical outcomes and with this comes a need for designed research to test such hypotheses. The purpose of the present research was to investigate the effect of vibration training on balance and muscle function in physically active individuals suffering self reported functional ankle instability (FAI). Stage one of the research was to initially investigate the effect of a six week whole body vibration training (WBVT) exercise routine on 38 University dancers reporting FAI. An initial assessment of the severity of the instability was done using the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT), to identify those who classed themselves functionally unstable but still able to participate in their chosen sport. The group was randomly arranged into one of two groups (treatment and control) and a pre/post test study was undertaken, with the control group asked to continue normal activity. The selection of participants was based on instability score from the CAIT. A larger sample of athletes was initially recruited across two accessible sports of football and dance due to access and availability. These groups then completed CAIT and where included if scoring criteria were met. The treatment group undertook six weeks of progressive vibration training on a stabile vibration system. Pre and post testing consisted of measures of static single leg balance, a Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and Electromyography (EMG) of peroneus longus in demi-pointe. Results indicated a significant improvement in static balance (p = .04) and certain SEBT directions within the treatment group compared to the control group (p <.05). Neither group reported any significant difference in mean power frequency for the peroneus longus (p >.05). The results of the study suggested six weeks vibration training improved certain balance parameters within FAI populations. These results although initially encouraging, identified the need for further research with not just a direct comparison between treatment and control, but a closer examination of the effect of vibration training in comparison to more classical methods of rehabilitation before it can be recommended as a serious methods of treatment for FAI. The second stage of the research involved the implementation of a new piece of rehabilitation equipment which combined a vibration unit within a wobble board (Vibrosphere TM, Sweden). The manufactures claim the combination of the two principles accelerates rehabilitation for numerous lower body injuries and disorders. This specially designed unit allowed direct analysis of the effect of the vibration component of the unit on balance and muscle function, by comparing those who used the combined vibration/wobble board and those who simply used the wobble board alone. A control group was also included to analyse any difference over time as the testing was done during a pre-season training cycle. The research consisted of 33 semi-professional footballers reporting FAI as confirmed by CAIT and taler tilt and an anterior drawer test, being randomly assigned to one of three groups; Vibration/wobble board, Wobble board alone and Control. Both Vibration/wobble board and Wobble board alone completed identical exercises on identical equipment so results could not be attributed to different equipment. The results of the study suggest a significant difference in static balance; modified SEBT and Single leg triple hop for distance between groups with the greatest improvement being within the combined vibration/wobble board group (p <.05). The results suggest the combination of vibration and wobble board improve balance and functional strength in those footballers reporting FAI compared to wobble board training alone. The precise mechanisms behind the current results are unclear. It has been suggested that it may be due to vibration having a positive effect on the stimulation of mechanoreceptors and the combination of that and unstable surface control seems to be optimal. It is difficult to compare studies but the research has highlighted certain areas for further research. The difference in static balance and SEBT scores between the dancers and footballers seems to suggest that the CAIT scores although similar may identify the need for more specific tests for each population. Also a longitudinal study is required to access injury rates following intervention and effect duration of the improvements seen.
    • The influence of crowd noise and experience upon refereeing decisions in football

      Nevill, Alan M.; Balmer, Nigel J.; Williams, A. Mark (Elsevier, 2002)
      The existence of the home advantage in sport is well known. There is growing evidence that crowd noise plays a crucial part in this phenomenon. Consequently, a quantitative study was undertaken to examine influence of crowd noise upon refereeing decisions in association football (soccer). The association between years of experience and any imbalance in refereeing decisions was also addressed. To investigate whether the presence or absence of crowd noise might influence qualified referees when assessing various tackles/challenges recorded on videotape. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the effect of crowd noise and years of experience on referees' decisions. The presence of crowd noise had a dramatic effect on the decisions made by referees. Those viewing the challenges with background crowd noise were more uncertain in their decision-making and awarded significantly fewer fouls (15.5 %) against the home team, compared with those watching in silence. The noise of the crowd influenced referees' decisions to favour the home team. It is suggested that referees' decisions are influenced by the salient nature of crowd noise, the potential use of heuristic strategies, and the need to avoid potential crowd displeasure by making a decision in favour of the home team.
    • The Study of business and football: an overview of the nature of the literature

      Perry, Bob (University of Wolverhampton, 1999)
      I have recently completed a management-orientated research project in the study field of football. Several students have asked me to suggest helpful academic sources. This occasional paper is a direct response to these enquiries and aims to assist any Business School students undertaking football related dissertations and projects. Although some aspects of the game are well served by literature for other topics there are “black holes”: not least in the area of management and business. This paper provides some guidance in this respect and classifies the nature and content of key academic and other contributions. It also explains how non-academic literature could be utilised. Finally, appendices list useful points of enquiry and an extended bibliography.