Downing Street, LONDON: At Gordon Brown's monthly Downing Street news conference, Mr Brown issued a warning over football finances by saying some club debts are "too high" and urged owners and managers to consider the supporters.
"It is a matter that the clubs themselves have got to be concerned about. The management of clubs must look seriously at their responsibilities to their supporters," said Mr Brown.
"Of course, in many cases there are very simple ways that they can deal with these problems. In other cases, football clubs don't have the income that is necessary to deal with the leverage that they have.
"But this is an issue and it's an issue football clubs are facing and it's a worry to supporters. These clubs have high levels of income from the supporters but the debt levels have been too high."
Footnotes: [1] In the decade up to 1997, the combined debt of households, companies, and government increased from around 180% of GDP up to around 200% - up by one-tenth. But in the last decade, the one under prudent Chancellor Brown, it's grown from 200% to 300%.
This is Labour's Debt Bubble and it amounts to a staggering £2.5 trillion - ie £2,500,000,000,000. Which is £100,000 for every single British household.
[2] In recent years, senior officials in the Labour party, including Gordon Brown, could have become personally liable for millions of pounds of Labour Party debt unless new donors were found within weeks...
