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Hello, Hi Visionaries!

The conversation around whether football managers should control transfer policy isn't new.

This isn't about tactics versus spreadsheets. It's about whether a single individual can simultaneously optimise for performance whilst managing regulatory exposure, capital allocation, and compliance risk across a multi-currency, cross-border operation.

The short answer? No. And when clubs pretend otherwise, they don't just lose matches. They create conditions for serious governance failures.

A modern head coach juggles tactical systems, squad rotation, media obligations, player welfare, and performance volatility across competitions. Now add long-term capital planning, contract portfolio oversight, regulatory compliance, and risk modelling.

You can’t run a £500 million balance sheet between a Tuesday night Champions League fixture and a Sunday relegation six-pointer. The timescales don't align. The skill sets don't overlap. The risk tolerances are incompatible.

When a coach makes a poor recruitment decision under pressure, the fallout can include:

CEOs in other industries operate with committees, controls, independent challenge, and time to course correct. Head coaches operate in real-time failure environments where decisions are scrutinised immediately and mistakes compound fast.

Clubs today sit inside:

This is not coach related territory. Tactical excellence does not equal regulatory literacy. and it shouldn’t. Expecting someone to be world-class at both is organisational risk at its finest.

Recent governance failures show a pattern:

This mirrors what regulators call "key-person risk" a red flag in any industry managing significant capital or regulatory exposure.

Performance remains the primary value driver. Winning increases revenues. Stability reduces capital costs. Talent development boosts asset value. Coaches sit closest to where value is created.

History shows that exceptional coaches. Ferguson, Wenger, Guardiola acted as strategic anchors, not just tacticians. They imposed identity, attracted talent at discounts, extended competitive cycles, and reduced recruitment error rates.

Vision concentration can outperform committees. Too many layers create slow decisions, conflicting incentives, reduced accountability, and talent churn. Clubs can become over governed but misled.

The argument isn't without substance. But it mistakes historical context for current reality. The regulatory and financial complexity of modern football has outpaced what even exceptional individuals can safely manage alone.

When head coaches operate as de facto CEOs, financial crime risk doesn't announce itself as "crime". It appears as performance urgency, shortcuts based on unchecked or monitored trust, and informal power.

Agent capture happens when coaches rely on a small network for speed and trust. Repeated counterparties bypass competitive challenge. Introductions become relationships, not transactions. The result = Undisclosed conflicts, third-party payment opacity, facilitation risk through side letters and offshore routing.

Wage inflation gets disguised through long contracts that spread cost optics, layered bonuses, image rights, and informal loyalty payments. This creates tax evasion exposure, artificial PSR compliance, and mischaracterised payments. Governance drift becomes regulatory breach.

Emergency decision-making creates AML blind spots. Relegation battles, injury crises, and owner impatience lead to incomplete due diligence, weak beneficial ownership checks, and acceptance of opaque counterparties. In banking terms, this is "time-critical onboarding” a high-risk category.

Shadow management means informal calls to owners, agents, and intermediaries. Verbal approvals replace paper trails. When regulators ask "who approved this?", the answer becomes dangerous.

Key-person dependency means club strategy is hard-coded into one individual. No institutional memory. When that person leaves, transaction rationale evaporates. Historical deals become indefensible. This mirrors key-man risk in asset management, a known red flag.

The model isn't complicated. It requires three clear lines:

Line 1: Value Creation (Sporting Control)

Coaches define what is needed. Not how money moves.

Line 2: Value Protection (Risk & Finance Control)

This mirrors CRO independence in banks.

Line 3: Strategic Oversight (Board)

Speed remains at sporting level. Controls activate only on money and counterparties. Accountability is documented, not personalised. Regulators get clarity, not narratives.

Most importantly, performance pressure no longer collapses governance.

Player profile and selection? Coach decides. Contract length, wage structure, agent payments? Finance and risk control. PSR breach risk? Board oversight.

The matrix is simple. The discipline to maintain it is what separates well-run clubs from those waiting for their next crisis.

⚠️ = consult / challenge
✅ = accountable
❌ = excluded by design

Modern football doesn't fail because coaches are reckless. It fails because clubs mistake sporting authority for financial authority.

The future advantage belongs to clubs that let coaches win matches, let executives manage money, and let governance absorb shocks.

This is exactly where financial crime risk advisory belongs inside football—not as a blocker, but as an enabler of sustainable performance.

The clubs that figure this out won't just avoid regulatory penalties. They'll compound competitive advantage whilst everyone else is firefighting compliance crises.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial or business advice in any capacity. The information shared is our thoughts & opinions and does not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity, or sponsor. The contents of this newsletter also should not be used in any public or private domain without the authors express permission.