Soccer bosses caught offside

THE £1.1bn deal between BSkyB and the Premier League runs out in 2004. That may sound a while away, but there are a few worried chairmen who are starting to realise that the gravy-train days may be over.

It is no secret that the lion's share of income for Premier clubs comes from the TV deal. The money has dwarfed the conventional revenue streams of gate receipts and merchandising. This would be no problem in any other business: extra cash would help boost profits and build assets. But in football you have what I once named the prune-juice effect - meaning it (the money) comes in one end and goes straight out the other - or to put it another way, it goes to players and players' agents in exorbitant transfer fees and salaries.

The die has been cast, there's no way back. Clubs have agreed wage deals with players over four and five years. They will have to find the money beyond the expiry of the current BSkyB deal to pay the wage bill.

When the rights come up again, there is only one player in town - BSkyB. Its boss, Rupert Murdoch, is already on record as saying they paid over the top last time. The inevitable stand-off is going to happen, the Premier League wanting more and BSkyB wanting to pay less. In a funny way, they need each other. It's no secret that BSkyB is driven by football. If the unspeakable ever happened and they did not get the rights, it would be a disaster.

Footballers, managers and chairmen moan about the treatment they get from the media, but when it suits them they use the media to their own advantage by floating the odd stories. A recent example is the dynamic duo Peter Ridsdale and David O'Leary of Leeds United. They went on a big spending spree a couple of years ago. Now it's payback time. It is rumoured they need to raise some cash. The odd stories are appearing in the papers, as usual designed to mean the opposite of what they say.

Ridsdale exclaims: 'There's no way we are selling Rio Ferdinand but you can never stop a player if he wants to go, so watch out Manchester United - don't think you can get him for less than £35 million.' O'Leary, when questioned about the need to sell players, comes out with the standard 'as far as I am concerned, I don't want any of my players to go, but the Plc has other ideas'.

You can expect these shenanigans from the football fraternity, but I am surprised these tactics have rubbed off on Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League. It just shows you football brings everyone down to its level. The other day Scudamore floated a story saying the league would set up its own channel and deal directly with the consumers. Richard, you are great administrator and a very professional man, but Max Clifford you are not. This story is so pathetic, if it was meant to worry BSkyB you have made a big mistake.

It is true to say that BSkyB has to provide its platform to anyone who can pay for a channel, but it does not end there. There is a need to set up subscriber management, outside broadcast, a studio and personnel including all of the regular pundits. Assuming the League was able to do all that, it would only be able to get away with a monthly charge of £10 and there's no guarantee that everyone will want to take up another subscription to add to their current payments for BSkyB, mobile phone, internet service et al.

Out of the £10, the League will have to pay for the production costs and rental of the channel from BSkyB, and share some revenue with cable companies if it is to get the penetration it needs.

If ever there was a match to be made in heaven, this is it. The League and BSkyB need to get together and sit down and open the books, and try to work out a win, win partnership. Otherwise there is going to be a disaster of the greatest proportion for both entities. Having spent years sitting in Premier League meetings, I can tell you the mentality of the chairmen is focused on someone paying them a lump sum at the start of the season.

There is a chance that next time round the overseas rights may not be sold in bulk - it might be left to the individual clubs to sort out their own deals. The fact of the matter is that most overseas viewers up to now wanted to watch Manchester United. That may change if they stop winning.

Arsenal, in recognition of this, may have thought that by having a symbolic Japanese player in Inamoto - who they released from contract two weeks ago - they would be able to sell their reserve matches to the booming Japanese market, which has the hots for football. We will see if that works.

Sir Alan Sugar has donated his fee to charity