In the latest episode of the unLTD Business Podcast, James Marriott sat down with Spencer Fearn, whose career has spanned coaching, club ownership, education and professional sport. Best known for buying East Stirlingshire FC, widely regarded at the time as the worst football club in Britain, Spencer offered a fascinating insight into the realities of running football clubs, taking risks and chasing ambitious goals. Here are five key takeaways we learned from the interview.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP'S FINANCIAL MODEL IS BROKEN
The dream of reaching the Premier League continues to drive clubs to spend beyond their means, but Spencer believes the economics simply do not stack up for many teams.
"A lot of clubs with the Championship, it's a basket case of a division, so many people chasing that dream, but the thing is, when they get to the Premier League, it's very rare they make money as well, because they've signed better players, better contracts, everything, the bonuses to get promoted.
"So, even though it's where people want to be as a football club owner, they're not going to make this £100 or £150 million they speak about."
It is a sobering assessment of a division where promotion is often seen as the ultimate prize, but where financial sustainability can quickly disappear in pursuit of success.
EAST STIRLINGSHIRE REALLY WERE THE WORST FOOTBALL CLUB IN BRITAIN
When Spencer bought East Stirlingshire at the age of 31, he was not inheriting a sleeping giant. He was taking charge of a club that had become a national punchline.
"East Stirlingshire finished bottom of the Scottish Third Division for five seasons on the bounce. They got eight points one season, won two games the following season, got eight points, conceded over 100 goals. They were the absolute laughing stock of British football."
After first discovering the club through Jeff Stelling's Soccer Saturday coverage, he became determined to help change the narrative around a team that had become synonymous with failure.
TURNING AROUND A FOOTBALL CLUB REQUIRES MORE THAN MONEY
While football ownership is often associated with wealthy benefactors, Spencer's experience showed that leadership, trust and community can be just as important.
"I was 31 years of age. Yes, I thought I knew a lot about football, very quickly realised I didn't know a lot about football, particularly how to run a football club, but it was about getting people on board and being authentic.”
He credits much of the club's revival to the supporters and the people around him.
"The fans are the best in the world. There's probably only 200 of them, but watching your team for five years getting pumped every weekend takes some doing."
The lesson extends well beyond football. Successful businesses are often built through collaboration, honesty and bringing people along on the journey.
FOOTBALL OWNERSHIP CAN LEAD TO SOME EXTRAORDINARY SITUATIONS
The business of football occasionally strays into territory that feels more suited to a Hollywood script than a boardroom.
Recalling one particularly surreal episode involving intimidation linked to the club's former owner, Spencer said:
"I had to go for a dawn meeting with two very well-known hoods in Glasgow, in a pub in Glasgow. I went from Euston to Glasgow Central, I’ll never forget it – empty pub, nobody else in there. And they gave me a few options of how it could be dealt with."
"That was like being in a Guy Ritchie film."
Stories like these form a large part of Belief, Spencer's book released last year that details his time at East Stirlingshire and some of the tough lessons learned along the way.
BELIEF IS OFTEN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STANDING STILL AND TAKING A CHANCE
Although football provides the backdrop, Spencer says his book is really about backing yourself and being prepared to take calculated risks.
"It's more about having belief in yourself. It's a story of me growing up – one-parent family, free dinners, no money, having to start work at 11, paper rounds, milk rounds."
The message is one he now shares with business audiences and students as much as football fans.
"You've got to have belief and when to take your risks. Probably better to take them in your twenties than your fifties, that is for sure, because you've got more commitments. But if you really want something in life, you just have to go after it."
