GM football fans. Route One here, giving you a fast-track pass to the front row of football action.

Reminder: There’s no Premier League football this weekend as it’s all about the FA Cup fourth round.

But, Tottenham vs Manchester City is on TV tonight…

And last night’s highlights of Bournemouth 5-0 Swansea can be found here.

Happy Friday to you too, let’s jump straight in…

Today’s briefing is a ~3.5 min read:

1. Becoming a Prem CEO 🤝

2. Football’s Pool Panel 🏊‍♂️

3. Extra time: Alfie Doughty silences a fan 🤫

BECOMING A PREM CEO 🤝

If you don’t have a spare £3 billion to hand, then it might be tricky to become a Premier League club owner.

So what’s the next best alternative I hear you ask? Becoming a Prem CEO or Chairman.

We’ve analysed exactly what it takes to become a CEO in the top flight.

A few clubs in the top flight do not have a CEO per se, so we’ve included Chairmans or the equivalent position to the CEO.

The most unusual one is Unai Emery. The Aston Villa manager has “taken full control of football matters” at the club after their CEO Christian Purslow “parted ways” with the club.

So, while we know him as the manager, he’ll be filling the shoes of the CEO in our analysis.

Age is just a number…

… but experience is everything when it comes to being a CEO. It’s no wonder the average age of a CEO in the Premier League is 54.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule…

• Dane Murphy (former Nottingham Forest CEO) was 37 when he left the club.

• Liverpool’s Billy Hogan and Arsenal's Vinai Venkatesham OBE are both 43.

While there is virtually no difference between the average age of CEOs in the top half (53.9) and the bottom half (54), the average age of the top four clubs is lower at 48.5.

It’s a good look for younger CEOs… but only time will tell whether this is a coincidence or if younger CEOs will become the new vogue.

The CEO role is diverse….

… which means that many backgrounds can become the CEO of a football club.

It’s not a perfect science as some CEOs have worked in several industries. But we’ve categorised the CEOs based on their primary expertise…

Sales (20%) and Finance (20%) backgrounds are the front-runners.

Why? It’s hard to tell… but probably because deal-making is a big part of a CEO’s role.

The USA might lead in club ownership…

… according to City AM, but when it comes to the day-to-day management, British CEOs are preferred over their counterparts…

That said, three of the top four clubs have either Spanish or American CEOs (Unai Emery, as explained, counts as part of this).

R1 take: So there you have it, the exact blueprint to becoming a CEO in the Premier League - well, not really. But we’ve learnt their backgrounds are very random - so if you do make it, don’t forget us!

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ON THIS DAY: POOLS PANEL 🏊‍♂️

How would you feel if a panel decided your team’s results?

Well, that’s what happened in 1963.

Here’s some context:

• In 1963, the UK experienced one of the coldest winters on record.

• The “Big Freeze” lasted for months…

• … which meant that many football games were cancelled due to thawed pitches.

So what happened to all the bets made? Good question.

At the time, many betted using ‘Pools’- think of them as the modern-day acca.

14 million people each week hinged on Saturday tea-time football results, waiting to see if they’d become millionaires from their Pools.

But the lack of games due to the freeze meant the Pools couldn’t continue.

Unless… 

The solution? The FA introduced a ‘Pools Panel’ that - errr - determined the results for postponed games.

And… 61 years ago today, the first panel declared seven draws, 23 home wins and eight away wins.

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Messi has always been a man of the people… so it’s no surprise he’s been signing shirts in the middle of Miami traffic.

Who better to give a free-kick master class than Juninho? He holds the record for the most free-kicks scored in history (77), ahead of Pele (70), and Ronaldinho (66).

Luton’s Alfie Doughty silenced a vocal Sheffield United fan in the best way possible… take a bow son.

Are you playing FPL and struggling to decide how to use your chips? Look no further than this Reddit discussion for help.

MEME 😆

R1 REFERRAL