Who are the new owners of Burnley ALK Capital and what their buyout means

The new year is approaching and comes with a new era for Burnley, who has announced on Hogmanay that a tidal change is underway at Turf Moor.

American firm ALK Capital has acquired a controlling stake in the Premier League club and they come with great promises and even greater ambitions.

But who are the new officials? And what do they want with Burnley?

Let’s take a look and find out.

For example, Velocity Sports Partners, the sports investment arm of ALK Capital, now owns 84% ​​of Burnley FC. The £ 200million investment is their first venture into British sport… but who really are these new American lords?

Their website describes them as a cutting edge investment firm with a special focus on sports and technology. They claim to be “sports, finance and investment professionals” with “experience in senior positions involved in investment, risk management, business operations and high level turnarounds”.

They seem to know their football, or their football, so to speak. Shortly before taking control of Burnley, they made significant investments in emerging recognition software platforms such as AiScout and Player LENS.

Moneyball Burnley? Let’s have it.

Alright, so I know what you are thinking. A forward-thinking, cutting-edge American football investment firm… what do they want? Burnley? I mean, these aren’t exactly the hottest football clubs …

Scratch beneath the surface, however, and it looks like they’ve done their research. They are a Premier League team with enormous growth potential: their average position since their promotion to the Championship has been 12th, despite the division’s consistent payroll.

Interestingly, only Sheffield United, West Brom and Leeds have lower payrolls than the Clarets (by Spotrac), and that doesn’t account for all summer transfers, so Leeds’ big acquisitions may have. even being pushed Burnley into salary relegation. zoned.

They regularly exceed their expectations and there is no doubt the feeling that they can consistently compete for Europe if Sean Dyche has the resources to match his rivals.

They have a lot more going for them too: a Category 1 academy and a proud history, having won top flight twice in the past.

The buyout cost £ 200million, just a fraction of what it would cost to acquire a controlling stake in one of English football’s big brands, but there is the potential to grow their value, and ultimately to reap a huge return on your investment if they sell the club years down the line.

So yeah… maybe not as crazy as it looks.

Sean Dyche is by far the oldest Premier League coach. Appointed in May 2012, his reign lasted more than twice as long as 16 of today’s high-flying bosses.

And it’s going to stay that way under the new ownership, apparently.

A Forbes report which claims to have already given Dyche the assurance that he is the key to the club’s success in the future further adds to the feeling that the new bosses have done their research.

It appears they want to maintain the spirit of the club which has become a source of pride over their four and a half seasons in the top flight, and Dyche is seen as the ultimate pillar of that continuity.

The loyal boss was often at odds with incumbent Mike Garlick and his reluctance to invest in the playing team. With the shiny new board keen to keep him out, we might have some interesting transfer windows ahead.

ALK is led by Wall Street guru Alan Pace, who has become Burnley’s new chairman.

He is described by The Burnley Express as “an accomplished sports and financial services leader with over 20 years of Wall Street experience overseeing multi-billion dollar divisions and 10 years in management. Sport”.

Despite the connotations of his name, Pace likes to keep a low profile and stressed that there will be no rush to reach the top of the English game. However, he believes English football needs to think about the future, and over time he plans to change the way Burnley does things – starting with their recruiting.

He told the Daily Mail: “What you will learn from us is that we under-promise and over-deliver. The last thing we want to do is come here and say ‘We’ll spend £ 30million in the window we’ I’ll be in the Champions League in five years. We’re here to work our tails and there will be some cool stuff along the way.

“There is an evolution in the technology side of sports and it is really time for football to start taking it a step further. When you look at the data and the analytics, it doesn’t require someone to have to be 30 as a scout. There is a little bit of life in the past. “

… But that said, we may well see January signings, according to Lancashire Live.

Burnley is pretty much clear in doing whatever he wants in the transfer market without having to worry about the FFP, given his enviably low payroll and spending, so if they want to step up in the window , then the floor is theirs.

Lancashire Live says the new owners are ready to sanction a signing or two if Dyche decides he needs reinforcements, but their preference is to calm down – so maybe it’s summer before we see the real impact of the takeover on the ground.