Football's Financial Shame: The Story of the V11 review so moving you'll pity these poor footballers

"The V11 may sound like a fictional spy ring from a shonky airport novel but they're actually a group of retired footballers whose careers spanned the 90s and early 00s. This era-specificity is crucial. They are members of the Premier League's in-between generation. They're mid-rankers: household names but it depends on the household. Danny Murphy. Rod Wallace. Brian Deane. Tommy Johnson. Michael Thomas. Craig Short. If you know, you know."

"During the early, upwardly mobile stages of their careers, each of these men came into contact with a company called Kingsbridge Asset Management. Fronted by David McKee and Kevin McMenamin, Kingsbridge promised to invest the money the players were making. Its reputation was good; even managers were using the company. And so began the construction of a bewildering house of financial cards involving a short-lived government tax exemption for film funding, property developments in Florida, and eventually the vengeful attentions of HMRC."

The V11 are a group of retired Premier League footballers whose careers spanned the 1990s and early 2000s, representing a mid-ranking generation of household names. During their early careers they invested with Kingsbridge Asset Management, run by David McKee and Kevin McMenamin, which promised to invest players' earnings. The schemes relied on a short-lived government tax exemption for film funding and included property developments in Florida. After the schemes collapsed HMRC pursued tax liabilities on investors’ outlays, leaving players with crippling bills that wiped out fortunes and, in some cases, damaged sobriety and mental health.

Read at www.theguardian.com