The credit checking agency Riskdisk has black-listed 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs according to the Times. This means that companies involved in trades with these clubs are being advised to limit credit limits to these clubs. The analysis has been based on a list of financial details such as balance sheet information, court records and payment history, reports euFootball.BIZ.

It does not factor in details such as whether the club has a rich owner and so there are some surprise organizations in the list.

The Premier League clubs that are considered a credit risk are Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Director of Riskdisk Rob McLaughlin said "The ratings do not predict what a wealthy backer may do. They are based on information available from sources such as Companies House and from the courts. There is no assumption made that a shareholder may put more money in."

Experian, which is another credit-ratings organisation, made similar findings. This agency black-listed five Premier League clubs in January.

Many of the clubs on the list claimed to be unaware of their credit rating.