WDB
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Post by WDB on Feb 14, 2020 21:21:01 GMT
I understand the Arabian Gulf Football Company, Northwest England Branch, will be free to spend more time enjoying the black puddings and Eccles cakes they clearly love so much.
Does the panel have any views on what, on the face of it, is a rare attempt by football’s authorities to save the game from degenerating into a crude wallet-measuring contest?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2020 22:16:51 GMT
For the manager and players it must have an impact.
As professional sportsmen they want to play in the top competitions in return for reward and recognition. Take that away what's left?
It could also accelerate a European + EPL super league if Citeh were to be accepted as a f(o)unding member.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2020 17:50:58 GMT
On the plus side Man City have now equaled Man Utd. Neither of them will be playing in the Champions League for the next couple of seasons.  |
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Post by EspadaIII on Feb 15, 2020 19:31:51 GMT
Wait till the appeal.....
Given the appaling lack of introspection of FIFA and UEFA (despite getting rid of Platini) the decision smacks of keeping the elite, elite.
The huge investment in facilities in the neighbourhood of Manchester in which the Etihad stadium sits (taking a huge area of contaminated land and converting it into an academy school and the main training campus for the whole of MCFC), the investment in Women's football and the work in the local community have all been ignored. No other club in England does as much for the local community as City but all ignored.
Just last week a review of the cost of a kid being a mascot at a match was reported in the DT. As per usual the smaller clubs charged fortunes; City was free. Season tickets are less expensive than most big teams. The fans; the ones who attend the games in person - they benefit from all this. But as per usual it's those who sit on their backsides who call the shots.
Also the authorities seem to have done nothing about the Glazers raping ManU's bank account whereas Sheikh Mansoor wants to invest in his club (see above).
If EUFA want football to survive we need more exciting football from the likes of City, not Burnley parking the bus. The only way to do that is to copy F1 and spend some money.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Feb 15, 2020 23:07:36 GMT
No other club has the extra income from their owner passed off as a sponsorship deal though.
The owner might want to 'invest' but there are fair play rules otherwise it would be easy for any rich person to have the best team. How many other teams have enough pitches to setup surfaces to emulate the upcoming away grounds?
The F1 reference is interesting because there is a continual attempt to limit the spending of the bigger teams. It is also unfair that Ferrari for example gets far more money for just competing than say Williams.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2020 0:44:11 GMT
The F1 reference is interesting because there is a continual attempt to limit the spending of the bigger teams. It is also unfair that Ferrari for example gets far more money for just competing than say Williams. That's why it's called the FIA and not WIA. Williams International Assist doesn't have the same ring to it. |
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Post by EspadaIII on Feb 17, 2020 12:14:31 GMT
See below a review of the situation - admittedley from a biased perspective....
Once upon a time, there was a really prestigious football tournament called the European Cup, which was based on sporting excellence. It brought together outstanding teams from across the continent. To qualify teams first had to prove themselves by winning their own league, this truly was a competition for champions.
With the glory though also came the opportunity for great wealth & eventually the principal of sporting excellence was overtaken by greed. The self-appointed elite of the time "the European Royalty" decided they wanted a greater share of the spoils & they wanted it guaranteed regardless of their performance!
The grubby little cartel (later known as the G14) threatened to break away & form their own Super League, unless everyone else agreed to their demands! Feeling they had little choice, UEFA caved in & the"Champions" League was born.
At the heart of this self-serving little cartel were 3 English clubs (Man United, Liverpool & Arsenal) & coincidentally the format of the new competition granted 3 places to English teams. It also changed from a straight knockout format to an initial group stage. So now not only could they still qualify by only finishing 2nd or 3rd in the Premier League, they were also guaranteed at least 6 lucrative fixtures each season.
BOOM! The money started rolling in & the big 3 got fatter, as they disappeared over the horizon, leaving the rest of the league with little chance of ever challenging their increasing financial dominance!
Then out of the blue, a wealthy Russian Oligarch, Roman Abramovich, rolled into town to bankroll Chelsea & gatecrash the party! With the gravy train now under threat, the greedy little threesome convinced UEFA to increase the English allocation to 4 places! Phew disaster averted, onwards & upwards, no harm done...
That was until the "evil" Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester City with his unlimited "dirty oil money!"!
Now with UEFA unable or unwilling to accommodate this latest unwelcome guest at the top table, a new strategy was required to preserve the dominance of the established elite. Without further a do, the "Financial Fair Play" was conceived!
This had little to do with "fair play", turning a blind eye to debt ridden clubs & owners that systematically drained money out of the game! It was solely designed to stop wealthy owners investing in clubs & making them competitive; thus ensuring the lazy established elite remained unchallenged.
Undeterred by the bogus nature of these new constraints targeted at them & any future investors, Manchester City embarked on transforming the club, with initial investment to break the cartel & putting top quality people in place, off the field as well as on it.
In addition to breaking all records on the pitch, the club has now achieved commercial sustainability & delivered 4 years of profit. The club is now independently valued at over £2B (reportedly outstripping all the Premier League old-guard). This has shown a huge return on Sheikh Mansour's £1.2B investment & dispelling the lie of "financial doping".
So what do the owners of the established "European Royalty" do now? Up their game? Risk their own money to meet the challenge? No! They utilise their stooges in the media to try & discredit City's achievements & demand UEFA do "something" to derail Citys' progress!
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Feb 17, 2020 14:46:36 GMT
I believe there has to be a limit any team owner in sport is allowed to spend otherwise it's not really sport. So this applies to football, rugby*, F1, basketbal, etc.
What I am surprised at is the current owner spent so much to purchase Manchester City when he could have bought another club for much less and invested the same for the same results.
* I think rugby should review the wages cap though - why so much less than football apart from the obvious club incomes.
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Post by EspadaIII on Feb 17, 2020 14:55:36 GMT
What I am surprised at is the current owner spent so much to purchase Manchester City when he could have bought another club for much less and invested the same for the same results. I am not surprised. In order for the club to make a real profit it needs a large fan base to attend matches, buy merchandise etc etc. City always had a large fan base, with attendances of 30,000+ at Maine Road when we were in the third tier. It also helped that there was a good rivalry in Manchester, it is a major international city in its own right and a major airport on its doorstep. Easy for new foreign fans to visit; and boy do they visit. Nowhere outside London could really offer that other than perhaps something like Birmingham (various clubs) or Everton (maybe they tried to buy it). Competition in London and the costs were perhaps too big. City also had a nice new stadium so major expenditure on that was not needed. |
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Post by EspadaIII on Feb 27, 2020 19:55:21 GMT
Last night's result gave UEFA the willies I bet. Do they really want ManCity winning Champions League this year?
In other news, even the Scousers are happy with the result.
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