Financial controls

[blues-clues]

This seems a bit like constraint of trade or anti competition or something illegal but it may just play into our hands - being the only club who can spend like mad before the "rules" come in.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 256279.stm

The problem with this seems to me that even fewer players will end up with even more money and the only clubs that will be able to spend big will be the big clubs who will continue to get bigger in some sort of self fullfilling vicious circle.

[lets all have a disco]

This line is interesting.

Uefa would also look at losses incurred by clubs' parent companies who have to service loans, said Platini.


Lets see how the rags get around that one then.


Actually UEFA will just turn a blind eye,sorry.

[Dameerto]

We need to expand COMS to 90,000 before 2012 and we will be all set...

[The Man In Blue]

The problem with this seems to me that even fewer players will end up with even more money and the only clubs that will be able to spend big will be the big clubs who will continue to get bigger in some sort of self fullfilling vicious circle.

this is what has been happening for years. the irony is that the organisation who is purporting to combat this kind of financial stranglehold, is the very same body that is perpetrating its existence with the champ league.

[gillie]

I think they are treading very dangerous ground with all this as in the long term it will cause a massive split and breakaway leagues will sprout all over the place.

[blues-clues]

The problem with this seems to me that even fewer players will end up with even more money and the only clubs that will be able to spend big will be the big clubs who will continue to get bigger in some sort of self fullfilling vicious circle.

this is what has been happening for years. the irony is that the organisation who is purporting to combat this kind of financial stranglehold, is the very same body that is perpetrating its existence with the champ league.

exactly right! And Platini is the main culprit.

I would think that all we need is the Sheikh to open an account in the name of Manchester City in one of his banks, drop a billion into it at 10% and we are sorted. 100 million a year in interest alone should fund a couple of half decent transfers each window! Lets face it whatever they come up with someone will find a way around it even if it means going to court because Uefa have breached their human rights to spend their money however they like.

[mcfc1632]

Please - not the 'broken European law' angle again - human rights? - anti-competition - it simply is not true if you understand the European Laws

[zuricity]

Don't be stupid.

The premier league just needs to keep on doing what it is doing. The advertisers will flock to a winner. The Champions League is finished. It's boring , forget it.

[ronk]

This is a rule by owners, for owners. The goal is to make more football clubs profitable by stopping the wage spiral.

On reflection, I think that our owners aren't necessarily opposed to this. They want us to be a profitable club in the future, spending controls are an important part of that. Their money will go further.

It complicates somewhat the business of spending large sums of money but they've already said they don't intend to repeat the spending spree (in the immediate future). There will still be avenues they could use to explore further bursts of squad strengthening. e.g. they could issue a bond, borrow like Read Madrid or just count the wholesale price of shirts as income if they restructure the shirt deal (by buying the shirts off Umbro and then distributing them rather than taking a fee (all profit) for the shirt sale). Profit would stay the same but revenue would increase.

We've already seen an increase in crowds, an increase in shirt sales and an increase in sponsorship. We can expect that to continue.

Breakaway leagues won't happen. There aren't enough people with enough money willing to take on the might of the big clubs knowing that UEFA could just change the rules (and the owners would support that to crush a breakaway league) and start a spending war if anyone tried it.

The other option open would be to accept the risk that we might get a UEFA ban if we continue spending, we'll just have to settle for winning the league and see how long they can hold on knowing that they're hurting themselves.

[Ted Hughes]

They don't have the power to stop someone investing in a company. They are not a government.

[pears12]

surely this just makes established big clubs stronger.. maybe i missing point like can't spend more than revenue received, but surely real madrid will have larger revenues than say valliadolid and can spend a lot more money on players and wages in comparison.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

They don't have the power to stop someone investing in a company. They are not a government.

exactly.
They can of course make rules for their own competition but as most top clubs in the world wouldn't meet the requirements, the European competitions would just die away.

[JonnyAsh]

If we started winning the Premiership every year and then teams below us were being allowed into Europe, it would make the Prem a laughing stock, and maybe then the media would at last see a cause to fight, because even though we are seen as the 'bad boys' now, EUFA and FIFA are a big joke. Anyway, in 3 years it will all change, and we will find a way to balance our books by then.

For heavens sake if Scouse are likely to qualify, we would be able to match their accounts...Or maybe all the English clubs will fail, and the top club that meets the criteria will be Bolton, ha ha