Today Manchester City announced losses of £92.6 million last night, the third largest in British football history.
This is a truly sad state of affairs. Now let me be clear, I do not blame City or their owners, it is a free market and they are entitled to do whatever they please. They have put together an exciting team that I certainly enjoy watching. From a singular entertainment perspective, I could care less how much money City spend. However for my overall enjoyment of the Premier League and football, I am less certain.
Much like Chelsea did a few season ago City are trying to buy their way into the upper echelons of the Premier League. Nothing wrong with this (within the current system and rules), all teams do it. But how far are they willing to go? The losses sustained this year are inconsequential when your club is owned by billionaires, much like the losses Chelsea are maintaining.
Does Sheikh Mansour care about a £92.6 million loss? Not one bit. He can afford to absorb that kind of expenditure with the expectation of being paid off down the road, and the personal glory from owning an elite football club.
Sadly it is the administrators that consistently let down the sport. They fail to ever protect football. Football is a product, and like any product it needs to be protected from elements that could damage it. The FA and Premier League stand idly by year after year as issues arise and are not dealt with adequately.
We have been long standing supporters of introducing a salary cap system, with the goal of slowly leveling the playing field somewhat. One aspect of American sports that the UK could learn from is that there is great equity across the spectrum of those sports which results in close games, close title chases etc etc.
The Premier League at least, has an exclusive elite, and the rest. This is a broken system, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (unless of course you are bought by an Abu Dhabi Sheihk).
On a another note - is Craig Bellamy a legitimate possibility for Player of The Year this year? I think he might be.........
As much as Bellamy should well be up there challenging for player of the year and he'd completely deserve it, it'll no doubt go to someone like Scholes for the same reason it ridiculously went to the one footed wonder last year.
ReplyDeleteThink Tevez will be in the running on current form
ReplyDelete"The Premier League at least, has an exclusive elite, and the rest. This is a broken system, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (unless of course you are bought by an Abu Dhabi Sheihk). "
ReplyDeleteWhich is exactly why City's takeover is GOOD for the Premiership. Durr.
I have to disagree in that owners that keep their clubs debt free are a boon to football by investing in the product and not just for financial gain. The owners we should deplore are those that see football as a cash cow to be milked and those that do not have the money to realtically support their club from a financial standpoint.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bizarre rambling post. You don't make a constructive argument for any of your comments..
ReplyDeleteThe point you make about the increasing influence of money in football in general and particularly in the Premier League is a valid one. Lots of theories about capping salaries and limiting transfer fees have been kicked about and disregarded because they will either lead to a perpetuation of the status quo (the top four will be the top four forever) or because they would likely be illegal under European employment or competition laws. The Platini initiative, supported by the "european elite" clubs because they stand to be the beneficiaries, is a prime example.
ReplyDeleteNew money injected into football without burdening clubs with debt as is the case with Manchester City and Chelsea (debt has been converted to equity) should be welcomed. Of greater concern should be the extreme levels of debt carried by many football clubs including the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid despite those clubs being the beneficiaries of a UEFA devised system which funnels a disproportionate amount of football's TV and other commercial revenues into the hands of those few clubs who play regularly in its Champions League.
Sadly, professional sport is not played out on a level playing field regardless of how idealists would have it. The salary cap which exists in some US professional sports (not all) does help to a limited extent but the advent of free agency and a system which allows for mechanisms such a salary deferral still leads to some teams being habitual winners, others being habitual losers and lots of mediocrity in the middle, not unlke the Premier League. Lets not forget that the draft system where the worst teams get the first choice of the incoming college graduates also has a part to play in leveling things between teams in the US and no such system is ever likely to be practical for English football.
@ Steve Williams..
ReplyDelete*cough* united *cough*
I've read that the top 4 pull in something like £160 Million a season in Champions League revenue between them, so what chance do other clubs have if they don't sell to rich investors. Capping transfer fee and salaries would only work if it was Europe-wide and strictly enforced and there's no way the so-called big clubs would ever agree to that.
ReplyDeleteMay I add that Craig Bellemy would be a worthy POTY winner.
ReplyDelete