(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

[Hermiod]

It's a punishment, not a help. It's to stop teams doing what Leicester did by getting themselves in to debt paying silly money wages and transfer fees that they can't afford, going in to administration to pay 1p in the pound off of those debts and then getting promoted back to the Premier League debt free.

 

[Jax]

Certian clubs like Leeds do bring it on themselves but some just can't help it due to crap TV revenue in lower leagues, falling attendences and some clubs only recently got over all the money issues causes 7 years ago with ITV digital.

Lower league clubs are in worser postions I feel due to this docking points rule. Luton Town will probably be the first English League team to go bust in a long while.

 

[Hermiod]

^It's only Football League clubs that this will affect. It's a Football League rule, not an FA one. It does not apply to the Premier League.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

EDIT - also no one has mentioned the League Two news that Rotherham have been docked 17 points (naturally administration issues and stuff). So that league now starts with them on -17 and Luton on -30. Bournemouth may yet lose points too later this week. If they do, I'd say that's relegation over and done with from the off. The promoted teams will have no fear at all, and the likes of Notts County and Chester and Dag & Red who are down there most years will also have little to worry about.

I do wonder how the hell does docking points help a team reslove there situation cause it leads to relegation or missing promotion, which means loss of money and further debts

It's an especially ridiculous punishment when all the problems were made by the previous administration, as is the case with Luton. The alternative to accepting the points deduction, IIRC, is getting kicked out of the league or even having the club dissolved (similar to what happened to Gretna I think).

Throw in the fact Rotherham now also pay an additional £750.000 a year (I think) to keep playing at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, and have to go back to Rotherham in the next four years or risk getting kicked out of the league as well, it all looks pretty bleak for them.

All of it is an utter sham and is kicking football clubs left right and centre.

 

[Hermiod]

Maybe so, but I'd still introduce it and some very strict rules on financial management to the Premier League as well.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

That would certainly even things up. Some of the top clubs would would be ruined if rules stopped them playing with massive debts.


Two transfers (almost) this morning - Luke Young looks set to join Villa from the 'boro, and Andrew 'Don't Call Him Andy' Johnson has left Everton for Fulham for the usual undisclosed fee, thus leaving the Everton physio without much to do for this season.

 

[Hermiod]

^Pffft, not while they've got Tim Cahill.

I want to see a turnover-based wage limit in the Premier League. It would just say that you can spend X percent of your income on player wages and that's it. It would be audited so no cheating by buying your players cars and houses on the side. Clubs would be able to spend only the money they make. No "loans" from wealthy owners.

Yes, this might sound a bit selfish as an Arsenal fan (i.e. a club that makes its own money) but I suspect the owners of a good few Premier League clubs would agree. It would even the playing field and stop this pandering to billionaires.

The alternative is that rich foreign investors continue to gain influence over the Premier League. It would only take a majority vote amongst the Premier League clubs to end promotion and relegation, after all, and the foreign owners want to protect their investments.

 

[Tomalak]

Not a bad idea, but the trouble is that it will make it harder for teams to attract better players to progress, and in turn generate more revenue. What hope have championship clubs - nearly all loss makers - got of getting in the names to keep them in the premiership?

 

[Hermiod]

Can someone explain this to me ?

When they play away, Rangers and Celtic are given an allocation of away tickets which they then sell to their own fans on behalf of the club they're visiting, right ? Are they saying they're going to keep 5% of the money to pay their administration costs ?

 

[HappyDayRiot]

I gave up trying to understand Scottish football years ago. Nothing that happens up there surprises me - even the Welsh League, populated by the likes of Airbus and TNS, is more sane.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Hurray, the Football League is back!

Things That Never Change in Football No. 234: Derby played a match and lost. Amazingly, the last time Derby County won on a Saturday was over a year ago. Incredible.

And I fancy Pompey to win the Community Shield tomorrow.

 

[Jax]

Thank god I just ordered Virgin TV (Sky keeps losing signal) because am getting Setanta Sports free with it and I just found out that they have all ENGLAND Q/F away games and all friendly games.

An Irish broadcaster having exclusive ENG games is absurd and how did SKY lose them. So for next 4 years we have to put up with crappy advert breaks on ITV and god knows who Sentana has got to do there games

I checked as of beginning of 2008

Setanta has around 400,000 subscribers in the UK

how did they outbid SKY who have millions ?

 

[Hermiod]

^Loans.

And Sky aren't British. Sky are part of BSkyB which again is owned by News Corporation, an American/Australian company.

ITV and Setanta got the FA Cup too.

 

[Hermiod]

Big problems for Manchester City. The Thai Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant for Thaksin Shinawatra.

He is on bail on corruption charges in Thailand but he failed to turn up for his trial. He went to China to see the opening ceremony for the Olympic games but then instead of going to Thailand like he was supposed to, he flew back to the UK instead.

The Thai government has also suspended as many of his assets as they can, though it doesn't affect most of his fortune.

 

[Tomalak]

And Mark Hughes is starting to realise he might have made a very big mistake. For a supposedly flush club, trying to sell Corluka and Ireland seems odd.

Thank god Parry had the sense not to sell to Shinawatra, even if we did end up with Statler and Waldorf.

 

[Jax]

^Loans.

And Sky aren't British. Sky are part of BSkyB which again is owned by News Corporation, an American/Australian company.

ITV and Setanta got the FA Cup too.

Who does Setanta commentating ? I love MOTD for ENG matches cause Wright is always a good laugh, oh well

 

[Hermiod]

^On Premier League games it's normally either Jon Champion or Ian Crocker with Craig Burley as a summariser.

In the studio they normally have Angus Scott as a presenter, with various combinations of Tim Sherwood, Emmanuel Petit, Les Ferdinand, Ray Parlour and Steve McManaman as pundits.

 

[Jax]

^ oh the joy

 

[Hermiod]

^It's hideous. When they showed our game against Aston Villa when Adebayor scored a headed goal Tim Sherwood actually said on live television that Villa defender Zat Knight should have headbutted Adebayor in the face in order to "let him know he's there".

 

[Garak]

^It's hideous. When they showed our game against Aston Villa when Adebayor scored a headed goal Tim Sherwood actually said on live television that Villa defender Zat Knight should have headbutted Adebayor in the face in order to "let him know he's there".

Tim Sherwood, nice talk.