Give 'em hell, Michel!
Ah, Monsieur Platini. I almost wish he'd never taken up an important job then we could all remember when his feet did the talking...and them feet could make a speech by Martin Luther King sound like the grumblings of a chav with seven ciders down his gullet.
Now, Platini's having a pop at the influx of foreign owners and wondering how he might stop it. What's his job again? Head of Uefa? And he can't do anything? What happens to people when they get these jobs? Does some sneaky surgeon lop off your jewels even as the ink pours from the platinum tip of your fountain pen?
I'm being hard on Michel 'cos I utterly sympathise with his position on foreign owners but unlike him, I'm not really in a position of influence.
Having said that, the Blue Bell's management team has just changed from Ron and Emma (born in Northallerton) to Carly and Hansie (born Pietermaritzburg) and there was nothing we locals, men who had inhaled the smog of a billion bad Teesside chimneys since we were so high, could do about it.
Thankfully, KP is from Pietermaritzburg so they're as good as English any road. And the South Africans know enough about serving and sinking a pint or nine to make the whole experience surprisingly pleasant.
But then that's the problem with footie fans too, isn't it? How many times have you heard this...?
"We don't want them Yanks at our club! What the hell do they know about football!? We're just being used as some sort of debt-holding cesspit while they rip us off! Yanks Go Ho.... wait a minute, go on Cristiano/Fernando* my son, go on! Yes! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL!! We're top of the league! La-la-la La-la-L'America!!!" (*delete as applicable)
Harry Redknapp said last week that fans don't care who owns the club and we wouldn't give a toss as long as we bag them three points of a Saturday (or increasingly, Sunday).
Well, 'Arry, you don't think much of us do you, son? Personally I'd be insulted if it wasn't for the fact that Kim Jong Il is rumoured to be throwing some cash at the Boro in the next three months - and replacing Southgate with Tony Mowbray - and expanding the Riverside Stadium into a giant shopping mall with a footie pitch at one end of it. (We've always had a special relationship with the North Koreans up here.)
I made this jest in the Bell last night and at least two numbskulls got very over-excited about it, although Tony Thompson was a bit worried on moral grounds - not 'cos of human rights abuses but because "they eat dogs". Frankly it'd be an improvement on them Biltong snacks that Carly and Hansie are chucking at us from behind the bar. But I digress.
Platini's point is that foreign owners bring wads of cash to buy foreign players and before you know it the club's lost its identity.
Commentators always tout Carra and Stevie and JT and Frank and Red Nev and Scholesy as examples of true club men from the old school. And you'll always get that stat trotted out about Celtic's '67 European Cup winners all being born within a docker's cuss of Celtic Park.
Of course Platini's right - and yet you ask a Gooner whether he thinks Arsenal have an identity problem. They don't. They used to scrape 1-0's off the back of a defence built from English oaks and now they are Arsene's Arsenal - Arsene-All. Everything the team does has Arsene written all over it. Utterly identifiable, not very Norf Lahndon, but pretty and damn successful.
Perhaps there's a case for every club picking a manager on the basis that his name is virtually already in the club's title. In the next few years expect to see the following gaffers: Jack Charlton at the Addicks, Jim Leighton at Orient, Mr Eriksson at Sheffield Svensday and Vidal Sassoon at Barnet.
But clubs don't lose their identity cos of an influx of money - they lose it if the turnover of managers is too quick. Managers who can build a team in their own image can create the identity of a club for years to come - Keegan's Newcastle (free-flowing, romantic, self-deluded), Allardyce's Bolton (big, dirty) Greenwood's West Ham (neat, attractive), Nicholson's Spurs.
A strong man Like Wenger or Scolari can change the wholesale character of a club, but they need time and probably the worst thing that the money men have brought with them is a complete lack of patience.
I do agree with Michel about this story of Chelsea bagging an 11-year-old from Marseille. That's bloody ridiculous. The lad should be left to get on with his life in his home town. They can keep tabs on him without flying him over and sticking him in a waterfront apartment or wherever. Eleven years of age!
Sooner or later I think these G14 clubs will find out where on the chromosome you can find the footy gene and they'll be buying holding midfielders who are not yet out of the womb.
Come to think of it, if Sepp Blatter has his way there'll be a limit on foreign-born players in the Premier League so the well-rich clubs'll be flying in busloads of pregnant women in order to have little Thierry or Andriy or Gianfranco born within the whiff of battered cod.
What I don't get, employment laws and whatnot notwithstanding, is how Platini and Blatter can stand around whining about the way footie's going in England and then not have the wherewithal to actually do something about it. If they can't start summat, who can?
If regulations don't tighten now then the Premier League is going to be a billionaires' bagatelle and so far, no one from Roman to Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is getting any real flak off the fans. In fact, in the Manchester City FC shop there's never been such a run on tea-towels.
I'm Derek Robson. People call me Robbo. Legend has it I was raised in the furnace and smog of Teesside. Some might say I took the hard road. I like to tell folk I had trials for Middlesbrough, for Hartlepool and for burglary (not guilty). I've always loved sport. My job is to say it as I see it - whether it's in the bar of the Blue Bell or on this blog. You won't find me calling a spade a soil-redistribution implement.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~29~RS~)
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In Europe it seems that the power for change is with the politicians and not the football authorities
The problem, as I see it, is that the EU seem to think that one cap will fit all when it comes to drafting employment legislation to cover the EU.
However, instead of effectively lobbying for change UEFA and FIFA appear to bleat on that things ought to be different, but they, the sport adminstrators cannot do anything about it.
If UEFA and FIFA can't effect change, then who can?
Eunechs are less emasculated than this lot of ineffective bureaucrats
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Good article Robbo. These guys can do something, but done, its a case of s... or get off the pan
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Hmm - nice analogy, son. I use the word 'analogy advisedly.
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Sooner or later I think these G14 clubs will find out where on the chromosome you can find the footy gene and they'll be buying holding midfielders who are not yet out of the womb.
----------
Footballers aren't that clever. Probably because they get taken out of school at 11 and only play football until they are in their 30s.
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Maybe FIFA and UEFA should get its own house in order before shouting the odds at the EPL.
Isn't that right Rio?
I'd much rather they focus on racism in football than what colour an owners passport is.
Maybe it just comes down to jealousy- they have gone all green because they can't rake in as much cash as the EPL. In Platini's case it may well be a silent tear for the demise of French football! Then again he is supposed to speak for Europe and not his Gallic DNA!
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I really don't care.
The fear of foreign ownership and foreign influx smacks of the same base fear that the likes of the BNP run on.
"I want my club to be all English". Fine do just that. But want your club to be successful right now and you'll be lucky. Especially when you look at the fact that an Englishman hasn't won England's top trophy for what seems to be a generation.
I hear people talk about closing doors and ports to "keep out the *whatever xenophobic generalisation of the month*" because "they come over 'ere and take our jobs" simply because people here sit and whine and feel that the world owes them a living simply because they have a maroon passport cover without getting off their backsides to do anything about trying to compete with foreign competitiors, clinging to some pseudo-patriotic guff that would belong in the good ol' days of the Empire.
If the fans aren't happy with foreign players and owners, they can vote with their feet (a la FC United) and form their own club that fits to their perceived 'identity'. Granted, it might not be successful, but at least they'll have the 'great Englishness' they crave so much, and who knows, maybe these 'great home-grown stars' we hear so much about will shine now that they are not omitted by big bad foreigners and the breakaway clubs will go from strength to strength and success will come as well as identity. The fans should choose what they feel they want to pay for.
There should no be artificial restrictions placed on clubs to stop 'foreigners' assuming positions simply because some xenophobes worry about 'local lads' being outstripped.
If you are unhappy, leave, convince others to follow suit, leave the millionaires with empty stadiums (football without the fans is nothing). Otherwise, just accept that this is a globalised market and that unless you are going to work hard to make a club with identity and success, don't ask others to create laws and enforce restrictions you yourself have no ability to pass simply because you want to hinder others from striding ahead.
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Good use of the North Korean link too!
Being a Boro fan also, I would hate a foreign invester to come in. But in 10 years time if nearly everyone has billionaire owners, we may have no choice.
But for the time being, long may Gibbo's reign continue.
You make a good point about identity and continuity. Southgate is 7th in longest serving manager (1st SAF, 2nd Wenger). After only 2 years in charge, I find it alarming.
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The thing is, Blatter and Platini have a point although not so much regarding the foreign managers - they seem to be generally much more intelligent and so much better than anything that we Brits can offer (with some exceptions).
The problem is the level of debt that fuels our Premier League and pays for these expensive superstars. Much of this money consists of loans to the clubs that will need to be repaid at some time.
This is the same business plan that worked so well in modern banking for many years but, as we have seen, credit and debt are the same things and eventually they catch up.
As such, I fear for the long term future of some of our biggest clubs.
Will, in 10 years time, footie fans in Manchester have to support Tranmere or Wigan as their only local clubs? I hope not but the warning signs are there.
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If Platini is interested in ensuring teams are run responsibly and installing a more level playing field for clubs across Europe, then a salary cap would be one way to achieve it. I am aware European employment law frowns on anything which in any way restricts the ability of teams with more money than sense to overpay players with better agents than football skills, but they found a way around this problem in the NFL in the US. The NFL is, in my view, the best-run, most powerful sports league in the world, and although some teams do tend to be more successful than others, everyone starts with approxmately the same amount to spend on salaries. So, you avoid a situation where e.g. Chelsea can buy someone like Wright-Phillips on a whim, and even if he doesn't play, he's more helpful to Chelsea sitting on their bench than he would be playing for a rival. And the fans lose out because an exciting player isn't on the pitch.
A salary cap in football would have to be Europe-wide, as if some countries had them and others didn't, most of the better players would end up on teams with no wage restrictions. It would mean that the fans of the 75% of clubs who realistically have zero chance of ever winning the top league title in their country might once again have something to root for.
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Sounds like the same old stuff we heard when the bristish car industry was brought up. Yet even though Rover is no more we still have a thriving industry in the UK making over a million and a half cars a year.
As a football fan i couldn't care on the nationality of the owners of my club. It's much more important that they are good owners. Yeah there are some bad forgein owners, but there are a load of poor british ones too.
Oh and I love the way that Uefa etc are suddenly up in arms about the way the premiership is run badly etc. Smacks that they are annoyed that we are doing well in europe... however i don't remember them complaining about spain earlier in the decade when they had valencia in 2 finals and Real winning two titles!
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You are making a good point but why write like such a spanner? Can't stand your lame attempts at being funny. I'm probably alone on this but even you're stupid little cartoon man in the corner gets me riled up
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I've been a footie fan and Everton supporter for over 35 years and, increasingly, I find myself feeling disconnected from this sport that has been a huge passion. I still go to Goodison Park and cheer for Arteta, Pienaar, whoever but...it's just not the same. In the near future my club will be bought by a foreign owner and I don't know how I will react. I do know, though, that if we win anything having spent million upon million on the best talent from round the world that it won't mean anything like as much as the championships and cups of the 80's. I may just give up on football altogether.
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Sorry "swerdna" but I don't think Manchester fans will support Tranmere or Wigan. They are too far from London!
Although Tranmere could do with a few Scousers who actually live nearby to stay on their side of the water instead of taking the "Ferry Cross the Mersey " to Goodison or Anfield at about 3 times the cost.
Perhaps in these credit crunched times attendance at smaller local grounds will improve as Premier prices get ever further beyond regular working folks ability to pay to cover the silly salaries of these nice young african boys.
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I'm a United fan so can't really talk, but how many people who say "I wouldn't want to be bought out by a foreigner" would give a tiny toot if the club started instantly performing and were challenging for things?
I didn't have a problem with the Glazers coming in and have enjoyed the Premierships and European Cup they've funded and it's only actually now I'm beginning to get some reservations about the state of the club's finances.
Will I complain if we win another league/european cup? Not a chance.
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Great blog Robbo,
Especially liked the reference to the G14, made me laugh.
I don't feel that fans have anything wrong with foreign ownership as long as the long standing principles of the club are held intact.
Also with regards to the proposed salary cap (off topic I know). Is it just me or couldn't clubs easily circumvent such restrictions by introducing ludicrously unbalanced bonus payments?
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11. Crikey mate, who rattled your cage? I may write like a spanner but I don't see why I should get on your nuts, son?
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I cant tell if you actually agree with idiot platinis comments or are being sarcastic....
I said other articles, and will say again now, its not the foreign owners that are the problem, its rich owners full stop.
Ashley is English, right? He screwed up NUFC worse than any foreign national has done any other club. maybe not entirely his fault, but he didnt handle the situation very well did he?
all that is needed is a limit on how much of a clubs income can be spent on repayments of debts that these new owners take out against the clubs. I think it is stupid that owners, who are millionaires, buy a club then promptly take out a 400 million loan against the club to buy a few fancy players and a new stadium. how about they invest some of their own money? to contradict myself from earlier, Ashley actually did that quite well at NUFC, and finished by reducing the clubs debt. How about a clubs debt can only amount to 40% of the clubs equity? anything else has to be borrowed at the investors risk and not the clubs. seems fair to me, and not as racist as the "foreigner" comments coming from UEFA
Sunderland's owners are also doing this quite well, and arent increasing the clubs debt and are taking the risk on themselves.
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maybe you can swap racist for xenophobic, either way, it seems more and more that blatter and platini dislike foreigners more than they dislike the EPL, and thats saying something.
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This is nothing to do with xenophobia Doctor_Kaunas but a clear and level headed analysis of what the future holds for all these clubs with foreign ownership. I am an Arsenal fan and I am worried about the clubs debt. But I understand that the debt is due to the new stadium and the redevelopment of Highbury, things that are paying for themselves or will pay their way at a later date. Unlike clubs like Chelsea and Manchester and probably now, Manchester City, that have rich sugar daddies who take out massive amounts of debt to finance the buying and instead of taking the debt on personally, hang it on the club. So in case the sugar daddy decides to leave, the club doesnt collapse under an unsustainable debt level. Stop looking at it as if someone is trying to stop the growth of the Premier League. Its only for the clubs good
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The important thing with "debt" in premiership clubs is to distinguish between debt and equity.
Chelsea, Sunderland, Newcastle and (I believe) Aston Villa are in debt to their owners which technically speaking is equity.
If Abramovic walked away from Chelsea tomorrow he'd have to find someone else to buy the equity off him or else he'd lose money. The club themselves would owe him nothing.
Compare that with Man Utd's debt which is in the form of bank loans. If the Glaziers walked away tomorrow the money would still be owed to the bank.
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Im a Villa fan and I think that our owner can be held up as the way an owner should run a football club. It doesnt matter if he is British or from Uranus, if he has the best interests of the club and its fans at heart then it shouldnt matter.
The way Randy Lerner has transformed the club so that it focuses on and enhances the traditions and the community at large should be commended.
Robbo - y'man at Boro as well, he should also be lauded for running a club in the right way. Seems like a top bloke.
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Former Scouser, I take exception to the comment about young African boys. Are Africans the only ones who are in the Premier League? Or maybe I should even be happy that African players are talented enough to make the cut in the Premier League while all the English players are able to do is play in the Championship
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Splatini and Blattered have made a few good points in recent days, but there is something more sinister in the tone in which their points are delivered.
The point about an 11-year old being brought from abroad for his football is worth pursuing, and this practice should be stopped. But if UEFA/FIFA really wanted to, they could stop it.
It's just like the issue with third party ownership of players. FIFA openly allows it, despite most people's concerns that many young South Americans are being exploited, because they (FIFA) are too lazy to step in and do anything about it. Only the Premier League has had the bottle to ban it here.
I agree that the amount debt being accumulated is worrying, and when things go belly up, these rich owners will ensure they keep the bulk of their wealth intact as the clubs go belly up. But this has happened on a smaller scale for years with English/British owners: clubs have gone bust after poor management from owners, even if the sums involved are significantly less. (Leeds, Bournemouth, Luton, etc.)
Whilst hooliganism and racism are alive and well on the continent, and with police violence toward away fans, and stabbing of away supporters a regular occurance, is it really club debt levels that are of most pressing concern to UEFA?
I can't help wondering if UEFA are working on a new excuse to bans English clubs from Europe. Like setting a maximum level of debt that sees the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal excluded from Europe, but still ensures Italian and Spanish teams don't fall foul.
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@19,
ummm, i beg to differ.
Every attack by Platini is to do with foreigners. Foreign investors, foreign players.... he'll be blaming the Chinese janitors next.
its just an easy target, that he knows will get a reaction from the supporter in the UK.
besides, u picked out one sentence in my comments. if you read them completely you are saying the same as me. The problem is not the foreign owners, its owners in general that borrow against the club and not themselves.
Arsenals debt is manageable/sustainable. Newcastle's is now, thanks to Ashley, and so is Sunderland's due to the irish consortium.
Manchester and Liverpool have debt taken out against them, see #20 comment, that amounts to massive amounts that could possibly cause them serious problems. what i proposed is that money borrowed against the club should be limited to 40% of their equity, the rest should be taken on by whoever owns them.
e.g. if SAFC's equity/assets is worth 200 million, then the debt should be limited to 80 million. so if the owners wanted to build a new academy for 120 million, the owners could borrow 80 million against the club, but would need to stump up 40 million themselves.
see "Leeds" to see how not to do it.
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I want to see the best players playing in the best league/teams... if Carlos Kickaball is a better player the Joe Bloggs then i want to have Carlos Kickaball in my team... i don't care if Joe Bloggs has never even been on holiday outside of the district of my local team...
when will we all get over this xenophobic stupidity!... thank god the racist and religious elements have now gone ... i live in hope that the "nationalistic" views will soon pass as well...
Robbo - please start using your position to advocate the strength of individuals based on their talent and not their nationality, religion or race... start the movement man!
and as for owners ... well just because people are from England doesn't make them good chairman... e.g. Ridsdale, Bates, many more.... even if we take an unpopular "foreign owner" .... despite the enormous negativity surronding the glazers i think anyone would be hard pushed to say that united haven't been successful on the pitch in their time there and that they haven't made money avaiailable for plenty of tramnsfers.. even paying over the odds if necessary to get a player...
also... was platini so against foreigners and money in football when he went to play for Juventus for a huge salary?... or is it a case that it was ok for him to go to another country and play/be associated with a club who wanted to pay him good money but it's not ok for anyone else?
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I'm not going to comment on whether or not UEFA/FIFA can/should do anything about foreign ownership, early buying of players or salary caps, there's just to much to go over without putting up a longer post than Robbo did, instead i'm goin to throw in my thoughts on why they won't try, and will just winge instead.
The simple reason is they simply don't want to. Those at the top of the football tree are having far to much fun milking the gravy train to do anything to ween football away from its dependance on money. What do you think would happen to Blatter's/Plattini's social lives if they did. The salaries would drop, the jolly-boys outings to luxury hotels as "honoured guests" would be a thing of the past.
The only agenda on the UEFA/FIFA table is one of self interest and protectionism. Just look at what happened in Poland. The government suspends a sporting body for failure to address issues with corruption, and how does the world governing body respond? Shame? Outrage that their good name is being sullied by local greed merchants? No, they demand the government back off and reinstate the corrupt officials. Ok, maybe the government shouldn't just appoint their own administrator, but perhaps they could have held discussions with UEFA to find a replacement for the FA that had just been outed.
A compromise? No none of that malarchy, bring back the guys who had all their dirty fingers and toes in every pie going. Or else.
Does anyone here seriously expect UEFA/FIFA to do anything useful?
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Platini strikes again...
Where were UEFA a few years ago when the Italian clubs were all in ruins due to excessive spending on players and the ridiculous wages to go with them? They had 3 teams in the semi-final of the Champs League if I remember rightly and not a word was uttered
Platini's problem with English clubs' spending, is purely down to his fear that they'll become more and more successful in Europe, and with it will come an influx of those 'nasty, thuggish English supporters'
Therefore, if UEFA threatens to ban English clubs from European tournaments for being in debt, there's less English fans on the continent to cause trouble, and more room for all those really nice mainland countries, none of whom - in UEFA's eyes - has a more serious problem with hooligans than England
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Quality post from Doctor Kaunas
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Robbo- do you write your column and then later insert all of the funny things you say or do they just come into your head while you're writing? And do you take notes at the pub?
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Notes in the pub - all my notes seem to go the way of the Saffer bar staff... no, I write the thing in the pub usually which probably explains its uniform excellence.
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I can't be bothered reading 29 posts, but are they all treating this seriously and do none of them realise Robbo is just having a laugh?
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Former Scouser *13 - I did say footie fans in Manchester NOT MU fans. They could end up at the New Den supporting Millwall along with the Chelsea fans if the worse comes to the worse and the credit crunch catches up with the Fantasy League aka the Premier League. (I think that I am joking but not sure).
As an English fan, the recent influx of seriously great players has to be a good thing for the game at least in the short term - the best English players have to perform even better to get in these teams. Also, some of the club games that I have seen have been amazing.
However, the level of debt that some of these big clubs have has to be a concern to their fans and also fans of football generally. Some are spending much more than they can ever get back via the turnstyle or commercial interests.
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"Robbo" - apart from your one reasoned point (Platini not having enough power), you fill the rest of your blog space with inane rantings. Also, whilst indeed you are a man of considerabnle social standing and stature, I don't believe that you are yet qualified to mock Martin Luther King, one of the greatest figures of recent history. Maybe I'm just being facetious, but I pay my TV License and in effect pay your ill-deserved wages.
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I get the feeling the point is being missed here - although, Robbo, I actually like this article - to be honest I'm not really that keen on a lot of your stuff but it's nice you're hitting home and giving a 'fans style' view on things...
For me (as an Arsenal fan) it's not necessarily who the owners are (although I imagine that some dodgy S.American cartel buyer *stereotype alert* will be rightly less well received that a sporting magnate etc.) but it's how the money is used.
The older generation of fans feelings that the 'good old days were the best' are perhaps (and please correct me if I'm wrong here) because their clubs fought for success. They experienced the 90th minute victories and losses, the cup runs, the injuries, the loss of players, the new signings that really got you excited pre-season. It's teams like Man City who, honest I like, but went from signing players like Elano (brilliant find player) to sudden megastars (or priced as such) like Robinho and Jo overnight. How can you expect to identify with your team if they were struggling one minute, then all of a sudden they have a player who's weekly wages is the same as 3x players currently at the side combined! It makes your head spin.
This money comes out of nowhere (the new investors). Is this 'real money' or is this money loaned from a bank? The new investor claims its their money, but maybe they've just taken over a company, things go south, they suddenly owe money, and things can suddenly turn.
The other thing that really worries me is that all these big-spending owners will be used to success and only 1x team can win the league at any one time! If you have 4,5,6... teams all owned by mega-rich investors (and, most importantly, if they're NOT football fans before they invested) then they'll get bored - I know I would. Then they think about leaving. And if they do that, they could leave the club(s) in massive debts - some that may be unrecoverable. All of a sudden, a Chelsea could go into administration. Yes, someone would buy it out as the brand still exists, etc. etc. - but the players will have trouble staying loyal, your reputation is reuined (regardless of your bank balance) and then it's difficult to get things going again...maybe unrecoverable if the club gets sold again when things dont turn around in a certain time.
It's a very long-winded, perhaps over-detailed and pessimisstic view - but that's the sort of negative thinking that may not be too far from the truth. Especially with a credit crisis...banks going under...etc...etc...
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How is it we never heard complaints from blatter and his lackey platini when Italy or Spain dominated the champs league. Now either or both of them constantly have something to say, nearly always negative, about the premier league and england. Blatter's goal is simple, he wants to weaken club football as the international game has been on a downward spiral for the last 10 years or so. Platini is merely his tool for this, at least when johansonn (prob misspelt) was boss of uefa he was bitter rivals with blatter, now blatter has his man there but he just cant get any of his ridiculous proposals past EU law, luckily for us. Every league has its ups and downs, england dominated late 70's early 80's, italy then and spain also, swings and roundabouts.
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I think all this is cod, anyway. If you ask me, all these new owners makes the league and everything around it MORE interesting, therefore more entertaining.
So some of the clubs are building up debts they can't pay. Didn't see UEFA giving a monkey's when Leeds did exactly that a few years back. They're claiming it's 'for the good of the game', which is a thin veil for 'we can't let the English teams monopolise Europe'.
After all, did anyone intervene when Italian teams were run by magnate politicians such as Berlusconi (Milan) and giant companies such as Fiat (Juventus) and winning the CL over and over again? Did they hell. Because it's okay, as long as it's not the English.
I fear that Platini and other politicians within the game are very much scarred by their own experiences of the English back in their heyday - i.e. hooliganism in the 80's. They are throwbacks secretly concerned that we are and always have been yobs, and that all this regeneration and reviving of the game has been a smokescreen for a return to the bad old days.
Otherwise, why pick on the English clubs? Real Madrid's backed by the Spanish royal family (billionaires) and Barcelona's backed by 500,000 Catalans (which I suppose could probably make them billionaires in theory).
There is no balance to his statements in terms of other countries, and this bias belies his true feelings. He makes no mention of, for example, Barcelona's youth policy (which sees them picking up very young players from abroad) or Milan's signing of Alexandre Pato (the young Brazilian).
Platini and Blatter are a dangerous combination, because as much as they can deny it, they dislike the English (in terms of teams, league and F.A.). This tinges all statements they make, even if there is any logic in them.
Thank God all EU legislation renders their nonsensical ideas regarding foreign players and salary caps unworkable.
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Nothing wrong with foreign ownership as far as I can tell. Look how fortunate WHU are.
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Is foreign ownership a problem? Not necessarily.
Is billionaires treating a club like a plaything? Yes.
Since Abrahmovich bought Chelski as a plaything and bought any player who was half decent the cost of signing players has spiralled. This has led to the players getting an over-inflated pay packet.
Now since this all stems from a Russian then in a sense it is true that foreign ownership is a problem, but it's not because he's Russian. it's because he was willing to throw so much money at them that is the problem.
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The reason the Platini can't do anything is that, even though we like to think otherwise, football clubs are businesses like any other. There is nothing to stop foreign investment in manufacturing, banking, or any other sector - why should football be different?
I would be very suprised if any rules which discriminate against country of origin will ever be passed into footballing law, so Blatter might as well forget about any quota system. The money and the skills of people born outside of this green enchaned land have made the premier league what it is today - and it's 10 times better than it was in the 80s and early 90s.
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totally agree with Platini but at the end of the day money makes teh world go round and in the EPL, money speaks louder.
Also, Platini is just gutted that French football has taken a nosedive since their golden era in the early 2000s.
Never mind - would love to see an english owner in charge of LFC but who can afford it?
global credit crunch!!
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All this about us screaming our heads off about the Americans and then singing their names is utter rubbish. They just don't bother yelling about the Glazers because there's no point. They just won't go. I didn't really care about them as long as they didn't interfere. But they haven't done anything we couldn't have done by ourselves except land us with a whole load of debt.
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"Sooner or later I think these G14 clubs will find out where on the chromosome you can find the footy gene and they'll be buying holding midfielders who are not yet out of the womb."
Haha! Very good. Sometimes you can try too hard to be funny but this one is spot on.
It is all getting a bit sad. I lost interest in the plastic spectacle of top-level football a long time ago, because it no longer gives me the buzz it once did.
And this bubble will burst, just like every other bubble ever created (house prices anyone?).
Roll on 3pm Sat kickoffs and Bovril again
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For as long as I can remember, the Italian and Spanish teams have always had a monopoly in the best players. Back rolled by prime ministers, big car manufacturers and multi millionaires, they have bought players like Platini, Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Rudd Guillet, Van Basten, George Weah, Ronaldo, Zidane and Figo etc. Breaking many transfer record along the way. Pele at one point was wanted by the big spending Italians at one point. But now the power has shifted and only now UEFA decides to say something. It is absolutely pathetic especially when you consider Platini himself have benefitted from playing in Italy both financially and as a player. I think there is some sort conspiracy against the English premiership clubs with Milan, Real, Barca, Juve, Inter, Bayern, Roma, all worried that they can no longer compete in the transfer market for the best players anymore and have gone crying to UEFA.
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football,like a lot of sports is now a business.as a consequence of that economic laws like supply and demand enter proceedings.huge amounts of money from sky have given premiership clubs the chance to buy the best players.this increases the sky money going in.clubs float their "plc" on the stock exchange to circumvent fa laws about directors and dividends.billionaires then want to buy the best for the next boom in revenue(internet coverage,branding,etc.)to add to their pile.the days of,for example, steve gibson buying a club through love are gone.even championship sides are experiencing the knock on effect eg ipswich.
the fan has become irrelevant.tv revenue supported by massive media coverage means it's all now business.in the words of the late,great george harrison,that's the way it goes.
love the blog as usual robbo.top man
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Platini is right. English clubs must retain their identity, and this is achieved by having local born or academy based players regularly in the first team. It also helps if the manager or owner are English or at least British.
The day the Premier League is full of 20 clubs with only the token English lad here and there is the day I stop following English football.
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Athletico beat the british clubs to it in terms of unborn contracts http://bleacherreport.com/articles/65636-atltico-madrid-intend-to-offer-contract-to-unborn-youngster
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Platini and Blatter are consistent with their battering of the Premiership, but are talking rubbish -consistently. Platini was a brilliant footballer who plied his trade in ITALY. He now says that foreign players are not good for our game. So in his day it was good for Italian footballers to have foreigners!! Double standards Platini. What about the EU freedom of movement of trade. Blatter and Platini are worthless and should be kicked out
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Some of these comments are just silly this is actually brilliant journalism (whether you think it is funny or not). Got all the right techniques and all that BS that you rattle on about for A level English.
Loved the chromosome comment....BRILLIANT but the sad thing is you wouldn't be overly surprised to hear it in a few years.
Platini was a great footballer...which obviously means that he is way to stupid to be given a decent job let alone Head of something.
Put someone who understands the economics of the situation in there and I'll believe what he has to say (if he's a good economist)
Good work Robbo enjoyable article as are most of yours (That is a most old boy so don't get cocky ;) )
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EPL managers don't want any restrictions on getting access to the very best players from wherever they can, more so if the manager in question happens to be less skilled than the best, then the rattles come out of the pram and club boards cave in and buy. Hence the fast accumulating debts clubs are now acquiring.
Events of the last few weeks in the 'globalised' markets of the world tell us a great deal about how dodgy it is to be in debt of any kind and football would do well to pay attention to what lies ahead for the fans who ultimately pay for everything....tickets, regalia, sponsors' goods and services and most of all the money from SkyTV subscriptions which fuel this present madness in which the moguls of capitalism now wish to participate. We swop Sky for them! Some deal that, especially when unemployment looms for so many! Access to their clubs in stadia and on TV might be a thing of the past.
I find it astonishing that so many fans are desperate that their clubs be supping at the table of the (basically old G14) clubs who have made the UEFA competitions and the game itself so montonous and predictable.
Platini is absolutely right and I hope he has 100% success in trying to curb the wages spiral and the greed and debt of those clubs who are more interested in making money than serving their host communities, developing local players and giving the fans some sort of ownership and pride in their local clubs and where the players stay long enough for us to learn and remember their names.
No doubt the present setup will all have to end in desperate tears before the penny drops. Roll on the day!
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Quality Robbo. i totally agree, Michel should put his money where his mouth is, he just tends critisise set ups but never gives a solution or carry out something. also just a thought why dont any of the English players go and take the places of the players abroad who are coming to the premier league. not many players are brave enough to step out of their little shell and ply their trade elsewhere because at this rate foreign players will just carry on taking their place.
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I agree largely with robbo's article. The key to the problem is not the influx of money, the money can only bring in more quality and therefore more enthusiasm for the EPL and English football in general.
It is the attitude of some of the buyers who are coming in which are in danger of terminally damaging some English clubs. Abramovic can not be overly criticised for simply wanting to own a club which plays attractive, attacking football. Robbo alluded to the fact that a manager, given time and ability, has the opportunity to give a club a new style and reputation. A present example is Sunderland, Quinn seems intent through heavy investment (for a club outside of the top four); with an ambitious, charismatic manager at the helm in Keane, to establish them as a real force in the Premiership. I'm an Everton fan and I feel that Kenwright's got it right, Moyes' team has been punching above its weight since selling Rooney but are likely to be overtaken by clubs such as Manchester City and Sunderland because he doesn't have as deep enough pockets. He's currently looking for a rich investor to help him fund the club he loves. We'll get it because we're a relatively big team, with a great history and an excellent manager. In this way, teams can make their own success in the EPL, if the investment of foreign money improves the standard of the EPL and consequently Everton, I'm a happy man.
Shinawatra was an example of exactly the sort of money (and person actually) that can be detained at arrivals and politely asked to leave. Never mind the embezzled, illegal, unethical abhorrent nature of the origin of his readies. He clearly had no long term interest in Man City or improving the football of the club or area in any way beneficial to the fans or the players. Its very early to say but the new owners apparently have a greater concern for bringing long term success to Manchester's 'other' club. And I can't say I haven't loved seeing the likes of Robinho and Jo playing alongside Ireland, Sturridge and Wrght-Phillips.
Many people have slated the increase of foreign players in English football in the last few years. This argument has been muddled with the criticism of foreign money. Looking at Aston Villa and Middlesborough they're playing some good football based around a good combination of young british talent, wheater, downing, agbonlahor, barry, young, shorey combining foreign aquisitions like petrov, carew, and alves.
The much deplored Arsenal, with their array of foreign talent have been presented as an abomination to the English game. And yet, the Carling Cup team which dispatched Sheffield United the other week, featured 6 English products of the gooner academy; if you were to ask them i don't believe for a second they'd complain about the global footballing talent they'd trained with. Look at the Arsenal effect on England's new Golden Boy Walcott, he's been transformed by Arsene Wenger's management from a gassy winger to a very complete footballer who can play on either wing and up top.
The lasting evidence that money in the EPL has benefited English football was seen in the players competing in the Champs League final, 7 of whom were English. Hopefully this quality, under a manager who's record suggests is more than just a wally with a brolly who's now rotting in the Belgian league, will bring the England team on the international stage the success they've been achieving individually for club for the last few years.
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46.. thanks for the pointer! if that's true about the Atletico Madrid president then the bloke is clearly two rashers short of a fry-up and should be taken into care for the benefit of the entire city.
As for you 48, thanks for the compliment, even if you had to qualify it with a 'most'. I guess Liverpool have been spared a dig or two waht with them stumbling away into win after win. I don't like it, I tell you.
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nice blog Robbo!
I think Michel needs a bit of help to figure out how to lure, ahem – attract, English billionaires to become club owners. What does the average English billionaire do with his money these days anyway, eh?
The richest English bloke living in England is His Grace the Duke of Westminster. His wealth probably comes from all those pubs he owns, or is that the Duke of York? Anyway, we need to help Michel figure out a way to get him to buy his local club and pump his fortune into making it successful.
The current Duke of Westminster is Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor. Gerry has a few houses dotted around, and therefore has a few “local” clubs he can choose from. Maybe he could even start a chain. First on his list would be Chester City, local club to his estate at Eaton Hall. Maybe he could rename the club as Chestminster City. Maybe the Deva Stadium could be fitted with some Emperor’s Club suites.
Next on the list is Philip Green. You know, that bloke who own TopShop. His local club is Croydon FC. They’re struggling for a ground, so maybe Phil could make up a pitch on his 208ft yacht “Lionheart”, and have the team play home games while he’s sailing around wherever it is he sails his big boat.
Or what about Richard Branson? He’s gotta be ripe to buy a football team. He could buy that Conference team that has Vestal Watches as a shirt sponsor. He could create a joint market branding equity buyback hedge fund debenture that gives him total control and rename the club as the Vestal Virgins.
While Michel had flare with his feet, he’s obviously lacking in these kind of fool-proof ideas to redress the billionaire balance in favour of the “local” billionaires. You got his email address Robbo? Maybe we should get him clued up.
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I think we all know by now that platini hates our guts and never has anything good to say about us or our league, yes it will get a bit excessive but why does he always have to target us?
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Investements in the EPL can only be a good thing for the league IF investements is NOT based on money borrowed from the bank.
Chelsea and Manchester City are very good examples, whereas the situations at United and Liverpool are only a distruction to the game and the club.
As a fan of the league, i want to see the world's best players play in this league, meanwhile, i dont think it is fair that clubs increase ticket prices to pay for loans interst rate.
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Robbo - like some of your stuff but I hate to hear you saying of course Platini is right - so why's that then....Foreign ownership/investment, players being signed abroad from as young as 11 years old. Silly dated and nationalistic examples of Celtic in 67 or Man U in the early/mid nineties and teams with too many foreigners losing their identity - yeah good one - so when we get an English manager who can barely speak English do you not think the same applies as he has to work with the players and help team bonding - how do you do that without speaking the language? It took me a good 3 months to understand what the hell people were talking about up in 'Boro and bare fist fights amongst drunken tattooed yobs was a norm in the garden of the Dickens Pub when studying in that neck of the woods - that's the identity I came to believe was part of Teesside!!
If an 11 year old has a chance to become a great footballer and rich beyond his wildest dreams where's the issue - if he has proper schooling still, regularly visited by family and friends and gets the best training possible what is the problem?
Yes - I am a parent and I wouldn't want that to happen to my son but if I thought he had the talent and if he was willing I would have to let him go although with certain limitations (frequent visits, proper education, proper protection etc).
It's been written to make people think "Oh how could they - only 11 years old - how awful!" What happens to incredibly gifted kids whose intellect far exceeds that of other people of their age - more often than not they end up in some special school where their intellect can be nurtured. Marseilles is hardly a million miles away so I think it is total nonsense and has been said to create alarm, make him sound sympathetic towards the younger generation and further alienate the EPL.
Robbo - please study some of Platini's other statements he has made the past year(most of which lean against premier clubs and Arsenal in particular) and tell me he is right - please don't say he is right again!!
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United still have their identity, Glazers took over against every United fans will, we were richer without them with zero debt, we aren't like the Liverpool fans who opened their arms to a takeover, we were happy the way we were, i'm fed up of us getting stick over something we didn't want, Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Portsmouth were all happy to be taken over 'cuz of the promise of money, United fans knew there was going to be debt and were happy with the money we were making ourselves! We were spending £30 million on a player before the Glazers and now we do the same but instead of giving it up front, we pay for it over a million years!
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Hmm.
I don't believe that by crippling something you are in some way improving it. Passing a draconian law to stifle the influx of money into the premier League is unjust and (as much as some of you wouldn't like to admit) un-British. There are British billionaires who don't want to invest. It's bad business.
Consider yourself a Russian or American or Arab multi-billionaire (I pretend this all the time). A football club won't make you money and frankly, considering the xenophobic nature of your common English fan, is likely to lead to ridicule and maybe even a bit of racist abuse. You would be buying the club and throwing money away because you want to be a part of it.
In the same way, a Chinese fan who has bought every daft variation of your club's kit for 10 seasons and watches every game on TV is as much of a 'supporter' as the fella who lives down the road from the ground and reckons the scarf he bought in 1974 (and three decades worth of whinging but never going to games) makes him a valued stakeholder.
I reckon these guys are nuts. Why the hell would you want to spunk your money away by buying some foreign club that will just leak money?
I'd be delighted if one of these guys wanted to buy Wrexham. In fact, i'd let him sleep with my girlfriend. And mum. Dad too, if he was that way inclined. He'd find a lot more gratitude at the Racecourse, it wouldn't change the character of the club because the supporters dictate that.
What is so great about character anyway? Some clubs have got rubbish fans and sod all character. Probably why these people want to buy Premier League teams ... they think all they can do is improve them!
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Lets be honest how many times have Platini or that prat Blatter come out and moaned about the state of the English game!!!!
Agreed it is now being changed so much that it is now more foreign than English,but why do these men not do something about it instead of ranting and moaning actually for once stand up and try to change the laws.
It will never happen though,Blatter and Platini have got there comfortable jobs and wonderful wages why do they really care about football in England.Sometimes I think they say things just to get in the news.
Blatter always seems to moan about us and our football.He is a guy who is just out for the attention and for the moeny he does nothing,realistically what do these football governments do?can anyone tell me?
Saying this I'm upset with the way that football is going now you might only have 2 games at 3pm it is crazy,but in the football world Tv and money speak and it is gradually taking over.
I live in Argentina and on a weekend I look forward to my 4 or 5 games of English football,5 or 10 years ago it was not like this.How times have changed.
My friend used to go to watch Chelsea with his father and his brother it used to cost 50 or 60 pound.Now it would cost double that and then if you want to take your child as well it is treble it is crazy that the normal people the real fans are now being priced out of going to watch the team that they support.They are not the fans who since the money has arrived in these clubs they have jumped on the bandwagon that is so common nowadays.It is sad.
But that is football for you now a days.
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Hang on a minute .. well paid foreigners working out of their county of birth Hmmmm Platini is French and where is the UEFA HQ ????... and Blatter's an idiot so there's a village short of one somewhere and i'm pretty sure thats not FIFA HQ...though thinking about it ... anyway.
Buisness is buiness and money talks its always been that way its just now that the sums are so huge that the money has to come from somewhere and if its a billionaire Russian Saudi or Yank thats how it got to be. Football is the biggest game on the planet and the Prem sits right at the top so all i can see happening is buisness minded people seeing a good investment for world wide exposure .... I mean poeple walk for miles in africa to watch a game and to buy in to the product. The buisness people want that and if it costs them 200/300 million so what?
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Basically, he should take some action! Otherwise, he's just a complete and utter tit!
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Tell me what is wrong with the man? oh yes i remember now - he doesn't like the EPL cleaning up in Europe - well there must be a reason why investors target the EPL - yes there is - the EPL is the best league in the world! Long may it continue!
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I know we in England/Britain obviously only really get our own stories, but why do Platini and Blatter seem to constantly pick on the big boys of England? It's the most watched league in the world, it's become very safe, throwing off violence and racism which is still rife in europe - shouldn't they be addressing that and the corruption in countries such as italy, rather than picking on the english for having too much cash and potentially dominating poor old spain and italy in the champions' league - we have a strong and independent FA running a successful league, but never seem to catch a break from UEFA or FIFA
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#51 "also just a thought why dont any of the English players go and take the places of the players abroad who are coming to the premier league. not many players are brave enough to step out of their little shell and ply their trade elsewhere"
Maybe its a problem with the English not willing to learn foreign languages, therefore not likely to integrate into the systems in Europe. Here where I am in Germany you see almost as many foreign players from, Central European,Italy Poland, Brasilian Belgian Dutch Peru, I could go on, but when you see after match interviews, they are normally questioned in German, and equally reply in German, in fact once I remember one post match interview with van Buyten(ex City) in German, French and English. Remember in the past those who did integrate,Michael Robinson, Gerry Armstrong
Kevin Keegan(still a hero at HSV), Gary Lineker and a few others who made the effort to learn the local lingo
Generally the problem is not just in England, with regard to what Platini and Blatter are saying, its just worse than anywhere else.
Roobo, as ever your columns are humorous and sometimes hit at hard truths. Everytime I return to the Pot & Glass in Eag, Its a subject I always want to discuss with Boro fans
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ee, the pot and glass... a fine boozer. And the walk back past the graveyard's pretty damn spooky on a foggy night n all.
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sorrry robbo but gotto disagree. Clubs have identity, foreign owners and foreign teams will never provide that. compare the 70s and now, which liverpool team you prefer? I'd have chosen that Dalglish, Terry Mac, Emlyn Hughes and Heighway on the wing.
Let me try and put it into this way, a club's roots are in their own town, and they are the source of inspiration for many of them in it. I'm a Leeds fan, Call me mad, but I'd never swap Jonny Howson for fabregas.
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I agree with Two Footed Challenge about the way that Randy Learner has conducted his running of Aston Villa since he took over. He keeps out of the way, letting Martin O'Neil get on with it. He had a link with the club, supporting the team in the 80's when he was studying over here and he hasn't tampered with the identity of our club. When I look at how some of the other Premier League teams cope with their ownership and management structures (Tottenham, Newcastle,etc) I feel really lucky that we got the owner we did. I don't have an issue with foreign ownership per se, but I think that the criteria for buying a club needs to be tightened so that clubs aren't put into such awkward positions when purchased.
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#67 Tend to disagree, yes your roots will always be your town, city, but the fanbase these days goes a lot wider, world wide in fact. The economics of the so-called big clubs demand it. Eg, how much of MUFC is dependent on the Asian market. When you see a new aircraft decked out in a paint scheme featuring MU players, you know that it is alot bigger than just our game.
I love football wherever, but I am a Millers fan(yes the 2 can be compatible, BTW aren't we doing well- most successful club in the season so far)
Robbo, After a few pints, that walk thru the graveyard is really spooky, lights and shadows esp when the owls starting hooting
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Anyone who calls football footie can't be taken seriously. I don't give a monkeys who owns the clubs or pays the wages as long as it's legal. As long as British energy is owned by the French and America controls the world what does it really matter who owns a football club.
Gone are the days of us wearing clogs and eating Hovis.The old bosses were as bad as the new ones.
What is needed is a wage cap for the players.I read today that Man City are intending to offer Torres £200,000 per week to play for them.
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Robbo, I recommend you read Martin Samuel's column in The Times. It is both a stunning piece of journalistic writing (who knows, you might pick up a few tips), and an accurate and neat summation of why the nationality of an owner makes absolutely no difference, and how owners should be classified on their abilities to run a football club, not where they were born.
Who would you rather have running your club; Mike Ashley, Peter Ridsdale, Ken Bates, or Randy Lerner?
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#70 Agree entirely, salary capping is the way to go
#71 No contest RL, and for Robbo's benefit add SG, a true English clubman.
We had at RUFC in the 70s, a rich Essex butcher take over as chairman, bit of a flash g*t, didnt last long
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Platini worried about the dominance of English Football, maybe he should look at his own nations championship, how many champions have they had in the last 7 years? Just one. Several other leagues are slowly becoming one horse races.
All this spouting of (excuse my french) is down to UEFA and FIFA not being consulted on the '39th Game', they would not have been against it, but they wanted a slice of the pie.
The two organisations need to get their house in order, especially over racism and their idle threats to countries like Poland when they go against the rules.
Also Platini's comments about 11 Africans in a side is rather ironic considering that is more likely at a club like Marseille than Liverpool, and that the majority of his beloved 'Les Bleus' that finally won some trophies come from the said continent (Zizou, Makalele, Thuram, etc)
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Platini worried about the dominance of English Football, maybe he should look at his own nations championship, how many champions have they had in the last 7 years? Just one. Several other leagues are slowly becoming one horse races.
All this spouting of 'excuse my french' is down to UEFA and FIFA not being consulted on the '39th Game', they would not have been against it, but they wanted a slice of the pie.
The two organisations need to get their house in order, especially over racism and their idle threats to countries like Poland when they go against the rules.
Also Platini's comments about 11 Africans in a side is rather ironic considering that is more likely at a club like Marseille than Liverpool, and that the majority of his beloved 'Les Bleus' that finally won some trophies come from the said continent (Zizou, Makalele, Thuram, etc)
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Platini worried about the dominance of English Football, maybe he should look at his own nations championship, how many champions have they had in the last 7 years? Just one. Several other leagues are slowly becoming one horse races.
All this spouting of ******* (excuse my french) is down to UEFA and FIFA not being consulted on the '39th Game', they would not have been against it, but they wanted a slice of the pie.
The two organisations need to get their house in order, especially over racism and their idle threats to countries like Poland when they go against the rules.
Also Platini's comments about 11 Africans in a side is rather ironic considering that is more likely at a club like Marseille than Liverpool, and that the majority of his beloved 'Les Bleus' that finally won some trophies come from the said continent (Zizou, Makalele, Thuram, etc)
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Platini worried about the dominance of English Football, maybe he should look at his own nations championship, how many champions have they had in the last 7 years? Just one. Several other leagues are slowly becoming one horse races.
All this spouting of "excuse my language" is down to UEFA and FIFA not being consulted on the '39th Game', they would not have been against it, but they wanted a slice of the pie.
The two organisations need to get their house in order, especially over racism and their idle threats to countries like Poland when they go against the rules.
Also Platini's comments about 11 Africans in a side is rather ironic considering that is more likely at a club like Marseille than Liverpool, and that the majority of his beloved 'Les Bleus' that finally won some trophies come from the said continent (Zizou, Makalele, Thuram, etc)
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Come off it.
Is it just coincidence that it's suddenly a crime for a club to be in debt, when the Spanish and Italians got away with it for years?
How much fuss would Platini be making if the French league was the best and most successful because of the influx of foreign money?
As far as Blatter's concerned it's always been a case of trying to screw the British for having 4 representatives from the "same country".
They are stuck in the past. Why worry about 4 reprsentatives from the UK in these days of the EEC where the law says no player should be considered to be a "foreigner"?
Isn't it more likely to do with the fact that we've just had the first all-English CL final?
Just look at the size of the crowds teams like Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal get. Come to that, even the dear old Irons.
Do you think any of them care which country the owner was born in?
Foreign owners aren't always out of touch with the club's roots either - Look at the way Abramovich has shown he doesn't just want his team to win everything but to do it playing the attractive football the fans have always demanded. Can anyone say the same for those responsible for the Arsenal sides throughout the 1980's?
Football's a beautiful game and we're lucky enough to attract the best players in the world - yet there's always someone who wants to knock it. Although, as you're a Boro supporter I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised.
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#77
Why worry about 4 reprsentatives from the UK in these days of the EEC where the law says no player should be considered to be a "foreigner"?
The problem is European wide
Correct, starting lineup last weekend in DBL
HSV -only 3 germans(5 other Euros, 2 AFR, 1 Sth Am)
Bayern - only 4
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I will never understand this resistance to foreign money. I can assure you that Atletico Madrid or Udinese fans are wishing some rich foreign owner would buy their club (which is impossible for the later), then buy Ronaldo, Torres, Drogba, Deco, Ballack and Robinho. Do you hate that 3 of the final 4 teams in last year’s Champions League were from the EPL? Do you hate that 5 of the last 8 Champions League finalists were from the EPL? No you just hate that it isn’t your team …. yet. Believe me if this continues it will only be the EPL with any global or European big money interest. Meanwhile the Milanese and Barcelonans will be rooting for their favourite English team from afar even while watching their local team similar to my Dad’s support of Huddersfield Town wishing that Plantini had had the nards way back when.
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I think Villa are in quite a unique position with Randy Lerner in that he made mistakes with the Cleveland Browns when he first took over, that he openly admits to. He learnt very quickly not to meddle and to bring in the right people to do the job as he may not always be the best person to do the job.
He has brought a level of tradition back to the club that hasn't been seen for quite some time now. The fans are always treated well too, £35 for a package for tickets to both of the 2 home UEFA games, I very much doubt you'd see that anywhere else.
He has struck the deal with Acorns Hospice and the club are working very closely with them locally with various events being held.
As they say, there is always an exception to the rule. Not to say that other owners are wrong, just that he is certainly not in the same pot as some.
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Its not the foreign ownership, its the amount of money slashing around that is annoying.
Things the need to introduce
- clubs can't operate at a loss (if you don't have the gates/sponsorship/shirt sales or have massive wage bills, you can't buy the players)
- clubs have to have half of the match day squad brought through an academy of a club within your football association (notice no restriction on foreign players, just that they have trained in your country)
- You can't buy foreign youngsters under the age of 16 (shocking)
- transfer windows for managers; stop clubs swapping managers mid season
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Platini wants to make his mind up. Not long ago he wanted to do anything to stop English clubs dominating Europe because of their wealth. Now he is worried that the poor old English clubs might have a tumble.
Or is he still stirring!
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The only thing Platini and me agree on, is the signing of children.
Modern slavery?
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vidal sassoon at Barnet! ha ha utter class
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Platini's a plonker!
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I do not agree that Platini is an idiot. I don't entirely agree with him but he is not the same as Blatter. This is what I think:
1. He is right about the 11-year-old players. No player under the age of 16 should be moving abroad. If you want young talent sign a piece of paper that says that the player will join your club when he's at least 16 if not 18.
2. Foreign managers are not an issue. Foreign players could be if the club does not have an academy system for local talent and does not have any local first team players whatsoever. Otherwise, good foreign players are a welcome addition.
3. The local Vs foreign owners point is more subtle. There can be foreign owners that are real fans, have supported and do care about the club they take over. People should know that there is a lot of support for PL clubs abroad. Also, huge debt and bad management is way more important. And these "sins" can be committed by English owners too (Leeds anyone?). So, if a foreign owner comes in, it should not be one that regards the club as an expensive toy.
4. The salaries of top players are getting out of control. I don't see a salary cap as a bad idea. In the MLB if total salaries payed by a club exceed a certain sum, they pay a hefty fine. Eventhough 2 clubs do just that, that money helps bridge the gap.
With the credit crunch/recession looming, I just don't see the current model being sustainable for much longer without any changes.
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As a Brighton fan, I've seen the best and worst of British owners. Dick Knight is doing a great job for us, is loyal and clearly loves the club. He's charismatic, does what's best for the club and wants to see them succeed.
However, his predecessor Bill Archer is a vile excuse for humanity who should be denied oxygen at the earliest opportunity.
My point? As long as there's tighter controls on who can own a club (Thanksin Shinatwa - facing corruption charges in Thailand - should never have passed the FA's clearly laughable fit and proper person test, and Abramovich should have faced some struggles), I don't mind where the passport comes from. In an ideal world all chairmen would be local businessmen who live within 10 minutes of the ground. But that bar's been passes, so clearly we have to remove the likes of Roman & the Glazers (too dangerous for the game) or just adapt.
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The Three Lions on the England football shirt come from Richard the Lionheart, KING of England, the first lion is from the house of Aquitaine, the second lion is from Normandy and when he took possession of England he added a third Lion. He spoke FRENCH and was raised in France. Don't tell me Platini has blown his cover as a Nazi, how long before someone in the press accuses Blatter of being the same.
Rio Ferdinand has caught Blatter and Platini red handed, now we have a three referees experiment when longer bans for yellow card accumulation and the managers ability to appeal two decisions per game are the common sense answer to our problems.
Hopeless utopian communist romantic Platini and Nazi Blatter have to go !
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"expect to see the following gaffers: Jack Charlton at the Addicks, Jim Leighton at Orient, Mr Eriksson at Sheffield Svensday and Vidal Sassoon at Barnet"
And I assume it will be Sepp Blatter at Scunthorpe?
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Whilst Platini has some valid points I do wonder about his motivation. Blatter is clearly anti-English, in the summer he agreed that Ronaldo was a slave who should be allowed to walk away from his 100k per week contract, funny Blatter doesnt seem as concerned about the fact that virtually every top South American player plays in Europe thus devaluing South American club competitions.
Meanwhile back home Dave Whelan talks of his concern about foreign owners walking away and leaving clubs in debt then freely admits that Wigan are 22million in debt, hmmm, what would happen if you walked away from Wigan Dave? and remember without Sugar Daddies about half the current Prem would be plying their trades in the lower leagues, and that includes Boro. I suppose Sugar Daddies are ok if they are English.
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Unfortunately the author and 99% of this thread are mis-guided. Points to think about
1. fotball is a business
2.hence its sits in a wider economic reality
3. So it either plays by the rules of the market or gets out of them.
4. One other (non) option is governments make a special case for football (such as for defence, agriculture) for national interest purpose. Does football really deserve this status? In my mind not as it will only breed more negative nationalistic/tribal fervour. Lets just say that this happens, think what could happen.
a) less competition
b) players less motivated
c) joe blogs decides to invent a sport called hootball, very similar to football and pays extra to all the playesr!
e) joe makes a killing as all the best players play for his leaugue and gets lots of fans and the best tv deals.
f)the epl becomes just like sunday leaugue fotball.
So if you really dont want anything to do with the money in football, save us the trouble and go to your local park and watch a game there.
think ruby union!
Platini is an idiot, somebody in that position should know better.
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So billionaire businessmen are going to pay attention to the megalomaniac Blatter and the puppet platini? Yeah right. The big clubs will simply form a European Superleague and bypass FIFA altogether.
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Like anything at the moment, Brits dont want to compete with foreigners but whinge and cry instead of putting up a fight for a place in the team, fight to compete financially, all the FC united fans who abandoned United are all back trying to get season tickets, thats what nonsense US style nationalism gets you. I say once out of united out forever, FC united stay away from OT!
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> Perhaps there's a case for every club
> picking a manager on the basis that his
> name is virtually already in the club's title.
>
> In the next few years expect to see the
> following gaffers: Jack Charlton at the
> Addicks, Jim Leighton at Orient,
> Mr Eriksson at Sheffield Svensday
> and Vidal Sassoon at Barnet.
What a great topic for a pub conversation. It really got me thinking. Here's some of mine...
Rod Hull at err Hull City.
Michael Bolton (sans mullet) at err Bolton Wanderers.
Ricky Villa at the Villa.
Tony Blackburn at Blackburn.
Craig Burley at Burnley?
John Carew at Crewe?
OK I'll stop now... :-)
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What you guys should look at is the Articles of Association of the Premier League and see if it allows them to rip them up if 75% of owners say so.
You might think about this thing becoming like Formula I, a travelling circus across the world.
Like it or not, it's a possibility, isn't it?
The players get paid more, the owners make more, fans overseas get to see a few games.
The only people who will be stuffed will be the English supporters.
And those clubs who've PAID FOR THEIR OWN GROUND. Or, more worringly, STILL HAVE TO PAY IT OFF OVER THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS.
I'm not putting my position. What I would say is this: the only single criterion I would look at for purchasers of Liverpool, Everton, Spurs and West Ham is whether they GUARANTEE building a new ground locally.
And if they don't, why not?
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They dont get the english game! The way it has always been about money, we have been a professional game for well over a century. Fact is in buisness money talks they cant put in debt rules because even with them most euorpean clubs will find themselves unable to be subsidised by billionaire families and dodgy politicians. Most english clubs are well supported with abit of reorganisation most footballers willl stilll be handsomly rewarded we have for the last fifteen years used the premier league money to rebild our stadia and our training faciliites we have academy systems from manchester to middlesborough starting to bear real fruit in the youth stakes and thanks to forieng money we now have atop four as opposed to a top two. We had our low point with banishment from Europe and our tragedy in Hillsborough these are what kick started our rebuild and we are now reaping the benefit, using this investment to futher our dominance in eurpoe. by having a pop at the english game they are drawing attention from declining leagues in italy and france a stagnant league in germany and problems with rife racism. until they have their low point or god forbid their hillsborough there are no incentives to challenge the staus quo apart from draw attention to us using the language of envy.
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Normally love your blogs Robbo but you've let yourself down with this one!! Got half way through before giving up outta sheer boredom!!!
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