FFP Rules: More likely to inhibit rather than promote competition

[McNamara That Ghost...]

A Euro Horror League would mean all the cash they are getting now plus the cash that is given out to the smaller clubs so they can survive. 32 clubs sharing the entire European football pie instead of hundreds of clubs. Plus a whole new audience as football becomes more of a carnival than a sport. Bigger brands, more merchandising, media companies having to club together just to afford the hugely expensive rights. The holy grail of pay-per-view. You think they wouldn't want that? The PL was a compromise to stop the big clubs splitting away. These clubs already have a "gang" that dictates the terms of their participation. And it all fits in so nicely with the whole Euro project, one Europe, one football league. The smaller clubs could become official feeders for the big 32, they could be owned by them, it could be like the collegiate system in the States with the whole aim being to shift on the best talent in an organised manner. The traditional fan could be cut out of the picture completely as the new consumer fan takes over. There could be cheerleaders, McDonalds franchises right the stadiums, bands, razzmatazz, draws could be outlawed in favour of penalty shoot-outs, pop stars could put on a half-time show, tickets could be £200 a game with corporations getting first pick and the leftovers being fought over. The CL could be rolled right in as the end of season extravaganza, it might even be called the SuperBowl. Governments could start blabbing on about how important these clubs are to the economy, to big to fail. They could start using our taxes as handouts, just like they do with the banks and other privatised leeches. The trillion dollar (sorry Euro) pie is not unthinkable. It's so horrendous it's inevitable.

Well why hasn't it happened already then? It would only run alongside domestic leagues, not in place of.

[Niall_Quinn]

And that would be exactly why the 'lesser' teams of the ones mentioned for this probably wouldn't go for it, for us anyway it would just be a reenactment of La Liga. Plus we'd never supercede Man Utd and I would suggest many other clubs wouldn't either - in the Premier League there is a 'certain' amount allocated.

The Champions League will expand before a Super League ever comes to fruition.

If I'm understanding you correctly you're suggesting the "lesser" teams would forgo huge amounts of cash because they'd be fearful of being uncompetitive? It's a nice idea but you are placing a lot of faith in dogs like Kroenke and the vampires at Utd and Liverpool. In fact, what if Stan and the gang know something we don't? Their risky investments would suddenly be a whole lot less risky. It'll happen alright. For two reasons. First because football can't go on the way it is going. No matter what the economy or micro-economy, if you spend more than you earn then you die. Second, greed will always, always, always win the day.

[Letters]

I am still holding on to the hope that the football we used to know and love will come back from the ashes

Define rich clubs? Clubs who spend lots of money on players ala Chelsea and City? Or clubs with rich boards/managers who wont spend? No need to give an example there

Our wages are in the top few in the country.
We don't spend big on players - or, rather, if we do spend reasonable amounts of money we offset it by selling so we still make a profit - but we're in the CL every year, we have one of the biggest stadiums in the country and charge the highest prices and have a massive global fanbase. We're one of the 'haves'.

[Niall_Quinn]

Well why hasn't it happened already then? It would only run alongside domestic leagues, not in place of.

It IS happening. Shifting a centuries old infrastructure from the hands of the people into the claws of the few can't happen overnight and you need buy-in from the masses. They need to be wrapped in the sting and convinced. Plus everyone concerned has to scrabble like pigs in the dirt for their cut. Small steps instead of big leaps is always the best way to ensure people don't notice or fully comprehend what's going on and why.

[Kano]

And that would be exactly why the 'lesser' teams of the ones mentioned for this probably wouldn't go for it, for us anyway it would just be a reenactment of La Liga. Plus we'd never supercede Man Utd and I would suggest many other clubs wouldn't either - in the Premier League there is a 'certain' amount allocated.

The Champions League will expand before a Super League ever comes to fruition.

the next payment is going to be £500m each spread over 3 years i think, so £165m-ish a season. Pay as you view TV, advertising, internet - I think that could figure could be topped by every club involved in a 16 team league, selling different packages to separate regions.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It IS happening. Shifting a centuries old infrastructure from the hands of the people into the claws of the few can't happen overnight and you need buy-in from the masses. They need to be wrapped in the sting and convinced. Plus everyone concerned has to scrabble like pigs in the dirt for their cut. Small steps instead of big leaps is always the best way to ensure people don't notice or fully comprehend what's going on and why.

Nah, UEFA will just adjust their current baby - the Champions League, like they did before when it was proposed.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

If I'm understanding you correctly you're suggesting the "lesser" teams would forgo huge amounts of cash because they'd be fearful of being uncompetitive? It's a nice idea but you are placing a lot of faith in dogs like Kroenke and the vampires at Utd and Liverpool. In fact, what if Stan and the gang know something we don't? Their risky investments would suddenly be a whole lot less risky. It'll happen alright. For two reasons. First because football can't go on the way it is going. No matter what the economy or micro-economy, if you spend more than you earn then you die. Second, greed will always, always, always win the day.

No they woudn't be foregoing huge amounts of cash because we already receive huge amounts of cash. In the same way we apparently don't go for it and try to win those prestige competitions as the amount of money we received is already more than enough because it's effectively guaranteed.

[Niall_Quinn]

No they woudn't be foregoing huge amounts of cash because we already receive huge amounts of cash. In the same way we apparently don't go for it and try to win those prestige competitions as the amount of money we received is already more than enough because it's effectively guaranteed.

I don't get that argument. The whole point of a corporation is to maximise profits for the shareholders and socialise expenses. Suggesting our football corporations will play it differently doesn't make any sense to me. Obviously I hope you are right but it would be a world's first if you are.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

the next payment is going to be £500m each spread over 3 years i think, so £165m-ish a season. Pay as you view TV, advertising, internet - I think that could figure could be topped by every club involved in a 16 team league, selling different packages to separate regions.

The Champions League fund has been increased too I believe. If we replicate last season to this season, I think we would get about £60 million or something.

However that is supposition on what TV deal might come across but it'd be assured (based on 16 teams) we'd lose out on 17 days of matchday income, plus, the other days we might get from domestic cup draws. For us that's £3 million a match roughly, so £51 million we'd lose out on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I don't get that argument. The whole point of a corporation is to maximise profits for the shareholders and socialise expenses. Suggesting our football corporations will play it differently doesn't make any sense to me. Obviously I hope you are right but it would be a world's first if you are.

Maximising profits could have occured with just going one extra round in the Champions League. It's not about maximising profits, it's about enjoying the comforts resulting from a fairly basic and relatively easily attained level.