Should we love the FFP rules?

[Patrick]

Has UEFA handed us our second biggest stroke of luck by restricting the influx of cash into football?

Having failed to stop city pumping about £1,400,000,000 into the club and then slamming the door it seems to me that they have protected us from any other big money benefactors jumping up to the big boys table.

Whilst I don't think they will stop money finding it's way in completely, this will surely slow down the hyper inflation in the game and restrict competition for the best players.

Having already funded the youth, training and stadium developments as well as assembling one of the top few squads in the world it would seem to me a good time for UEFA to force clubs to become prudent.

[King Kev]

I thought the same thing when I heard that the new rules were coming into place.

It seems to me that we have splashed the cash right at the last minute and other clubs won't be able to do the same and catch up with us.

Maybe we are missing a vital point here??

[Kladze]

I thought the same thing when I heard that the new rules were coming into place.

It seems to me that we have splashed the cash right at the last minute and other clubs won't be able to do the same and catch up with us.

[highlight]Maybe we are missing a vital point here??[/highlight]

I don't think so.

The only point I have any concerns over now is that, somewhere along the line, it's going to be recognised that UEFA is a useless body so far as representing the top clubs is concerned - and that a breakaway super league will become inevitable.

While that in itself wouldn't worry me too deeply (now that we'd be in it) I would be worried if it led to a franchised/closed league (no promotion or relegation).

[Ted Hughes]

I think it's disgusting personally. The top clubs carved up the Champions Lg for themselves & pushed up transfer fees & wages so quickly that many clubs had no chance of getting into the Champions Lg to compete with them. Now they're using their mates in power to inflict artificially created penalties to try & protect their status. They & Platini, make me sick.

[ant london]

I think it's disgusting personally. The top clubs carved up the Champions Lg for themselves & pushed up transfer fees & wages so quickly that many clubs had no chance of getting into the Champions Lg to compete with them. Now they're using their mates in power to inflict artificially created penalties to try & protect their status. They & Platini, make me sick.

^^^^THAT

I know that we are "in" by the skin of our teeth in terms of timing but it's disgraceful what they've done to make the whole thing a closed shop after the introduction of the CL.

The type of magic that was Forest or Villa's European Cup win was always virtually impossible to forsee happening again after the scrapping of the knockout format and introduction of the group stages but they have just sewed the whole thing up to prevent any more upstarts fighting their way to the top table.

I actually think they (UEFA) have, as someone said, above though signed their own death warrant. The money that has flowed into the likes of Malaga and Roma won't want to be kept out for long and some of that money has powerful allies (see the Qatar/Barcelona tie up)....I can't see UEFA being in existence and/or governing the elite European game by 2020

[patrickblue]

I think it's disgusting personally. The top clubs carved up the Champions Lg for themselves & pushed up transfer fees & wages so quickly that many clubs had no chance of getting into the Champions Lg to compete with them. Now they're using their mates in power to inflict artificially created penalties to try & protect their status. They & Platini, make me sick.

Bloody hell Ted, I don't need to post with you here mate. I was looking at your posts in the going home early thread and you took the words right out of my mouth, the appropriate swear words and all. Now you've just done the same here.

[Ted Hughes]

I think it's disgusting personally. The top clubs carved up the Champions Lg for themselves & pushed up transfer fees & wages so quickly that many clubs had no chance of getting into the Champions Lg to compete with them. Now they're using their mates in power to inflict artificially created penalties to try & protect their status. They & Platini, make me sick.

^^^^THAT

I know that we are "in" by the skin of our teeth in terms of timing but it's disgraceful what they've done to make the whole thing a closed shop after the introduction of the CL.

The type of magic that was Forest or Villa's European Cup win was always virtually impossible to forsee happening again after the scrapping of the knockout format and introduction of the group stages but they have just sewed the whole thing up to prevent any more upstarts fighting their way to the top table.

I actually think they (UEFA) have, as someone said, above though signed their own death warrant. The money that has flowed into the likes of Malaga and Roma won't want to be kept out for long and some of that money has powerful allies (see the Qatar/Barcelona tie up)....I can't see UEFA being in existence and/or governing the elite European game by 2020

I don't want a European super league but if there is a way of bouncing UEFA out of power it would drastically weaken FIFA & we may be able to get rid of the whole stinking mess. UEFA prop up FIFA. That's another reason why they are disgusting.

[Rag_hater]

I think the FFP rules have done fuckall and will do fuckall in the future.
The OP put a sum on how much we have spent to catch up and hopefully overtake.
However I think anybody else with that kind of money to splash on a football club will not be stopped by these rules.
The point is there is not that many people around with a spare billion or so to fritter on a football club.
If there was they would find a way.

[dazby]

These rules only affect European competition. Take Leicester for example. The owners can pump money in again and again and again season after season after season until they qualify for Europe. They would then need to show that they are heading in the right direction.

You are taking the worst case scenario and applying it. It only affects clubs in Europe. It doesn't apply to the rest. Please get that into your heads.

[irblinx]

These rules only affect European competition. Take Leicester for example. The owners can pump money in again and again and again season after season after season until they qualify for Europe. They would then need to show that they are heading in the right direction.

You are taking the worst case scenario and applying it. It only affects clubs in Europe. It doesn't apply to the rest. Please get that into your heads.

The soft implementation only applies from the beginning so anyone pumping billions in to a championship side from now on will have to be compliant by the time they get into European competition, and to do so is considerably harder than you are implying. You are not going to attract top quality players to a Championship club regardless of what wages you pay so once promoted you will have to replace most of your squad to push on again.

There is no doubt that the FFP rules are only going to serve to protect the currently rich clubs, you may get other clubs catching up gradually but it looks very unlikely that we'll see the sort of explosive rise that we have been lucky enough to receive

[Ted Hughes]

These rules only affect European competition. Take Leicester for example. The owners can pump money in again and again and again season after season after season until they qualify for Europe. They would then need to show that they are heading in the right direction.

You are taking the worst case scenario and applying it. It only affects clubs in Europe. It doesn't apply to the rest. Please get that into your heads.

The soft implementation only applies from the beginning so anyone pumping billions in to a championship side from now on will have to be compliant by the time they get into European competition, and to do so is considerably harder than you are implying. You are not going to attract top quality players to a Championship club regardless of what wages you pay so once promoted you will have to replace most of your squad to push on again.

There is no doubt that the FFP rules are only going to serve to protect the currently rich clubs, you may get other clubs catching up gradually but it looks very unlikely that we'll see the sort of explosive rise that we have been lucky enough to receive

If it wasn't for the liklihood & finally the reality that we would be soon playing CL football, Silva, Yaya Toure, Dzeko, Nasri, Clichy & Aguero would not be wearing City shirts. That's the way the nastly little system works; you want to be in the Champion's Lg so you need Champion's Lg standard players. You can't sign those players because you're not in the Champion's Lg. Al the usual top clubs have the pick of the best players every year. How do you compete ? By spending over the odds on transfer fees & wages to bring in the players to get you into the Champion's Lg so you can start earning the money to cover it. What happens then ? They stop you from being in the Champion's Lg because you are paying over the odds on transfer fees & wages.

Meanwhile clubs in 100s of millions of debt can spend money because they can earn enough to cover it because they have people supporting them all over the world, because they watch them play in the Champion's Lg & they've also earned countless millions over the years from the Champion's Lg.

[mcfc1632]

I think it's disgusting personally. The top clubs carved up the Champions Lg for themselves & pushed up transfer fees & wages so quickly that many clubs had no chance of getting into the Champions Lg to compete with them. Now they're using their mates in power to inflict artificially created penalties to try & protect their status. They & Platini, make me sick.

Absolutely agree - whilst there may be some comfort to CITY (if we get in to the cosy club) - it is a travesty for football - it was before and would be again and the vast najority of clubs are locked out

[Rag_hater]

The loophole we have found by renaming the stadium (and is it the rags with the training shirt),wiping out any losses we were going to incur, hence being able to be the biggest spenders again says to me these FFP rules neither should be "loved" or "hated".
Platini has been fucked.
The game we are playing on Weds proves Uefa can do fuck all.
We will be playing in the cl next year aswell when this years accountts will have to have been taken into reckoning and Uefa will have done fuck all.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

When Platini took over his role at Uefa I had real hope that he would take on the former G14 clubs and level up the playing field. He made all the right noises and talked of the inequality of the system. What a disappointment to find he has dreamt up a system that helps cast the die. It does seem to have coincided with us getting cash but the reactive nature of Uefa's actions appear to have helped us by merely pulling up the drawbridge after we've made our grand entrance.
I think we need to do well in the first couple of seasons that we're involved to help with the appearance of balancing the books.

[Blue Since 76]

football is all about dreams and ambition. Whether it's to reach the first round proper of the FA cup or win the CL, players, owners and, most importantly, fans, have a dream.

Swansea and Blackpool don't/didn't deserve to be in the premier league based on wealth or quality of stadium but all that really matters is results. Neither can survive in the PL short term but they wanted to get there and they'll want to get back. The PL may be inequal and they have no chance of winning it, but at least they're allowed in.

Whether the FFP work or not, the intention of them is a disgrace to football, protectionism at its worst. If we go on to win 10 CL trophies in a row, protected by the sordid cartel rules, I'll still argue they're wrong.

[Kladze]

Whether the FFP work or not, the intention of them is a disgrace to football, protectionism at its worst. If we go on to win 10 CL trophies in a row, protected by the sordid cartel rules, I'll still argue they're wrong.

Well said that man.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Whether the FFP work or not, the intention of them is a disgrace to football, protectionism at its worst. If we go on to win 10 CL trophies in a row, protected by the sordid cartel rules, I'll still argue they're wrong.

Well said that man.

Most of the posts in this thread are highly perceptive and commendably principled. I've really enjoyed reading them so, for me, it's well done to everyone.

From my own viewpoint, when I get the usual twaddle brought up about how disgusting it is that City are spending all this money, if I bother to argue at all I just say that the most disgusting thing about this whole saga is that City are HAVING to spend so much, simply to catch up and level the playing fields.

These days, I'm often reminded of a quotation which, from memory, was made by Napoleon i.e :- "old dynasties put up with new ones only as long as they fear them". On that basis, we've got to continue to scare 'the establishment' witless for the next couple of decades, or so.........but what a lovely thought.

[Alex Sapphire]

here's a pretty well written piece on money in footy. Not sure what I make of his connclusions, and I think (hope) he's got our owner wrong, but worth a few minutes nonetheless

Death from Above

[Nigels Tackle]

here's a pretty well written piece on money in footy. Not sure what I make of his connclusions, and I think (hope) he's got our owner wrong, but worth a few minutes nonetheless

Death from Above

as he says.... football is fucked

[Rag_hater]

here's a pretty well written piece on money in footy. Not sure what I make of his connclusions, and I think (hope) he's got our owner wrong, but worth a few minutes nonetheless

Death from Above

as he says.... football is fucked

I don't think football is fucked.
I think especially for us things are better than they have ever been.
There is another thread which illustrates that this is probably the best team we have ever had.
The top players are getting paid for their skill.
The quality of the football and the amendments to the rules have in my opinion made watching the spectacle better.
For me the money in the game is a good thing.
I think with using science and technology our game is getting better.
The debt that clubs are in is only a product of peoples desire to be entertained so I think it is a price that eventually will get paid.If it doesn't,hard luck to the people who lent the clubs the money.