Agreed, that's why I put in the caveat about good legislation. Often when something is done to be popular rather than to be watertight the legislation ends up with more holes in it than a Swiss Cheese.
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[Football] The Football Governance Bill
- Thread starter Zeberdi
- Start date
studio150
Well-known member
Or the Sheffield United defence
nicko31
Well-known member
The devil is in detail, but on the face of it seems like a good idea.
Just a bit cynical, from the government that thrives on de-regulation
It's hard to think of anything that has been improved in recent times by Government Regulation. Or by Government full stop. Still, there's always a chance, I suppose.
GloryDays
Well-known member
I agree. Just imo getting the government involved will only protect the corrupt and insulate their activities further. Just someone else to have to pay off. HMRC want in.
Publius Ovidius
Well-known member
Soon as the gvt start throwing their weight around using this bill Man City’s billion dollar lawyers will rip them a new one and the top teams will all fevk off to a super league.
Pl and Eufa are scared witless of these monster teams
Pl and Eufa are scared witless of these monster teams
Dick Swiveller
Well-known member
- Sep 9, 2011
- 9,159
I get the "Give money to the lower leagues as that is what feeds the player pool" argument but not when the money will go on paying bang average journeyman £30-40k a week. The whole of footballers' pay needs cooling down - not skimming money off of the top to give to teams further down to overpay in search of promotion.
These are the aims.
This government (last 5 years) have been fantastic with aims. Deliverance, however....
1. Creation of a super league can't be 'stopped' as it would be a restriction of trade. It hasn't happened (yet) only because the big clubs perceive it will do them harm (fan revolt, loss of merch sales)
2. Preventing a repeat of financial failings is the holy grail of economists, and is as achievable as a perpetual motion machine.
3. More stringent owners test..... the cynic in me says in the end this can only reduce to money, meaning Saudis yes, local businessman made good no. Also, imagine how long it would take to check out the likes if Dai Yonng. A good idea if made workable.
4. Fans picking kit? Trivia.
5. Redistribution of wealth? Will the turkey's vote for Christmas? I really don't think that socialism can be imposed on a commercial enterprise, other than via taxation.
Overall? Pah! To achieve some of this will require considering issues such as:
Salary caps and limits on transfer spend to create a more even playing field. But what about European clubs?
Very slow transfer of ownership while checks are made - I don't object to that.
Forcible transfer of TV money from EPL to the lower tiers. Good luck with that.
What do I suggest?
Depends on whether we want English clubs competing in Europe. If we do, we have to follow what happens in Spain, Italy and Germany. We can't set up a rubric that disfavours English club competitiveness.
If we set Europe aside, then I'd favour caps on spending (transfers and salaries) to create a more even playing field
I'd create a law that if you buy a club and put it into receivership at any time in the next 5 years, you go to jail
I'm tempted by a ban on overseas or offshore ownership. These poeple are out of UK jurisdiction and can do what they want.
With all that in place, one club will emerge as an English powerhouse.
Step forward, Brighton and Hove Albion
The succinct version of my assessment
Sometimes you have to ask yourself what's occurred WITHOUT independent regulation OR what might.These are the aims.
This government (last 5 years) have been fantastic with aims. Deliverance, however....
1. Creation of a super league can't be 'stopped' as it would be a restriction of trade. It hasn't happened (yet) only because the big clubs perceive it will do them harm (fan revolt, loss of merch sales)
2. Preventing a repeat of financial failings is the holy grail of economists, and is as achievable as a perpetual motion machine.
3. More stringent owners test..... the cynic in me says in the end this can only reduce to money, meaning Saudis yes, local businessman made good no. Also, imagine how long it would take to check out the likes if Dai Yonng. A good idea if made workable.
4. Fans picking kit? Trivia.
5. Redistribution of wealth? Will the turkey's vote for Christmas? I really don't think that socialism can be imposed on a commercial enterprise, other than via taxation.
Overall? Pah! To achieve some of this will require considering issues such as:
Salary caps and limits on transfer spend to create a more even playing field. But what about European clubs?
Very slow transfer of ownership while checks are made - I don't object to that.
Forcible transfer of TV money from EPL to the lower tiers. Good luck with that.
What do I suggest?
Depends on whether we want English clubs competing in Europe. If we do, we have to follow what happens in Spain, Italy and Germany. We can't set up a rubric that disfavours English club competitiveness.
If we set Europe aside, then I'd favour caps on spending (transfers and salaries) to create a more even playing field
I'd create a law that if you buy a club and put it into receivership at any time in the next 5 years, you go to jail
I'm tempted by a ban on overseas or offshore ownership. These poeple are out of UK jurisdiction and can do what they want.
With all that in place, one club will emerge as an English powerhouse.
Step forward, Brighton and Hove Albion
On another part of the board NSCers are discussing GBeebies and their sanction from OFCOM because they let serving government MPs, no less, present the news. Without OFCOM we'd basically have a TV channel dedicated to Government propaganda on top of the likes of the Mail, Sun and Telegraph.
Other regulators have, of course, been useless. Sewage into rivers and seas, power prices through the roof.
So, there are good regulators and there are ineffective regulators.
The bulleted aims are entirely sensible and exactly what the game needs but they are also what the game has not been doing itself. Dai Yonnge was allowed a club. The Saudis were allowed a club. Bury and Macclesfield died. Reading might. Only fan protests in this country stopped a super league.
But I will say it again - if the bill is rushed and badly scrutinised then we will have another OFGEM and not another OFCOM.
*If* you say
I think the whole thing needs looking at, lots of clubs are badly run in the lower leagues, but they are not helped by stupid rules either.
The PL should ask the FL to look at changes to rules.
As you said wages, needs to be a cap
4G pitches should be allowed in League 2 and maybe league 1, it's insane that once promoted clubs lose money on having a grass pitch
I personally think there should be a split on a north / south league again in League 2, travel costs are sky high.
I also think Parachute payments should be replaced by player contracts that automatically drop in wage payments if relegated.
Most importantly, actually have a fit and proper test for owners.
As others have said regarding the bad country ownership test, highly difficult to operate. I think an enforced diligence time length is part of it and with digital ticketing / fan registration etc in place it would be possible to require the club to provide an election for the entire previous season's home and away attendees to vote yes or no to ownership change by a defined baseline of voters and majority percentage might be do-able and add a democratic layer of sorts. At least then there would absolutely be 'blood on the hands' of those who voted for the money - and the away supporters chant would be potentially justified (depending on who they were of course....).
I think we need to be very careful what we wish for. Unfortunately in this country there is a habit of expecting "the government" to "manage" everything for us. But we all know that governments, of any persuasion, can't manage a p**s-up in a brewery, so why we keep expecting them to try I don't know. All we'll get out of this is another department in the civil service costing us a fortune in salaries, inventing unworkable rules that no-one wanted.
portlock seagull
Why? Why us?
- Jul 28, 2003
- 17,118
There's no hope and bob hope this regulation will do a damned thing in reality. It's like believing government can fix the NHS. Everything and everyone is in the hands of the wealthiest. Always have been. Always will be. Football is no different.
Leekbrookgull
Well-known member
Couple of points here and bearing in mind that with global TV rights the UK market is relatively small so therefore from what i can see there's nothing to stop The EPL actually pulling up the drawbridge and forming their own individual league completely air brushing The FA and anything they propose or say. Plus with so many UK club owners simply driven by financial issues what is to stop any of the so called bigger clubs forming their own invitation league ?