Premier League growing some bollocks?

[olgitgooner]

Moves are afoot to cap the ridiculous amounts of money spent on transfer fees and player wages.

This is totally separate from the much mocked initiative from the crooked Sepp Blatter and his cronies. It will only take fourteen Premiership clubs to force changes. Man City have, unsurprisingly, objected to this plan. Fulham are the only other club to do so.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20773526

It might actually happen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20346146

[Old Rosie]

If Fulham have also objected I think it is fair to say that the clubs in general, regardless of wealthy benefactors, will oppose this.

Think about it.

The clubs need the television money. What's going to happen to the television once when the top players will not come to England because of a wage cap and 50% of their salary removed by tax?

The Premier League will be on its arse and the TV revenue will be shrink beyond recognition. It's no good saying 'that's fine, the salary outlay will be far less'. These clubs have signed up to mortgages that rely on the their current income.

[olgitgooner]

If Fulham havealso objected I think it is fair to say that the clubs in general, regardless of wealthy benefactors, will oppose this.

Think about it.

The clubs need the television money. What going to happen to the television once when the top players will not come to England because of a wage cap and 50% of their salary removed by tax?

The Premier League will be on its arse and the TV revenue will be shrink beyond recognition. It's no good saying 'that's fine, the salry outlay will be far less'. These clubs have signed up to mortgages that rely on the their current income.

Eighteen clubs are for for it. Even Chelsea and Man Utd. Who have been huge spenders until recently.

TV revenue is going up again. Most clubs want to avoid passing that money straight to players and agents. The Premier League will still be the best in the world. Players will still be attracted to it. And they will still earn shed loads of money.

[augie]

Bollox to that idea and I am against it with every fibre in my body - how can any c**t stick their nose in and tell me how much money I can earn in a week ? Is any business bringing in a wage cap for their staff and if not then why are they not bringing it in ?

I will tell you this and you can mark it down as an absolute certainty.......if these rules are brought in then we will see more clubs being bought out by the likes of kroenke - increased tv money but less financial outgoings means more dividends thus making it a much more enticing business proposal

[SteveO 35]

This will only ever work if UEFA enforce it too - you can't have leagues with their own rules or you'll get a situation like in rugby where the top English players go to France to earn more. There are already differences in tax rates so if ceilings on wages are enforced it will create mayhem.

It has to be across the board and sadly I think UEFA will shit themselves in implementing FFP and the whole concept will die out

[Old Rosie]

Can anyone explain to me how the TV revenue will go up when you have an inferior product to sell?

[northbank123]

6 meetings already and all that's come out of it is a lot of hot air and vague aspirations.

All that will happen is that a year or so down the line a ridiculously diluted proposal will be agreed to come in in a few seasons time and will have more or less no impact.

The Premier League won't want to force it through too, regardless of what people say it's brilliant for them that the clubs pay huge wages and fees to get the best players in the world (and Gervinho) and bring in disgusting TV revenue.

Meanwhile it's just another excuse for Wenger and Gazidis to make about how we'll be in a great position in a few years time.

[olgitgooner]

Bollox to that idea and I am against it with every fibre in my body - how can any c**t stick their nose in and tell me how much money I can earn in a week ? Is any business bringing in a wage cap for their staff and if not then why are they not bringing it in ?

I will tell you this and you can mark it down as an absolute certainty.......if these rules are brought in then we will see more clubs being bought out by the likes of kroenke - increased tv money but less financial outgoings means more dividends thus making it a much more enticing business proposal

Typical Augie.....sitting on the fence again

If you are not self employed and you work for a business, that business will have it's own wage structure. Employees should not be paid more than is sensibly sustainable. Which may well mean a cap on wages. And a reduction in "consultancy and management fees" ( players' agents would fall into this category).

I know some people who have taken a cut in wages in order to keep their jobs in these hard times. People who actually depend on a very average income. Why should footballers be exempt from a pay cap? To them it would just mean one less expensive toy in the detached centrally heated garage. Or not.

Income tax....somebody once famously said "I would love to have Michael Caine's tax bill".

Silent Stan type owners....we already have them. In abundance. The worst of which has to be the Glazer family. Who were the opposite of wage cappers. They bought an undervalued asset. On borrowed money. Then threw lots of money at it for short term success. Their club is now mortgaged nearly up to it's total value. That's business I guess.

If the Premiership clubs are looking to protect their futures, then I'm all for it. Better that than a lot more Portsmouth/Glasgow Rangers/etc scenarios.

[olgitgooner]

Can anyone explain to me how the TV revenue will go up when you have an inferior product to sell?

It's a done deal for the next few years. Money is in place. It remains to be seen if the product deteriorates. I very much doubt it.

[Old Rosie]

Can anyone explain to me how the TV revenue will go up when you have an inferior product to sell?

It's a done deal for the next few years. Money is in place. It remains to be seen if the product deteriorates. I very much doubt it.

That's the next few years though. Football clubs, like all major businesses, have financial plans that are far more forward thinking than next years money.

This is talking about the whole structure of football and placing English clubs at a disadvantage to the rest of Europe. Spain has recently become the 'league to be in' and it is no coincidence that they recently started to deal in wages net-tax to try and keep or obtain the best players.

If we have a set of rules that restricts the trade of the best talent to the Premier League it is churlish to argue that the quality will remain unaffected.

[QuartzGooner]

Is the wage increase cap a total per club, or per player?

[northbank123]

Bollox to that idea and I am against it with every fibre in my body - how can any c**t stick their nose in and tell me how much money I can earn in a week ? Is any business bringing in a wage cap for their staff and if not then why are they not bringing it in ?

I will tell you this and you can mark it down as an absolute certainty.......if these rules are brought in then we will see more clubs being bought out by the likes of kroenke - increased tv money but less financial outgoings means more dividends thus making it a much more enticing business proposal

Typical Augie.....sitting on the fence again

If you are not self employed and you work for a business, that business will have it's own wage structure. Employees should not be paid more than is sensibly sustainable. Which may well mean a cap on wages. And a reduction in "consultancy and management fees" ( players' agents would fall into this category).

I know some people who have taken a cut in wages in order to keep their jobs in these hard times. People who actually depend on a very average income. Why should footballers be exempt from a pay cap? To them it would just mean one less expensive toy in the detached centrally heated garage. Or not.

Income tax....somebody once famously said "I would love to have Michael Caine's tax bill".

Silent Stan type owners....we already have them. In abundance. The worst of which has to be the Glazer family. Who were the opposite of wage cappers. They bought an undervalued asset. On borrowed money. Then threw lots of money at it for short term success. Their club is now mortgaged nearly up to it's total value. That's business I guess.

If the Premiership clubs are looking to protect their futures, then I'm all for it. Better that than a lot more Portsmouth/Glasgow Rangers/etc scenarios.

But paying £200m a year in wages IS sustainable if you have a multi-billionaire willing to fund it.

The amount of money footballers earn is abhorrent but what other professions have 'wage caps'? Other than state employees, everybody else earns their market value and the fact is that the market value of top players is six figures a week.

You can mention Portsmouth, Rangers and probably Leeds but those clubs were run into the ground by greedy, arrogant, deceptive men. The answer to this are more controls on who can own a club and a meaningful "fit and proper persons test". Ideas like this is just trying to level the playing field on the pretence of protecting clubs and fans.

[Steve_I]

Football's 'prune juice' economics dictates that the more money a club has, the more they splurge on players and their agents' fees


Directly from the second article in OP - Prune Juice Economics lol, and effectively I guess that's the crux of the matter? (or maybe it's just a sh1t metaphor)

[SteveO 35]

A shareholder of a club can pump whatever money he likes into his team. There are hundreds of companies out there funded by wealthy owners who haven't posted a profit in years - its not like they get shut down by some sort of governing body like the London Stock Exchange is it?

If some lunatic wants to write off £1 billion having a bit of fun then who are the FA to judge?

[northbank123]

A shareholder of a club can pump whatever money he likes into his team. There are hundreds of companies out there funded by wealthy owners who haven't posted a profit in years - its not like they get shut down by some sort of governing body like the London Stock Exchange is it?

If some lunatic wants to write off £1 billion having a bit of fun then who are the FA to judge?

Exactly, look at The Times and other media outlets owned by News Corp to start. Run at perennial losses but nobody says that Murdoch shouldn't be allowed to finance them.