- Refereeing reaches new depths: does PGMOL really think we are so stupid we wouldn’t notice?
- Sunderland v Arsenal: what Pires once said, and a result prediction
By Tony Attwood
We have discussed the ManC case so often you are probably getting bored with it, and that means there is only one question left. Why has it taken the league so long to reach a resolution? As many have said, this is the biggest crisis to hit the Football Leagues in England ever, and yet it just sits there, not mentioned by the media, not resolved by the League, not affecting the ManC club.
Yet the opening question facing all parties is dead simple: “did ManC break any rules?” From that we can go to, “Which rules?” and from there we go to the question, “What benefit did they get?” Then it, “How disruptive is this to the whole of League Football in England?” And finally, “What are we going to do about it?”
But it seems none of this can be proceeded with, because a) Manchester City threatened to sue the League with court cases that would, in court fees alone, basically wipe out the funding of the majority of Premier League clubs (or at least those that are in debt).
Furthermore, it has become clear that ManC still owes a lot of the money it spent on players in recent years, to the clubs it has bought the players from, This isn’t unusual – clubs often might spend £50m on a player and then agree to pay that at a rate of £10m a year. Even so, this sis stretching things a bit.
But if, in response to ManC being taken to court, they simply stop paying the clubs to whom they owe all that money, many of those clubs might fall into administration. That means that the clubs either don’t pay off any of their debts, or pay only a small percentage of the money in each case. Which, given the amount ManC owes, means that the financial system collapses. ManC don’t pay Club A, so Club A can’t pay Club B, C and D and so on.
Now if one club defaults on debts, they can be thrown out of the league, and everyone takes a bit of a hit. But the level of debt of ManC is so great that it would bring down the whole league. So there is a big argument for finding a way to let ManC off – except that the club desperately need the money to pay not just each other, but also their players’ salaries and the regular bills of running a business.
Of course there is no evidence that ManC would do this – but given their refusal to agree that they have done anything amiss, it is hard to imagine that one day they would just stop dealing in players and say, “All right, we owe everyone, and we are paying up now.”
So the point is that when ManC said they would bring the league to its knees, they knew they could do it. And to a degree, that is the fault of the League because they all knew that running the League on credit was an incredibly dangerous thing to do.
Before my retirement, I was the chair of a very small plc with nothing like the turnover of a football club, but we worked with financial projections all the time, and yet we were tiny compared with the clubs in the Premier League. It is an inevitable conclusion that the clubs in the PL knew what could happen, and would have had their accountants warn, “If ManC ever go bust, you are in trouble.” And in essence, if ManC owes not just one club but lots of clubs, say £50m each, and they don’t pay, everyone is in trouble.
So City have a choice, for they also know they can win any fight because they have more money available to them than the rest of the league put together. I doubt their owners worry about their reputation in England – why should they? No matter what, we need their oil.
In essence, the league has let itself get into a position in which ManC is the controlling force; the source of the money. The only way out is for other clubs to start cancelling the debts they owe each other, and I very much doubt that they want to do that. So the case lingers on and on and on… and there is nothing in sight that looks like bringing it to an end.
Do what most liquidated businesses do, auction off their assets. In MC115 case that means taking over ownership of the club and then auctioning off their players and assets to pay their debts by court ruling.
The excuse you are using can be said for relegated Westham or any other relegated club. The other answer is a 5 to 10 year transfer purchasing ban until all their debts are paid and then once they have paid their debts then relegated them for two years.
A bit like death row where they get a period of punishment before we Finnish them off.
If the Premier League does nothing in fear of an expensive court case or non payment of debts, then Arsenal and every other club should get long term debts as you say, and break the rules without any fear of reprisal.
I would like to know what compensation the premier league is going to give back to Everton for unjustified punishment action all being equal.
I hate-watched MUN-MCI……
1) Fernandes should have seen red as well. He fouls from behind, then kicks Foden who is on the ground in the bottom. How VAR does not intervene on this one is beyond me.
2) the goal… Enzo Fernandes was off-side basically in front of the goalkeeper, he even dives for the header. The lineman did raise his flag. How this was overturned is beyond me : in front of the goalkeeper, in the ‘target zone’ of a pass, how is that equivalent of having no influence on the action ? And why did VAR intervene ? It should be a clear and obvious error. Commentators in Germany were at a loss, absolutely not understanding this decision.
The sheer incompetence of PGMOL that we saw in our games at Sunderland was blatantly on display there too.
The more it goes, the more it is becoming : PGMOL, your personalised referee experience
There are no rules anymore, no standard of refereeing.. Just referee behaviours influencing whatever game they are in charge of.
I found it very interesting that Mr Arteta openly criticised the referee…..
Most Premier League clubs are owned by multi-billionaires and Newcastle are owned by the Saudi Arabian Wealth fund which I would wager is as big as any funding City have. But Newcastle have to sell players to comply whereas City carry on with impunity. City may have stolen several titles and you’re suggesting we let them get away with it because they have big bags of cash,
Surely the way forward if they behave in the way you suggest they will is to expel them from the league . If they default on obligations to other clubs they should be sued by those clubs – many are American owned and are anticipating doing this anyway if it is proved that City’s breaching of the rules has severe financial implications for other clubs . Your doomsday scenario points to either the collapse of the League or capitulation to their bullying .
I think it will lead to City seeking to revive the European Super League with those most in favour of the original idea.
Good riddance to them!
@ Chris
And the PGMO (I refuse to call the ProRef but may resort to AmRef soon!) have admitted they made a mistake with allowing the City goal.
So Oliver, hailed by the English as the best ref we have and one of the best in the world messed up….again. It’s just strange how absolutely everybody (including the City fans in my pub) called it as offside but the PGMO”experts” couldn’t see it.
So in one weekend, we get a blatant foul against us given as an opposition penalty and City get a blatant offside given as a goal. Given how scared the Premier League seem to be of City, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if there’s pattern emerging here…..and whether or not there may be some deliberate intent behind it!