Re: City & FFP (continued)
This whole episode is yet another example of how inadequate football's institutions, both formal and informal, are for the needs of the second decade of the third millennium and how incapable Michel Platini is of providing the leadership football so badly needs.
UEFA is not a governing body at all, but a conspirator among others. It has made no attempt to launch a process of discussion to analyse what the problems facing football are and what are the ways of dealing with them effectively. What has it done to deal with hooliganism? Racism? Finance? In the first two it has grumbled from the touch line, then hindered and hampered the efforts of clubs trying seriously to deal with them, then finally begrudgingl taken completely ineffective action to "stamp it out". Action on racism is so ineffective we have black players calling for a boycott of the world cup! A world cup which sees UEFA, as part of the "football family" cuddled up with one of the world's great homophobes into the bargain.
Then there's FFP where UEFA makes no pretence at impartiality. Without question, without a trace of doubt, it accepts that the authoritative voice of European football clubs is Karl-Heinz Rumenigge, in his latest regeneration as fuhrer of the G14. UEFA does with a glad heart what Karl-Heinz and those of the G14 who still count want without question. We'll clobber the investors not the debtors and tell everyone it's to "prevent another Leeds" and tell them this is for the good of football, and we'll promote representatives of these clubs to important posts in UEFA so there'll be no argument. Debt is good: investment is bad. Platini never asks himself whether the ECA actually represents 270-odd clubs, or whether it even tries!
This isn't all Platini's fault, but much of it is. He made a name for himself by organising the world cup of 1998, but in France all he did was destroy his reputation. The tournament was a great success, it made a profit (better than breaking even) and it did this by selling the French football watching public to corporate USA, all prominent features built into FFP ten years later! But FFP was even more cunning - it got the G14 off his back by giving them what they wanted, so he had no embarassing break away to explain. This time he sold out every other club and their fans to save his position, because everyone is now obliged to make a profit. His aim now, though, appears to be to revenge himself on those who threatened him in 2006, and who he had to appease with FFP - and he seems to think Sheikh Mansour and the Qataris might be his allies. Some mistake! Sheikh Mansour may just explain to him the difference between leadership and intrigue.
Just as he ruined the world cup of 1998 so he is ruining the champions' league. UEFA sees it as a cash cow, and sees the TV companies as essential allies which bring in the (corporate American?) sponsors. Platini needs the clubs to take it seriously and so the prize money increases. This has made every European league less and less competitive so that the same teams qualify year after year, and to satisfy the needs of national TV companies we now get those same teams in the same groups. Brilliant. The seeding - again for "political" reasons - is the ultimate Platiniism, that confirms his "reign" as a unique blend of Macchiavelli and Lewis Carroll
