City linked with buying team in Chinese Super League ( Update page 6)

Thought Demichelis wanted to go back to Argentina.

Be interesting to see if we sell any of our players to a Chinese team.
 
I already have absolutely no interest whatsoever in Melbourne, New York or Yokohama. This will just be another club I have absolutely no interest in.
 
Falastur said:
It's interesting to note that while the thread title talks about buying a team, and I think most people had assumed we would, the article quoted (and all the other ones that came out yesterday) actually talk in terms of setting up a franchise. Now, CSL doesn't work on a franchise model but there have been lots of clubs set up recently (most teams seem to be less than 10 years old even though there are some teams which date back to the 50s) and it seems that if we did this we'd have to start with a club in the third tier, not the CSL. I'm not sure if that's something which would appeal to CFG.
Click to expand...

A lot of the teams in the top flight have been re-named to include the owners branding that the SIPG team. Other teams have actually moved cities and kept their top flight status like Beijing Guoan who have played in various other cities.

I think it's more likely that we buy an existing club in the top flight and re-brand it than starting up a brand new franchise in the 3rd tier.
 
Shaelumstash said:
A lot of the teams in the top flight have been re-named to include the owners branding that the SIPG team. Other teams have actually moved cities and kept their top flight status like Beijing Guoan who have played in various other cities.

I think it's more likely that we buy an existing club in the top flight and re-brand it than starting up a brand new franchise in the 3rd tier.
Click to expand...

I think this is likely to be right. CFG showed by taking on a new franchise in the MLS and buying, then rebranding an existing club in the A League that they can work either way depending on the local conditions. Obviously, the risk of a rebrand is that you piss off the support base at an established club, but as you say a lot of Chinese clubs have had pretty fluid identities anyway, so it wouldn't be such a big deal as it might be somewhere else. And surely it's far better to be able to start off in the top flight than to have to work your way up the leagues.
 
My guess is It will all be announced just before or during the Pre-Season tour to China. As will the franchise being purchased in South Korea.
 
petrusha said:
I think this is likely to be right. CFG showed by taking on a new franchise in the MLS and buying, then rebranding an existing club in the A League that they can work either way depending on the local conditions. Obviously, the risk of a rebrand is that you piss off the support base at an established club, but as you say a lot of Chinese clubs have had pretty fluid identities anyway, so it wouldn't be such a big deal as it might be somewhere else. And surely it's far better to be able to start off in the top flight than to have to work your way up the leagues.
Click to expand...
i think also a lot of chinese fans would welcome a name being associated with us.
 
Shaelumstash said:
A lot of the teams in the top flight have been re-named to include the owners branding that the SIPG team. Other teams have actually moved cities and kept their top flight status like Beijing Guoan who have played in various other cities.

I think it's more likely that we buy an existing club in the top flight and re-brand it than starting up a brand new franchise in the 3rd tier.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the CSL has very recently (like, about 3 months ago) instituted rules that prevent clubs from being moved around and possibly renamed by new owners. We may well want to do this, but if we do then we have to find a club which is already in the right place for us, we can't manoeuvre it any more. Besides, I'm not the one suggesting we will start a franchise - the journalists are.
 
Falastur said:
Yes, but the CSL has very recently (like, about 3 months ago) instituted rules that prevent clubs from being moved around and possibly renamed by new owners. We may well want to do this, but if we do then we have to find a club which is already in the right place for us, we can't manoeuvre it any more. Besides, I'm not the one suggesting we will start a franchise - the journalists are.
Click to expand...

You seem a lot more clued up than me on the subject mate, I'll take your word for it.

The only thing I'd add is that the reason Chinese football has experienced such rapid growth is because of the recent huge TV rights deal which was something like 8 times bigger than the previous one. It just so happens the man who brokered this TV deal is now a member of our board, and the group he represents owns 13% of CFG.

He has got big money and state backing, I appreciate the rules in China have recently changed, but if there's one thing the last few years have taught us about Chinese politics, it's that rules are very much there to be bent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top