Corruption in English football?

Blue Mist said:
As we know after the Hillsborough disaster the Government decreed that all First Division (as was) clubs had to have all seated stadiums. Have you ever wondered why they came to that decision ? or who campaigned for it ?
Many think it was the result of the Taylor report into the tragedy. They may be right or it could be that the fact that the Football Association, the very people that ran the game then, were about to make millions if legislation went through.
In 1989, whilst Taylor was still undertaking his inquiry a West Bromwich Albion Director Mike McGinnity bought a company, PEL, who manufactured plastic seats. Whilst the F.A. pushed Taylor to introduce all seater stadiums McGinnity formed a separate arm of Pel, Pel Stadium Seating and appointed Ted Croker as a Director, he had recently retired as secretary of the F.A. Crokers son-in-law, Nick Harrison, was appointed sales director in January 1990. This, co-incidentally was the month the month Taylor published his report.
It should also be noted that McGinnity was a close and personal friend of the F.A. Chairman Sir Bert Millichip and was in fact on the Board of Directors at West Brom at the same time. It goes without saying that Miilichip and Croker knew each other

Between 1990 and 2006, Pel Stadium Seating installed an estimated 1.6 million seats, including Manchester United and Liverpools ground but their first customer though was Sheffield Wednesday in Hillsboroughs Leppings Lane end !!
The Government made grants available to help clubs pay for the change to all seater stadiums. The person in charge of awarding those grants......... Bert Millichip.
In 2006 Pel Sadium Seating won the contract to fit the seats at the refurbed Wembley. The seats were sub-standard and had to be removed. This is possibly why the company went into administration.
There is loads more to this scandal, including allegations about the reasons why Germany got the World Cup rather than the UK. (PEL had the contract with the German F.A.) but I've gone on long enough.

And some say that football isn't bent.
Click to expand...
You were wasted in your day job, you should have been a PI get a thick tash and we can rename you Magnum. :)
 
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When Gareth Southgate was in charge of football development for the FA, he changed youth football from 11v11 (and possibly 7v7 for younger kids) to 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11 with kids progressing every two years.

So all youth clubs finished one season, and at the start of the next, had to be ready with four different sizes of goals, four different sizes of pitch, and with more teams and coaches required because teams were smaller in size.

All coaches had to be trained by the FA in about four modules, all at a cost. All clubs needed officials who needed training in numerous modules, all at a cost. All courses had to be run by the FA. Even volunteers who were doctors had to go through the FA's first aid courses, at a cost to the clubs.

My impression at the time was that this was a huge money making racket by the FA, and I wondered whether Southgate and his cronies were taking out investments in football equipment companies and education seminar providers.

Many clubs stopped operating at the time, in the late 2000s.
 
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Paladin said:
When Gareth Southgate was in charge of football development for the FA, he changed youth football from 11v11 (and possibly 7v7 for younger kids) to 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11 with kids progressing every two years.

So all youth clubs finished one season, and at the start of the next, had to be ready with for different sizes of goals, for different sizes of pitch, and with more teams and coaches required because teams were smaller in size.

All coaches had to be trained by the FA in about four modules, all at a cost. All clubs needed officials who needed training in numerous modules, all at a cost. All courses had to be run by the FA. Even volunteers who were doctors had to go through the FA's first aid courses, at a cost to the clubs.

My impression at the time was that this was a huge money making racket by the FA, and I wondered whether Southgate and his cronies were taking out investments in football equipment companies and education seminar providers.

Many clubs stopped operating at the time, in the late 2000s.
Click to expand...
Southgate had a sports promotions business until 2016 when he got the England job. The company was still trading when he was U-21 manager.

GARETH SOUTHGATE (PROMOTIONS) LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK (company-information.service.gov.uk)
 
Blue Mist said:
It wasn't stupid, it was a lie. There was strong support from supporters to build a new stadium in the Midlands. The bent FA lied to us.
Click to expand...
There was never a cat in hell's chance the new stadium would be built anywhere other than London however much support there was for it to be in the Midlands.
That doesn't mean the FA aren't liars though.
 
Blue Mist said:
As we know after the Hillsborough disaster the Government decreed that all First Division (as was) clubs had to have all seated stadiums. Have you ever wondered why they came to that decision ? or who campaigned for it ?
Many think it was the result of the Taylor report into the tragedy. They may be right or it could be that the fact that the Football Association, the very people that ran the game then, were about to make millions if legislation went through.
In 1989, whilst Taylor was still undertaking his inquiry a West Bromwich Albion Director Mike McGinnity bought a company, PEL, who manufactured plastic seats. Whilst the F.A. pushed Taylor to introduce all seater stadiums McGinnity formed a separate arm of Pel, Pel Stadium Seating and appointed Ted Croker as a Director, he had recently retired as secretary of the F.A. Crokers son-in-law, Nick Harrison, was appointed sales director in January 1990. This, co-incidentally was the month the month Taylor published his report.
It should also be noted that McGinnity was a close and personal friend of the F.A. Chairman Sir Bert Millichip and was in fact on the Board of Directors at West Brom at the same time. It goes without saying that Miilichip and Croker knew each other

Between 1990 and 2006, Pel Stadium Seating installed an estimated 1.6 million seats, including Manchester United and Liverpools ground but their first customer though was Sheffield Wednesday in Hillsboroughs Leppings Lane end !!
The Government made grants available to help clubs pay for the change to all seater stadiums. The person in charge of awarding those grants......... Bert Millichip.
In 2006 Pel Sadium Seating won the contract to fit the seats at the refurbed Wembley. The seats were sub-standard and had to be removed. This is possibly why the company went into administration.
There is loads more to this scandal, including allegations about the reasons why Germany got the World Cup rather than the UK. (PEL had the contract with the German F.A.) but I've gone on long enough.

And some say that football isn't bent.
Click to expand...
I thought that the Taylor report didn't recommend all-seater stadiums.
 
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