Yes, I know I've posted this on the Platini thread on the main board but I make no apology for a new thread here because this is really important and people seem to think everything will be ok and we will be fine.
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Guys I think you all need to actually read the proposal because every "get out" that has been put forward will not be permitted.
The idea that we can sponsor ourselves etc is not allowed. We will not be able to get around this with obvious back door tricks. Neither can we loan the money to ourselves.
The rule is specifically aimed at us. Do you think UEFA don't know the loopholes? They have 9 months to close every one of them.
We will go from the most powerful club in the world back down to about 20th (see link)
<a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes%27_list_of_the_most_valuable_football_clubs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes%27_ ... ball_clubs</a>
Clubs like United and Real Madrid are not in trouble in fact they are laughing. It's nothing to do with debt It's purely football generated turnover and being able to spend a percentage of that.
I've also seen some posters think we will be OK because we will have spent loads by then so don't have to buy anyone else. Wrong! We will always need to replace people and as the years go by we will not be allowed to get to the better players. Also wage cost count as expenditure. We are already paying over £100 million a year and players contracts have to be honoured over the next 5 years or whatever the contract lengths are.
In short we are fecked unless something can be done that's way different to the ideas put forward so far.
The only one I can come up with is that (luckily) The Premiership don't agree with UEFA and we can spend what we like for them. So we have to be prepared to go on spending and do as well as we can in the Prem but if/when we get into the top four we have to be accept that we will not be allowed in the CL.... but that's not the end of the story.
Other than to protect the status quo UEFA want to control our spending so we don't artificially inflate prices but if we ignore this, despite the ban, then UEFA's threat doesn't work. The clubs that need the CL reduce their spending but we don't and snap up the best players. Eventually UEFA will have to come up with something else.
The only way to win in the long term is to carry on spending before and after we get into the top 4 and accept in the short term we can't play in Europe.
