Cobwebcat
Well-Known Member
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...efa-action-to-rein-in-excessive-spending.html
As I see it we have two choices:
1. Forget European Football but constantly win the Premiership (where the rules don't apply)
2. Run up a huge debt but cover the interest each year.
These rules wil be great for United, brilliant for Bayern Munich, bad for Chelsea and awful for us.
Debt allowed.
Investment only in proportion to turnover = big clubs get bigger and nobody can ever break the cartel.
UEFA could have imposed a rule which simply said "no debt" but the cartel didn't like that so UEFA went with this to keep the big clubs happy and us out.
If this gets past the lawyers, as it looks like it will, this is City's biggest challenge. We have 2.5 seasons to go spending mad and if, at the end of it, we are not in the CL it is unlikely we will be for a long while. Even if we are, because our wages will be in excess of our turnover we will probably only get one go at Europe.
We either work within the rules (ie know our place) or call UEFA's bluff and see if they would go ahead with their competition without the Premiership Champions (potentially) In one way it's a great opportunity to dominate domestically but I think our owners are after European domination and this rule makes it a lot harder if not impossible.
For those of you about to write "don't worry we can charge £10 million for an exec box or get internal sponsorship" this will not be allowed by UEFA under these rules. More than any other club this rule is aimed at us and as such there won't be any loopholes.
I'm not saying there is absolutely no way around it (I can't think of one) but it will be difficult and Cook's proclamation that we will be the biggest club in the world is ill-timed (again) in the light of UEFA's impending ruling.
As I see it we have two choices:
1. Forget European Football but constantly win the Premiership (where the rules don't apply)
2. Run up a huge debt but cover the interest each year.
These rules wil be great for United, brilliant for Bayern Munich, bad for Chelsea and awful for us.
Debt allowed.
Investment only in proportion to turnover = big clubs get bigger and nobody can ever break the cartel.
UEFA could have imposed a rule which simply said "no debt" but the cartel didn't like that so UEFA went with this to keep the big clubs happy and us out.
If this gets past the lawyers, as it looks like it will, this is City's biggest challenge. We have 2.5 seasons to go spending mad and if, at the end of it, we are not in the CL it is unlikely we will be for a long while. Even if we are, because our wages will be in excess of our turnover we will probably only get one go at Europe.
We either work within the rules (ie know our place) or call UEFA's bluff and see if they would go ahead with their competition without the Premiership Champions (potentially) In one way it's a great opportunity to dominate domestically but I think our owners are after European domination and this rule makes it a lot harder if not impossible.
For those of you about to write "don't worry we can charge £10 million for an exec box or get internal sponsorship" this will not be allowed by UEFA under these rules. More than any other club this rule is aimed at us and as such there won't be any loopholes.
I'm not saying there is absolutely no way around it (I can't think of one) but it will be difficult and Cook's proclamation that we will be the biggest club in the world is ill-timed (again) in the light of UEFA's impending ruling.