Is cheese-pairing what happens at cheese and wine parties when you pick the right booze for the cheese?
Labour must be desperate ...
- Thread starter Westdene Seagull
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Is cheese-pairing what happens at cheese and wine parties when you pick the right booze for the cheese?
I don't think anything is practical TBH. With 40% foreign ownership of the Premier League, there is no way clubs there are going to agree to these rules without a fight. There is then the legal problem of Manchester United not being a UK company, so they wouldn't be subject to UK law.
Manchester City fans are happy to turn a blind eye to the human rights abuses of Abu Dhabi, because they, like the vast majority of fans, only care about winning. If Adolf Hitler flew in today with £100 million for new players, they'd send a limousine anyway etc.
1 Why not introduce a fit and proper test for fans ? What could possibly go wrong ?
2 Is this true for clubs that are run by supporters trusts today ?
Our own supports club, represents a tiny proportion of fans. Maybe an election amongst members for board representation, would encourage more people to get involved. Who knows what a properly organised supporters club could achieve, a return to £4 pies perhaps ?
1: I think 99.99% of fans would pass the test, as do 99.99% of directors. You can hear me discussing this with Adrian Goldberg on Five Live Investigates at 11am Sunday morning (shameless plug).
2: Swansea City is 20% owned by the supporters trust, and that works well IMO, but the other directors are all fans too, so more accommodating.
I'm not convinced it would be easy to impose such rules on other clubs, especially when you look at existing owhership, and where it is based. For example: QPR is registered in Malaysia, Manchester United in the Cayman Islands, Reading in Gibraltar, Southampton uncertain, but could be Switzerland, Spurs in Bahama, Manchester City UAE, Liverpool USA, Fulham Bermuda, Arsenal's two main shareholdings are from holding companies in the US and Jersey, and Chelsea may have some foreign bloke in charge too I think.
London Irish
Well-known member
But you just said "I'm totally in favour of greater democratisation of the game".
If you are arguing that this isn't possible by any measures, I can't see how you are in favour of it at all? In fact, you'll just be a convenient echo chamber for those who are adamantly against any such moves to give ordinary fans a greater voice.
But explain where I'm going wrong here
You're not going wrong, I think it is an ideal, as is a more equitable distribution of wealth, eradication of poverty and discimination, and steps taken to prevent the extinction of thousands of species of animal each year. But sadly none of those are likely either.
The opportunity to make such decisions was available at the formation of the Premier League, but was ignored as chairman thought that riches would come their way with the TV riches. It's now too late IMO, as ownership of clubs, at the elite level at least, is significantly based overseas, which presents a number of legal constraints.
As for the romantic notion of 'ordinary fans' being given a voice, it's romantic lip service. Tony Bloom and Ray Bloom are 'ordinary fans' on the board of the Albion, they just happen to be extremely wealthy too. The same could have been said of Dick Knight, Mike Bamber, and I regret to mention, turncoat Greg Stanley.
Would having an 'ordinary fan' on the Albion board prevented the changes to the Articles of Association in 1995? The simple answer is I don't know, it would depend on the skillset of that fan, and also whether he/she attended the board meeting where the changes were approved.
janee
Fur half
2 tenants on housing association boards has worked well for years. Bringing a fans/tenants' point of view rather than as a spokesperson (working in the best interests of the company from a fans' perspective). Selected by application - can learn skills needed as long as you demonstrate willingness to learn and analytical skills.
Fair enough, and that's great to hear, but housing associations presumably want and encourage that management structure, I'm not sure the shareholders of football clubs feel the same.
janee
Fur half
No most resisted it but we're forced to, some still avoid it.
Find it the most useful comparison - I had my doubts but it's worked well.
RexCathedra
Aurea Mediocritas
yxee
Well-known member
Let's say we hypothetically agreed with this concept - I suppose it is preferential to the trade unions over here - how do we make the transition?
Something labour don't understand is that coming up with policy to legislate a problem away will always have unintended consequences. If you remove the power of a shareholder to govern their asset then the value of the asset will fall. How do you think Tony bloom feels when he sees that headline? He basically owns the club through his own hard work and the government seek to take some of that away in a (rather belated) knee-jerk policy in response to a news story.
Threats like this are based far more on shameless populism than sound economic and legal advice. They see a headline on the plight of the football fan and they come up with an idea. It's simplistic and it isn't the right way to do politics.
The same applies to their energy policy: see a headline on energy price rises, better put a price freeze in the manifesto to cover that base. As if the suppliers couldn't just rise energy prices beforehand based on forecast wholesale rises over the fixed term.
It sometimes seems like a child is in opposition. Reactive, attention-seeking, one-dimensional.