Legal challenge to FFP in the offing? Guardian piece inc. Mr Barber

[Superphil]

"....which have been threatened with a legal challenge by "several clubs" who have not identified themselves..."

Reads like made up bollocks to me.

 

[portslade seagull]

Always going to be the outcome, expect a very watered down version in the next season or 2

 

[nicko31]

I'm not surprised Leicester are a club that are said to be trying to dispute FFP. Awful club, and like Palace in their 2nd re-birth after administration, cheating is in their DNA. Really concerned FFP will fail, it just goes against everything the PL represent....

 

[Acker79]

Wasn't it recently said Leicester were one of the clubs actively trying to meet FFP targets? If that's true, how many clubs who voted for it, and are trying to meet it are suddenly questioning if it is right, or if it's just now leicester see £120m on the horizon, they don't want to lose portions of it to a fine.


Though, now I write that, I'm thinking, Leicester are looking like they are almost certainly going to get promoted this season, and this season, even if they over spend, there are no punishments, so they will be out of the division, £120m better off, why would they care enough to take action?

 

[Surrey Phil]

I really think clubs who break the FFP rules should be denied promotion. Fancy calling it FFP anyway when due to the prem parachute payments it is anything but fair!!

 

[Stato]

Interesting that all four clubs mentioned have already had a share of the Premier League millions which are always portrayed in the media as the promised land. All have ended up in massive debt. One has been into administration twice. None has twigged that getting to the top division will not give them a get out of debt free card.

Three teams get relegated every year. There are only seven clubs that have not been relegated since the PL began, yet all clubs seem to work on the premise that it won't ever happen to them. When it inevitably does happen they come to the Championship saddled with debts that have been accumulated by trying to compete in the PL. Their solution? Get back to the PL of course. That's where all the money is. Look at all the money they are making:

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/apr/18/premier-league-club-accounts-debt

What's that old definition of insanity again?

 

[AZ Gull]

Wasn't it recently said Leicester were one of the clubs actively trying to meet FFP targets? If that's true, how many clubs who voted for it, and are trying to meet it are suddenly questioning if it is right, or if it's just now leicester see £120m on the horizon, they don't want to lose portions of it to a fine.


Though, now I write that, I'm thinking, Leicester are looking like they are almost certainly going to get promoted this season, and this season, even if they over spend, there are no punishments, so they will be out of the division, £120m better off, why would they care enough to take action?

Yes there are - this is the first season that punishment DOES come into effect.

 

[El Presidente]

Didn't someone predict this on NSC a few months ago?

 

[Pavilionaire]

We should start taking a keener interest in the Prem relegation dogfight. In particular, we should support Norwich, WBA and Swansea as they have no debt and should piss this division with £23 mill parachutes.

Sides in the shit if they come down are Cardiff and Fulham.

 

[Acker79]

Yes there are - this is the first season that punishment DOES come into effect.

Oh yeah, it's late I was getting confused, there's no punishment for the finances announced this season, but next seasons announced finances are this seasons finances. Silly me.

So, my first paragraph stands. Are they only opposed to it now because they are looking at losing money rather than actually being opposed to the idea in principle.

 

[Stato]

We should start taking a keener interest in the Prem relegation dogfight. In particular, we should support Norwich, WBA and Swansea as they have no debt and should piss this division with £23 mill parachutes.

Sides in the shit if they come down are Cardiff and Fulham.

Although in a better financial state than the likes of Cardiff, even clubs like Norwich are basing their business plans entirely on staying in the Premier League. (See the video in this link: http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...0_finish_says_chairman_alan_bowkett_1_2872472.) With the wages attached to the £20 odd million's worth of players they bought this summer, they will soon be back in debt again if they don't stay up.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

This seems to be saying something very significant ...

"The Premier League is understood to favour clubs whose owners are investing, even to subsidise losses, and did not want to see money shared from fines among clubs which do not have wealthy owners backing them".

In other words ... Let's look after the rich guys and to hell with the poor guys who run a prudent club.

 

[Everest]

"The Championship clubs originally agreed they would share fines equally among themselves but the Premier League, which pays £2.3m a year in "solidarity" to each Championship club, disapproved, and now any fines will be paid to charity".

That bit, if not agreed by the clubs, I do agree with.

Bloody Prem sticking it's oar in.

 

[jgmcdee]

This seems to be saying something very significant ...

"The Premier League is understood to favour clubs whose owners are investing, even to subsidise losses, and did not want to see money shared from fines among clubs which do not have wealthy owners backing them".

In other words ... Let's look after the rich guys and to hell with the poor guys who run a prudent club.

Funnily enough after reading that I went and cancelled my Sky subscription. I've always known that the premier league is basically a bully boy who wants to keep all the best treats for themself, but sod it I'm sick of tacitly letting them get away with it.

Now if I can just convince another 3-4 million people to do the same we might be on to a winner.

 

[Philzo-93]

The following nominees for anti-FFP group for the Championship are:

1) Nottingham Forest having bought every Tom, Dick and Harry there manager has watched, read or heard about.
2) Blackburn Rovers for their inept Venky owners who did not know it was possible to be relegated from the Premier League
3) Leeds United, takeover after takeover after takeover...they've got to blame something
4) QPR...well they are spending stupid money, even on loan deals. And those wages
5) Leicester City - becuase they want money just in case they cock up, as per
6) Watford because of their dopey Italian owners

and finally

7) Ipswich Town just so Mick McCarthy can enjoy a good moan!

Have I left anyone out!?

 

[Tubby-McFat-Fuc]

One way of sorting out over spending so that we could do away with FFP, if that is a club go into administration, they are not deducted 10 whole points, instead they are expelled from the football league, and make them reform in the conference north/south.

This way the likes of Leicester, Palace et all would not gamble in the way they do now if the punishment was being kicked out, instead of 10 pts!

 

[Triggaaar]

Not surprised this is happening, should be simple if the clubs don't want to play by the agreed rules then boot them out of the league

Exactly. I heard that the money that was supposed to go to the clubs that don't break the rules is now to go to charity, due to the clubs being Premier clubs when the fines are taken. What a load of nonsense. Any club that wants to be in the football league should sign an agreement to be bound by its rules, and if they break the FFP rules, the fine should go to the other clubs. Where the clubs are when the fine is imposed is irrelevant, the fine is for a period in which the club is in the football league, and it's nothing to do with the Premier League.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Baik

 

[El Presidente]

One way of sorting out over spending so that we could do away with FFP, if that is a club go into administration, they are not deducted 10 whole points, instead they are expelled from the football league, and make them reform in the conference north/south.

This way the likes of Leicester, Palace et all would not gamble in the way they do now if the punishment was being kicked out, instead of 10 pts!

Palace were put into administration over a £4.5 million debt. The Albion have debts of over £100 million.

 

[andy1980]

Exactly. I heard that the money that was supposed to go to the clubs that don't break the rules is now to go to charity, due to the clubs being Premier clubs when the fines are taken. What a load of nonsense. Any club that wants to be in the football league should sign an agreement to be bound by its rules, and if they break the FFP rules, the fine should go to the other clubs. Where the clubs are when the fine is imposed is irrelevant, the fine is for a period in which the club is in the football league, and it's nothing to do with the Premier League.

This is the biggest part of FFP that I don't understand. The Premiership is an lrrelivence to the Championship FFP, If they want to act like control freaks then why not side step them by suspending the fines till re-entry to the football league?