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Football finances

Unlike some, I bear no particular ill will -- off the pitch -- to Crystal Palace but, if they get away with paying creditors 1p in the £ before continuing with business as usual, it will bring shame on football. Again. It's clear to me that football's finances need radical reform, so I put the following ideas forward for discussion. They should apply throughout the pro game, from Sky 4 to the base of the pyramid.

1. Footballing creditors should have no precedence.
2. In the event of administration, a club should be relegated by 2 divisions, and a ban on paying transfer fees should be applied until all creditors are repaid in full. Any transfer fees received should go to the creditors.
3. The PL's share of TV money should be evenly distributed among PL clubs.
4. Parachute payments should be abolished and the money previously allocated to them should be evenly distributed between Championship clubs.
5. A salary cap for players, as a % of normal trading turnover.
6. A ban on all payments to players other than contracted salaries and bonuses -- eg, no signing-on fees.
7. A ban on all payments to agents by clubs.
8. All clubs must be trading at break-even or better over any 3 year period by a specified date (say, 2014).
9. All player contracts should contain provision for salary reduction or termination of contract in the event of relegation.
10. Any player at a PL club who has played in fewer than (say) 25% of the games for which he was available should be entitled, should he so choose, to sign for a club outside the PL on a free transfer.

Let's have an honest game at last.

Comments

  • Will never happen but I agree and would add one more away teams get a %age of the gate, say 10%.
  • edited June 2010
    how the feck did they manage to get a pre-season game against chelsea?
  • [cite]Posted By: Kap10[/cite]Will never happen but I agree and would add one more away teams get a %age of the gate, say 10%.

    Deffo.
  • [cite]Posted By: CAFCdamo[/cite]how the feck did they manage to get a pre-season game against chelsea?

    ?
  • Relegation is unfair on the teams in that league as makes their promotion more difficult.
  • edited June 2010
    i certainly think clubs that go into administration should receive more than just a point reduction. however i think each case should be looked at and dealt with differently.
    take us for example; if we went into administration i would hope that they would look favourably on the fact that we've tried to avoid administration and instead sort the mess out.
  • None of them will come in until an independent body comes in to monitor the game, and that won't happen until a club goes bust.

    Palace have dodged a bullet, I think a club this season won't be so lucky.
  • As the Inland Revenue have issues a writ against the League for the football debts that are currently honoured the change may well be sooner than we all think.

    If the Inland Revenue manage to claim unpaid tax from the league (therfore the clubs that are not in Administration themselves) then the League will increase the punishment and/or insist that the new owners take on the current debts or the club ceases to exist.

    The current system is disgraceful and Palace's 1p in the £ will look so insulting when they go on a spending spree this summer.
  • What's really pissed me off is that sky sports news has announced that Palace are now able to keep Ambrose and Speroni, days after 29 members of staff have been made redundant and just before a 1p in the pound CVA will be forced on local businesses.

    Why we're on the subject, well done to the Palace fans for raising the £16k owned to St. John's ambulance.
  • [quote][cite]Posted By: Friend Or Defoe[/cite]What's really pissed me off is that sky sports news has announced that Palace are now able to keep Ambrose and Speroni, days after 29 members of staff have been made redundant and just before a 1p in the pound CVA will be forced on local businesses.

    Why we're on the subject, well done to the Palace fans for raising the £16k owned to St. John's ambulance.[/quote]

    yes well done on the St John Ambulance payment. I totally agree with the comment about Ambrose and Speroni. It is the same as Southampton, who would not be as strong in the third tier if it had not been for administration. The rules should be that all creditors should receive a minimum amount owed in the CVA, say 50p in the pound, even then it is not right.
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  • Don't think any fans of the normal clubs would disagree with the sentiments, but unfortunately when have the PL and Sky been interested in football other than the money? That along with the FA being toothless or gutless depending how you want to look at it means legal aspects will have to force change, they aren't going to do it themselves as they'rer happy with the money their earning and couldn't care less if a team outside the top few goes bust.
  • I suspect that any change will be driven by UEFA rather than by the greed fuelled nonsence that is The English Premier League and SKY Sports. Don`t hold your breath though.
  • [cite]Posted By: Friend Or Defoe[/cite]What's really pissed me off is that sky sports news has announced that Palace are now able to keep Ambrose and Speroni, days after 29 members of staff have been made redundant and just before a 1p in the pound CVA will be forced on local businesses.

    Why we're on the subject, well done to the Palace fans for raising the £16k owned to St. John's ambulance.

    I wonder what the thoughts of the new owners are concerning the 29 who lost their jobs?
    Quite happy about it I would of thought, no dirt on their hands.
  • Yes, it will be interesting to see if they offer more than 1p in the £ in redundancy payments. Somewho I doubt it.
  • BTW, I forgot to mention that leveraged buyouts of clubs should be banned. And why leave changes to the football authorities, who seem mesmerized by the greedy Sky 4? Why not legislation, since HMRC (ie us, the poor bloody honest taxpayers) is so often robbed by football clubs going into admin?
  • [cite]Posted By: gilbertfilbert[/cite]BTW, I forgot to mention that leveraged buyouts of clubs should be banned. And why leave changes to the football authorities, who seem mesmerized by the greedy Sky 4? Why not legislation, since HMRC (ie us, the poor bloody honest taxpayers) is so often robbed by football clubs going into admin?
    Totally disagree. Apart from anything leveraged buyouts irritate plastic man u fans in Norwich scarves and thick sports journalist who cannot hope to understand the mechanism (despite probably having mortgages). I think you're right about the idea of properly punishing clubs that use admin to rob from their debtors. Normally when proper businesses do this they cease to exist, but because of the special nature of football clubs can run up all kinds of debt then wipe it out with no real punishment. Although good luck to any clubs hoping to borrow any money from now on. Palace, Southampton and the banking crisis will make it easier to sign a world class striker than getting a small loan.

    Unfortunatley the rule was a 10 point deduction and Palace, Leeds and Southampton used that to their benefit.
  • Any change pushed the by Uefa regarding financial matters will be challenged in every possible court by the clubs...
  • [quote][cite]Posted By: gilbertfilbert[/cite]
    2. In the event of administration, a club should be relegated by 2 divisions, and a ban on paying transfer fees should be applied until all creditors are repaid in full. Any transfer fees received should go to the creditors.
    [/quote]

    In theory this is a good idea, but that would mean that administration is essentially then end of a football club - the gulf between divisions is so vast
  • It would also be very difficult to manage. Do you relegate the club immediately? Do you wait until the end of the season? What effect does that have on the teams in the division that the club is relegated to? What happens to the players' contracts? You can't be expected to sign a contract in the Premier League then be forced to honour it in the third division.

    Also relegating the club two divisions would potentially harm the creditors the most, and they are the ones that are penalised as it stands now.

    You can see why the authorities have not done anything about it can't you?

    The ten points failed to punish Palace this season and even if you assume that with the 10 points Southampton would have been promoted last season that fails to take into account the fact that they swapped c.£20m of debt with c.£3m of new player signings.

    Basically up to now Administration has been a benefit to most, if not all, the clubs that have used it.

    Sadly that benefit will continue as borrowing will now be harder than ever and the clubs that have been into Administration, by default, have smaller debts than those that haven't.
  • dodgy boards/managers commit money that isn't there to stay in a division and then strengthen a team to challenge for play-offs... which Palace were doing until the 10 point deduction

    makes sense to me that clubs should be pushed down 2 divisions when found out as they've been competing on the field and for signings without the ability pay their bills

    Simple solution is that any club that cannot show it can pay it's bills for the next couple of seasons should be forced to pay for any players up front or simply have a transfer embargo slapped on until they sort it out
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