In amongst all the derby previews in today’s press are two excellent pieces by City supporting Guardian writer David Conn, where he interviews Khaldoon al Mubarak in Abu Dhabi.
Khaldoon responds to criticism of City’s spending being a danger to football:
“I could accept the argument if we were artificially building up the club through debt”
“That produces a destructive end result; we have seen that happen. But in our case, the club will be in the healthiest position because there is no debt. We have funded it through equity [permanent investment].
“I believe what we are doing is a fair way to inject competition into football, without debt.”
This is confirmation of what we already know, but which a lot of City’s critics choose to ignore. He goes on to respond to the plans being put forward by Michel Platini to curb the freedom of owners to invest in clubs:
“The argument that this is unhealthy suggests that the big clubs, which make the most money, must remain the big clubs, that the status quo must remain.
“Is Mr Platini saying that only Real Madrid and Barcelona have the right to be competitive in La Liga?”
This is precisely the problem with the plans. Platini has always said he wants to make European football fairer, but it seems that the only changes he can get the big clubs to agree to, are ones that don’t threaten them. Hence the ‘financial fair play’, linking expenditure to revenue, is ok for the likes of Milan who have a high turnover. He appears to be playing on these clubs fear of City’s spending to get an agreement to his changes.
There seems to be a denial of the problems these rules will cause in stopping clubs like City challenging those established in the Champions League. The silence from Uefa and Platini on this is becoming increasingly apparent.
Khaldoon confronts it head on:
“I appreciate the argument about having so much money.
“The way I answer it is: Yes, this is a club, but it is a business too, and in business, you are there to compete. And we are striving to build the club the right way, with respect for its heritage, and the fans.”
The second article looks at how the ownership of City is part of the move to promote Abu Dhabi and it’s values. Conn firstly describes how this push is part of the state’s policy. The level of expenditure is awesome, and makes the investment in City seem almost trifling.
Interestingly, the purchase of City was initially a private venture by Sheikh Mansour who is a football fan, but with the global media attention that has followed, City are now viewed as part of the plan to promote Abu Dhabi itself. Could this mean the people in Abu Dhabi will be even more determined to see City being successful and having a positive presence at the centre of world football? It is hugely exciting to think so.
The money being spent on City is still considered an investment, that will prove it’s worth if City are established as a top European club. Then there is the fan side. According to Khaldoon:
“Sheikh Mansour is a huge football fan. There is an enjoyment, a pleasure, which comes from owning it.”
“There is a pure, football, emotional side to it, and a big business side, too. I think what attracted Sheikh Mansour was the great football journey, but also there is a business sense, that we can create a franchise, a business, over years, which will create value and reap a long term return.”
There’s a further two parts to this interview to be published by The Guardian.
The FA have confirmed that Emmanuel Adebayor is suspended for three matches after being found guilty of violent conduct in the game against Arsenal.
He’ll miss the games against Manchester United, Fulham (Carling Cup), and West Ham.
This week has seen Michel Platini’s plans for ‘financial fair play’ accepted in principle by Uefa. Exactly how this will work is yet to be agreed and negotiations are set to continue for the rest of the season. Only then can any new rules be ratified.
Platini hasn’t denied that plans to stop clubs from spending more than they make from revenues is intended to prevent ‘sugar daddies’ like Sheikh Mansour and Roman Abramovich coming into the game and transforming clubs with cash injections.
Michel Platini:
“If you buy a house, you have a debt but that doesn’t mean someone is going to stop you from working.
“If you depend only on a rich benefactor however, then the financial model is too volatile.”
The Uefa boss claims to have been asked by members of the ‘football family’ like Silvio Berlusconi to do something about the current situation. Platini is using the financial woes of the credit crunch to justify his plans, but by the time they come to fruition the 2008 banking crisis will be long gone. In any case the new regulations being adopted by the Premier League seem far more practical.
Let’s not forget that Berlusconi has been under pressure from supporters at Milan after the clubs relative demise in recent seasons. Their financial woes would hardly have been lessened by City bumping up the fee (circa 20m Euros) and wages (circa 100k per week) they eventually had to pay for Ronaldinho. The failure of the Brazilian playboy to justify these sums is of little surprise to many, but probably irks the Italian leader.
Milan of course, still have very high revenues so would be a clear beneficiary of the possible new rules. They’d be able to out-muscle other Serie A clubs and not have to worry about upstarts like City when it comes to negotiating for the world’s top players.
Platini’s claim that Abramovich is in agreement looks to be exaggerated as the Russian will want to see more of the details before giving wholehearted support. As ever, self interest will reign as Abramovich looks to reduce his personal expenditure while still being able to make the marquee signing he missed out on this Summer.
Clubs failing to meet the criteria would not be able to play in the Uefa competitions, namely the Champions League and Europa League. This is Platini’s big stick, and while the carrots are there for the clubs currently with the biggest turnovers, it’s unclear what the benefits are to those who might want to challenge the elite.
Talk of smaller clubs growing by nurturing their own players is fantasy as we all know promising youngsters are snapped up by bigger clubs. The chances of a title challenging team coming through an Academy at the same time are also negligible in the extreme.
The Premier League’s Richard Scudamore recognises the dangers of tying expenditure on players to revenue. The lack of a level playing field in the Premier League has been bad enough. These plans threaten to lock-in the clubs with the biggest turnovers and remove the chance of other clubs challenging via a cash injection. This would make the Premier League even more predictable, less competitive, and fans would find it a turn-off. With less enthusiasm among supporters, future TV deals could be reduced, weakening the financial power of the League.
Would Platini mind? Or would he be quite happy to see this happen. How many European ties this week had the draw of City v Arsenal? Arguably, only Inter v Bareclona, and the appeal of this was reduced by being a group game with both teams happy to play out a draw.
Let’s remember, new chairmen arriving and putting cash into a club has been a part of football for years, particularly since the abolition of the maximum wage. Why else do fans welcome these people? There’s a thrill and excitement in the possibility of new players.
As Khaldoon al Mubarak said in his video interview at the start of the season, money is required.
Intriguingly, The Times Football Commentator, Patrick Barclay suggested a compromise between Platini and the Premier League may still be possible:
At length a compromise may be reached in which benefactors are allowed to give but not lend.
Platini hopes to have the plans in place by 2012, though there is talk of another three seasons grace for clubs to adjust before punishments are meted out. No doubt City will be looking closely at whatever is agreed to see how we can work with it, or round it, and continue ‘the project’. There could be a race for City to establish themselves in the Champions League and dramatically increase their revenues by this time. If matches at Eastlands continue to sell-out, then it may make sense to accelerate plans to expand the stadium. Increased crowds are the most obvious way to increase revenues.
Platini’s plans may pose another challenge to City, but I would bet against Garry Cook and Sheikh Mansour coming through once again.
Chief Executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore has announced new rules for both squad sizes and financial reporting which have been agreed by all 20 Premier League clubs and will come into play next season. On the face of it, they make sense and should not adversely affect City.
New squad rules
The squad rules bring in a cap of 25 players over the age of 21. Within this 8 must be home-grown. Therefore up to 17 can be players over 21 who have come from abroad.
A home-grown player is defined as one who has spent three seasons with an English or Welsh club prior to their 21st birthday (or the end of the season in which they will be 21).
Clubs can have as many players under the age of 21 as they like.
Of City’s current first team squad (excluding loan players) listed on the official site, those who would be classed as homegrown and over 21 would be: Given, Taylor, Lescott, Bridge, Onuoha, Richards, Barry, Ireland, Wright-Phillips and Bellamy. A total of 10 (thereby exceeding the minimum of 8).
The number of other players over the age of 21 would be: Sylvinho, Garrido, Toure, Zabaleta, de Jong, Kompany, Petrov, Adebayor, Benjani, Robinho, Santa Cruz and Tevez. A total of 12 (thereby under the maximum of 17).
City’s squad would therefore be 22 players (3 under the limit).
Surprisingly, Weiss and Johnson are the only players listed in the first team squad under 21 (at the beginning of this year). They would also be classed as home-grown and eligible to play.
The rule is an attempt to stop bloated squads and encourage clubs to bring players through Academies. The intention to encourage clubs to get more young players making the transition from youth sides to the first team is a good one, and City have recently made a step in this direction with the appointment of Brian Kidd.
There is plenty of scope within these figures for clubs to continue buying the best foreign talent they can afford which, like it or not, is necessary if you’re going to be challenging in Europe. Another key point is there is no restriction on the nationality of players who would be considered home-grown. ‘Foreigners’ such as Given, Ireland and Weiss would all qualify. This will enable clubs to continue the controversial practice of picking up promising youngsters from abroad, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Uefa and Fifa tightening the rules on this shortly.
Richard Scudamore:
“It’s not in the club’s interests to stockpile players. It will make buying home-grown talent more attractive.
“We’re not going down the route of a nationality test but what this will mean is that you just can’t buy a team from abroad.
“We think it will give clubs an extra incentive to invest in youth. We think that one of the benefits will be that it will help the England team.”
New financial rules
Clubs will be required to submit independently audited accounts each season. They will also need to submit future financial information to act as an early warning system should any club be taking undue risks. Clubs that fail in this and fall into difficulties could then be subject to financial controls relating to limiting transfers and player salaries.
Scudamore states:
“At all times the board of the Premier League will be applying a test which basically says this: can the club fulfil its fixtures, pay off its creditors when they are due and also to meet obligations to the Premier League’s contracts and partners?
“If the board believe a club is at risk of not meeting those obligations, it has to then step in and agree a budget for the running of that club.”
Clearly these rules are to prevent the kind of financial mismanagement that has been going on at West Ham and Portsmouth, and previously Leeds. In a direct way it shouldn’t affect City in the slightest.
However, by bringing in sensible financial rules that safeguard clubs, the Premier League lessens the argument for the new rules that Michel Platini is trying pass at Uefa. The detail of Platini’s plans have still not been agreed or announced, yet we know he has the desire to link expenditure to income and ban ‘sugar daddies’ from giving money to clubs. This controversial idea, which without being paranoid is clearly aimed at City, could cause significant problems for the ‘City project’. On the face of it, it has many flaws and seems ridiculous, and I’ll address these in another article.
For now City should be grateful to the strong leadership of Scudamore in implementing sensible ideas that should bring greater financial stability to the Premier League without undermining it in any way.
Gerry Sutcliffe, Sports Minister:
“I welcome the Premier League’s introduction of a home-grown player quota for squads and its implementation of strengthened financial reporting rules.
“These moves will encourage clubs to develop and bring through young talent and help ensure clubs are financially stable.”