The Official Man Utd & Liverpool plus Chelsea, Everton and City Banter Thread!

Well of course I forgot about them. Perhaps it shows that sport, on the very biggest scale can at times be bigger than government. Could Uefa have the muscle to fight legal challenges if they indeed happen?

As for my above post, I have posted it for a read not because it favours my argument or yours. Just wondered your views more than anything and anyone else who feels like commenting.

Oh and over 25000 posts

 

I may be quiet for a while whilst I read it. Can you give me the reference?

 

http://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/

Seems like a site set up to reference everything related to FFP but the article seems to be the work of the sites owner.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...-financial-fair-play-regulations-7580682.html

Uefa talks tough on legal challenges.

 

Bloody hell, I thought this was a 'banter' thread?!

 

for the most part its become our general chat if anything with a banter sub section lol.

 

But those same lesser clubs also consider the financial doping of Chelsea and City as one of the biggest threats to their survival.

And as I said before, the EU competition rules would generally apply more to a business obtaining a dominant financial position due to the exploitation of an external source of finance to subsidise their market power. If anything, the competition rules (and the state aid rules) would come down more in favour of FFP than against it. The EC has hardly shown itself to be averse to blunt regulation to beat down the big player in the market after all. UEFA, if anything, is acting exactly as the EC loves to do. They should have called it the "FFP Directive"...

 

It's a very very complex situation. Not only are the rules themselves complex but also the financial dealings of the clubs that they apply to. When you have a situation wherein the UEFA response can swing between 2 (or more) very different responses then you have a large area of uncertainty that can be manipulated. Any 'big' club who have believe that their operations are going to be hurt by UEFA's decisions will not merely lay down and accept them. Especially in relation to City, they will have access to both the best legal, financial and pr brains with which to mount not only a defence but also a counter attack.

I found the Independant piece quite funny. All politicians and bureaucrats will talk tough until they a challenged forcefully. I'll wait and see which way they jump whem an actual case does come forward. Remember the words of Cream's song Politician - "But I'm just not there when its coming to a fight"

 

25,000+ posts

 

Madness isnt it.

 

I've had very active involvement in the construction of over 10 Directives. I can assure you that they are far from being the 'solid' instruments that they are portrayed as being. That's not surprising when they are formulated by Bureaucrats who have little or no knowledge of the commercial activities that they are trying to regulate and have to rely upon those same organisations for advice. Whilst I did not work on the Competition Directive, I'm certain that there are huge holes built into it. The Commission will only stand strong whilst it believes that it is their own best interests AND that they have political support. If a challenge came out of Spain or Italy then I would be very surprised if that political support remained solid - note i did not say that Spanish or Italian politicians can be bought.

As for the monopoly aspect of fiance in football then City have a very easy out of this claim - they haven't been dominant!

 

Feel free with the banter.

UIR, Swarbs and me (or is it I?) are just having a moment out to chat about an important issue for both of our clubs. We'll be back to ripping the **** out of each other soon

 

What I will say is over the years we have all been critical of Uefa for being corrupt and anti english but if and its still a big unknown just now, but if they implement these rules for the genuine good of the game we will all have to say well done. The way footballs going we are going to see a number of clubs vanish in the coming years, thats not right, much rather they suffer bans from various competitions or get point deductions or other sanctions that while they may cause them trouble initially it will at least allow them to rectify their mistakes over time.

FFP may end up being a total waste of time, Madrid, City, Chelsea, PSG and others may just bribe their way through it and football dies a slow death where a few clubs permanently close off the top of the league ( think 20 years of United or Liverpool prior was bad, imagine one team at the top for ever, buying all the top players, paying wages no club can match and basically leaving us all to the scraps ).

I dont really want City to go out of business but if they were made to live within their means without having a massive unfair and unearned advantage over everyone, not just United, its everyone in the league and beyond then I wish them the best....well, as much as you can wish City the best.

 

Aye, but UEFA, Real, Barca, Utd, Liverpool and all the other clubs who have something to gain from FFP (Real and Barca would pass FFP as it stands in spite of their debts) will also have the legal and financial brains to get in there and make the exact opposite argument to City. And as you said dave, it'll be a hell of a lot easier for Real and Barca to get the Spanish politicians on their side that it will for someone like City.

That was my point dave - half the time the EC falls over itself trying to do anything, hence they rely on national legislature to interpret and apply the directives. They also love the pass the buck - like you say the EC will only get involved when they are sure it's in their own best interests. Wild horses couldn't drag them to get involved half of the time. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if City did try and appeal to the EC, the bureaucrats would fall over themselves to refer the whole thing to CAS and wash their hands of the whole thing...

Aye, but there doesn't have to be a dominant position, just the potential for dominance. Everything City have said and done over the last few years indicates that they intend to dominate English and European football for as long as they can. That's a monopolistic intention right there, and would probably be enough for the EC to not want to come down on the side of City, even if they won't actively support FFP when it comes to the crunch.

 

It's going to be very interesting and there's bugger all any of us can do about it. It will be fun watching the suits turn themselves inside out.

 

You think that's bad? United managed 41 once.

 

how ironic, when Liverpool fans keep going on about winning 5 champions league trophies so bloody what.

 

because it's more than United have ever achieved.

 

This bloke doesn't seem to get the difference between 'banter' and being an irritating nonse.

 

The only solace is that the majority on his own board think that he's an irritating nonse