Football Titbits

[Valentino's fast feet]

Neville mentioned something on the Overlap about how in league 2 a club can spend whatever they like as long as the owner puts the money in up front to cover the cost of the outgoing spend. It just makes so much sense. If an owner can afford to and is willing to put their money in then just let them do it, just put rules in place that say owners can't "loan" their clubs the money like Ashley did. Keep financial liability strictly with the ownership.

In the Premier league though, if this was the case - wouldn't that put an even more unattainable barrier for the clubs without mega rich owners?

I realise we are part of that though, which isn't necessarily a good thing when you think of the source. Sure it'd directly benefit us, but it would taint the competition. Achievements wouldn't be earned, it would all devolve into bought and paid for. Even more so than it already evidentally is.

If that kind of black and white, owner puts money in and you can spend what you want, we'd have been even worse under an Ashley ownership. Overall it would arguably lead to more clubs struggling, who can't compete with the elite level investment. Try anyway and get relegated, then the investors get bored and move on, or try to. It's essentially the Everton model.

[Don Sholeone]

Most clubs are owned by billionaires these days, you put it firmly in control of the owners, also I'd argue it makes clubs a lot more attractive in terms of being taken over. Personally think it's a better option than now, you currently have the same situation where only certain clubs are allowed to compete anyways, at least under this model there isn't any artificial system to stop clubs from competing if they wish to.

[bodacious benny]

Joelinton has signed a new contract

[Colly]

Titbit! Best news in ages and we have a dedicated thread!

[bodacious benny]

Liverpool 3-0 down at home to Atalanta - lovely!

[overseasTOON]

Liverpool 3-0 down at home to Atalanta - lovely!

Should have had more flags.

[Valentino's fast feet]

Liverpool 3-0 down at home to Atalanta - lovely!

Should have had more flags.

Whilst I do agree with fan protests in general, I feel there's a lot more to protest than a 2% increase. Considering how much everything in general has gone up. I work in a very underfunded sector, and was pleasantly surprised with a 14% increase this year.

I suppose I'm more curious to know if there's more to it. Plenty other clubs are ran much worse than treble chasing Liverpool. Although even that is in major doubt haha

[Timshorts 2]

Liverpool 3-0 down at home to Atalanta - lovely!

As a merthyr town fan, so a bit of a closet atalanta fan as we played them in the cup winners cup that is a doubly smiley scoreline.

Merthyr beat them 2-1 at home.

Scousers so full of their own wonderfulness that they chose to rest players. It's just disrespectful and they deserved a stuffing.

[overseasTOON]

West Ham made a terrible error tonight and went all out attack.

[Colly]

Should have had more flags.

Whilst I do agree with fan protests in general, I feel there's a lot more to protest than a 2% increase. Considering how much everything in general has gone up. I work in a very underfunded sector, and was pleasantly surprised with a 14% increase this year.

I suppose I'm more curious to know if there's more to it. Plenty other clubs are ran much worse than treble chasing Liverpool. Although even that is in major doubt haha

The point is though that football tickets are too expensive in the first place, so while 2% isn't much it's another step away from a working family to be able to attend. Too many clubs are using FFP as an excuse, and Twitter non attending fans lap it up. Of course matchgoers want to see good players and success, but they also want to actually be able to see it, and the attitude of "someone else will pay if you don't" is exactly why grounds are becoming more and more corporate and sterile. I'm sure someone will compare it to theatre tickets, but football clubs are supposed to represent a community, it's not a one off trip to Les Mis.

Fair play on your 14%, my NHS pay rise was pretty much cancelled out by pension contribution increases. Yay!

[bodacious benny]

Ticket revenue is dwarfed by television revenue, most PL sides have absolutely no need to increase prices. The extra revenue makes marginal (if any) difference to them, but can make a huge difference to your average match going fan. There’s no doubt that a lot of fans are priced out of football now. Clubs are increasingly more interested in tourist fans, ‘package deal’ fans, or those who only attend a few games per season so don’t mind paying £60 for a ticket or paying extra for hospitality.

It’s amusing that clubs are scraping about trying to make a tiny bit more revenue by bleeding fans, yet the glaring issue is the ridiculous sums of money leaving the club on a weekly basis funding player salaries. You could say fair enough to the elite players who have “earned” it, but it’s common practice now just to hand out 5 figure weekly salaries to a bunch of teenagers who have done nothing at all on the chance that one might come good.

[Colly]

I'd forgotten to mention that part (ticket revenue being dwarfed by worldwide TV and sponsorship/merch sales), it was a heavily used argument for years quite rightly, but there's a hugely irritating trend towards "we need to bleed every penny for FFP" these days.

[beatski]

Aye I hate the excuse of FFP for it. Excluding ticket revenue from FFP calculations is the only way I could see it work, but even then I'm sure theres some reason why that wouldn't work

[Colly]

Put far more eloquently than me.

[bodacious benny]

Put far more eloquently than me.

Yep, the first line nails it.

Money going into football is like water entering a sieve.

But unless there’s a UEFA wide agreement on the major issues such as salaries then nothing will change.

[Colly]

Timely from the club, 5% increases. I'm on the 10 year deal still, but looks like mine will go from about £600 to about £950 this time next year. Can't complain too much as the deal has been great, but that's a lot of money.

The state of the "Internet football fans" in the comments though. "It's needed for PSR'. No. "If you don't want it I'll have it". No you won't, you've had ample opportunity for decades and not bothered.

[Don Sholeone]

Just about everything that has gone up doesn't actually need to go up half the time and football is no exception, the vast majority of big business will record an increase on profits every single year but will always find an excuse to increase the costs somehow.

[Colback's Orange Tufts]

[Don Sholeone]

Talk today that the Lewis Hall deal has fulfilled all the criteria needed to make it permanent.

[bodacious benny]

FA cup replays being scrapped from next season (from the 1st round), all rounds will also be played on weekends.