Agent launches legal threat to FFP

[paul_e]

This FFP stuff always struck me as probably illegal. How can you punish a business for running at a loss?

Not really as you can't compare a football club to a normal business.
Normal businesses don't have league tables and massive financial rewards for finishing above a rival business in the same field.

Also there's nothing illegal in a government body setting financial requirements for membership, which is effectively what is being done.  You could easily do the same with a wage cap, just put it in place and promise to dock points from teams that breach it.  There is nothing illegal in that despite what agents would have people believe.  There are a hell of a lot of sports with such wage caps (has to be a club wide thing, wage caps on each player are unenforceable) and they are a lot stricter than the % of turnover shite that regularly comes up in these discussions.  The only truly fair wage cap would be set at something like 90% of the turnover of the smallest club in the league.  You'd have the small ones paying less and not hitting the cap but the gap would be significantly smaller.

[Dave]

This FFP stuff always struck me as probably illegal. How can you punish a business for running at a loss?

Not really as you can't compare a football club to a normal business.
Normal businesses don't have league tables and massive financial rewards for finishing above a rival business in the same field.

Also it's a competition and the organisers of the competition can set whatever rules they like surely?

I think so, but does that not make all the complaining about Sky, agents, money, Abramovich, referees, goal-line technology, Champions League, kick-off times, et cetera completely pointless?

[Ad@m]

This FFP stuff always struck me as probably illegal. How can you punish a business for running at a loss?

Not really as you can't compare a football club to a normal business.
Normal businesses don't have league tables and massive financial rewards for finishing above a rival business in the same field.

Also it's a competition and the organisers of the competition can set whatever rules they like surely?

I think so, but does that not make all the complaining about Sky, agents, money, Abramovich, referees, goal-line technology, Champions League, kick-off times, et cetera completely pointless?

Not really.

[Dave]

Why, what's the difference? They can set whatever rules they like as you rightly point out.

[Ad@m]

Why, what's the difference? They can set whatever rules they like as you rightly point out.

The difference is someone moaning vs someone saying its illegal. Which it isn't.

[Dave]

Yes, but surely that complaining is rendered pointless? The body in charge of a competition can do what they like, so whinging about what they choose to do is as about as redundant as suggesting that FFP is illegal.

[Ad@m]

Yes, but surely that complaining is rendered pointless? The body in charge of a competition can do what they like, so whinging about what they choose to do is as about as redundant as suggesting that FFP is illegal.

I'm not sure if this is a windup.

Saying something is illegal when its not is just wrong. Meaningless. Pointless. Choose your word.

Complaining about something you don't like brings about change.

I'm not sure what the issue is.

[ROBBO]

A wage cap although the right thing to do for the majority of clubs and fans will never be brought in Sky won't allow it.

[Villa in Denmark]

Looks like a full legal challenge is a step closer.

Some interesting arguments against FFP with some alternative suggestions, that actually sound palatable, and not anti competitive as FFP probably will be, from Soccernomics author Stefan Szymanski.

How Bosman's lawyer is plotting another football revolution

[Concrete John]

This gets to the crux of it for me from the original article:-

Uefa could better rebalance European football and make it more competitive, he states, by greater sharing of money from rich clubs to small, preventing the need for them to overspend.

The FFP rules have too many loopholes to ever make a difference.  If Man City can get round them through stadium sponsorship, they why can't the next oil magnate that rocks up to the same?

However, even distribution is what lead to the breakaway Premier League over 20 years ago.  If they try something like that, it'll mark the start of the process that'll result in the much talked about European Super League, IMO.   

[pauliewalnuts]

The FFP rules have too many loopholes to ever make a difference.  If Man City can get round them through stadium sponsorship, they why can't the next oil magnate that rocks up to the same?

That was the one thing which made it quite clear FFP rules were not going to work, ie if it is as easy as that to get round.

[olaftab]

Anything that restores some sort or order and  fair play is bad for forums like this because we will have nothing to moan about.

[pauliewalnuts]

Anything that restores some sort or order and  fair play is bad for forums like this because we will have nothing to moan about.

Of course we would. We'd still manage to frustrate and annoy ourselves. It's the Villa way.

[lordmcgrath5]

On balance, football agents have done huge damage to the game. I am not especially fond of them I have to say. For me, Eric Hall always epitomised the profession, bless him.

[Concrete John]

Anything that restores some sort or order and  fair play is bad for forums like this because we will have nothing to moan about.

Of course we would. We'd still manage to frustrate and annoy ourselves. It's the Villa way.

They only way they'd ever stop arguments on H&V is if they also brought in CFP (Condiment Fair Play) and banned that red shite for good!