I for one have no problem with the way City is run...to an extent. Let me explain...
As an businessman, when you buy a new business, if you want it to grow you often have to put your own money into that business. The bigger you want it to grow, the more money you have to invest into it. City's owner had ambitions of turning our "noisy neighbours" into a big club. So in order to do that, he had to invest a lot of his own money to do so. I still remember when City signed Robinho and people called him all sorts of insults for just going there for the money. I saw it as something different. I saw it as him being the first of many to help their new owners achieve their ambitions. Without Robinho making that first step, I'm not sure how many others would have gone there. He helped rebuild the club and turn them into the powerhouse they are today. And I personally like it. Before this transition, the only people who cared about the Manchester derby were City supporters. And with Leeds out of the picture, we needed another club to come through and make the league more exciting. Not to mention, without the investment that City made, other clubs may have stayed complacent about how good their teams are. So City getting better has forced the others too as well. For years it was always "the big 4" in England, which was us, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Now City and Tottenham have made it "the big 6". This has made the league better and in turn has brought on huge sponsorship deals that every club benefits from hugely. Without City becoming as big as they are, we may not have seen that. But their growth in popularity has definitely helped the league as a whole.
Now with that being said, I also think that there is a fine line between investing your own money to turn our club into a big club, and over spending. In a real business plan, you can only invest your own money for so long. In other words, your business has to eventually become profitable and be able to make enough money that you aren't investing your own anymore. That's where I think FFP has to be stricter. For me, that time period would be 4-5 years. If your club/business isn't making enough to pay for itself, then there is a line to be drawn between running a business, and being spoiled by dirty money. And if City still isn't able to pay their bills on their own, then FFP should come down hard on them until they can...
As an businessman, when you buy a new business, if you want it to grow you often have to put your own money into that business. The bigger you want it to grow, the more money you have to invest into it. City's owner had ambitions of turning our "noisy neighbours" into a big club. So in order to do that, he had to invest a lot of his own money to do so. I still remember when City signed Robinho and people called him all sorts of insults for just going there for the money. I saw it as something different. I saw it as him being the first of many to help their new owners achieve their ambitions. Without Robinho making that first step, I'm not sure how many others would have gone there. He helped rebuild the club and turn them into the powerhouse they are today. And I personally like it. Before this transition, the only people who cared about the Manchester derby were City supporters. And with Leeds out of the picture, we needed another club to come through and make the league more exciting. Not to mention, without the investment that City made, other clubs may have stayed complacent about how good their teams are. So City getting better has forced the others too as well. For years it was always "the big 4" in England, which was us, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Now City and Tottenham have made it "the big 6". This has made the league better and in turn has brought on huge sponsorship deals that every club benefits from hugely. Without City becoming as big as they are, we may not have seen that. But their growth in popularity has definitely helped the league as a whole.
Now with that being said, I also think that there is a fine line between investing your own money to turn our club into a big club, and over spending. In a real business plan, you can only invest your own money for so long. In other words, your business has to eventually become profitable and be able to make enough money that you aren't investing your own anymore. That's where I think FFP has to be stricter. For me, that time period would be 4-5 years. If your club/business isn't making enough to pay for itself, then there is a line to be drawn between running a business, and being spoiled by dirty money. And if City still isn't able to pay their bills on their own, then FFP should come down hard on them until they can...
