Oil Money in Football | New City expose

[Wessex Saint]

I'm finding it hard to really care any more. Football is so corrupted by money, whether it be Man City or any of the others in the Big 6, does it actually matter to most? For us peasants of the footballing world, its just the posh knobs having a squabble as one of them has got one over on all the rest. Simple fact is, all the Big 6 and their spending has made the PL an irrelevance for the rest of us, so whether one of them has far outspent the rest, it really has very little impact on the other teams.

I do find myself in two minds.....

On the one, the schadenfreude is "amusing". Welcome to the club, where the spending isn't a level playing field and you can't compete.

On the other, it is a shame that 125 years of footballing history is being (or, maybe that should be, has been) destroyed by foreign owners who couldn't give a hoot about the club's roots and the role in the community. Some owners are worse than others, and I would suggest the worst in this country are the owners of Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd. What can the supporter do? Nothing. You stop going, others will step in.

And of course the big one of flagrantly breaking the rules, with the help of UEFA/FIFA. The guardians of the game seem to be in cahoots with the rule breakers. Very very disappointing.

 

[Nanook]

Although I think it's unlikely their funneling money to their players, I don't think it's unlikely that they are massively understating their wage bill.

The UEFA benchmarking report shows City’s wage bill to be about £20m higher than what their accounts show.

 

[Whiskey Red]

Quite interesting it's one release a day for 4 days, they must have a lot of information.

City asses must be twitching.

They have terabytes of data, don't forget this is the same data breach that exposed the tax dodging, Ronaldo's hush money and the money Raiola received for the Pogba transfer. Yep, they have a lot of information!

 

[OldSchoolManc]

Are you being serious?

We've got two clubs being ran as state vanity projects who have got unlimited supplies of cash despite it not having a lot to do with football.

FFP shouldn't be needed really but sadly it is. Being owned by a billionaire is no longer enough. Now you need a regime behind you.

PSG n City are the worst thing to happen to football in the modern era.

FFP may well be a badly thought out concept, but there needs to be SOME kind of fair play system in place!
What City and PSG are doing, is the equivalent of plonking a premier league team into division 3.
They SHOULD be steamrollering teams with that much investment.
It makes the whole Premier league utterly pointless.

City MUST be punished exactly like Juventus and Rangers were.
The only reason they wouldn’t be, is because UEFA, the EPL and the FA have their fingers in the pie as well.
This could turn up a lot of corrupt people within the various ruling bodies.
It has to happen.

 

[Trizy]

FFP may well be a badly thought out concept, but there needs to be SOME kind of fair play system in place!
What City and PSG are doing, is the equivalent of plonking a Premier League team into division 3.
They SHOULD be steamrollering teams with that much investment.
It makes the whole Premier League utterly pointless.

City MUST be punished exactly like Juventus and Rangers were.
The only reason they wouldn’t be, is because UEFA, the EPL and the FA have their fingers in the pie as well.
This could turn up a lot of corrupt people within the various ruling bodies.
It has to happen.

Agreed. I only think a punishment like that would happen though is if UEFA, FIFA and the FA fire the guys who are on the payroll and try revamp the whole thing to save face. 1% chance of that happening, though.

 

[antihenry]

UEFA came up with FFP to stop clubs from going into administration by using money they don't have or can't pay back. UEFA did not even consider sugar daddy clubs in it.

That's what they said publicly, but the biggest reason behind the FFP was Chelsea. The 'old guard' was pissed off about the Russian nouveau riche fecking up the market , didn't like the precedent Chelsea were setting and demanded the UEFA do something about it. Does anyone genuinely believe UEFA would go for all that trouble because they cared so much about the plight of the little clubs going bankrupt? Yeah right.

People forget that after the FFP was announced, it took several years for it to be implemented. In the meantime the PSG and City takeovers happened. By the time the FFP was enforced, Chelsea was already on board with it and prepared, because apparently it was Abramovich's plan all along to make CFC self sufficient. But the likes of PSG and City clearly weren't and didn't feel UEFA had what it takes to go to war against their owners. Because it's one thing to have some Russian billionaire fall in line, but taking on oil states is a different proposition altogether. And it looks like they were right.

 

[SteveJ]

FFS...The Telegraph using a book review - in their Football section, no less - to celebrate City's rise to power:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...ears-ago-losing-tomansfield-auto-windscreens/

 

[Irish Jet]

Tweet

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“All the good work”

 

[Castia]

First of all I want to ask, have City been accused of paying bribes or offerings incentives in anyway to influence decision making?
Beacuase if not, they haven't actually done anything illegal. FFP is not a legal construct.

It’s a rule within the game that every team in Europe complies with, this isn’t the first time City have been caught trying to feck with the system either.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

“All the good work”

Surely they are going on about regenerating the area, but that can be now seen as just sweetening up the locals and media.

 

[Giggsyking]

They haven't tried to cheat the FA, as the FA have no rules similar to FFP

Yes they have something similar.

 

[Adisa]

It’s a rule within the game that every team in Europe complies with, this isn’t the first time City have been caught trying to feck with the system either.

I'm not debating that. I'm saying City haven't broken any laws. I've heard some call for investigations like the Calciopolli scandal. It's not going to happen. Circumventing FFP doesn't fall under any governmental jurisdiction, unlike match-fixing. This is purely up to UEFA to investigate.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

This is purely up to UEFA to investigate.

Given the were complicit in the corruption, it seems unlikely doesn't it.

 

[giorno]

Because it's one thing to have some Russian billionaire fall in line, but taking on oil states is a different proposition altogether. And it looks like they were right.

Oh no, they took on the oil states allright. Specifically, they took their money to look the other way

 

[Adisa]

Given the were complicit in the corruption, it seems unlikely doesn't it.

Yep.

 

[Tincanalley]

@Damien, just wonder if it might be time to re-open my Manchester Cheaty thread?
https://www.redcafe.net/posts/22528241/

 

[MuFc_1992]

I'm finding it hard to really care any more. Football is so corrupted by money, whether it be Man City or any of the others in the Big 6, does it actually matter to most? For us peasants of the footballing world, its just the posh knobs having a squabble as one of them has got one over on all the rest. Simple fact is, all the Big 6 and their spending has made the PL an irrelevance for the rest of us, so whether one of them has far outspent the rest, it really has very little impact on the other teams.

I do find myself in two minds.....

On the one, the schadenfreude is "amusing". Welcome to the club, where the spending isn't a level playing field and you can't compete.

On the other, it is a shame that 125 years of footballing history is being (or, maybe that should be, has been) destroyed by foreign owners who couldn't give a hoot about the club's roots and the role in the community. Some owners are worse than others, and I would suggest the worst in this country are the owners of Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd. What can the supporter do? Nothing. You stop going, others will step in.

And of course the big one of flagrantly breaking the rules, with the help of UEFA/FIFA. The guardians of the game seem to be in cahoots with the rule breakers. Very very disappointing.

I think it's time for us to become less emotionally invested. If I had a kid, I'd steer him away from being a football club fanatic.

 

[Treble]

Part 2 is quite damaging too. Part 3 promises to reveal their influence on media.

 

[Trizy]

Part 2 is quite damaging too. Part 3 promises to reveal their influence on media.

Well, if nothing comes from this at least it will be an interesting read.

I'd imagine 99% of people involved are shitting it.

 

[Handsome Devil]

Part 2 is quite damaging too. Part 3 promises to reveal their influence on media.

Part 3 could be very very interesting and maybe explain why our media has been relatively half hearted in their response.

 

[elmo]

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What good have they done?

 

[MuFc_1992]

Well, if nothing comes from this at least it will be an interesting read.

I'd imagine 99% of people involved are shitting it.

I would absolutely love it if that cnut Martin Samuel is implicated somehow.

Overall, I don't expect this to lead to anything but at least the world of football will be more alert. I'd be happy if they came up with a system that imposes a cap on transfer spending of all clubs bases on where they finish favouring the undefdogs (ie. Similar to draft pick system).

 

[cyberman]

I'm not debating that. I'm saying City haven't broken any laws. I've heard some call for investigations like the Calciopolli scandal. It's not going to happen. Circumventing FFP doesn't fall under any governmental jurisdiction, unlike match-fixing. This is purely up to UEFA to investigate.

Isn't this a clear case of money laundering?

 

[roonster09]

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Pep or money

 

[Trizy]

I would absolutely love it if that cnut Martin Samuel is implicated somehow.

Overall, I don't expect this to lead to anything but at least the world of football will be more alert. I'd be happy if they came up with a system that imposes a cap on transfer spending of all clubs bases on where they finish favouring the undefdogs (ie. Similar to draft pick system).

I'd agree with transfer and wage caps and eliminating agent fees. But City's current squad would dominate for at least 4-5 more years while we all catch up to where their cheating as lead them to. That of course would be harder to do so with £100m/year budget.

 

[GifLord]

But Manchester isn't particularly fond of UEFA. For years, the team's fans, otherwise a rather quiet lot, have passionately booed their hearts out when the Champions League hymn is played. City fans feel that they and their team have been victimized by UEFA. In particular, the penalty the team was forced to pay in 2014 due to its violations of UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules was seen by fans as unfair.

Yet documents from the whistleblower platform Football Leaks reveal that UEFA actually showed Manchester City far too much lenience. The European football association was aware that it let City off the hook with a ludicrously low penalty, despite the club's far-reaching deception.

 

[Trizy]

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Pep or money

Oh feck me I hope that cnut is exposed. The Ballbag feck.

 

[cyberman]

Part 2 is quite damaging too. Part 3 promises to reveal their influence on media.

Hence why the media were strangely quiet with this and why it seems they weren't involved with any aspect of the expose.
The English press can do no wrong. Wait and see the agenda setting that comes after this

 

[MuFc_1992]

I'd agree with transfer and wage caps and eliminating agent fees. But City's current squad would dominate for at least 4-5 more years while we all catch up to where their cheating as lead them to. That of course would be harder to do so with £100m/year budget.

I'm suggesting transfer cap based inversely on where teams finish to stop these one team leagues propping up everywhere. I'm interested in knowing how things work in american sports like NBA because Ive noticed that teams dominate in cycles there.

 

[Trizy]

Hence why the media were strangely quiet with this and why it seems they weren't involved with any aspect of the expose.
The English press can do no wrong. Wait and see the agenda setting that comes after this

They'll try spin it as other big countries are all against England because of their recent World Cup success at youth level and progression at Senior level. And the leaks are ''fake news'' to try and stop England from dominating even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the England NT.

 

[CA1]

What day of the week do we reckon that blind sheep @padr81 will fulfill his promise and remove his support for his club?

 

[ROFLUTION]

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Pep or money

Waow. Surely this is punishable somehow?! Pep or money indeed

 

[cyberman]

They'll try spin it as other big countries are all against England because of their recent World Cup success at youth level and progression at Senior level. And the leaks are ''fake news'' to try and stop England from dominating even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the England NT.

I guarantee that we'll hear of how reporters always had good links with clubs since thats how they get their scoops, it has never altered how they report the news etc etc.
Eveeeeerybody involved in any sort of media knows this, its how you develop contacts you pleb #professional.

 

[anant]

Can't wait for the 2nd part of their Amazon Documentary "Oil or nothing"

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Blue seats are usually quiet unless you slam them up and down or chuck them about.

 

[Wayne's World]

And still there won't be anything done about it....they could get away with murder the likes of PSG and City and UEFA don't have a backbone to stop them

 

[dove]

Waow. Surely this is punishable somehow?! Pep or money indeed

Very difficult. Who is going to investigate it? Surely not UEFA as they are as corrupted as the oil clubs.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Here's part 2 of the 4 articles that will come out from Spiegel about Man City: Read it here -> Project Longbow

It is a telling window into the team's approach: High costs and losses are fine as long as they can be hidden from UEFA. To help do so, Manchester City established a subsidiary to take care of a share -- and the costs -- of some standard business activities.

Fordham, in other words, was merely a vehicle for hidden capital injections from Abu Dhabi. [...]

David Rowland and his son Jonathan together took over what was left of Kaupthing Bank in Iceland after its collapse during the financial crisis. The result was Banque Havilland, and a list of its branches reads like a travel guide for investors looking to avoid pesky questions and tax obligations: Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Bahamas, Switzerland. The owners of Fordham, the company that bought the marketing rights to Manchester City players, are likewise well-hidden: The path first leads to a British straw-man company, then to the British Virgin Islands and finally to the Rowland family trust

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I guarantee that we'll hear of how reporters always had good links with clubs since thats how they get their scoops, it has never altered how they report the news etc etc.
Eveeeeerybody involved in any sort of media knows this, its how you develop contacts you pleb #professional.

Have you ever noticed that reporters and media rate clubs on how good their food is? That is one of the things that half of them go on about with City, Arsenal etc. What do United give them? A bowl of gruel.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Here's part 2 of the 4 articles that will come out from Spiegel about Man City: Read it here -> Project Longbow

Any business people involved should be banned from ever bring involved in business again.