I don't love them, I hate the hypocrisy on this topic. Rivalry aside, the amount of lamenting done by fans of traditional big clubs about the nouveau rich clubs is nauseating. As if the game was all well and good before 2004.
So yeah I see these threads as a call not for the game to be made very fair and balanced and competitive, but for clubs with historical advantages to retain their privilege. And feck all that, as far as I'm concerned.
I'd have the same stance if Bolton or Accrington Stanley won the lottery instead of City (or Chelsea or Newcastle or PSG)
Yeah you do, any topic on Pep you're in there defending him. Play-style, transfer spending..
And that's a nonsensical argument for many different reasons.
1) By the same logic in a capitalistic market you may as well hand out artificial payments to smaller companies just because they haven't grown as big as the bigger ones. Under WTO rules that's illegal for most western countries.
Just because some clubs are bigger, things aren't more fair or more balanced by having state clubs introduced. That's just whataboutism of the highest order.
2) If the state clubs didn't exist, then other clubs that are well run would've grown and become more successful. United would've become crap anyway because of their poor management from the board level down post-SAF. Liverpool would've won more leagues over the last few years. Spurs wouldve challenged more and qualified for more Cls, earning more income that they've legitimately built towards. Clubs like Villa, West Ham, Leceister, all could grow their income and genuinely try to be CL clubs. But City and Chelsea and in the next 10 years likely Newcastle hogging those CL spots stunts the growth of those clubs. The PL is one of the few leagues where the league income is actually decently balanced.
Yeah some clubs have greater commercial revenue but what can you do? You can't make it like the NFL or whatever because 1) It benefits the owners financially to have wage caps 2) It limits the incentive to go out and grow your own revenue. 3) Other leagues won't do the same
But what's not even remotely okay is having states get around FFP rules with bogus commercial deals, because that's not something anyone can compete with it. Even rich owner clubs like Everton have a limit on how much they can spend over 3 years. I can't see how you guys can sit there and in good conscious defend it as even remotely a good thing. Actually yeah I know, it's just the City fans and the wish they were City fans.