Ross Barkley

Status
Not open for further replies.


Good luck with the investor search! I remember Ali Mackintoss scouring the globe looking for investment in City. I know how difficult those things are and can be.

FFP is a incredibly restrictive for a club like Everton. Ultimately investment in the infrastructure doesn't count towards FFP calculations. However when it comes to investors building a new stadium or helping to finance it, it's hard to justify doing that when you can't actually invest in the team. The difference between Champions League revenue (especially regular CL revenue) and Europa league is enormous. If you look at the cost of United's rebuild, Chelsea's spending during the early Abramovich years, or even City's spending after Mansour came in - it's clear that to get yourself to the point where it's worthwhile to have bought a PL club, you need to be free to spend minimum of 200 million pounds over a couple of years on players. Even then there's no guarantees you'll be a CL club. If you do that under the current regulations you'll fail FFP. It's a nasty catch 22.

In a way I laugh at all the clubs and all the supporters who've spent the last 12 months going on and on about how necessary it is to stop the likes of City and Chelsea. A nonsense and a neat bit of slight of hand. City and Chelsea are already in. Our revenues are somewhere around 271 million pounds for the financial year season ending 2013. That will have gone up considerably for 2014 as player amortisation costs decreased and more crazy contracts came off the wage bill whilst our progress in the CL improved and we won the title in England.

It's frustrating when guys like Adversus pitch up and try and tell me that City are screwed because of FFP. No we're not. Clubs like Everton are and the sooner your supporters realise that these regulations are all about keeping clubs like you in your place, the better. We used to be exactly where you are and honestly, I welcome the idea of Everton having significant investment. The more teams which knock the so called established hegemony of English football out of kilter, the better.

Just never forget. They don't want that. United, Liverpool, Arsenal, they want to keep you exactly where you are. Even Chelsea. That's why they all voted in favour of FFP.

How are City guaranteed of 270m a year in revenue without dodgy commercial deals that are increasingly coming under scrutiny.

You're average ticket price is the cheapest in the country because you couldn't fill your stadium charging more. You've got very little over-seas support and what you do have will go if you have a couple of years not winning anything or being in the CL.

Currently there are 4 big clubs. Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool that can all generate huge revenue from their world wide support and there are only 4 CL places.

You also have the oldest average age squad so that will need to be replaced which will be impossible to finance under FPP. If you don't think that's a danger to City you're living in cloud cuckoo land.

The advantage Everton have is that our stars are young so we will improve not decline and if we where able to build a new stadium we would be able to generate more revenue excluding CL money.

The reason why I'm for FFP is for two reasons. It forces teams to "invest" in their first team not poach all the best young players and then loan them for a cost to teams like us and it stops another City happening which would push us down the pecking order as it's highly unlikely we would win that lottery and frankly I would prefer no-one be able to do that and instead have to rely on building a club up the proper way.
 
Currently there are 4 big clubs. Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool that can all generate huge revenue from their world wide support and there are only 4 CL places.


Good post, Ad.

I disagree with that part, though.....I don't see much in the line of worldwide support for Chelsea and virtually none for Arsenal

You are spot on about City.....they have very little fan base outside their hometown.
 
How are City guaranteed of 270m a year in revenue without dodgy commercial deals that are increasingly coming under scrutiny.

You're average ticket price is the cheapest in the country because you couldn't fill your stadium charging more. You've got very little over-seas support and what you do have will go if you have a couple of years not winning anything or being in the CL.

Currently there are 4 big clubs. Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool that can all generate huge revenue from their world wide support and there are only 4 CL places.

You also have the oldest average age squad so that will need to be replaced which will be impossible to finance under FPP. If you don't think that's a danger to City you're living in cloud cuckoo land.

The advantage Everton have is that our stars are young so we will improve not decline and if we where able to build a new stadium we would be able to generate more revenue excluding CL money.

The reason why I'm for FFP is for two reasons. It forces teams to "invest" in their first team not poach all the best young players and then loan them for a cost to teams like us and it stops another City happening which would push us down the pecking order as it's highly unlikely we would win that lottery and frankly I would prefer no-one be able to do that and instead have to rely on building a club up the proper way.

I'll take this point by point.

Whether you think a deal is dodgy or not isn't really relevant. That figure was our turnover for the season ending 2013, as I say 2014 will be larger with less total expenditure as it won't have Mancini and his staff's pay off on there, and several huge contracts.

Our average ticket price is the cheapest in the country and I'm proud of that. Shows we have owners who aren't in this to fleece the supporters for every penny they can get. I'd much rather that than certain other examples around the premier league of clubs who seem to use their supporters as a defacto bank.

You say we have very little overseas support - I'm not entirely sure how this is relevant to any discussion about FFP, but notwithstanding that, I'm not sure how some guy on an Everton forum is going to be in a better position to comment on the growth of City internationally than our chief executive. I won't bother reposting it but I posted somewhere on here a video of Soriano giving a talk in Abu Dhabi about City's business model. You could do well to watch it and learn something.

Also it's interesting that you've listed four clubs as being capable of generating "huge' revenue from their worldwide support. Do you have anything to back this up or am I again to take your word over the publicly available figures on all those clubs' recent revenues/revenue streams.

With regard City's ageing squad and FFP. Are you actually trying to argue that we can't with our vast television, and commercial income, buy players? We just spent 40 million on a centre half whilst having FFP restrictions. Next summer we'll have none. I'm sure we'll spend somewhere around 50 - 70 million. And we will be able to spend that each summer afterwards because of the upward trajectory our finances are taking. You seem to be indulging in some deep wishful thinking which i guess is your right.

So you think you have an advantage because "our stars are young". What stars? Ross Barkley is the only player in your squad who'd get into the first team at City. You have some good players don't get me wrong, but don't kid yourself about what you have. You have a very talented manager and a decent mix of ageing premier league stalwarts and some decent technical players. However you're about as far away from City as Swansea or Sunderland and you have about the same prospects as both those clubs without someone investing significantly in your playing squad and in your stadium.

Your final paragraph sums up your naivety with regards FFP. Whatever you think the "proper" way of building a club up is, the sum total is always the same. The more money you have, the better you will do as a club. Arsenal, Man United, and Liverpool have down the years had rich benefactor after rich benefactor pouring their own money into the club. You are basically advocating that the status quo should've remained how it was back in 99/00. United, Arsenal, Liverpool being the financially dominant clubs in the league with everyone else having them poach their best players.

Which leads me neatly back to Ross. My personal opinion is he's going to end up at United either in January or next summer. City aren't going to get into an auction with Mr Woodward and Ross' agents are going to sell him to the highest bidder. It'll be quite funny him moving from one non CL club to another.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.
Top