All purpose football thread 2023/24 Season

[Blue Belle]

For those interested in transfer finances, here is the bang up-to-date transfer net spend data:

With the greatest of respect to you, Oldius, the teams in front of City in current spending are either trying to survive relegation, or catch-up to City. The damage done was when City were trying to fast track their position, and ability to buy the best and hire the best, when the clubs natural finances were in no way near able to achieve that. I still remember being surprised when City's finances were in trouble, when they openly admitted that they had to sell Shaun Wright-Phillips to keep the club afloat.

 

[oldius]

I've made the comment before on here, but City initially trying to attack the principle of the charges being brought, rather than the charges themselves, to me, made me question why, if City believed that they were innocent of all charges.

I think City thought them frivolous. Having been proven innocent by the highest court in sport, I think that is an understandable reaction.

 

[oldius]

With the greatest of respect to you, Oldius, the teams in front of City in current spending are either trying to survive relegation, or catch-up to City. The damage done was when City were trying to fast track their position, and ability to buy the best and hire the best, when the clubs natural finances were in no way near able to achieve that. I still remember being surprised when City's finances were in trouble, when they openly admitted that they had to sell Shaun Wright-Phillips to keep the club afloat.

No disrespect felt. I have always considered FFP to be a blunt instrument to protect a small number of clubs, who also happen to be its biggest drivers. The initial spend undertaken by City was necessary to catch up and break through, as it was previously by Chelsea.

I just had a look at 15 years and ten years of net spend too. In both, Manchester United have the highest.

 

[Blue Belle]

No disrespect felt. I have always considered FFP to be a blunt instrument to protect a small number of clubs, who also happen to be its biggest drivers. The initial spend undertaken by City was necessary to catch up and break through, as it was previously by Chelsea.

Oh, i'm not oblivious to that either. Chelsea were in a similar situation when Ken Bates sold them, and if FFP were in effect then, Chelsea may have tried to push the envelope too.

 

[oldius]

Oh, i'm not oblivious to that either. Chelsea were in a similar situation when Ken Bates sold them, and if FFP were in effect then, Chelsea may have tried to push the envelope too.

I edited my previous post to include longer term spend.

 

[oldius]

Why has it taken so long for the case to be heard? I would have thought if it was cut and dried it would have been deal't with long ago. Why allow City to win four titles on the bounce before hearing the case?

Cheers BB

Simply because of its scale. If you issue 115 allegations, then you need to have 115 lots of proof and the defence is entitled to defend each and every one of those. The impatience is palpable, but it is mainly driven by fans of a small number of clubs, and some journalists who have helped to drive the case (alleged to be on behalf of those clubs). It is a big story, so the papers want to speculate. Twitter feeds are rife with speculation, yet nobody has the inside track, certainly not from City's side. When CAS reduced City's non-cooperation fine by 80%, they did so admitting that they felt it likely that information was being shared by UEFA to third parties. I cannot be certain that the case for the prosecution is not being briefed to anyone; I have not seen any of the defence case other than that tweeted by fans who refer to CAS (information in the public domain).

 

[Blue Belle]

I edited my previous post to include longer term spend.

I still find that fact quite incredible, considering the money spent on servicing the debt and paying out dividends to the Glazers by United, the only club that does so. They have been shockingly run, and money wasted hand over fist.

 

[oldius]

Here is the link to where I got the 10 year and 15 year details.

Premier League - Transfer income and expenditures

This statistic shows, which clubs of the Premier League in the seasons 10/11 to 24/25 had the highest transfer expenditures and/or transfer incomes.

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

 

[oldius]

And 5:

Premier League - Transfer income and expenditures

This statistic shows, which clubs of the Premier League in the seasons 20/21 to 24/25 had the highest transfer expenditures and/or transfer incomes.

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

 

[oldius]

Stefan Borson has now 'replied' to the case put forward by Magic Hat.

x.com

x.com

 

[Kirk]

His contract ends at the end of next season. The speculation is that he will leave at that point and I don't think that any City fan would be surprised if that were the case. His departure will be felt in the same way that Alex Ferguson's was at United. Pep is so influential in the game, and his ideas pervade every single aspect of the club. Still, as a fan in my mid fifties, I had 44 years of no league wins so in a strange way I am looking forward to witnessing how we deal with such a loss.

Pepism works at established clubs. I'd like to see him take over an underperforming club and turn it into a successful club. That said, he is a very good manager (as opposed to just a very good coach).

Did you watch the game btw? Any thoughts? And have you seen Bob?

 

[Kirk]

I've spent a lot of time reading the documents and the reasoning that this 'Magic hat' chap puts forward.

And I believe that Manchester City are absolutely f*cked. The back and forth with the emails damn them.

I'd advise you to read these before you comment. If you don't, you are deluding yourself.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1794875274841952288

Damning but Cheaty have very good lawyers and endless resouces. The FA? Not so much.

 

[oldius]

Pepism works at established clubs. I'd like to see him take over an underperforming club and turn it into a successful club. That said, he is a very good manager (as opposed to just a very good coach).

Did you watch the game btw? Any thoughts? And have you seen Bob?

Absolutely I watched the game, and congratulations.
I thought TH got it tactically right and a number of City players were below par.
You congested the central area and shut out the passing lanes very well.
City had a centralised attack with little natural width until the second half.
The season was well beyond my expectations as I felt we would not recover from last season's successes.
I am sure that Bob is still celebrating the league title.

 

[Kirk]

Absolutely I watched the game, and congratulations.
I thought TH got it tactically right and a number of City players were below par.
You congested the central area and shut out the passing lanes very well.
City had a centralised attack with little natural width until the second half.
The season was well beyond my expectations as I felt we would not recover from last season's successes.
I am sure that Bob is still celebrating the league title.

Pep moved from Plan A, to B, and then to C. C (basically Doku) worked well. We often had to dispatch 2 players to deal with him, which opened up quite a few gaps in front of goal. It was fascinating to watch. Haaland was certainly under cooking. Seems to happen in the bigger games. I suspect as a Maine Roader, Bob is feeling the pain of the loss right now.

 

[luxury_scruff]

Stefan Borson has now 'replied' to the case put forward by Magic Hat.

x.com

x.com

Etihad Airways have just sponsored Girona for the next three seasons.

 

[oldius]

Etihad Airways have just sponsored Girona for the next three seasons.

Let's hope that the Real and Barca club can be broken apart in time.

 

[luxury_scruff]

Well, if you replicate your doping strategy, no doubt it will be.

My... Girona? You've certainly got The Knack of that.

 

[oldius]

Well, if you replicate your doping strategy, no doubt it will be.

My... Girona? You've certainly got The Knack of that.

Very good last line.
Innocent until proven guilty, of course.
And Real and Barcelona were already actually convicted of receiving illegal state support.

 

[luxury_scruff]

F*ck's sake... your mob again:

"The council has its own soul-searching to do on the ethics of its relationship with Abu Dhabi United Group. Given the contentious nature of this development, it was all the more important to be open about its economics. From the limited information available in the public domain - this looks like a bad deal for the council and its citizens. If you're comfortable taking the reputational risk, you should be sure to get the best price."

Manchester Offshored: a new report from Sheffield University Management School and University of Sheffield researchers launched

Adam Leaver, Richard Goulding and Jonathan Silver launch a new public interest report on the Manchester Life partnership between Manchester City Council and the Abu Dhabi United Group.

www.sheffield.ac.uk

How a great English city sold itself to Abu Dhabi’s elite – and not even for a good price | Aditya Chakrabortty

Manchester’s Labour council let Sheikh Mansour buy up acres of public land for seemingly a fraction of its worth, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

www.theguardian.com

 

[oldius]

F*ck's sake... your mob again:

"The council has its own soul-searching to do on the ethics of its relationship with Abu Dhabi United Group. Given the contentious nature of this development, it was all the more important to be open about its economics. From the limited information available in the public domain - this looks like a bad deal for the council and its citizens. If you're comfortable taking the reputational risk, you should be sure to get the best price."

Manchester Offshored: a new report from Sheffield University Management School and University of Sheffield researchers launched

Adam Leaver, Richard Goulding and Jonathan Silver launch a new public interest report on the Manchester Life partnership between Manchester City Council and the Abu Dhabi United Group.

www.sheffield.ac.uk

How a great English city sold itself to Abu Dhabi’s elite – and not even for a good price | Aditya Chakrabortty

Manchester’s Labour council let Sheikh Mansour buy up acres of public land for seemingly a fraction of its worth, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

www.theguardian.com

I'll have a read of that. As a Mancunian, the development of the formerly lost East side of the city has been spectacularly successful. The land was formerly disused chemical plant and brownfield, largely, and completely undeveloped. I'll read these because it might be talking of a different part of the city. Which club do you support as the posts I have seen from you largely relate to City?