SOCCER:The chase for the Premier League title could be overshadowed by reckless economics and massive player salaries, writes EMMET MALONE
THE SIGHT of Alex Ferguson grinning broadly as Robin Van Persie signed a four-year deal with Manchester United is likely to have an adverse effect on the blood pressure of both Arsene Wenger and Roberto Mancini.
The Frenchman can be expected to argue that for United’s remarkable levels of debt to spend so much is irresponsible and bad for the game. The Italian, on the other hand, will be complaining that his own club never even entered the race to sign a proven and prolific Premier League striker and watched, instead, as he went to their closest rivals.
Mancini has made no secret of his frustration at his club’s reluctance this summer to bankroll more acquisitions. And yet the manager cannot currently get rid of many of the players signed by previous managers.
Back in January he was reportedly told that the wage bill would have to be reduced before there could be any more arrivals because of the danger the club would run into serious trouble with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations which come into force, rather slowly, over the next six years or so.
As things stand, City require something approaching a miracle to be compliant when regulations start to bite and the threat of sanctions becomes a little more real. Notionally, Uefa could ban clubs from European competition as early as 2014/15 but in reality the organisation’s “soft implementation” plan allows clubs plenty of leeway to keep losing money beyond that as long as they have a wealthy owner willing to cover the losses.
Still, City’s last accounts show losses of nearly €240 million with spending on player wages alone running at 114 per cent of club revenues which is quite a starting point. Uefa’s scheme envisages the big clubs losing a maximum of €45 million, a figure that is then supposed to steadily decline. It is with this in mind that the club’s financial management have sought to rein Mancini in.
Signing Van Persie certainly wouldn’t have helped the club’s cause on the FFP front. City have generated colossal rates of growth in terms of commercial and other revenues over the last few years but the Dutchman’s four-year deal will cost cross-city rivals United nearly €20 million per annum – or something approaching 50 per cent of the cash City receive each year from Etihad through its wide-ranging commercial “partnership”, a deal described as “improper” by a Council of Europe committee because it did not reflect “fair value”. That’s for just one player.
So, City will have to be a little more careful in the way that they throw their money around but the club’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, is not expected to let up, with huge amounts due to be ploughed into developing the area around the stadium so as to benefit the club less directly. Much of this spending – on youth development infrastructure for instance – will not count for FFP purposes.
Similarly Chelsea, having already spent around €75 million on new players this summer despite having declared a loss of roughly €85 million in its most recent accounts, is stepping up its search for a site for a new stadium because construction costs will not count but the revenue from, say, an extra 25,000 seats will. And once a club can make a case that they are moving in the right direction, either because they are going to grow revenues or reduce costs, Uefa can let them off the hook.
All of this, in any case, is going on against the background of what is essentially a countdown to another new television deal. It comes into effect at the start of next season when money paid for the right to broadcast games live in the British market will jump by some 70 per cent and all income from television, radio and internet companies will, it is expected, exceed €5 billion over the course of the following three years. It would be a bonanza capable of transforming the game if the 20 top flight clubs weren’t already paying out wages of €2 billion a year between them and they didn’t have an almost catastrophic record for effectively passing on all new revenues raised to players.
The trend is likely to continue despite the likes of Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore expressing the wish that “at least some of it will be used to reduce losses”.
The threat of FFP sanctions may have some positive effect, however, on those leading clubs who expect or aspire to compete in the Champions League where large increases in prize money are also about to kick in. But then the Uefa-backed regulations might well have the unintended effect of seriously undermining the already questionable standing of the organisation’s lesser club competition, the Europa League.
If, after all, a club can increase its share of the Premier League pie by running up debts through heavy spending on players then the prospect of being ruled out of the Europa League is not going to serve as much of a deterrent.
It is for this reason, and because the consequences of relegation may become exponentially greater, especially if, as prize money goes up, the budget for parachute payments becomes squeezed by those clubs at the top of the pile anxiously trying to retain as much revenue as possible, that Premier League officials have floated proposals for an FFP-style system of their own.
Scudamore and co, though, will be watching closely to see what effect the Uefa regulations have first. A few years ago the prospect of the organisation taking serious action against a big club seemed pretty remote but such a threat has become more plausible each time any side – from Derry City to Rangers to Sion to Besiktas – has been sanctioned for financial or contractual irregularities.
Besiktas were banned from European club competition because of its failure to pay both tax and salaries and the patient work done by Uefa in preparing the new framework of rules paid dividends with CAS rejecting an appeal by the Turkish club. Senior EU officials have already said that they see no basis on which FFP could be successfully challenged in the European Courts.
The odd thing is that almost everyone in the game supports the broad thrust of the rules but they are wary of them because they suspect that others will successfully circumvent them.
Spanish tax amnesties for indebted clubs are currently a major bone of contention, especially in Germany where clubs – generally well run – feel they are unfair and politicians reckon German taxpayers are essentially paying for them.
In England, meanwhile, there are complaints that the regulations will simply copper-fasten the positions of the biggest clubs with the drawbridge coming up so as to prevent others following in the footsteps of Chelsea and Manchester City.
Neither Wenger nor Mancini are likely to be complaining on that front, of course, and the reality is that, as it kicks off again this afternoon, the reckless economics of it all somehow seems to add to the attraction for the many millions worldwide who follow the Premier League.
Green dream: A posssible wish list for Trapattoni
THE precise number depends on who you choose to count ahead of the official lists being issued but there are approaching 50 Irish players in or around the senior squads of the 20 Premier League clubs with fractionally over half heading into the new campaign with realistic shots at being regulars. Here is a possible wish-list for Giovanni Trapattoni as the new season kicks off and he cranks up that DVD player of his . . .
Goalkeepers
Rob Elliott could get his chance at Newcastle and there is Brian Murphy at QPR but Stephen Henderson looks the most likely to make a breakthrough on the goalkeeping front and the Italian will hope he emerges at West Ham to provide additional competition to Keiren Westwood now that Shay Given has gone. Westwood getting his game regularly would, of course, be high on the list of desirables too.
Defenders
Ciaran Clark looks best placed to make real progress over the season but might yet displace Richard Dunne at Villa. Trap will hope that both are accommodated with additional game time at left back for the younger man a bonus. If Seamus Coleman stays fit then he should see a lot more action with, ideally, some of it at right back.
Marc Tierney missed most of the second half of last season through injury but his return to the left back slot at Norwich (followed by him agreeing to play for the Republic of Ireland) would be a bonus too while Shane Duffy, having got a run in the Everton team last year due to injuries, is again well placed to capitalise on the thinness of David Moyes' squad. Joey O'Brien getting through the season injury free and Marc Wilson successfully answering his next call-up would be great too.
Midfielders
James McCarthy would do amazingly well to live up to the expectations of his most ardent fans but continued progress at Wigan would be good news for the Italian. Anthony Pilkington is apparently available to Trapattoni now and another strong season could make him a regular in Ireland squads. James McClean must successfully battle the player's equivalent of second season syndrome at Sunderland and gain the necessary experiences to adapt, as Trapattoni had hoped he would in Belgrade, to different tasks. He'll want Damien Duff to stay fit and keep playing well for Fulham, Darron Gibson to become a first team regular and, if possible, Robbie Brady to start making inroads anywhere he can at Manchester United.
Forwards
There aren't too many options here now but Shane Long building on some strong form at West Brom in the face of added competition from on loan Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku will be important. Wes Hoolahan, unfortunately, seems unlikely to ever play a major part in the Italian's plans now but if he keeps playing well then he will at least remain on his radar.
Jonathan Walters might score a few more goals at Stoke and Conor Sammon, should he remain at Wigan, will establish himself as a striker capable of making an impact in the Premier League.
- EMMET MALONE
