Financial fair play in football will result in sustainable dynasties

Believe it or not, not a passionate City fan, too old for that, don't cry when we lose or get relegated. Can enjoy a game we lose IF the best team won. Passion is for my family and beliefs. These include transparency, intellectual rigour and joined up thinking, on all 3 of which UEFA fail miserably. FFP rules allow the writing off of the £80,000,000 subject to subsequent losses. The £24,500,000 intellectual property sale was disallowed so in effect UEFA 'found' City were out by £104,500,000, Deloitte's advised otherwise. Convoluted accounting leads to such disputes. City have not 'clearly' broken the rules but failed on a technicality. As the original thrust of FFP was debt a simpler solution would have been to link borrowing to income like a mortgage calculation. Marketing wing is a temporary phase, not ideal but tolerable. Current growth in income and reduction in costs mean City will be profitable and sustainable. Bet you. Visiting my favourite country twice this year so if you're in the Fortune of War I would like to buy you a pint!

Well we won't ever agree because obviously you're a passionate City fan. The whole ethos of the FFP is to ensure clubs are sustainable and not spending crazy money too stay a float. Imposing sanctions on clubs like City who are clearly breaking the rules ensures this happens. I get the feeling that you're happy with City being a marketing wing for their owners. But in the long run this is not sustainable. FFP ensure that the natural laws of business apply to football. City have a long way to go earn credibility.

Well we won't ever agree because obviously you're a passionate City fan. The whole ethos of the FFP is to ensure clubs are sustainable and not spending crazy money too stay a float. Imposing sanctions on clubs like City who are clearly breaking the rules ensures this happens. I get the feeling that you're happy with City being a marketing wing for their owners. But in the long run this is not sustainable. FFP ensure that the natural laws of business apply to football. City have a long way to go earn credibility.

Johnny, interesting debating with you but I guess we will never agree. Given the original intent of FFP [tackling debt] UEFA have hardly been lenient. City were advised by Deloite's who wrote the rules in the first place, Stumbling block has been writing off £80,000,000 wages for players signed before rules came in [which is logical]. This.was not permitted as losses were greater once deals with associated companies were not allowed. 'Merit' is an interesting word with regard to sponsorship. More a case of negotiation on the commercial basis of the 'value' of the sponsorship to the sponsor. I have always wondered about the merits of sponsorship 'official partner to . . . . etc'. For example there is a case for a relatively unknown airline to raise it's international profile via a rising sports club [oops nearly said 'brand' there] but a very long established and well known american car company paying £550,000,000? Keep up your postings.

MCFC Financial Fair Play Statement: Manchester City Football Club can confirm that at the end of the current financial year (May 31st) it is on course to financially break even, as planned. Operating with no debt, the Club is realising its football and commercial opportunities whilst continuing unprecedented investments in both youth development and the local community From the outset, the Club has engaged with UEFA in its introduction of the Financial Fair Play Regulations in good faith and without prejudice and in a transparent and collaborative manner. The Club’s position is that it is beholden upon UEFA and the European football establishment to ensure the same. The Club can confirm that it has been in discussions with UEFA over the last month - in relation to the application of Financial Fair Play regulations - as has been widely reported and communicated by UEFA. At the heart of those discussions is a fundamental disagreement between the Club’s and UEFA’s respective interpretations of the FFP regulations on players purchased before 2010. The Club believes it has complied with the FFP regulations on this and all other matters. In normal circumstances, the Club would wish to pursue its case and present its position through every avenue of recourse. However, our decision to do so must be balanced against the practical realities for our fans, for our partners and in the interests of the commercial operations of the Club. As a result of these considerations and the fact that the Club is now break even in in its operations, the Club has decided to enter into a compromise agreement with UEFA with the following practical outcomes: - MCFC will lose 10m Euros of its share of income from UEFA for competing in the Champions League completion in season 2013-14. - MCFC will lose 10m Euros of its share of income from UEFA for competing in the Champions League for season 2014-15 - Rather than having an accumulative allowance of 30m Euros of losses over the next two reporting years (like all other clubs), MCFC will have specific stipulated allowances for 2013-14 and 2014-15 of 20m Euros and 10m Euros respectively. Significantly, MCFC plans to be profitable in 2014-15 and in the years that follow. - The MCFC Champions League squad for the 2014-15 competition will be limited to 21 players. In 2013-14 the club registered 23 players for the competition and used 21. - The Club’s expenditure on new players for the upcoming summer transfer window, on top of income from players it might sell, will be limited to 60m euros. This will have no material impact on the Club’s planned transfer activity. - The wage bill of the whole club (playing and non-playing staff) for 2014-15 will need to remain at the same level as that of 2013-14 season. It is important to note that additional bonuses for performances can be paid outside this number. Importantly, in reality, the existing MCFC business plan sees a natural decline in that wage bill. - Given the unique nature of the new City Football Group structure – which incorporates MCFC, New York City, Melbourne Heart and a number of other companies, the Club has agreed to certain non-material terms in order to make FFP reporting as easy as possible for UEFA to discern. The nature of conditions that will result in the lifting of sanctions means that the Club expects to be operating without sanction or restriction at the commencement of the 2015-16 season. Importantly all non-financial sanctions agreed to would have been complied with as a natural course of the Club’s planned business operations.

Yes but FFP requires City to be the viable business, not just a loss making entity for Abu Dhabi for whatever reason. I do hope players start coming through but it will be hard for them.

Oh johnny, the problems of having an interesting conversation/debate by posting rather then face to face or on the phone, the scope for misunderstanding is legion. The 'planned business exercise' is Abu Dhabi's not City's. City are a relatively short term loss to Abu Dhabi [unlike British management Arabian management are known for taking a long term view]. City, New York City and Melbourne City [if the name & strip change go through] are investments. Quite right about Chelsea, how many managers has Abramovich gone through despite their success? The ego charge can be more realistically be applied to Abramovich than Mansour. As you say if none of these youth players graduate it will be a pointless exercise, The City management, Patrick Viera and I [not that I count:-)] do not believe this is likely to happen. Check out Seko Fofana for one on Youtube.

Labelling City a 'planned business exercise' is a bit tenuous considering they can't even meet FFP criteria let alone become a viable business entity. I will concede that claiming City are uninterested was harsh considering they seem to have invested in youth infrastructure. However we heard the same claims out of Chelsea over 10 years ago but with little results. If none of these youth players graduate to the senior team it will be a pointless exercise.

Model? Much to commend but - Arsene's myopia, highest ticket prices in the premiership, first club to field an all foreign team, no trophies for 9 years, nice passing football with no goal threat. Yes English/Welsh players now in the first team but it took time and two bought from Southampton one from Swansea.

1. City is not an ego project for Abu Dhabi but a planned business exercise as part of the country's development away from oil dependence, who had heard of Etihad before? City are in effect their international marketing arm and what is wrong with that if it benefits the club and Manchester as well as Abu Dhabi? The transfer expenditure is already reducing, the first splurge was to catch up. It worked:-). 2. From Martin Samuel, Daily Mail - On Sunday, after Dyke had singled out City for criticism, the club made a firm counterpoint by having their Premier League trophy carried out by three English representatives — two of them captains and with the club since primary school age — of their very successful under-11, under-14 and under-18 teams, who are all national champions. In addition, Manchester City’s under-16 team now holds the record for the most England junior internationals from one club in a season: seven. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2627540/MARTIN-SAMUEL-Steve-Bruce-sees-future-clearly-Greg-Dyke-blurred-vision.html#ixzz31iv3ftqk No one knows how many of the youth team will come through but it will not be for the want of trying. The current 'star studded' squad will not be there in a few years time. Your 'uninterested' comment is completely and utterly wrong.

Agreed. Arsenal is a model for many clubs to follow.

FFP, ensuring the already big clubs stay big, and other clubs won't be able to reach that status with new owner investments

Wenger is entitled to be annoyed. He has done everything right to make Arsenal compliant with FFP. Clubs like City have not.

That's all commendable but it will all be irrelevant unless some of those youth players make the first team in coming years. How many will make the breakthrough with a star studded squad already in place? The owners have no real concept of money so therefore the club is not run like a business, the club is just an extension of the owners ego. They want to gratify their ego by having instant success so they throw endless money at transfer and wages .If they have no limit to there spending it's all very false.

FFP will result in the current clubs staying where they are. Its a corporatist move rather than the free market approach which has made euro football what it is today....a sort of regulatory ring fencing which will make it harder for new capital to come in and shake up the existing order. So for clubs where they are now...it will actually help them stave off new competitors...which is weird given the rhetoric seems about something else. Not sure if its intended to be this way or if uefa are just dumb, who knows, regulators can be like that. They get lost in the intent rather than the reality. That being said there are plenty of opportunities to get around the rules, which will no doubt tighten and tweak here and there. It will turn into a game between top clubs and uefa to try and outsmart each other. What a waste of time and intellect ...much like all regulatory frameworks...this is where the interests of the technocrats and the big clubs will converge. All this probably means the rules are here to stay as the top clubs will be protected by it in practice and the league admin types will (like in oz) be at the centre of things and be able to "play" in a sense. Expect lots of trophy ceos to emerge in euro football league officialdom rather than the functionaries they largely are now. European football has been on a good thing for decades now with the unequal model they have. It works well for clubs at all ends of the table and for multi division leagues. It enables a more dynamic league than what will likely emerge with FFP.

Something puzzling me about all this Youth development business,just what are some clubs doing different(Ajax etc) to clubs like mine Sheffield Wednesday. Now I know the Owls have a Youth academy(And a North American academy),but I also know as a long suffering fan that we aint that flash on the park,ending up mid table in the Championship. No dynasty likely at Hillsborough. Just had a look at at the academy staff(link below) seems well qualified and indeed from a broad cross section of football professionals. http://www.swfc.co.uk/team/academy_staff/ What I do notice about the staff though is that there experience is mainly English,maybe English clubs below the elite are just recycling the same old knowledge. In contrast the elite either buy a "finished foreigner" or like Man CIty are doing bring in coaches from overseas to develop their players and oversee their programs. In other words to create a dynasty from developing youth,you need the right coaching to back you up . Just a thought because as the A-League matures I wouldn't rather the Ajax path regarding academies than the Wednesday one.

Not a truer word spoken and its well past time the intense heat of the spotlight was shone upon this matter. Well written. Lets hope the sports governing bodies are fair dinkum and follow-thru.

It's funny that that's where the article begins but then heaps praise on wenger.

It's obviously a pointless exercise, but this link continues the theme from the author's opening 2 paragraphs. If, in the Premier League, you only counted goals scored by Englishmen, Man City would have been winless and relegated this season. http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/11/liverpool-wouldve-won-the-premier-league-if-only-goals-scored-by-englishmen-counted-4724438/