Euro Super League Anyone ?

[WTF11]

Thats going to be a problem isn't it, how do you punish the clubs. Fans, players, coaches obviously not involved in this. What punishment really fits the crime here?

Disqualification of all executive officers of clubs and (if possible), owning group from any role as "controlling person" of any football club.

[LeedsFTW]

Disqualification of all executive officers of clubs and (if possible), owning group from any role as "controlling person" of any football club.

I like the idea, but have witnessed other businesses work around such sanctions quite easily, by using investment vehicles, business partners etc to maintain control and keep cash flowing into pockets.

[WTF11]

I like the idea, but have witnessed other businesses work around such sanctions quite easily, by using investment vehicles, business partners etc to maintain control and keep cash flowing into pockets.

Maybe, but having just watched Souness, Neville, Carragher and seen hiw each and every one of the English clubs have announced they are withdrawing from the ESL, and that everyone in the PL and, FA, and other governing bodies knows how the owners of "the six" have lied to the faces of those they have subsequently spit in, they won't survive as owners.

Wr don't need to have them banned, they will have no role to play, no place to hide, no business having anything to do with football here or anywhere else.

[LeedsFTW]

Truthfully and not just me being obtuse. All that will mean is they are no longer the public face of the business but they will still pull the strings and will still pocket the cash.

Even recently at Leeds, Cellino was judged not to be fit and proper as owner/chairman, I think one of his son's companies was in line to take over or something of that nature until Cellino won his case.

People with that much money, tend to know all the loopholes or pay someone that does.

[WTF11]

Truthfully and not just me being obtuse. All that will mean is they are no longer the public face of the business but they will still pull the strings and will still pocket the cash.

Even recently at Leeds, Cellino was judged not to be fit and proper as owner/chairman, I think one of his son's companies was in line to take over or something of that nature until Cellino won his case.

People with that much money, tend to know all the loopholes or pay someone that does.

Not my point. These leeches (I like Gary Nevilles choice of words), aren't wedded to football as a route to making money, and if they see barriers in their way to controlling who does what, when and where in one business (sport) they will move to another, less challenging one. All it needs are sufficiently small hoops (and enough of them), to jump through and the fat cats such as the Glazer family will choose easier fish to fry (how many metaphors in that one??)

[WTF11]

simple- liquidate them. force them into court and bankrupt the owners.

Odd to me that the FA never had a shred or integrity or concern when pushing us to the brink. Not like we didn't have hundreds of thousands of fans and they did their best to push us into oblivion. Now, all of a sudden they are worried.

However, I'll concede and say that it may not be in the best interest of the UK. As such I'll compromise and they can just liquidate scumchester, arsenal and liverpool. they appear to be the ringleaders and owned by yanks. who gives a f%^ck if you bankrupt them.

turn over the bankrupt club to supporters groups.

Make the damage so nuclear that no one ever even thinks about doing it again.

Again, with you in sentiment but practically it's not possible to do as you suggest.

Even if it was, why would you want to inflict on players, coaching staff and the fans of those clubs (none of whom had anything to do with the ESL proposals), the same punishment you consider to have been unfairly meted out to Leeds?

It's the owners who need to be punished, and as Graeme Souness said earlier on this evening, their inevitable exit from football club ownership will cost them 100s of millions, as good as we can hope for and a lot less xpensive that trying to bankrupt/liquidate them.

[spaldy]

Little fuzzy on your comment.

so it's fine to put us in administration, dock us 15 points and start us in last place in LG1 but not OK to drop the hammer on these 6 clubs (although it appears that citeh and chelski pulled out)? I would give them to their next game to withdraw from the "super league". If they don't it's a declaration of war.

**** them and their fans. they are no better than us.

"You don't bring a bomb to a nuclear war". sorry but fans, players and coaches are collateral damage. you let them off the hook this time and the next time it will 10 clubs instead of 6 and you'll end up with a blown up shell of the English league. Make it hurt and make it quick. get them in court as soon a possible.

If they don't agree to sell their clubs in 10 days push it all the way to the end. lets the fans know the offer now and let them know that they have a chance to withdraw or sell their club since money seems to be the only thing they care about.

[spaldy]

WTF,

I do have to point out that our mismanagement of funds and poor management did not endanger the FA or the Leagues.

this threatens the entire league, FA and even FIFA to some degree.

A whole different level of crime here. Like comparing a traffic ticket to bank robbery. The punishment has to be more severe.

[WTF11]

Little fuzzy on your comment.

so it's fine to put us in administration, dock us 15 points and start us in last place in LG1 but not OK to drop the hammer on these 6 clubs (although it appears that citeh and chelski pulled out)? I would give them to their next game to withdraw from the "super league". If they don't it's a declaration of war.

**** them and their fans. they are no better than us.

"You don't bring a bomb to a nuclear war". sorry but fans, players and coaches are collateral damage. you let them off the hook this time and the next time it will 10 clubs instead of 6 and you'll end up with a blown up shell of the English league. Make it hurt and make it quick. get them in court as soon a possible.

If they don't agree to sell their clubs in 10 days push it all the way to the end. lets the fans know the offer now and let them know that they have a chance to withdraw or sell their club since money seems to be the only thing they care about.

Again, with you in sentiment but if you want to fire bullets you have to have a gun.

The footballing authorities had (and have) all the ammunition and the means to deliver it with regards to clubs going into administration etc and the penalties to be imposed.

Unless the clubs (all of whom have now announced they will withdraw from the ESL), can be shown to have transgressed rules and contractual commitments they have agreed to abide by (and despite the issues at hand, that's by no means certain), we can be as pi55ed off as we like, but the mechanisms to exact punishment don't necessarily exist. Nothing like that has happened before, even when the PL was set up as a break away from the old 1st division. As such, nothing is certain and no sanctions are known to exist, no matter how much we might wish them to.

It's only possible to "let them off the hook" if you know that a hook exists and how big it is. We don't.

Neither is it possible, this side of the pond or yours, to force an owner to sell what they own, unless they can be shown to have transgressed some rules of ownership (which at the moment we don't have proof of).

Footballing authorities (FIFA, UEFA etc), can make representation from the six clubs impossible, and their continued ownership equally untenable, but it needs guile, intelligence and time. All guns blazing will play into their hands, allowing them to foster the idea that the authorities are after them (neither FIFA or UEFA are xactly pure as the drivem snow)

[picasso]

Villa fan here. Can we get back to hating each other again now please?