Been reading a detailed report by Dr Bill Gerrard of Leeds University, for the Economic Observatory. [He's a Professor, specialist in Methodology; Business Analytics; Sports Analytics; Sports Economics]. Professor Bill has worked with a number of elite sports teams around the world. He's been technical analyst for Saracens & London Irish & works analytics in the Dutch Eredivisie PL but is probably best known as the subject featured in the book/film Moneyball.
Summary of his points.
1. Brexit ended the free movement of labour between the UK & EU so it represents a reversal of the football Bosman ruling. Clubs wishing to sign foreign players must now apply for a work permit, irrespective of whether these players are moving from EU or non-EU clubs. Work permits are awarded on a points-based system now in UK.
So any player who has played in at least 70% of their national team games over the previous 12 months will be automatically awarded a work permit. This is however conditional on their national team being ranked in the top 50 worldwide with the minimum appearance requirement falling to 30% if the national team ranks in the top 10 worldwide.
Points are also awarded for players based on appearance rates for their clubs in both domestic & continental tournaments as well as the success of their clubs.
2. In addition to this PL clubs now face restrictions on the signing of young foreign players. Clubs are no longer able to sign any foreign players under the age of 18 in a given year & are limited to signing a maximum of 6 foreign players under the age of 21.
But in relation to the abolition of transfer fees for out-of-contract players, Brexit has had no direct impact. This aspect of the Bosman ruling is now well enshrined in the transfer rules of football’s national & international governing bodies with no realistic prospect or incentive for PL clubs to seek to reverse the position.
3. As we begin to return to a post-pandemic normality revenues will recover, PL clubs will again become active in the global labour-market for players. But their player development and recruitment strategies will change as a consequence of Brexit & the financial repercussions of Covid 19.
Clubs now will be forced to focus exclusively on home-grown talent up to the age of 18 and they will no longer be able to recruit 16 &17 year olds from the EU. They will also have to be more selective in the 18-21 age group. Further, Leeds as many other PL clubs will find it more difficult to take a chance on players from low-ranked nations now.
Conclusion for Leeds - my take on matters ?
Ramifications of Brexit have made the path to employing non-UK players more restrictive. It has become even more financially & practically attractive to produce first team players from the academies. In turn these academy graduates will be more valuable to sell & 'if good enough' for the first team squad will mean fewer recruitment resources will need to be employed for buying overseas players and avoid navigating more possible difficult employment restrictions.
For better or worse some of the Brexit changes both hoped for & feared are beginning to take shape & explains precisely Rad's perspective over his Leeds Utd plan & his current difficulty in securing transfers in this 2022 Jan window - he's obviously securing what we have in-house presently regardless, as for the future ?
Conclusion for me personally ?
Like many, my memory of morning 24th June 2016 when I woke up in a Psychiatric Hospital to find out the result of the EU Referendum is still raw for me. It was like being punched in the stomach. I remember not believing it was real, the pain, the anger, the bitterness & tears. I also took the decision by the UK to exit the EU as a betrayal. I am the daughter of a European idealist & I’ve always firmly believed in a united and coherent Europe, my family-history demands this inherent stance.
Now, like many British exiles [15,000 in Brittany-region of France where I live] we can now all watch the shenanigans in Westminster from the comfort of our sofas in Europe - it's as if we're all watching those old BBC tv series House of Cards & Yes Minister, pretty embarrassing really to have a English accent currently in Europe, very sad state of affairs of which I sincerely hope my team can rise above all - as they're my last family-loyalty link to a country I was born in.
Hopefully another easy ER season-ticket renewal decision but without Rad, MB & political issues in UK dragging on maybe seriously time to re-consider.
Just saying like - gives you folks a read & Andy the chance to count all my words via his abacus.