By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Manchester City have reportedly been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations.
City are expected to appeal and their punishment has yet to be decided, but the potential consequences could be enormous.
Plenty of football supporters will understandably be celebrating this as a victory for the game.
I’m not.
In fact, I think this could be terrible news for clubs like West Ham.
Financial Rules Are Killing Ambition
In this video, I explain why I believe football’s financial regulations are a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
We’re told these rules exist to protect clubs from reckless owners and prevent them from going bust. But if an owner has sufficient wealth to fund spending without putting the club at financial risk, why shouldn’t they be allowed to invest?
For me, the consequence is an ambition killer.
The established elite already have the enormous revenues and global commercial operations required to spend at levels clubs such as West Ham simply cannot match.
Rather than allowing ambitious clubs to close that gap, the regulations risk protecting the status quo and ring-fencing the advantages enjoyed by the traditional giants.
I completely understand why supporters of Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United might celebrate Manchester City’s punishment.
But West Ham?
I think celebrating regulations which could ultimately prevent us from ever reaching our full potential is a bit like turkeys voting for Christmas.
Did you see the PL before these measures were put in place ?
The top few clubs would cannibalise any team looking to challenge them because they could.
If City are relegated we can sue them because it should have happened previously and we would have stayed up…
What are you smoking, Gonzo?? The solution isn’t to allow everyone to spend money like drunken sailors, it’s to level the playing field by not allowing teams like City and Chelsea to spend beyond their means and drive everyone else into debt just to try and keep up. We complain about the debt that Sullivan and Co have racked up, and your wish is that they could rack up MORE?? Just don’t understand this, Gonzo. I only wish this had been 6 months ago so maybe it would have saved us from relegation, if City are indeed banished out of the PL.
If Man City had been relegated last season as they should have been we would have stayed up. Therefore in the same way Sheffield Utd got compensation out of us, Man City should be paying us compensation. £100 million might do it.
This guilty verdict will likely lead to a lengthy list of lawsuits. Including from West Ham. If City should have been relegated (as seems possible/likely), would we still be in the Prem (VAR and all).
So right Kris. Levelling down in an attempt to make it fair across the board.
I fully understand how clubs should not be allowed to go out of business owing millions with the ‘owners’ walking away unscathed with no personal losses. But there had to be a better way to attempt to prevent these scenarios.
We already suffer with 8, 9 & 10 year contracts making a mess of team progression. I really hope that Manchester City appeal all of these decisions and evade the consequences of their transgression of these ill thought out rules.
Surely nothing wrong with ‘owners’ sponsoring their own teams.
As seen with their ultra quick determination of the Lucas Paqueta crime. The FA are clueless and badly advised by people who do not know what they are doing. Jobs for the boys and money for old rope.
Yes, stop the crooks from speculating other people’s cash but we must allow genuine investment to prosper. We will still have the occasional Leicester City and Crystal Palace sides defying the odds and punching above their weight.
COYI
It’s long been known that a cartel exists within European footballing circles.
Disparity of epic proportion are clearly evident in all the top leagues, Spain, France, Germany and England along with Italy.
Over the past couple of decades three disruptor clubs emerged from the pack. CFC, MCFC, PSG and to a lesser extent RB Leipzig ( detested in Bundesliga).
The ” Establishment ” spat their dummies out as newly minted clubs ate into revenue streams which were their preserve, The ECA then lobbied for the system of governance that you refer to.
If you were understanding of why N17 were so aggressive in thwarting Hammers of being gifted the Queen Elizabeth Park, which meant a tangible asset of monumental proportions on our clubs balance sheet. Massive match day revenues from catering and hospitality, unprecedented sponsorship resources post Olympic games.
Clearly another club set to be benefiting from a legacy stadium was not tolerable.
Well now it’s plain to see why they piled in forcing a re written agreement with caveats limiting financial prowess.
Yes, seemingly, Citeh has flauted the system, as have CFC.
I guess we will have to wait for the penalties imposed before seeing if the punishment fits the crime(s).