Please Sir, Can I Have More?

Johann Rupert is the man currently being linked to another Premiership takeover with Blackburn. Their fans are being quoted saying that they would love a takeover to boost the clubs finances to match those challenging for the champions league. However, 15 Premiership clubs have been taken over within the past 5 years, giving those clubs extra money to do what? Challenge for the Champions League places of course.

Eventually all Premiership clubs will have been taken over and promised money to spend, which the new owners cough up immediately. But with the likes of Manchester City, Newcastle and West Ham being taken over and the likes of Birmingham and Arsenal in talks with mega rich people, one can only think that even after these new takeovers take place and all the clubs are itching to spend their new found millions, that all the clubs find themselves in exactly the same place as before. Simply because all the other clubs around them have improved their spending power as well. Where a team spending £25m in a season would normally find themselves sitting top of the most spent league, may find themselves lying in 7th or 8th this season due to the fact that there have been so many takeovers and so much money pumped into the game in such little time.

Will we ever see the likes of one team standing above all the rest in terms of complete dominance in the transfer market just like Chelsea? My gut feeling is no we wont, as there are a lot more teams receiving a lot more money and the gap is closing due to every takeover, but we still cant expect 15 teams fighting for European places which is what new owners always try to promise.
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Some New Strips To Look At

Does Shearer think he owns Newcastle?

I see Shearer has been bitching about Bellamy again. What’s up with Big Al these days? First of all he was talking about a new defence for Newcastle, then “Owen will stay because no big club will take a chance on him till he’s proved his fitness” and now he’s hoping Newcastle don’t sign Bellamy back.

I know he’s probably being asked these questions and is just giving answers, rather than just randomly ringing journalists and saying “this is what I think”, but it seems strange that over a year since retiring he still has some sort of say in what’s going on at Newcastle. Who is he to speak for or about Owen? Who is he to dictate transfer policy? And make no mistake, if Allardyce had wanted Bellamy, there’s no way he can sign him now – Shearer’s words will have a huge effect on most fans, and any who would have been inclined to give Bellamy another chance certainly won’t do now.

It’s a bit like the way Vieira keeps talking about Arsenal and Henry even after he’s gone, it’s very strange that someone can be bigger than the club even when he’s not playing for it any more. He’s completely outside of the command structure at the club, so he can say what he wants and not be held to account by anybody, but he should probably shut his mouth and let Allardyce get on with his job. If I was him I wouldn’t be answering questions other than to say “I’m sure Sam will be a great success here at Newcastle, and any decisions that he takes I’ll support, as I think he’s the best man for the job”. Bearing in mind how his words are taken to heart by Newcastle fans I think he has a responsibility to rally support behind Allardyce and not question any potential decisions.

The whingeing tw*t.

BY RICH PRINCE

Paying the Price of Stupidity

The Late Flag was as vocal as anybody about the Carlos Tevez - West Ham cheat situation, whereby they stayed up having avoided a seemingly inevitable points deduction and through being allowed to continue fielding Tevez. This week an independent tribunal will rule whether Sheffield United are correct in insisting the wrong decision was made by the Premier League.

Personally I feel that United have been hard done by. News reports were full of how West Ham were about to be docked points, so you can understand why Sheffield United felt they might have been safe. True, the Premier League is not responsible for the comments of the media, but surely they could have at least suggested in an interview or article somewhere that there was a chance a points deduction wouldn’t be imposed? They allowed it to be perceived as a foregone conclusion.

So you’d have to say the decision was strange, and the conduct of the Premier League throughout the lengthy decision making process was unproductive at best. And you’d assume this is why United are appealing the decision. Well you would, unless you actually thought about it for two minutes.

What exactly will the outcome of all this be? Assuming United win their tribunal, what will the Premier League actually DO about the fact they made a wrong decision? Relegating West Ham is one option, although this is extremely unlikely. West Ham have begun negotiating transfers for various players, and their spending plan is clearly based on the fact that they stayed up. It would be ridiculously harsh and completely farcical to relegate the Hammers now. Another option is to allow Sheffield United back into the Premiership for next season, making it a 21-team league. Bearing in mind FIFA and UEFA have been badgering major nations to cut back to 18 teams in a league for years now, I can’t see the Premier League deciding to risk their wrath by further increasing English fixture congestion. Clubs, players and even the National team would probably have something to say about extra games in a season too. So that’s a non-starter.

What we’re effectively left with then, is the scenario of Sheffield United being compensated by the Premier League for their shock relegation and as an apology for having been found by a tribunal to have been the victims of an incorrect judgement. So this isn't really about who'll be in the Premiership next year, or Sheffield United's pride or principle - this is about money. Again, some may suggest this is fair enough, being relegated costs a lot of money after all. I however, am absolutely f**king furious that this is a likely outcome.

Despite sympathising to a large degree with The Blades’ plight, I cannot understand how West Ham not being docked points led to Sheffield United not being able to pick up enough results to survive. Taking away the whole furore about West Ham for a second, Warnock & co could easily pick up a copy of the league table, work out how many points West Ham could possibly get if they won every game and didn’t get a deduction, and strive to ensure their side eclipsed this points total. You’re not telling me Sheffield United went in to any game saying “It’s alright lads, we don’t need to try. West Ham are going to be deducted points, so we can lose deliberately and we’ll still stay up.” Basically, Sheffield United didn’t get enough points to survive. Had West Ham been deducted points and then had them reinstated, I could understand the need for compensation, as United would have based their requirements to survive on West Ham’s points total, which would have then increased unexpectedly.

But this isn’t what happened. Sheffield United took their foot off the gas during the last 6 or 7 games of the season because they thought they were safe. They assumed West Ham would get a points deduction, and were proved wrong. By the time they found this out, it was too late to save themselves, and a bit more effort in previous games could well have seen them staying up. Now if you’re the fan of a Premier League club, I’d like to ask you one question. Do you feel that Sheffield United, because they made an incorrect assumption about the points total of another team, deserve to be compensated with money that was otherwise earmarked to be divided between your club and all the others in the league?

I certainly don’t. I’m absolutely furious that having been relegated due to their own stupidity, and falling foul of the old adage ‘to assume makes an ass of you & me,’ United are likely to take a huge compensation package straight out of the pockets of my club and yours. If they’d took care of their own bloody results and got enough points that West Ham couldn’t catch them, deduction or not, then none of this would be happening.

Sheffield United were unlucky, and over complacent. I do feel sorry for them. But not enough to go handing out anywhere near the £50m compensation package they’re asking for, or any other sort of monetary compensation. The three teams with the lowest number of points at the end of a season go down. United knew that when they got promoted, and they have no-one to blame but themselves if they assumed they were safe because West Ham would have points docked. Why should we pay for their misfortune?