Nice article on fighting cock taking the spuddies to the cleaners

by **Topdawg** Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:48 pm

Sorry boys, yet another bitter article full of jealousy. All teams are happy to take money from just about whatever source. Can't see anyone deciding not to take part in the FA cup because it's sponsored by Emirates (another dirty oil money source albeit from Dubai rather than Abu Dhabi). Didn't see Arsenal turning down the very lucrative sponsorship for their stadium from Emirates and didn't see Spurs turning down the filthy luca from City when they sold them Kyle Walker.

Let's be honest here, City got lucky that they got a shedload of money to spend on infrastructure and the squad. If it wasn't for the impending FFP (ludicrous FFP, but that debate is for another day), they would probably have spent far less and would have grown at a slower pace. For maybe three years, they've run at a profit. They're doing much better than break even. I hear you cry foul that they get money from Middle Eastern sponsors, but the impact of those sponsorship deals is quite small compared with all the other sources of income currently swelling their coffers from all sorts of sources as far afield as Japan and South Korea (those deals are rumoured to be worth up to £20M a season I believe which is serious potatoes). There's still gnashing of teeth at the Etihad 10 year sponsorship deal at £400M, but that splits down to £100M for the academy (exempt from FFP, so academy player sales are almost pure profit), £250M for the shirt sponsorship and £50M for stadium naming rights. These are in no way excessive amounts when you consider that Chelsea are getting £40M a year from Yokohama, Liverpool are getting £30M from Standard Chartered and Arsenal are getting £30M too. City only get £12M a season from Nike for their kit deal (rumoured to change next season to £50M a season. United get £75M a season, Chelsea get £60M, Arsenal's Puma deal is worth £30M a season but they are rumoured to be moving to Adidas for up to double that, Liverpool supposedly will get £50M a season from New Balance, so City are far below their peers in terms of kit deals, yet no one is complaining that they aren't getting enough!!!

But UEFA have accepted City's numbers without qualification and they aren't related party transactions (UK auditors and UEFA agree upon this). And, by the way, New Balance are a Boston based company, as are FSG, the owners of Liverpool, but people aren't up in arms about them both being from the same city.

Other clubs could have spent more money to buy players to have a greater chance of success. Shock and horror these days, but spending money is generally linked to success. Spurs maybe could have built their new ground a few years earlier (pay the steel company more money as that's what it's about) and they could be getting many more 10s of millions through the digital turnstiles. They could, and maybe should, have been more interested in what happens on the pitch and winning things rather than bank balances and the balance sheet. From what I've read, ENIC seem to be just in it to make their investment more valuable but won't take the risks necessary these days to try to achieve footballing success in the pitch.

All this financial and other stuff aside, City just got lucky. They won the jackpot, lottery, call it what you will. The same jackpot or lottery that most other fans wish upon their own club. If Abramovich had taken a fancy to Spurs, Arsenal or even West Ham, nearly all of their fans would have accepted his 'dirty money' with open arms if they thought it meant success on the pitch.

Complaining about other clubs won't help or change the situation. Enjoy the football on show, even if it's through gritted teeth, but don't let your envy or jealousy spread into something much more ugly. It won't change anything and may just make you look and sound foolish.

Merry Christmas

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