How apt that at this time of year it was announced that the Premier League has, in principle, agreed to new cost control rules. Like the cantankerous Ebenezer Scrooge, perhaps the Premier League has been shown where its future lies in public perception if it continues down its current path.
The money flying around those in charge and notably the seeming lack of it to filter down to those less fortunate certainly draws likenesses with the famous Dickens tale.
Yet Scrooge saw the error of his ways and changed his attitude to help those in need. This may be where the comparison with the Premier League ends.
The two main possibilities focus on clubs needing to break even financially or capping wage increases. On paper they seem to promote creating a fairer market, but fairer for who?
Taking the first proposal as an example, breaking even would appear to mean cost-cutting measures that allow other clubs to play catch-up. However, consider the possibility that to break even rather than cut costs, those Premier League clubs in most need of fulfilling this quota simply go out and increase their revenue.
When UEFA announced their Financial Fair Play intentions, Etihad increased their sponsorship links with Manchester City. Etihad Airways are owned by the Abu Dhabi government and Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour is a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
This new deal, reportedly worth up to £400 million, certainly helped to plug a leak in the club’s finances. What is to say that the Premier League taking on these new proposals cannot do the same? Instead of cutting costs, they find sponsorship from businesses for a higher cost and therefore are able to continue to have large losses, as long as revenue makes it up. There will soon be more money coming in from the BT television deal.
This is hardly an overall change in the way Premier League clubs run, more just a slight amendment to allow for business as usual.
This is of course a cynical viewpoint and these proposals could help to rein in the big spenders who continue operating with large losses. Until that happens though, previous examples such as the one above will make it difficult for fans to fully accept it.
Many supporters of clubs from outside the top flight have been unhappy with the effect it has had on the rest of the English game for a while now. If the Premier League does not look at these proposals as a true mode of reformation there could be the very real possibility that they will alienate a large majority of football supporters in the country and turn them against it.
Scrooge was able to learn his lesson, but will the Premier League?
Daniel Smith – @dmsmith1987
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