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Reply | Football economics
at 13:31 14 May 2014
Financial Fair Play was a Platini idea launched mainly because no French teams at that time were competing in the latter stages of European competition.
As Platini demonstrated when he interfered with the World Cup draw to get France into an easy group, he is patriotic or, if you like, biased against non French teams.
Ironic that PSG are likely to one of the first victims then thanks to the same sort of sweetheart deals we see at City and the Emirates. |
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Reply | the next 3 England recruits
at 10:15 14 May 2014
It's been an odd season really.
Lots of possession of the football and at times some truly devastating play against the "best" teams.
Equally, there have been (many) times when dominating the ball and territory has not been turned into goals and as a result we have drawn or lost matches.
In my opinion (probably uninformed) that's because we have lacked cutting edge on the edge of and in the opposition box. Fixing that issue is perhaps two players worth of spending unless we have a ready made youngster around.
I think we also have to accept that we will lose players this time around but hopefully will be looking to keep the next generation of talent coming through. |
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Reply | the next 3 England recruits
at 17:18 13 May 2014
It's inevitable that players like Shaw will want to leave because clubs like Spurs, Man U etc, even in "bad" years can promise European football and we are just not there.
It's a vicious spiral for us. We need to keep players and add to them with some quality buys, backed by a Board and owner with ambition. Unless we can do that within a foreseeable period, Shaw et al will leave.
If we can't we carry on being top half of the table but without a plan or ambition.
It would help if the Board followed the Leicester lead and said that they have a big budget to spend and an objective.
Would that be enough?
Probably not but it's a start. |
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Reply | the next 3 England recruits
at 15:11 13 May 2014
Sims and Targett.
Targett is one reason why losing Shaw for big money (reinvested of course) might be palatable. |
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Reply | David Camerons hypocrisy
at 09:16 13 May 2014
Apologies if I have offended, definitely not my intention.
"TOHG" - brings back a few memories. I was TOHG in Salisbury District (number 643) from 75 to 79 and only left because I was refused a promotion as Maggie Thatcher decided to rid the Civil Service of all vestiges of hope, pride in the job, satisfaction, adequate reward.
I agree totally that tax is a legal matter and nobody should be obliged to pay than the law says.
It is however incorrect to say that a taxpayer subject to PAYE cannot claim the same sort of tax relief as seen in the Barlow case.
It's also worth pointing out that the Barlow case runs to 146 pages of judgement and I would be very wary of a 20 line tabloid summary of that! |
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Reply | David Camerons hypocrisy
at 15:33 12 May 2014
No, I'm not in favour of a flat rate personal tax.
Tax should be progressive and based on ability to pay. I would perhaps simplify and say that all income under say £12k is tax free and then have a 20% rate to £50k and a 40% rate to £1m. After £1m I'd reduce the tax rate to perhaps 30% as people in that bracket tend to spend their money in the UK creating more tax.
Corporation tax would be turnover based. Every sale in the UK would be subject to a 0.5% tax rate and I would abolish VAT. |
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Reply | David Camerons hypocrisy
at 11:01 12 May 2014
I'll give you a (personal) view as somebody who has been involved in this sector for the last 30+ years. In that time I've worked for HMRC, an accountancy practice, big companies and a firm the designs tax planning structures.
Firstly, tax is NOT a moral or ethical issue. It is a political and legal subject. Tax laws are not based on a single person's moral code. However, lazy, incompetent or stupid politicians mainly can't be bothered to make good law that achieves what they intend. Instead they pass on incomplete descriptions to civil servants who are tasked with delivering complicated political objectives in the fastest and cheapest way they can. The Civil Service officers do a good job but most of the time trying to interpret a slippery politico's ideas in something that works is like wrestling eels in a pool of jelly.
Secondly, newspapers love to print pictures of celebrities on their front page to sell newspapers. If that celebrity has somehow fallen below some imagined standard, a standard that their readers always obtain of course, then so much the better. The Times journalist who has been writing on this subject for a few years now believes he is on some moral crusade "on behalf of the people". As I've pointed out to him on several meetings, he would be better investigating the owners of newspapers and the low amounts of tax paid by them if he wants a story.
Thirdly, rich people attract those wanting publicity. It's a means of attracting attention and that if the lifeblood of politicians in particular. Cameron came out and said that Jimmy Carr should be hung, drawn and quartered for tax avoiding so he has no choice now about St Gary of Barlow.
Lastly, good politics almost always makes for bad law. For my own experience many people who enter tax planning schemes do so because they're greedy. Some have moral justifications and some have genuine need for the cash (often to support or expand a business which in turn creates more tax for HMG). These people often cite the fact that if HMG used their taxes in ways that they found acceptable, then they would pay up. A dubious claim but a valid point that tax is a covenant. We pay and HMG spends and if we don't like what it's spent on, why should we pay?
As a parting shot a couple of thoughts.
£4k is a lot of tax if your total income is £10k. If your income is £100k then not so much. However, who is to say what a proper percentage should be?
PAYE is NOT a tax. It is an administrative method of collecting tax - if you like every employer acts as an unpaid tax collector. Many of my former clients were subject to PAYE on their incomes and it makes no difference in terms of claiming tax relief, other than perhaps a timing issue.
Happy to take questions or to accept brickbats from those who think my position is hypocritical. |
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Reply | pulis
at 17:39 6 May 2014
He has done a great job but he doesn't have the ambition we need.
Diego Simeone is my pick. |
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Reply | Clyne
at 12:14 1 May 2014
Whilst I agree that Clyne had a great game last week and has been consistent all season, the fact that he cannot command a regular starting spot may count against him?
I think also that Hodgson might take Smalling or Jones who can play at both full back and centre back (allegedly) as that gives him better cover. Clyne is perhaps not the best centre back available? |
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Reply | FARAGE BOTTLES IT
at 11:59 1 May 2014
It's just politics!
He has judged that whilst his chances of being elected in a mid term by-election are good, (people like to make a protest vote, especially if it doesn't impact the balance of real power), his chances of holding that seat in 2015 at a real election are not as good.
Rather he wants to keep building profile and then go for seat where he can take votes from both Tory and Labour and Libs.
He will see the present coordinated press campaign to rubbish UKIP (sponsored and driven by Tory/Lab/Lib spin doctors because disturbing the cosy current arrangement is unthinkable), as helpful on the basis that each new story puts column inches in the papers. No such thing as bad publicity?
He would be foolish and naive to try to be elected before the General Election. If the "main" parties are this scared now, how scared will they be in 2015? Better to keep his powder dry and go for a 5 year stint in Parliament rather than a stay of a few months.
I don't agree with many of UKIP's policies. I don't agree with many of the policies of the main parties either.
Farage is however quite a shrewd political operator and unlike the other single issue parties (Greens, EDL, Col. Trumpington Biscuit-Barrel) at least he has the sense to allow public opinion to measure and judge his policies before setting them in stone by getting elected. |
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Reply | Can Saints Buy And Improve Without Selling Key Players
at 11:49 1 May 2014
If you want a boring accounting answer, most football clubs do not value their players in terms of assets on the balance sheet.
Their cost is normally written off immediately (sometimes over the contract period) but their value is deemed to be so flaky that no prudent person would take their value into account.
Imagine that the club committed some serious breach of the rules and had its ground closed or was excluded from the league or otherwise went out of business. In that circumstance there is a fire sale of the players. All the professional clubs would know and would Shaw then really be sold for £30m? Perhaps £5m might be a better bet?
Football economics and accounting inhabit different worlds.
Economics says that the price you pay is the value of those goods to you. Football clubs calculate their potential revenues from TV, games, competitions and make assumptions about how far they will progress, how many televised games, etc. (Income from fans attending matches comes into this but is not a significant figure, hence attending fans have a low position in the pecking order).
The value of a player is therefore whether that player can advance you in competition or make you more attractive to TV audiences. There is no accounting algorithm for this and it's a subjective judgement by manager/Board.
For that reason the cost and value of players to a club is normally written off/not recognised as a) it's probably impossible to find the "right" number, b) one injury and your asset has disappeared, c) expectations of value have no relevance to shareholders.
Sorry to bore you. |
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Reply | I went to school or played in a team with ?????? who went on to play for ????
at 10:10 1 May 2014
It was certainly when Mark played for Amesbury school.
I played for Downton Sec Mod and Amesbury were always difficult to play against. I seem to recall that Highbury Avenue school, Amesbury and Downton used to regularly carve up league and cup between them.
I was though part of the Wiltshire county team for a while and Mark played in that. I was there only for a short while before moving to the Hampshire county team (quirk of addresses). That Hants team did not seem to produce much in the way of professional talent and in any event injury stopped my participation pretty quickly.
Do remember playing against Nick Holmes though. he was quiet and very tough. |
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Reply | No Overdraft Fee for Muslim Accounts
at 09:59 1 May 2014
Shar'ia rules prevent Muslims from paying or receiving interest and consequently banks, whose business is making loans, have for many years offered products that do not have "interest" charges. This is nothing new.
Take a peek at any "British" bank website and see just how many Shar'ia compliant products they have and how long they've been around. From my own experience, Barclays was offering such accounts in the late 1980's and I suspect still do.
What is sad is the way in which ignorant and bigoted people leap upon this sort of news to imply that one group of people is somehow less worthy than another, usually the group they "belong" to.
Money has no prejudices and neither should we. |
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Reply | Can Saints Buy And Improve Without Selling Key Players
at 14:20 30 Apr 2014
Perhaps three issues here to pick up on.
Firstly, the ones who gain most from the merry go round of players is the agents and "advisers". In exchange for a few bits of gossip to the press, they can get almost anything published with a few to creating unsettled players. Unfortunately the press, who should be reporting the news, often try to make the news and are in a unique position to do that. I usually dismiss 80% of football pages as worthless gossip.
Secondly, NC might have an interest in creating an unsettled team/club. Perhaps he is sore at having had his bluff called and wants to head a financial group to buy the club from Kat for no other reason than ego. He would be well served by the press nonsense we've seen.
Thirdly, there has been a lot of mention of "the project" and the fact that MP and the players have bought into this. It would be nice to know if the project aims have been adjusted to take into account the rapid rise to top 8 and some assessment done of what it takes (money, players, money, manager, money, facilities, money, off field activities, money) to get to top 6 or top 5 (or - whisper it gently - top 4). If that assessment has been done, why can't Krueger or Kat come spell it out?
At the moment we're unsure whether Kat has the resources or ambition to match the big spenders or whether she/Krueger thinks that Financial Fair Play will bring the big spenders back towards us and therefore she is looking for maintenance rather than improvement?
The key is ambition. Chelski are driven by one man's ego to be recognised but like others is actually all money, no class.
City are driven by Arab money where having a high profile is seen as a sign of national necessity.
Utd have suffered as their owners want to see cash out. Arsenal are in maintenance mode waiting for FFP. Spurs are clueless and have wasted their opportunity. Liverpool just happen to have several players in the form of their lives and Suarez.
The teams below us are arguably nowhere near as resourced as we could potentially be.
Stick with the project. A modest investment in a decent striker and keeper and top 5 is within our grasp. |
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Reply | I went to school or played in a team with ?????? who went on to play for ????
at 14:05 30 Apr 2014
A late addition.
I played for a Hampshire senior league team and we came up against a Saints youth squad. I was left back. Their winger was called Wallace and would have been about 15 or 16?
Skinny kid and I was looking forward to an afternoon of tough (but fair) tackles and raiding down the wing.
In fact I spent an hour watching his skinny arse disappear in the distance before my manager pulled me off "to save me from embarrassment".
Hope you're doing OK Danny. |
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Reply | Quick and angry Season Review...
at 14:01 30 Apr 2014
Dramatic and slightly tongue in cheek but none the less enjoyable.
Should have mentioned "we've still got Guly on the bench" |
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Reply | Interactive map of fan distribution
at 13:15 25 Apr 2014
Seen one baseball game in my life, last year at Washington Nationals in Washington, playing LA Dodgers.
Consequently we "support" Washington Nats.
The day we were there the Nats lost 3:2 in the 10th innings.
It was hot - really hot - perhaps 90% humidity and beer in the stadium was $9 a go!! |
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Reply | Man united part 2. A recap of events
at 10:29 25 Apr 2014
In my very personal view of things, the Man U situation has been caused by two issues in the main.
First Moyes never imposed his way on the team and possibly that "way" was misplaced. He arrived and immediately ditched most of the back room and brought his own staff in but then approached the job with a view of "not losing" rather than "think we will always win". The former is a hangover from his Everton days and the latter the Ferguson way.
From my own playing days, a manager who tells you to go out and win and take a few chances is better than one who says be cautious, don't get drawn out of position and just don't lose.
Second, he allowed players who are at best average to stay and could not inspire the better ones. He should have moved on Van Persie when it was obvious that the mardy tart will not play for him. Evra, Ferdinand, Valencia etc are all below the standard of previous Man U teams. Smalling and Jones are often played out of position. Rooney was allowed to drift all season when he needed a kick in the arse.
Fellani and Mata? Really?
He should have convinced the Board that Fabrecas was the man to build his team around and just acquired him at more or less any price. I suspect the £67m he paid for the above two might have done it.
Overall he just could not step up to the mark in terms of imposing himself on club or players and paid the price.
For what it's worth I think Giggs and the class of 92 can't either.
A new manager with some clout is needed but he will need the notoriously tight Glazers to put up £100m+.
Happily my Manc supporting friends are already writing off next season as well as they rebuild and fear that this is the start of 10 years of being on the fringes.
One less team for us to finish ahead of in seeking a European place. |
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