NO TO TO GAM£ 39 - WHAT YOU CAN DO!

[Ian Royal]

I signed up a while back and sent letters to Mr Mad, the PL and the FA.

This is looking less and less like happening. But a damn good protest will do football fans no harm and may do them a lot of good with regard to furture shit proposals.

I thoroughly look forward to some super dooper protest at Man City. I also hope we can celebrate with 3 points!

[The Cube]

Looks like it's all over bar the recriminations (which I hope will be long-lasting and hard-hitting).

[Dirk Gently]

Looks like it's all over bar the recriminations (which I hope will be long-lasting and hard-hitting).

Don't you believe it for a minute. Many people think that the initial, highly convenient "leak" was one where the PL were happy to announce something ludicrous, so that they can later scale it back to, say, two of the normal rounds played overseas in a January break from the UK, and they'd then look like the good guys for caving in to pressure.

Never underestimate the devious, slimy, nature of those in charge at the Premier League.

[The Cube]

Looks like it's all over bar the recriminations (which I hope will be long-lasting and hard-hitting).

Don't you believe it for a minute. Many people think that the initial, highly convenient "leak" was one where the PL were happy to announce something ludicrous, so that they can later scale it back to, say, two of the normal rounds played overseas in a January break from the UK, and they'd then look like the good guys for caving in to pressure.

Never underestimate the devious, slimy, nature of those in charge at the Premier League.

Yes, but talking of devious and slimy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7237359.stm

The president of football's world governing body Fifa has told the BBC that plans by the Premier League to host games abroad will never happen. Sepp Blatter also warned that the proposal could harm England's attempt to host the 2018 World Cup. "This does not take into consideration the fans of the clubs and it gives the impression that they just want to go on tour to make some money," Blatter said. "This will never happen, at least as long as I am the president of Fifa."

[STAR Voice]

So you trust Sepp Blatter as the saviour of the game? Hasn't he shown enough times that he can be bought off if the money is right?

The five FSF open meetings this week are going ahead across England. http://www.fsf.org.uk/game39/no-to-game-39-meetings.html

The signs might be that the 39th game proposals in their current form won't go ahead, but you can be sure that the Premier League are working feverishly in the background to make this, or similar, happen one way or another. Never underestimate the guile and deviousness of these people!

The fans might be 1-0 up at the moment, but there's only 10 minutes played in this particular game. Fans need to unite and work together to make their views known to all those who control OUR game.

Come to the London & South meeting at Friends' House, 173 Euston Road (opposite Euston Station) at 7.30 pm on Monday 18th Feb and have your say about the national protest and the protest to be held at Reading.

[Dirk Gently]

At each of the FSF's regional meetings last week, an ordinary supporter of a Premier League club was selected to represent fans everywhere in a meeting at the Premier League, which happened yesterday. The notes from one of them have just been circulated amongst interested parties :

Yesterday I had the dubious pleasure of meeting Mr. Peter Scudamore, the slimy chief exec of the Premier League. I was one of 5 Football Supporters' Federation reps at this GAM£ 39 consultation meeting.

Below are my notes on the meeting, showing that the GAM£ 39 proposal is still alive and ongoing. It is not 'dead-in-the-water' (as all media seem to be assuming), It is not no more! It has not ceased to be! It has not expired and gone to meet it's maker!

if you haven't already, please sign the petition against it at http://www.fsf.org.uk/petitions/no-to-game-39/index.php and please pass it on to any and ALL other football sites you frequent.

Consultation meeting between Mr. Peter Scudamore, Premier League Chief Exec, and representatives of the Football supporters' Federation, the FSF.

Wednesday February 27th 10.30-12.00

FSF representatives were the chairman Malcolm Clarke, together with one grass-roots member each from the previous week's FSF regional NO TO GAM£ 39 campaign meetings (clubs whose fan bodies were directly
represented were Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Portsmouth and Sunderland).

3 of Mr. Scudamore's staff, including Cathy Long, were also present but said very little during the meeting.

FSF chairman Malcolm Clarke began by asking Mr. Scudamore what was the current status of the proposal to play a 39th round of PL matches overseas.

Before he answered the question that had actually been asked, Mr. Scudamore embarked on a 10-minute explanation of why the proposal had to be made out-of-the-blue at the meeting of PL chairmen on February 7th, how the proposal was leaked some hours before the PL had called a press conference, and how frustrating this inauspicious start was to him personally.

He then continued his monologue by spending a further 10 minutes dismissing some of the objections which had been already been put forward by the FSF in their written submission, and by many other voices. Only then did Mr. Scudamore finally answer the original question, telling us that the proposal was very much ongoing, and
that `we sit before you in the middle of a consultation process…which has had an interesting start…'

`There was unanimous agreement between the 20 clubs in principle… there was not a dissenter ….the clubs have agreed there is enough merit in the idea to move it forward…[a few moments later he strengthened this to `so much merit in the idea that it's got to be considered…']

`FORMAT is the issue clubs want to get their heads round most (and this will be discussed and probably won't be settled until June/July), and if they're unhappy with the format, it won't happen'.

`It's currently only a proposal, and will only become reality' he said, subject to
• consultation
• calendar fit
• sanction of host associations
• club rules

`But we have had to accept from the start that it won't be perfect, there can be no symmetry.' Mr Scudamore then went on to imply that we should be grateful that the PL had not proposed to take one of the existing 38 fixtures out of the calendar and play it overseas. Never for a moment did he consider that the fact that it won't be perfect
and that there can be no symmetry' means that this Game 39 should not happen.

`I refute the suggestion that this is all about money …it's about a whole load of things before it's about money. We do have an international following and by serving it in this way we can control the wealth redistribution down the league… we have a responsibility to our fans on a global basis, and we'll do it before the big 4 go off and do it themselves.'

`It's not me that will decide and certainly not Mr. Blatter … if 14 people stick their hands up that's it …'

Emphasising the strength of feeling on the issue and the level of protest, unprecedented in recent years, Malcolm Clarke called this a `Rubicon moment', and all the FSF representatives backed this up, stating that this proposal could mark the beginning of the end of their personal support of a Premiership football club….

In response, Mr. Scudamore stated that `we will have to weigh up those we lose against those we gain …'. He implied that he felt a lot of the recent furore had been merely `initial resistance and reaction,' and much of it would not be long-term.

[contradicting his earlier statement that] `you can't weigh up one kind of supporter against another and judge whose support is better…' `Part of the calculation the clubs have to make is to ask `is it going to cost us? For how many people is it going to be the tipping point ?' '

`For 16 years we have been losing various segments of our supporter base …we have lost some,but we have gained a lot more ….part of our assessment of this project will be those we'll lose and those we'll gain..we'll weigh that up in the `is this worth it?' column.'

`We know where the balance of the noise is [ in the media and grass-roots furore over this proposal]…our difficulty is working out the weight of that … we know the feelings of those who are making the noise …'

`We've only got 330,000 attending fans … we have to weigh that in the balance against other stakeholders…'

However, Mr. Scudamore did state that `if they [the dissenters] fight above their weight it might put people off .' So, in spite of his patronising tone, this does seem to offer apparent encouragement to the protest campaign.

One interesting phrase he used, when allusions were made to calls from certain quarters for his resignation (not something the FSF itself has suggested at all) was that `I am fairly committed to this proposal…' suggesting that he does not see it as something he wishes to stand and fall by, going on to say that `I wouldn't be supporting
it if it was more than one extra game, and that if that proposal is made, say ten years down the line, I won't be here anyway.'

Going back to what he had said earlier in the meeting he told us that the playing field is far from level already, with huge imbalances between the financial power of premiership clubs, so `it's already about distortion … my job is to overcome huge imbalances….'

This is not about the premier league brand, he said [contradicting his clear statements of 3 weeks earlier], `it's about 20 brands, giving Reading, Bolton and the like the chance to ride on the big 4-6 and promote their brands.'

He re-iterated that the decision to host the matches was not up to FIFA or regional associations, but to the individual national Football Federations. `Read my lips', he had said earlier in the meeting, `if the local football federation do not think this is a good idea for football development in their country, we will not do it.'

`We believe that where we are successful, football around us is successful. Since 1992 we (the Football league, the FA & the PL) have all grown together.'

At the beginning of the meeting he had said that fundamental to the rationale of the whole proposal was `keeping the PL collective together against substantial threats from the bigger clubs (that they didn't want to have to play in the League Cup, FAC replays, etc, that they wanted to parcel off their own TV rights individually, etc).'
Throughout the meeting Mr. Scudamore's arguments were fundamentally reliant on such spurious linkages and underlying threats that without him and new proposals like this, English football would all fall apart.

Needless to say, we made our total opposition clear and stated our determined intention to keep campaigning against this in whatever ways it would take to defeat it.

[RG30]

At each of the FSF's regional meetings last week, an ordinary supporter of a Premier League club was selected to represent fans everywhere in a meeting at the Premier League, which happened yesterday. The notes from one of them have just been circulated amongst interested parties :

Yesterday I had the dubious pleasure of meeting Mr. Peter Scudamore, the slimy chief exec of the Premier League. I was one of 5 Football Supporters' Federation reps at this GAM£ 39 consultation meeting.

Below are my notes on the meeting, showing that the GAM£ 39 proposal is still alive and ongoing. It is not 'dead-in-the-water' (as all media seem to be assuming), It is not no more! It has not ceased to be! It has not expired and gone to meet it's maker!

if you haven't already, please sign the petition against it at http://www.fsf.org.uk/petitions/no-to-game-39/index.php and please pass it on to any and ALL other football sites you frequent.

Consultation meeting between Mr. Peter Scudamore, Premier League Chief Exec, and representatives of the Football supporters' Federation, the FSF.

Wednesday February 27th 10.30-12.00

FSF representatives were the chairman Malcolm Clarke, together with one grass-roots member each from the previous week's FSF regional NO TO GAM£ 39 campaign meetings (clubs whose fan bodies were directly
represented were Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Portsmouth and Sunderland).

3 of Mr. Scudamore's staff, including Cathy Long, were also present but said very little during the meeting.

FSF chairman Malcolm Clarke began by asking Mr. Scudamore what was the current status of the proposal to play a 39th round of PL matches overseas.

Before he answered the question that had actually been asked, Mr. Scudamore embarked on a 10-minute explanation of why the proposal had to be made out-of-the-blue at the meeting of PL chairmen on February 7th, how the proposal was leaked some hours before the PL had called a press conference, and how frustrating this inauspicious start was to him personally.

He then continued his monologue by spending a further 10 minutes dismissing some of the objections which had been already been put forward by the FSF in their written submission, and by many other voices. Only then did Mr. Scudamore finally answer the original question, telling us that the proposal was very much ongoing, and
that `we sit before you in the middle of a consultation process…which has had an interesting start…'

`There was unanimous agreement between the 20 clubs in principle… there was not a dissenter ….the clubs have agreed there is enough merit in the idea to move it forward…[a few moments later he strengthened this to `so much merit in the idea that it's got to be considered…']

`FORMAT is the issue clubs want to get their heads round most (and this will be discussed and probably won't be settled until June/July), and if they're unhappy with the format, it won't happen'.

`It's currently only a proposal, and will only become reality' he said, subject to
• consultation
• calendar fit
• sanction of host associations
• club rules

`But we have had to accept from the start that it won't be perfect, there can be no symmetry.' Mr Scudamore then went on to imply that we should be grateful that the PL had not proposed to take one of the existing 38 fixtures out of the calendar and play it overseas. Never for a moment did he consider that the fact that it won't be perfect
and that there can be no symmetry' means that this Game 39 should not happen.

`I refute the suggestion that this is all about money …it's about a whole load of things before it's about money. We do have an international following and by serving it in this way we can control the wealth redistribution down the league… we have a responsibility to our fans on a global basis, and we'll do it before the big 4 go off and do it themselves.'

`It's not me that will decide and certainly not Mr. Blatter … if 14 people stick their hands up that's it …'

Emphasising the strength of feeling on the issue and the level of protest, unprecedented in recent years, Malcolm Clarke called this a `Rubicon moment', and all the FSF representatives backed this up, stating that this proposal could mark the beginning of the end of their personal support of a Premiership football club….

In response, Mr. Scudamore stated that `we will have to weigh up those we lose against those we gain …'. He implied that he felt a lot of the recent furore had been merely `initial resistance and reaction,' and much of it would not be long-term.

[contradicting his earlier statement that] `you can't weigh up one kind of supporter against another and judge whose support is better…' `Part of the calculation the clubs have to make is to ask `is it going to cost us? For how many people is it going to be the tipping point ?' '

`For 16 years we have been losing various segments of our supporter base …we have lost some,but we have gained a lot more ….part of our assessment of this project will be those we'll lose and those we'll gain..we'll weigh that up in the `is this worth it?' column.'

`We know where the balance of the noise is [ in the media and grass-roots furore over this proposal]…our difficulty is working out the weight of that … we know the feelings of those who are making the noise …'

`We've only got 330,000 attending fans … we have to weigh that in the balance against other stakeholders…'

However, Mr. Scudamore did state that `if they [the dissenters] fight above their weight it might put people off .' So, in spite of his patronising tone, this does seem to offer apparent encouragement to the protest campaign.

One interesting phrase he used, when allusions were made to calls from certain quarters for his resignation (not something the FSF itself has suggested at all) was that `I am fairly committed to this proposal…' suggesting that he does not see it as something he wishes to stand and fall by, going on to say that `I wouldn't be supporting
it if it was more than one extra game, and that if that proposal is made, say ten years down the line, I won't be here anyway.'

Going back to what he had said earlier in the meeting he told us that the playing field is far from level already, with huge imbalances between the financial power of premiership clubs, so `it's already about distortion … my job is to overcome huge imbalances….'

This is not about the premier league brand, he said [contradicting his clear statements of 3 weeks earlier], `it's about 20 brands, giving Reading, Bolton and the like the chance to ride on the big 4-6 and promote their brands.'

He re-iterated that the decision to host the matches was not up to FIFA or regional associations, but to the individual national Football Federations. `Read my lips', he had said earlier in the meeting, `if the local football federation do not think this is a good idea for football development in their country, we will not do it.'

`We believe that where we are successful, football around us is successful. Since 1992 we (the Football league, the FA & the PL) have all grown together.'

At the beginning of the meeting he had said that fundamental to the rationale of the whole proposal was `keeping the PL collective together against substantial threats from the bigger clubs (that they didn't want to have to play in the League Cup, FAC replays, etc, that they wanted to parcel off their own TV rights individually, etc).'
Throughout the meeting Mr. Scudamore's arguments were fundamentally reliant on such spurious linkages and underlying threats that without him and new proposals like this, English football would all fall apart.

Needless to say, we made our total opposition clear and stated our determined intention to keep campaigning against this in whatever ways it would take to defeat it.

Peter Scuadmore????????????????????????

[TFF]

`We've only got 330,000 attending fans … we have to weigh that in the balance against other stakeholders…'

and therein, ladies and gents, lies the problem.

The brand is now bigger than the game.

[RoyalBlue]

Peter Scudamore proves he is a complete and utter *rse!

I just hope he hurries up and completely f*cks up the PL. Then maybe everyone can start again and build something sensible in its place.

He's right it's not about money it's about greed!

[The Cube]

`We've only got 330,000 attending fans … we have to weigh that in the balance against other stakeholders…'

That's presumably an average weekend's attendance. So really you need to double it for the other 10 teams, and take off something rather less than 10% for away fans, which makes it over 600,000. Allowance for fans that don't attend every week would mean adding another bit (but not much given the high proportion of season ticket holders in our league).

The telling point is that he deliberately chose to understate the number of attending fans. However, I would certainly agree that there are other stakeholders who should have some voice, particularly those living in this country who want to go to games but can't due to prices or sell-outs. I look forward to the proposals to help them out.

[Royal Lady]

According to at least one of the papers today, the PL Manager's association or whatever it is called, stand to make a hefty sum out of all this if it goes ahead.

[Dirk Gently]

According to at least one of the papers today, the PL Manager's association or whatever it is called, stand to make a hefty sum out of all this if it goes ahead.

That's interesting. Which paper was it?

[Royal Lady]

It was the main piece on the back of the Daily Mail - they were showing a picture of Ian Poulter in gold lycra (also on the back page) on BBC Breakfast this morning and I spotted it - they didn't appear to comment on it though.

[Royal Lady]

Found it online - here you go Dirk:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=522760&in_page_id=1779

[Dirk Gently]

Thanks. Stupid of me really - not reallising it was the Mail!

[The 17 Bus]

I thought that said Ian Pulfer in gold lycra!!

[Dirk Gently]

An excellent analysis of the message that the Premier League has been sending to fans, and in particlaur Scudamore's comment

We've only got 330,000 attending fans - we have to weigh that in the balance against other stakeholders"

What The Premier League Thinks Of You - A Response

[T.R.O.L.I.]

I thought that said Ian Pulfer in gold lycra!!

I bet it wouldn't be the first time

[.:BigDaveInTheDungeon:.]

could this be the first step at the supporters taking the game back for themselfs?