Points Deduction Incoming!

[CountryRoyal]

I love RFC and I accept they deserve to be punished but I hate the mother fcuk cnut head morons who run the Premier league, along with the elitism that it breeds. If they had there way there would be no relegation from the premiership.

The way it’s going the 3 clubs that get relegated each year will get promoted, as no other teams in the Championship will be able to compete and that kills the competition. The only hope will be a long term project like Brentford.

We chased the dream like Derby, sheff Weds and many others and now we’re paying the price but it’s oxf*rd galling when Man City can spunk £100m on one player. It’s probably not the case but it almost seems like they are petrified of another Leicester from happening.

Not not the case at all. You’re right.

Small clubs being successful are a great story but they don’t bring in as much money as the bigger or should I say, more recently established teams.

FFP protects these clubs and punishes the smaller clubs, whether by design or not is up to the conspiracy theorists, but the outcome is the same.

[From Despair To Where?]

What pisses he off is that when Man City breached FFP and got punished, they had the muscle to lawyer their way out of it.

[Orion1871]

I love RFC and I accept they deserve to be punished but I hate the mother fcuk cnut head morons who run the Premier league, along with the elitism that it breeds. If they had there way there would be no relegation from the premiership.

The way it’s going the 3 clubs that get relegated each year will get promoted, as no other teams in the Championship will be able to compete and that kills the competition. The only hope will be a long term project like Brentford.

We chased the dream like Derby, sheff Weds and many others and now we’re paying the price but it’s oxf*rd galling when Man City can spunk £100m on one player. It’s probably not the case but it almost seems like they are petrified of another Leicester from happening.

Not not the case at all. You’re right.

Small clubs being successful are a great story but they don’t bring in as much money as the bigger or should I say, more recently established teams.

FFP protects these clubs and punishes the smaller clubs, whether by design or not is up to the conspiracy theorists, but the outcome is the same.

“We don’t want too many Leicester Citys.”

These were the words spoken by a senior figure from the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs, in the kind of high-end London hotel you can easily imagine.

“Football history suggests fans like big teams winning,” the official continued, to the group of business people and media figures present. “A certain amount of unpredictability is good, but a more democratic league would be bad for business.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/champions-league-superclubs-liverpool-man-utd-barcelona-real-madrid-a9330431.html

[CountryRoyal]

If they really cared about “fair play” and the survival of clubs, it would be a really simple solution.

Allow owners of clubs to spend whatever of their own personal money they want, without the club incurring any debt.

But they wont do that…. I wonder why!

[Elm Park Kid]

If they really cared about “fair play” and the survival of clubs, it would be a really simple solution.

Allow owners of clubs to spend whatever of their own personal money they want, without the club incurring any debt.

But they wont do that…. I wonder why!

How is it fair that the club with the richest owner is able to 'buy' the league?

How would you feel if Reading spent a few seasons building up a fantastic team, got close to getting promoted and then all our rivals got richer owners and bought our entire team from under us? I'd rather that we all competed on a level playing field.

[Snowflake Royal]

Behind Ipswich before they went down, didn’t Derby have the highest amount of consecutive seasons in this division?

Wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of their fans are quite looking forward to something different.

Didn't they go back up again at some point after 07/08?

Feels like someone else must have been in longer... but there's been a lot of ups and downs.

[tidus_mi2]

Behind Ipswich before they went down, didn’t Derby have the highest amount of consecutive seasons in this division?

Wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of their fans are quite looking forward to something different.

Didn't they go back up again at some point after 07/08?

Feels like someone else must have been in longer... but there's been a lot of ups and downs.

No, they haven't been promoted since they were last relegated in 08.

A quick Google search say both Forest (promoted from League One in 07/08) and Derby (relegated from the Premier League in 07/08) have the longest consecutive tenures in the Championship currently.

[Snowflake Royal]

Behind Ipswich before they went down, didn’t Derby have the highest amount of consecutive seasons in this division?

Wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of their fans are quite looking forward to something different.

Didn't they go back up again at some point after 07/08?

Feels like someone else must have been in longer... but there's been a lot of ups and downs.

No, they haven't been promoted since they were last relegated in 08.

A quick Google search say both Forest (promoted from League One in 07/08) and Derby (relegated from the Premier League in 07/08) have the longest consecutive tenures in the Championship currently.

Cool

oxf*rd me, time flies.

[Jagermesiter1871]

Behind Ipswich before they went down, didn’t Derby have the highest amount of consecutive seasons in this division?

Wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of their fans are quite looking forward to something different.

Probably not the sort of different they were after though. Not sure Ipswich fans will have enjoyed div 1 a lot

The harsh reality of it. Yes some clubs bounce back quickly, and are better for it, but a lot don’t. It’s why it irks me when people talk about relegation like it wouldn’t be the utter, catastrophic disaster it would be - especially for a club like ours with a relatively small supporter base and significantly less small financial woes.

I know for one I wouldn't bother supporting Reading if they dropped down a league. If I can't see my team playing the likes of Luton and Blackpool I'm not interested.

[CountryRoyal]

Probably not the sort of different they were after though. Not sure Ipswich fans will have enjoyed div 1 a lot

The harsh reality of it. Yes some clubs bounce back quickly, and are better for it, but a lot don’t. It’s why it irks me when people talk about relegation like it wouldn’t be the utter, catastrophic disaster it would be - especially for a club like ours with a relatively small supporter base and significantly less small financial woes.

I know for one I wouldn't bother supporting Reading if they dropped down a league. If I can't see my team playing the likes of Luton and Blackpool I'm not interested.

That would be the only benefit, some teams we haven’t played in ages and some more fresh away days. I’d like it in that sense.

Obviously notwithstanding the potential severe and long lasting damage from relegation.

[CountryRoyal]

If they really cared about “fair play” and the survival of clubs, it would be a really simple solution.

Allow owners of clubs to spend whatever of their own personal money they want, without the club incurring any debt.

But they wont do that…. I wonder why!

How is it fair that the club with the richest owner is able to 'buy' the league?

How would you feel if Reading spent a few seasons building up a fantastic team, got close to getting promoted and then all our rivals got richer owners and bought our entire team from under us? I'd rather that we all competed on a level playing field.

But we don’t compete on a level playing field. City have bought all their success and we’re in the 3rd division. Chelsea weren’t a traditionally big club. In our division, the ones that go up are more often than not the ones that come down because they have more money from being in the prem, from getting promoted because they have more money. If Bournemouth didn’t go up the first season they did they’d have been fcuked, but they gambled and won and got away with it and now are likely to go up again.

And your example doesn’t quite work because WE have rich owners, therefore of course I will be favouring this approach.

Life isn’t fair, and neither is football, but the ability for anyone to inject cash into whatever club they want without ramifications is just about the fairest practical way. Or strip everything at every level to the bare bones and take finances out of it completely. Obviously the latter isn’t exactly likely.

[Hendo]

Probably not the sort of different they were after though. Not sure Ipswich fans will have enjoyed div 1 a lot

The harsh reality of it. Yes some clubs bounce back quickly, and are better for it, but a lot don’t. It’s why it irks me when people talk about relegation like it wouldn’t be the utter, catastrophic disaster it would be - especially for a club like ours with a relatively small supporter base and significantly less small financial woes.

I know for one I wouldn't bother supporting Reading if they dropped down a league. If I can't see my team playing the likes of Luton and Blackpool I'm not interested.

See that’s funny because we play both this year!!

[Horsham Royal]

The harsh reality of it. Yes some clubs bounce back quickly, and are better for it, but a lot don’t. It’s why it irks me when people talk about relegation like it wouldn’t be the utter, catastrophic disaster it would be - especially for a club like ours with a relatively small supporter base and significantly less small financial woes.

I know for one I wouldn't bother supporting Reading if they dropped down a league. If I can't see my team playing the likes of Luton and Blackpool I'm not interested.

See that’s funny because we play both this year!!

Think tha'ts a whoosh, no?

[Hendo]

I know for one I wouldn't bother supporting Reading if they dropped down a league. If I can't see my team playing the likes of Luton and Blackpool I'm not interested.

See that’s funny because we play both this year!!

Think tha'ts a whoosh, no?

Nah the exclamation mark emojis are code for sarcasm/explaining a bad joke.

[The Green Programme]

The situation is as many have stated.

The business model of almost every Club with wealthy owners (like us)
Is the same as Man City and Chelsea have undertaken successfully.

Wealthy owners pour money into the Club and use their financial muscle to buy everyone (even at youth level from the age of 7 years in the case of Chelsea and Man City)

It’s all about preventing other Clubs getting any of the cream of the youngsters; whilst buying two squads from the cream of the worlds players and paying eye watering sums to the players to keep them there.

Rarely do they give an opportunity to any of their own youngsters; they just loan them out; thus retaining control and preventing other Clubs from growing and benefitting from developing, owning and either retaining or selling their own home grown assets.

All our owners have done, is follow the same path as City and Chelsea (allegedly).

Derby have allegedly acted dishonestly; we have just been ‘adventurous’ and we have found that we are now not allowed to do this in the EFL; even though Premier League big boys are doing it all the time.

FFP retains the status quo; benefitting the richest Clubs to the detriment of the poorer Clubs by preventing them from doing the same thing the bigger Clubs have done to become successful.

One way of beating FFP was for club Owners to use other Companies they own to act as massive sponsors of the Clubs they own.

This increase turnover and profitability and allows monies to be invested in the Club, without it showing as investment. Allegedly, a ‘practice adopted by Man City’’.

The three teams relegated from the premier league are then promoted again the following year, this is becoming the new norm and it’s entirely due to ‘parachute payments’.

The same generally with league 1 and the Championship.

FFP - designed by the rich, operated by the rich, for the benefit of the rich..

I think our owners are on by the right path and that Paunovic is doing an incredible job.

Thia year’s trading activities will go a long way to sorting out our financial issues and the future looks bright for the Club; particularly after we sell Puscas and Swift in January.

EFL FFP rules are nonsense; they need an overhaul.

















With Chelsea the list is incredible.

[ILoveMoonPig]

It’s all about preventing other Clubs getting any of the cream of the youngsters; whilst buying two squads from the cream of the worlds players and paying eye watering sums to the players to keep them there.

This is the reason i'm genuinely concerned about allowing clubs to enter B teams into the football league. It would legitimise bigger clubs' stock-piling of talented young players and basically allowing their careers to peter out without really ever getting a serious shot at the big time.

[tidus_mi2]

I'm here for the lulz when we don't get a points deduction.

[Jagermesiter1871]

The harsh reality of it. Yes some clubs bounce back quickly, and are better for it, but a lot don’t. It’s why it irks me when people talk about relegation like it wouldn’t be the utter, catastrophic disaster it would be - especially for a club like ours with a relatively small supporter base and significantly less small financial woes.

I know for one I wouldn't bother supporting Reading if they dropped down a league. If I can't see my team playing the likes of Luton and Blackpool I'm not interested.

That would be the only benefit, some teams we haven’t played in ages and some more fresh away days. I’d like it in that sense.

Obviously notwithstanding the potential severe and long lasting damage from relegation.

I honestly don't think we'll see much of a drop in attendance a league below. In fact I could even see a slight increase with more local derby games people may be interested in.

I'm sure off the pitch though things could be more dire with Sky revenue etc dropping I'm sure.

[Elm Park Kid]

If they really cared about “fair play” and the survival of clubs, it would be a really simple solution.

Allow owners of clubs to spend whatever of their own personal money they want, without the club incurring any debt.

But they wont do that…. I wonder why!

How is it fair that the club with the richest owner is able to 'buy' the league?

How would you feel if Reading spent a few seasons building up a fantastic team, got close to getting promoted and then all our rivals got richer owners and bought our entire team from under us? I'd rather that we all competed on a level playing field.

But we don’t compete on a level playing field. City have bought all their success and we’re in the 3rd division. Chelsea weren’t a traditionally big club. In our division, the ones that go up are more often than not the ones that come down because they have more money from being in the prem, from getting promoted because they have more money. If Bournemouth didn’t go up the first season they did they’d have been fcuked, but they gambled and won and got away with it and now are likely to go up again.

And your example doesn’t quite work because WE have rich owners, therefore of course I will be favouring this approach.

Life isn’t fair, and neither is football, but the ability for anyone to inject cash into whatever club they want without ramifications is just about the fairest practical way. Or strip everything at every level to the bare bones and take finances out of it completely. Obviously the latter isn’t exactly likely.

I guess we both want the same thing - that clubs compete against each other in some kind of 'fair' manner. Your argument is that FFP is basically pulling up the ladder - that some clubs benefitted from the old system and now what to prevent anyone doing the same. I get that and can understand how you see a reasonable solution as everyone else being given the opportunity to invest as much as possible. But what happens to the clubs that can't find rich owners? Is it fair that they effectively fall down through the league structure and risk going out of business trying to keep up. Sure - today Reading could take advantage of the situation, but what happens 5 years from now if our rich owners leave and we don't find anyone else to pile in the now hundreds of millions each year that are needed to stand still because you've removed all the rules? Would you be happy with Reading being a league two team for no other reason that we don't have rich owners?

I would argue that a better approach would be to enforce the rules more strictly and take some measures to redistribute money away from the rich clubs. Narrow the financial gap between the PL and Championship, take out more of the PL TV money and give it to football around the country, share gate receipts between both the home and away club. Then you'll gradually fall back towards a position where the position of a club will be dependent on the size of it's fan base and how well they spend their money. That's how it should be . If that means that Reading are never able to reach the heights of English football than so be it - i'd rather be a mid-tier club playing in an honest league than see us 'successful' in a unfair one.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Ya man Eddie saying it's gonna be 6. Will take that.