http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ylian-mbapp-agree-fee-principle-a7858781.html 161 million for Mbappe! A kid with great potential who had a very good season last year but this is going to bring such big pressure!
Human nature gets the better of people. The fact that prices for players have become unsustainable is as a result of a lack of foresight and mass hysteria. The impulsive desire to pay whatever it takes to get what you want, immediately. Dare I say it, but Levy from Spurs seems to have the right attitude, and, I would suggest, Gino also has a realistic approach to the acquisition of players. It has now become the norm for untested and average players to cost many multiples of the fee we paid for Ellington. With every property price bubble and stock market crash, the mania that preceded the implosion was obvious in hindsight, but ignored at the time. The difficulty with the current transfer market is you have some clubs backed by oligarchs and oil barons (who have no regard for or fear of the financial fair play rules) paying ridiculous sums for players and a knock on effect of other less wealthy clubs trying to keep up, based on TV money. We have seen in the past that the promise of TV money can cause mayhem. Unfortunately, I believe that, over the next few years, there will be some high profile casualties. It is understandable that fans get impatient when big names do not arrive into their clubs, but Watford seem to adopt a calm, calculated and systematic approach to player transfers, which I am comfortable with. As we get nearer to the close of the window, you may see many of the bigger clubs very anxious to get rid of some decent players, creating a buyers' market. The next few weeks could be interesting.
For a club that's previously had problems with debt, Bournemouth are a club that looks to be playing a very risky game (there's others of course - Palace as well seem to spend a lot on wages/transfers)
But Bournemouth now have oligarch backing, and are banking on TV money almost eliminating the need for income from their (tiny) gates.
Whilst they are now backed with some nice money, the TV money bubble could potentially burst in the near future (just see how scared Sky are at the moment - viewing figures down over 10%, reducing prices, trying to get streams banned etc) - which will have a disastrous consequences for the above clubs.
Money will dictate everything in terms of professional sport. The Champions League is likely to become a season long top tier European super league in the future and the giant clubs will demand the right to control their own TV income. The evolution of this competition is gathering apace and is a far cry from the knockout, champions only competition of the European Cup era. There is clearly a prospect that the mega clubs will gradually outgrow the domestic leagues and focus exclusively on super league, making qualification redundant. This will leave many larger and mid size domestic clubs in a very precarious position. You already see the desperate scramble to qualify for the Champions league and the implications of falling short. I really hope my doomsday scenario is way off the mark.
That's true - but oligarchs are better able to gamble on TV money than the people who used to own Bournemouth and other clubs. Personally, and from the perspective of 2017, I'd be delighted to see the TV money bubble burst - though I didn't feel that way when the collapse of the ITV Digital deal left the non-elite clubs in the lurch.
Meh. Chelsea were fine outside it for a season and Arsenal will be this year. Man Utd have been outside for 2 seasons and still just spent 75 million on lukaku. The champ league has actually moved towards greater meritocracy as Leicester were number 1 seeds last season whereas a few years ago they'd have been 4th seeds.
So what happens if/when the money falls out of the game. It can't continue this way. There must be a ceiling. Could this happen sooner rather than later? 5 years, 10 years? Do all clubs have a contingency if the money disappears?
They all have a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy with the words 'Don't Panic' in large friendly letters?
I'm sure they don't. "We'll cross that bridge if & when we come to it" would be the plan. As long as it's only a ceiling & not a massive drop-off in revenue clubs will adjust without too much alarm probably, and & can't see the Prem becoming unpopular any time soon.
