Worse than paint drying?

Never mind the paint drying trophy!  The successor to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, the Checkatrade Trophy, gets under way tonight.  

Cautions and sending-offs are exclusive to the tournament and in normal circumstances won’t affect other EFL or Premier League fixtures.  The EFL clubs will field a minimum of five ‘First Team’ players in the starting 11 as defined under the competition’s existing rules, whilst the invited clubs will have at least six under-21 players in their starting line-up.

Brexit and football

Dr Dave Webber reviews the impact of Brexit on football, examining the movement of players, the financial implications for supporters and whether there would be any impact on the national team.

One topic he doesn’t mention are the sometimes criticised transfer windows which were the result of a competition settlement with the EU over football broadcasting.

FC Twente to fight relegation punishment

FC Twente are to fight a decision to relegate them from the Dutch Eredivisie, which they won in 2010, to the second division for financial irregularities.   The decision stems from the sale of player transfer fee rights to outside investors.

The licensing commission could have revoked their right to play professional football altogether, but this would have been difficult with a well supported club.   However, relegation will strain their finances.

Football League proposes new structure

Concern about fixture congestion has led the Football League to propose a new structure below the Premier League, also opening up the possibility of a winter break.   The number of clubs would increase from 72 to 80.  

Football worries over Brexit

Peter Coates, the chairman of Stoke City, has told The Times that the Premier League, the Football League and the FA have ‘all sorts of worries’ about the effects of a vote to leave the EU in the June 23rd referendum on the UK’s membership.

Coates said, ‘The research that has been done on this shows that there are a number of players already in England who would not have met the requirements to be granted an automatic work permit, had they needed to go through that process, even some of them in our squad.’

Glass ceiling for fan owned clubs

Portsmouth chairman Ian McInnes has admitted in an interview with The Times that there is a glass ceiling to the fan ownership model used at Pompey.  If success breeds ambition there may come a day when Portsmouth’s fans have to cede ownership to an outside investor.

The Pompey Supporters Trust owns 47.6 per cent of the club with the next biggest shareholder owning 10.75 per cent.    Three PST members sit on the board of seven.

Dyke wants to cut size of Premier League

FA chairman Greg Dyke wants to cut the size of the Premier League to eighteen clubs to boost the fortunes of the national team.

Any such plan would require a vote of 75 per cent of clubs in favour and it might be questioned why they would vote for it.   However, Dyke has suggested that the number of clubs relegated could be reduced to two.  Also, if there were fewer clubs, the pot going to each club would be bigger.