Norwich City, And Football's Situation

[PompeyCT]

Went to the Valley to watch Norwich City get relegated. A real shame, as they are one of the few English Clubs I admire. 3,500 away fans sang constantly, and put the Charlton supporters to shame, and even after relegation pretty much became a certainty (at about 30 minutes into the first half) the fans just kept on singing. A real credit to Football, considering fans seem to be getting quieter these days. A massive shame, and it poses the question, where has all the noise gone from Football?

I appreciate those who want to go and watch football for the actual game, but that argument in itself is being discredited by 'Hoof Tactic' Football that makes the game far less beautiful to watch than it used to be.

What happened to the fact that Football used to be Tribal? Bragging rights for your town almost. Glory Hunters and foreign influences have made our game bland. It is less so in Scotland, but even here you will find Invernessians and Edinburghers supporting the Old Firm. I know it must have been said constantly but as another season draws to a close, Football is making me more and more upset.

What we really really need is a wage cap and transfer fee cap, it would probably have the same effect as the budget cap in Formula one. Players wont go the club with the most spending power. And the business side of Football (which is currently taking over) will be far less vital. Surely this would at least contribute to a further parity in clubs, and maybe... just maybe will convince clubs to perhaps possibly maybe in some sort of distant reality lower ticket prices??

Just my ideas anyway, thought i may as well moan on the forums, since we all love doing that as Caley Fans but seeing a club go down, despite the efforts of 3500 travelling fans to motivate players who to be honest couldn't be ersed is difficult, for a fan of the game more than anything, to swallow.

[Yngwie]

I went to a Norwich away game round about 1994 when they were top of the Premiership (Bryan Gunn was in goals then). Their fans were brilliant from start to finish that day too, very vocal and humorous with it. I missed a goal though cos I was underneath one of their huge flags.

[Scotty]

Wow, this might be some debate ........ and one that might convince me one way or the other as I really dont know what the answer is - save for the fact that football in general needs some form of shakeup.

Football should be about entertainment and you are right, it should also be about the tribalism of supporting your local side. However, simply speaking it is not and has not been for a long time. It is a business and the little guys (fans) are getting the raw deal most of the time. We are probably quite lucky as ICT fans. We follow one of the smaller teams and it seems that the bigger the team, the more impersonal it is and the more it shafts its "customers". We have the odd issue with ICT that we moan about but we are not getting the shaft nearly as much or as often as some other fans.

I am not sure whether a salary cap or transfer cap is the right thing as it would have to be something that was done globally through FIFA or at least regionally through UEFA and the rich leagues like the EPL will simply not stand for it.

It could certainly be done in the SPL and being realistic it would affect two, or maybe three teams the most (OF + Hearts) ... but if the SPL did it unilaterally, all that it would mean is that players who would have gone to the OF would simply go elsewhere and the fans would see a lesser rather than a better product .... We already have (or have always seen) a drain to England for up and coming players or for those that use the SPL as a stepping stone to the premiership, but if any league does it unilaterally then top players, or even mediocre but high priced players, would simply ignore that league completely.

I can see the business argument and it has some validity, but lets look at ICT. We are a small team with the smallest, or near smallest budget in the SPL. If a cap were to come into force then we would likely not be affected in the slightest. We would still struggle year-on-year to balance the books by hoping for a decent cup run, we would still attract the same players, and we would still get the same small-ish crowds. If a glory-hunting OF fan stops following their team because of a salary cap, they are more likely to go follow Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal etc than an alternative team in the SPL .... especially as you could theoretically get to Manchester or London relatively easily to watch them from time to time.

OK, so now that I have disagreed with transfer caps and salary caps, let me put my Toronto FC supporting hat on and speak of a league where there are several levels of 'capping' !!! The MLS has one of the most complicated "roster" systems going and I will be quite honest in saying I dont understand it fully but it seems to work !!! The bottom line is that there are rules in place that dictate what the salary cap is for each team (it is the same), and how many players can be in your squad and what type of players they can be (developmental, international, senior international, domestic, 'designated player' etc).

As the league own all the players contracts, internal transfers are done by way of trades, either by swapping players with another team, or by giving away (or receiving) 'draft picks' from the next MLS draft. You can also swap roster spots to gain extra slots for senior internationals, DPs etc.

External transfers (like Edu from TFC to Rangers) are agreed by the MLS team and then handled through the league itself. Toronto got 2/3 of the $3.5m from the Edu transfer but can only use about $1m as 'allocation money' which can be used within their wage structure, with the rest having to be used for "football business" such as community development, or the TFC youth academy.

In reality, much like the NFL, Baseball or Hockey, the system is designed so that the crappest teams get the first choice of up and coming youngsters in an effort to quite literally "level the playing field", and due to the salary cap, no-one can really top what they are offering. If the crap team wants to keep their slot, they can, but they could also trade it away to another team and get instant results by transferring a player in. Teams can also bring in a designated player (like Beckham) and have only a portion of his salary assigned against the salary cap ... allowing him to make an obscene amount of money only $400K of which counts against their total salary cap.

As i mentioned above, some of it is insanely complicated - I havent gone into any real detail - but it does tend to work to a degree. The MLS method is the reason I am somewhat on the fence. The rules are complicated but seem to have an equalising effect but then again, the MLS does not have relegation/promotion so that is something else to consider when trying to level the playing field for teams in Scotland ...... the worst team should go down on its own merit ... so if the league rules have made you the worst team, can you justify relegation and claim it was merit ?

[PompeyCT]

You're absolutely right, and It's probably me being an idealist and everything, I'm certainly no Football Association guru, so I can't truly say that everything I want would work. The MLS idea is, albeit complicated, very fair and I agree with it, the only problem would be implementing such a complex system on European and South American football, which has had the simplest systems for years. It's almost impossible to change our system so drastically, given all the discontent it would (more than likely) cause among teams such as Manchester UTD.

Of course the capping system is my idealistic drivel, and again the top teams with the most say would more than likely veto it. But something really needs to be done. Football, and it isn't the only sport, (It's easy to see when looking at Cricket's IPL) is becoming the plaything of big money men. As the Norwich Fans i spoke to after the game said, the 'SACK THE BOARD' chants are all very well, but its no longer about incompetence, its about how much money you really have. Obviously Mr Wynne-Jones and Delia Smith don't have the funds to get in an experienced manager, and players who will play their socks off. We have much the same problem, as you say, SPL players who have the ability to be really successful in the first tier in Scotland, go to the second or even third tier in England for better money (ie Cowie).

However, the Norwich situation did give me hope. The one section of a club, though they go through the mire to watch their side get beaten, they fork out their hard earned money, to watch their club, and every time its more exciting than the next. They sing until their voices give way, and the next day at work noone can understand them. And as with Norwich fans, they were let down. But they'll be back next year. Yes there are glory hunters who will only ever watch their team on TV. Yes there are businessmen who will use teams as their playthings. But by god, in Britain, when you are fan, and I mean a real Fan, you are truly the best in the world.

I come from Portsmouth, so it goes without saying that its hard for me to get to Inverness games. I'm sure that difficulty is far far greater for you Scotty. But next year I will take my own time out and get to as many Caley games as I can, to see those who are representing my City. I don't care what anyone else thinks, that's a commitment, and there are many in this country who are the same. As long as they exist, at least there is some hope for our game.

[PompeyCT]

And aye Yngwie, Norwich fans have always impressed me, brilliant in the pubs pre match, and definately one of the few sets of fans to actually appreciate irony!

[clacher_holiday2]

With the way the pounds going to start heading again soon and the likely tax burden well paid footballers are to be landed with over the next 5-10 years youll probably see most of them bugger off to other European Leagues anyway, wage cap or not.

Theres no reason to believe the EPL will always be the strongest league in the world, its only picked up that title on the back of debts upwards of tens/hundreds of millions of ever more worthless pounds, in the 90's it was Italy spending the big money, then Spain and now England, who's to say it wont be Germany, China or Mexico anytime soon.?

A bit off topic with regards to tribalism but there could very well be changes in the way the business side of the game is organised in this country, there may have to be at some stage!

[PompeyCT]

With the way the pounds going to start heading again soon and the likely tax burden well paid footballers are to be landed with over the next 5-10 years youll probably see most of them bugger off to other European Leagues anyway, wage cap or not.

Theres no reason to believe the EPL will always be the strongest league in the world, its only picked up that title on the back of debts upwards of tens/hundreds of millions of ever more worthless pounds, in the 90's it was Italy spending the big money, then Spain and now England, who's to say it wont be Germany, China or Mexico anytime soon.?

A bit off topic with regards to tribalism but there could very well be changes in the way the business side of the game is organised in this country, there may have to be at some stage!

I think you're right, lets face it, most things that have been successful recently, whether sport or not, have been on the back of huge debts.

I hope at least one good thing to come out this wretched economic system crash is that at least the big money spinners may think twice about splashing out on wages and transfer fees. At least in a way this recession might cause the top teams to try and stop lavish spending, and maybe just maybe, (and i'm being overtly optimistic) our football might just go back to sort of the way it was.