Soccer 2014 - 2015

Alex_sl said:

Is money usually the biggest topic of discussion among soccer fans?

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Not really, just it's preseason and not much is going on. No real big news on transfers lately and the friendlies don't get much attention other than from the individual club supporters. Finances sometimes get a nod when a club releases its yearly accounts, or if Deloitte makes a fuss with its yearly report. The general gist of it in a very quick & dirty run down: 3 notable clubs are owned by Oil Billionaires - Man City, PSG, Chelsea - they have unrivaled cash expenditures that previously didn't get pause for the clubs wage costs until UEFA, the Governing body for Europe, placedfinancial restrictionswhichs limits a club spending to a percentage of it's revenue. They can still afford to pay high wages, spend big on transfers and over the last decade have been a factor in the ever inflating wage bill.

Leagues have different rules; i.e. how many non Europeans you can sign, how you can sign them & IF you can even sign them, how many national players have to be in the 25-man squad, TV money distribution (i.e. Madrid/Barcelona receive a hugely advantageous TV deal), and obvious Government tax rates, loan structures and club management practices - some clubs are owned by their fan base and vote in a council/president to run things. That type of club can reinvest 100% of it's revenue into the club whilst another club with business owners would perhaps not.

All in all, it's a bit of a melting pot of different practices, rules, finances and styles of ownership. The saving grace however is that none of this gives you any real idea about who is going to win a league. The biggest spenders do indeed regularly feature in the top end, but it's no guarantee of a title or cup. And it's only getting tighter in the Premier league!



Speaking of friendlies; United vs Liverpool coming up tomorrow night! Don't know how LFC topped the other group but United have been on a superb roll with the new set up.
It's nearly pointless to compare pre-season friendlies and results, but Unitedhavelooked fantastic in all their matches so far. I watched last years preseason and it was near enough like the rest of Moyes campaign - some poor results, bad defending and stifled attacks. Back then, people could write it off in hopes of improvement but then they had that season anyway. Hopefully this can transition well into the new season.

United mostly need a centreback signing or 2 - the midfield can wait until the player they want becomes available. At the back with the 3/5/2 it's imperative they get new cover - there is only 3 first team players available and of those 3, Jones & Smalling rarely get through a set of games without some injury.