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lappinitup

Leicester - fairy tale or cheats?

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[quote user="lappinitup"]This article in today''s guardian by David Conn poses some interesting questions and if true, once again shows clubs are ignoring FFP (see also QPR).http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/11/leicester-city-finances-football-league-financial-fair-play-investigation?[/quote]The problem is that most clubs below the Premier League do now seem to be complying, not least because FL sanctions appear to be working. But those clubs which break the rules (on the face of it this Leicester deal does look dubious, to put it mildly) and so get promoted can avoid sanctions, unless they get relegated, sooner or later. And if they then get fined they probably have the money (what with parachute payments etc) to pay up.

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What never ceases to amaze me is the energy levels of some of their players; Vardy, Mahrez, Albrighton, Kante to name but 4, all seem to have phenomenal speed & stamina levels.

Must be that Leicester have managed to unearth some prodigious natural athletes. Or perhaps it''s their training regime. Or diet. Or Something.

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More fairytale I think.

Although they have most definitely broken the FFP rules, the transformation from last season where they went on that run in the last 7 games to stay up when all hope looked lost, to beating the big teams this season to the PL title is so extraordinary.

Yes they have spent a lot, yet so have Newcastle, Everton, Stoke, Watford etc. yet it is them who''ve done it and like them their squad was only worth less than half of what the big teams are. Leicester will have a significantly less wage bill than the big teams and they''ve got there through scouting the right team, but most importantly they work harder than any other team, and thats why they''re gonna win it. Their work rate is the best I''ve seen from an English team for god knows how long.

Who would''ve thought this defensive line would win the PL?

Simpson Morgan Huth Fuchs

Extraordinary.

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Don''t think you can become a super performing athlete on jealousy. Though I did know an ultra competitive guy who became a youth middle distance champ through sheer determination.

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It''s a football fairytale...

I can''t be bothered to read the whole article as the whole FFP ruling is utter b*llocks.

It''s impossible to look at the current Leicester squad and say they''ve bought the title.

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"]The problem is that most clubs below the Premier League do now seem to be complying, not least because FL sanctions appear to be working.[/quote]The season before QPR''s loss was £69m of which Fernandez and others wrote off £60m. This loss was clearly against the Football League rules and the fine should have been in excess of £50m and yet they have been fined just £8m. Clearly worth the gamble if Premier League riches are achieved and no deterrent to clubs like Leicester.  

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It''s just a shame that when a smaller club does something extraordinary it has to be explained by breaking the rules either financial or something more dubious.

Their success is a great boost for all smaller clubs, including ours, as it shows what can be achieved with ambition, good management, fantastic team spirit and luck.

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It doesn''t HAVE to be explained by either of those things.

Our success under Lambert was incredible, almost inexplicable, but personally I think it was just everything coming together at once. Our stars were in alignment.

But we didn''t have a bunch of players with Leicester''s ability to play at an unbelievable tempo for 90 minutes, which is one of the main factors in their success. I can''t think of any other team, even at the top level, with such a consistent level of athleticism in their squad, that''s all.

They probably just got lucky.

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[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="PurpleCanary"]The problem is that most clubs below the Premier League do now seem to be complying, not least because FL sanctions appear to be working.[/quote]The season before QPR''s loss was £69m of which Fernandez and others wrote off £60m. This loss was clearly against the Football League rules and the fine should have been in excess of £50m and yet they have been fined just £8m. Clearly worth the gamble if Premier League riches are achieved and no deterrent to clubs like Leicester.[/quote]I should have added........http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/aug/18/qpr-fine-financial-fair-play-8m

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Seems Bournemouth covered the most ground. Leicester come in just above half way.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/premier-league-clubs-covered-most-6677204

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[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="PurpleCanary"]The problem is that most clubs below the Premier League do now seem to be complying, not least because FL sanctions appear to be working.[/quote]The season before QPR''s loss was £69m of which Fernandez and others wrote off £60m. This loss was clearly against the Football League rules and the fine should have been in excess of £50m and yet they have been fined just £8m. Clearly worth the gamble if Premier League riches are achieved and no deterrent to clubs like Leicester.[/quote]I should have added........http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/aug/18/qpr-fine-financial-fair-play-8m[/quote]Lapps, I saw that report when it came out in August 2015, and other papers followed suit, saying that was what was going to happen. But I have never seen it confirmed as a decision. And at our AGM in October Bowkett said the matter had not been settled, and a few weeks after that I think it was the Brighton chairman who said clubs were not letting it drop. Googling this does not throw up any definitive decision.That said, if QPR only have to pay £8m they will plainly have got away with it, and Leicester (if guilty) may too. But other clubs certainly have been hit with serious sanctions.

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="lappinitup"]This article in today''s guardian by David Conn poses some interesting questions and if true, once again shows clubs are ignoring FFP (see also QPR).http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/11/leicester-city-finances-football-league-financial-fair-play-investigation?[/quote]The problem is that most clubs below the Premier League do now seem to be complying, not least because FL sanctions appear to be working. But those clubs which break the rules (on the face of it this Leicester deal does look dubious, to put it mildly) and so get promoted can avoid sanctions, unless they get relegated, sooner or later. And if they then get fined they probably have the money (what with parachute payments etc) to pay up.[/quote]To take this forward, I am not sure what sanctions are currently available for what crimes, but one idea to punish clubs that cheat to get promotion would be (when they get relegated) to add, for example, a transfer embargo, on top of the normal fine.

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HC, do you really believe that Newcastle have put in more miles than Leicester? Also I''d like to see the average speed of those miles.

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"]To take this forward, I am not sure what sanctions are currently available for what crimes, but one idea to punish clubs that cheat to get promotion would be (when they get relegated) to add, for example, a transfer embargo, on top of the normal fine.[/quote]I realise the Premier League and the Football League are separate entities but I don''t understand why promotion should absolve clubs from penalties if they break the rules. As it stands, clubs who fail to get promotion have to face the consequences and yet those who succeed are free until such time they are once again relegated which could take years. Obviously a points reduction won''t apply because the Prem is a different entity but a massive fine could be applied so promotion wouldn''t be worthwhile. Or maybe even insist on up-to-date accounts one month before the season finishes so offending clubs can have points deducted before the table is finalised. That''d teach ''em. [;)]   

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Not interested in FFP, no one said a dickybird when Chelsea and Man City bought their titles, LCFC have been the most refreshing thing in top flight uk footy since us 92/93.

I Hope they win the title, and if not that, come second and qualify auto for the group stage. Then i hope they are drawn in a group with Ajax, Benfica and any Italian team. The first two because they are definitely beatable, but moreso that i would be able to watch them in the respective away matches. But for me the real funny bit would be watching them take on Juve, or Napoli.......do any teams in Italy play with that intensity?...maybe Parma can inform.

Good luck to them, they''ve earned it.

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As some are aware the PL rules on FFP are virtually non existent. However Leicester would never in their wildest dreams have thought they would qualify for the champions league. UEFA do have pretty stringent rules. If you qualify for one of their competitions you must provide your accounts for FFP procedures.

Will be interesting to see if they broke FFP in the 2015 / 2016 season as they will be answerable to UEFA

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''''As some are aware the PL rules on FFP are virtually non existent. However Leicester would never in their wildest dreams have thought they would qualify for the champions league. UEFA do have pretty stringent rules. If you qualify for one of their competitions you must provide your accounts for FFP procedures.

Will be interesting to see if they broke FFP in the 2015 / 2016 season as they will be answerable to UEFA ''''....WBB

You''re dead right WBB.The trouble with FPP is that it is saying ''between the lines'' that if your owner is rich enough, then buy who you want, do whatever. now, is that Financial Fair Play ?

Personally i dont really give a sh1te about the money side, i just love watching 22 people play our lovely game. in the best possible taste, of course.

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People, but clubs especially, can cry all they like about FFP but it was brought in in stages, clubs had ample opportunity to set their houses in order before it was fully implemented. Its quite funny how many Ipswich fans blame FFP for their predicament, when in actual fact Evans is using an excuse to turn out allegedly empty pockets.FFP in the Premiership may as well not be there. Which is a shame, as when the concept was floated I saw it as a potential leveler.

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Mort, i think the only real leveler would be some kind of (and i hate to say this) American style draft system , which of course couldnt work in ''soccer'' cos is a worldwide game.

i think its unfixable, as tv money and sponsorship makes the whole package so lucrative, for those involved...not the punter, that no one with the ability to change it, would do so.

I hope i am wrong.

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[quote user="ron obvious"]HC, do you really believe that Newcastle have put in more miles than Leicester? Also I''d like to see the average speed of those miles.[/quote]

Well I don''t know Ron. I put that article forward to counter your assertion that no other club had stamina levels like Leicester and that that was somehow being achieved dubiously. I wanted to show that their performance levels aren''t as outlandish or extreme as you''re suggesting.

It''s such a shame their achievements are being tarnished by accusations of doping and financial irregularity when really all the regular top teams have have huge advantages over the rest of us for so long. I even heard a Man Utd supporter on six 0 six the other night claiming that referees were deliberately not giving decisions against Leicester because they didn''t want to be responsible for killing the dream. As if his team haven''t had the refereeing rub of the green for the last couple of decades or more.

What is happening at Leicester gives all clubs our size real hope that the monopoly at the top of the league just might not be as unbreakable as it once was. It would be good to take that for what it is rather than try and devalue it with conspiracy theories that can''t be substantiated

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[quote user="wcorkcanary"]Mort, i think the only real leveler would be some kind of (and i hate to say this) American style draft system , which of course couldnt work in ''soccer'' cos is a worldwide game.

i think its unfixable, as tv money and sponsorship makes the whole package so lucrative, for those involved...not the punter, that no one with the ability to change it, would do so.

I hope i am wrong.[/quote]I think the trouble is that when I thought it would be some kind of leveller, there were a fair few clubs in the Premiership I would have put us on par with, but I struggle to think of one who hasn''t got some kind of backer with more money than us.Yeah the money is huge, but as soon as you have a bit more than the next guy, you have an advantage.Nah we have gone too far now for a draft style system to work, Sky has such a control over the league, its all up to them how it progresses.

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Many teams have spent multi millions (newcastle, liverpool to name just two) without getting to a title - so for Leicester to get this close is simply stunning. First new English champions since the ''70s shows just how monumental the achievement will be

However the two options in the tag line are not mutually exclusive, with the stark performance upturn in results, performance (vardys goals pre April 14) and physical capability suggests a conclusion of fairytale cheats seems apt.

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Yes, ZLF, that''s what Puzzles me. When we had our success under Lambert it was due to a whole number of factors with a team of players of completely different types. Leicester seem to have just two types; canny, strong defenders & a bunch of whippets. The first time I saw them I was full of admiration, I thought, " their energy is fantastic, but they''ll never maintain it through a season". But they have. I''m old now, & have seen a lot of teams & a lot of players, but never one with anything like so many consistently athletic players, week in week out - even some of the great Liverpool teams.

I just genuinely do not understand it - but I''m quite open to believe it''s just ''one of those things'', that blind chance has thrown it together.

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