Saudi Arabia taking over football

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weimaranerblues
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Premier League: Newcastle United clear to loan Saudi Pro League players after vote

Think we will see who voted

On loan players should now be allowed to play against there parent club but won't happen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67490620

Shambles
Bluedylan1
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I didn't realise that Newcastle's owners took over the 4 leading clubs in Saudi Arabia recently.

So effectively Newcastle can have their pick and choice of loans (and buys) from all the high level mercenaries who've gone to Saudi to make a shitload of money, and then fancy being back in the Prem at some stage.

Nothing remotely unjust or troubling about that at all.
Granite
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13 teams objected: I assume the “6” and Newcastle were in favour.
Shogun
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I'm surprised it already hasn't been taken advantage of. Is there anything to stop Doku signing for Melbourne City for £60m and then going on loan to Man City and it not affecting their FFP?
TheRam
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Granite wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 5:56 pm 13 teams objected: I assume the “6” and Newcastle were in favour.
Nope.

Will be us, wolves, forest, Sheffield United and I imagine Bournemouth and city.
Shogun
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https://twitter.com/martynziegler/status/1727041274987807230
Gash
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Maybe we've a late Saudi led bid waiting in the wings to take us over.
Goaljira
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Gash wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2023 8:22 pm Maybe we've a late Saudi led bid waiting in the wings to take us over.
777 aren't going to want anything affecting their multi-club model. Thought it would be a given we'd be against the vote.
Cods
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777s power in flipping the vote, wonder what that's worth?
Gash
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I'm sure the money's great but it's a totally different culture and as for the travelling it's a bit different to leaving your mansion in leafy Cheshire to go to training or a match.

No sympathy for any of them.
CannockPricey
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This was never ever going to work. You can't just drop a load of cash and expect a sport to take root.

If you go back in the history of Saudi football before all this, you have an 18 team top division and over half the league get attendances below 5k. Only 3/4 teams at best get over 10k historically so there isn't a structure of mass support of clubs. At best it has been like league 1 with a big club or two boosting attendances (Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ahly, Al Ittihad) a bit like Sunderland, Leeds, Sheff Wed, Forest have in their dips into league one.

The mass importation of foreigners after the initial hype has done more to alienate than it has to inspire fanbases and TV companies will not pay top money to show swathes and swathes of empty seats at their flagship events.

The Saudis have deep pockets but so did the Chinese when that was the hyped league and it didn't end up overtaking Europe either and there have been numerous attempts in North America going back to the Pele days of the 70s. This most recent one has been the most successful as they have gradually built the league, given clubs a local identity and not just flooded it with imports. It will still never be massive because the US has three established sports which it won't overtake.

Growing a sport to be anything like successful is a long term project and you need to build a support base gradually. The sheer wealth and ego of those involved in the ownership will keep Saudi football limping on a while longer than sensible but there is absolutely no chance of this getting anywhere close to the level of success mooted.

...however if it was all just a massive swindle by mega rich owners to show that FFP was unworkable in the world of multinational ownership then it might have served a purpose for them by the time it implodes.
Mouse
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I wasn't sure where to put this as it is a bit of a cross-over subject. An interesting article in the Guardian about the German Bundesliga supporters battle with the DFL about foreign investment and influence through TV and media rights. A battle the supporters, at least for the moment, appear to have won. Two things jump out, the two main equity funds trying to buy the rights were both Saudi backed funds. So, another attempt to wield influence over world football?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... rs-and-won

The other, for me, interesting take is the power of collective action. It is as a result of the pretty much united determination of all supporters clubs to disrupt matches (in inventive and often amusing ways) which has forced the League to re-think. I wonder is this a lesson we can learn in the EPL or are we too "tribal" in our support to work together? Are United, City, Shite, etc supporters content with the status quo of limited true competitiveness to really care what happens to us, Forest and the rest of the cannon fodder? For that matter, are we and Forest supporters arsed what happens to each other as long as it's alright for us?

There is precedent as the rejection of the Super League showed but that had pan-European momentum, would we (should we?) take a more collective approach to what effects us as fans? Finance and the football pyramid? Fit and proper ownership? Fan ownership? TV influence and control in football? Love or hate the Geordies an 8pm kick-off on a Saturday night in London is just the latest in crass TV manipulated timings which show no care at all for the supposed "life-blood" of football, the ticket buying fans.
Goaljira
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Mouse wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2024 10:14 am I wasn't sure where to put this as it is a bit of a cross-over subject. An interesting article in the Guardian about the German Bundesliga supporters battle with the DFL about foreign investment and influence through TV and media rights. A battle the supporters, at least for the moment, appear to have won. Two things jump out, the two main equity funds trying to buy the rights were both Saudi backed funds. So, another attempt to wield influence over world football?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... rs-and-won

The other, for me, interesting take is the power of collective action. It is as a result of the pretty much united determination of all supporters clubs to disrupt matches (in inventive and often amusing ways) which has forced the League to re-think. I wonder is this a lesson we can learn in the EPL or are we too "tribal" in our support to work together? Are United, City, Shite, etc supporters content with the status quo of limited true competitiveness to really care what happens to us, Forest and the rest of the cannon fodder? For that matter, are we and Forest supporters arsed what happens to each other as long as it's alright for us?

There is precedent as the rejection of the Super League showed but that had pan-European momentum, would we (should we?) take a more collective approach to what effects us as fans? Finance and the football pyramid? Fit and proper ownership? Fan ownership? TV influence and control in football? Love or hate the Geordies an 8pm kick-off on a Saturday night in London is just the latest in crass TV manipulated timings which show no care at all for the supposed "life-blood" of football, the ticket buying fans.
I said the other week, the fact is that if it was Villa or West Ham in our shoes we wouldn't give a fuck what happened to them, and we'd be saying 'Throw the book at the them'.
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