Harty discusses the future of football
ALBION supremo Dick Knight raised a few eyebrows last week when he was the only chairman in the Football League to vote against the proposed 'quota' system.
But on explanation, I can understand why he took the stance as it all appeared to be very much a case of lip service.
The proposal would have seen every club have to name at least four players, regardless of nationality, in their 16 match day squad, who had been registered by the club for three years prior to their 21st birthday.
As it turned out, every club involved had all adhered to this proposal in their last fixture. So, as Knight pointed out, the vote seemed fairly pointless. He also stated that the new rule needed to go further.
While a lot of people point the finger at Mrs Thatcher for being the original architect of our current financial plight, could the same be said for the late Ted Heath, who signed up to the Treaty of Rome in 1972, when it comes to the number of EU players we have in this country?
Without wishing to sound like Alf Garnett, there are too many foreign players in this country, which ultimately stifles the development of young English players.
This, in turn, will one day affect the overall quality of our national side but, then again, with half the Premiership in the hands of foreign owners, do they really care about the England team?
Dick Knight is right, change has to come. The quota system is a good idea but would it actually turn it on its head?
On a match day, of the 16 players named on the team sheet, I would allow up to three from EU countries, one non-EU player, and the rest have to hold a British passport.
A salary cap would also be for the best in my opinion. I would like to see clubs being told they can spend no more than 51 per cent of their total income on player wages, and if clubs are caught flouting this rule, the first time they lose 10 points, and the second time they get automatically relegated.
On the financial front, perhaps another idea worth looking at is a return to the original policy of away teams getting a share of gate receipts.
The Albion are one of the best supported clubs away from home in League One, yet see none of the income generated by the travelling support.
To my mind, that's grossly unfair, so another proposal would be that clubs receive 40 per cent of the ticket income generated by their respective travelling support.
In a week where locally we have seen two of Worthing's best loved pubs boarded up, and Woolworths and MFI both going to the wall, the credit crunch will eventually hit football. At least one club, maybe more, could go down the same route as two of the country's best known retailers.
Perhaps the changes I've suggested might be too late for some clubs.
As I understand it, at least one, perhaps two, Premiership clubs could go into administration in the next quarter, barring a fire sale of players in January, which will almost guarantee relegation. But, for others, it might be enough to stave off either administration or even closure.
Some people in football think they are immune. The problem is they're not, and if it doesn't put its own house in order, then 2009 could be a landmark year for the domestic game for all the wrong reasons.
And finally, on a lighter note, I'd like to wish all of the readers a very merry Christmas and prosperous new year.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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