Ground Share on Merseyside

Before I even write a word I’m sure that the majority of both Everton fans and Liverpool fans will be united in being abruptly against a ground share on Merseyside.

But why, I frequently ask this question to which the most common and probably my favourite response “It just wouldn’t work….” Well it is possible, it has been done before by equally reputable clubs, and so what is stopping it from working in Liverpool.

I’m left only to assume that is us, the fans, that won’t let it work.
Will we all stop going to our home games? I can’t see that happening.
Will we sabotage the ground? Well no set of fans would be so naive to hinder their own clubs finances.

Will violence break out in the stands? Well so it may. Although if it does, a new stadium will be better equipped to deal with such an outbreak of violence during a derby match than our current ageing homes. In fact our clubs have been on the contrary frequently commended for being so hospitable in having blue shirts in the red end and vice versa.

It really does just make good business sense

Let us pretend for now that the fans do not oppose a ground share, how could it benefit both Everton and Liverpool? First and foremost, we get a brand spanking new stadium for half price. That’s right, Liverpool pay half, Everton pay half.

We already have the perfect location well prepared for the building of a new stadium, of which Gillett and Hicks pumped what’s said to be approximately £30 million of Liverpool money into.

It’s almost a football fairy tale in itself. The park which once divided us becomes the home to which we are united.

Selling a stadium’s naming rights is one of the biggest financial incomes a Premier league football club can obtain… Arsenal received approximately 100 million for 15 years of naming rights, this included an 8 year shirt sponsorship. Some clubs have struggled to find naming sponsorship, such as Chelsea, Spurs and Newcastle. However it seems much easier to gain naming rights for a new stadium.

If Liverpool and Everton were to share a ground, it makes reasonable sense to assume that we could barter for one of the best naming rights deals on the continent. There would be a home game almost every weekend, not to mention both teams are in Europe, and never mind the number of friendlies and testimonials. Possibly even a friendly tournament alike the Emirates Cup. The Premier League is also the most watched football league on the planet. Any fruitful offer which matches or exceeds that of the deals that have already been splashed out would result in a vast amount of the stadium development being paid for.

If this is not something any set of fans find appealing they should consider how much worse it will feel to have our current homes renamed.

Modern stadiums are built to take on a multitude of functions today, from weddings, bar mitzvahs, funerals, and various corporate events. If we were to build a new stadium we would be accumulating much more money through such events than we currently do. A New stadium would be purpose built to facilitate various functions, unlike our current makeshift approaches. You only have to compare a stadium tour of the Emirates to that of one at Anfield to recognise the colossal short comings of an older stadium. You could suggest that the two clubs would then have to share the spoils. Yet in a new stadium we would be able to carry out more functions simultaneously. Staff fees are also halved and that applies equally to the general general upkeep of the stadium and its facilities. Match stewards, kiosk workers, ticket box people, porters and catering staff would all have work every weekend.

A new stadium going ahead would bring much more work in general to a city with one of the lowest rates of unemployment. Besides the building of the new stadium, the current stadiums location would surely take on new role as possibly flats, housing etc. Possibly even a multi story car park. Car parks bring in substantial money, both on match days and throughout the week. Even selling the land in which both clubs currently inhibit would help bring greater funds into the stadium kitty and bring in more jobs to the city.

Possibly one downfall to the whole argument is that it may no longer feel like home. This feeling however would be the same whether we bought a stadium to share or had it alone. This issue may just spark some exciting innovation which makes Stanley Park Stadium all that bit more iconic. Bayern and 1860 Munich have the stadium vary in colour depending on whose match day it is. I would love to see what we could come up with.

The only problem that should remain is the negotiations between the boards of each club. How much should Everton provide for the already purchased Stanley Park?

As one Everton fan said in regards to the stadium share argument “It makes sense; but then when has sense ever triumphed over ignorance and bigotry”.

The owners of both clubs have expressed somewhat of an interest. If both sets of fans stand behind the idea than we can sooner see our clubs flourish, bringing football’s spotlight on the red and blue of Merseyside not Manchester.

Changing the SPL

With the demise of Rangers can Scottish football ever move forward?

This summer has thrown up a lot of turmoil in Scottish football. Rangers were forced into liquidation after HMRC rejected an audacious offer to receive 8p for every pound they were owed. They were instead offered a place in the third division, Scotland’s fourth tier.

The SPL has now lost its much coveted old firm derbies which has already led to a massive reduction in TV revenues for every club in the SPL. Scottish clubs were had already been struggling financially as the days are long gone where a club could pay £12million on one player (Tore Andre Flo). Where across European leagues clubs are having increasingly lucrative budgets since the 90s and 00s, the average budget in the SPL has in fact declined. Even Scotland's top clubs have become merely astepping stone to England. Celtic’s Ki public omission of his honour in making it to England illustrates this abundantly.

Celtic, now without debate, Scotland’s biggest club have seemingly embraced their new position in the hierarchy, buying players based on potential which can then be sold to any of the EPL’s 20 clubs whom all boast bigger budgets.

Is there any way to bring the good times back?

There has been talk of increasing the number of clubs in the SPL This has been met with mixed reaction, TV revenue would have to be split between more teams. However teams might be willing to take more financial risks with the threat of relegation eased.

Play offs are a big part of English football. Could they work in Scotland?

With Scotland’s second tier consisting of only 10 teams, a play off would result in halve the league’s teams being in contention for promotion. A more realistic version would be involving one team from the top flights relegation zone in the play offs. This would give them a second chance to stay in the league. Furthermore having a team from the top division may make such a play off scenario more appetising for television producers.

What about something outside the box?

A change to summer football could be the spark that Scottish football desperately requires.

The Scottish SPL has been subject to many alterations over the last decade or more, yet it has failed to prevent its steady decline. Some may suggest that no big leagues take place during the summer. This however could be the change to both the rule and Scottish football. We can all feel starved of football over the summer, nothing but wacky transfer rumours being pulled out of hats to keep us entertained. Scottish Football could change all that. With little viewing competition coming from other leagues, and millions of football deprived fans, this could be the perfect solution to both gaining greater TV revenue and filling stadium seats with bums.

Don’t like it?
Got a better solution?
Than please share…

By Adam Murray

Tapping Up: The Forgotten Rule of Football

Here we are again, another summer of whispers and murmurs. We hear rumours of ‘tapping up’, but no formal allegations are made. In fact, not one football club has invoked the Premier League’s Section K rule on illegal approaches since 2005 when Chelsea were fined £300,000 for their dishonourable approach in pinching Ashley Cole from Arsenal.

Are we to believe in such case that tapping up has been quashed?

According to the rules and regulations formed and apparently enforced by FIFA and the FA, a football club must not form contact with either a player or his agent without acquiring permission from the football club he is currently under contract with.

In light of these clearly outlined rules it is easy to recognise how a meeting in the Royal Park Hotel involving Ashley Cole of Arsenal, his agent, the then chief executive of Chelsea Peter Kenyon and Manage José Mourinho would be considered an illegal approach by Chelsea Football Club.

Although tapping up has never been so profusely exposed since 2005, only the FA could be so ignorant in believing that tapping up has been eliminated for nearly 7 years. Tapping up today has merely become more complex, albeit often more transparent than ever before.

Contact being made between both club and player agents remains one of the most typical forms of tapping up. For the most part, this form of tapping up is difficult to expose. However every summer, discretion is thrown out of the window. Just this year we have seen the media reveal both Demba Ba’s and Joe Allen’s release clauses. These figures should not have been unveiled unless another club’s approach met that figure. If things are as they appear, it can surely be assumed that the player’s agent has spoken to either a media source or the club itself. Liverpool was once fined by the FA in similar circumstances when they ‘fortunately’ made a bid for Christian Ziege in 2002, which met the release clause fee exactly.
For as much as Liverpool has fallen guilty of tapping up, they will also find themselves victim. It all seems very much to be a case of swings and roundabouts. Just last year, Liverpool fans watched in horror as their player of the year was snatched up by in the closing hour of the transfer window. Raul Meireles handed in a impromptu transfer request which was shortly followed, in what felt like minutes by a formal Chelsea bid. Contact was undoubtedly made between player and club, yet no prosecution.

Agents have obviously got a financial incentive, who can blame them, its their job. And most people, even some footballers (Benoît Assou-Ekotto) are in their job to make money. So when you have the stinking rich Manchester city waving wads of cash about, who can blame the agents of Samir Nasri and dare I suggest it Robin Van Persie for wanting a little sniff. How can a player and his agent, after illegitimately getting a nose full of whatever City are offering, then accept what would now appear a substandard deal from their current club.

Even if this form of tapping up fails, it still has negative consequences for the club who have fallen victim. At the least the club are forced to offer their player an inflated deal. For the perpetrators of this unlawful approach result is always a plus.

Wenger, who it seems has fallen victim to tapping up more than any other Premier League manager had this to say when he was asked whether he believed Manchester City had overstepped the mark in their pursuit of Nasri. "I would like to return the question to you – what do you think? We live in a realistic world. I do not want to assess what I cannot prove. I know how things happen.”
It need not have been a journalist that Wenger returned the question to. Every football fan that follows the transfer window closely can see tapping up laid bare. Barcelona’s crude pursuit of Cesc Fàbregas over many years demonstrates what Wenger called a lack of respect for the rule. Almost every pivotal figure amongst the club had aired their single minded views. Furthermore the situation with Fàbregas illustrated most how no matter what any governing body do, it is almost impossible to prevent clubs using their international players as messengers between pursuing clubs and targets.
It seems the FA has sat on the fence for far too long now. Either the FA scrap the rule or enforce the rule more comprehensively.

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