Rich boys toys but how long will they stay around?

Manchester City won the league title but many would say they bought it. Their bench is worth more than most of the teams in the lower tier of the Premier League but perhaps not for much longer.

It is hoped that all clubs will soon be able to play against each other on a more even playing field.

There will be new regulations based on UEFA's Financial Fair Play and comes after the Football League's research revealed the 72 clubs of the Championship, League One and League Two are on course to accumulate £2bn of debt.

From 2013/14 it will come into effect in the Premier League. The players will still get rich from the game; to the clubs it’s a kind of safety net, and one that’s needed.

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Clubs like Plymouth and Portsmouth have been badly managed by so called wealthy owners and when it went wrong it went very wrong. At the end of the day the owners can lick their wounds but what about the fans?

Look at Scotland and see Rangers, a club wrecked by financial mismanagement.

Following a football team is like choosing who you’re going to marry; to a loyal and true fan it’s pure love no matter what. The only thing you can’t do is stop your club going out of business.

I’m not a great admirer of any of the governing bodies but for once UEFA are doing something positive and dare I say it; right.

While I’m not saying rich owners are a bad thing I fear when they’ve had enough of the club and pull out what will happen then?

The club will slowly melt down and who is it that suffers? The staff and more importantly the fans will feel it the most.

The one thing the owner of Chelsea has always wanted is the Champions League and now he has it why should he stay around?

If he bails out, Chelsea are in serious trouble and even though they’re just up the road I wouldn’t want that to happen; all of football would feel it.

The same could happen to Manchester City; it’s almost as if the fans are at the owner’s mercy.

I don’t think the effect of the financial fair play scheme will be felt for some seasons to come but surely the financial security of our clubs is paramount; to the fans.

I recommend you see the film, ‘The 4 year plan,’ it’s about the team I support - QPR. But it’s more than a film about just the playing side; our two previous owners don’t come out of it looking to good and that’s their own fault.

I’m so pleased Tony Fernandes came in and bought the club; a man true to his word. Not the richest owner by any means but how many other chairmen sit with the fans and meet them in the pubs? I didn’t think so!

Are you worried about the power club owners wield over fans?

image: © Free-ers