Everton back Uefa financial plan

[Gazmo1]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/e/everton/7477106.stm

Everton chief executive Keith Wyness has backed Uefa's plans to redistribute prize money among clubs in European competition more evenly.

Everton received £400,000 from reaching the last 16 of the Uefa Cup last season, while Champions League winners Manchester United netted £33.9m.

"If the current situation continues, clubs will not be able to compete," Wyness told the club's website.

"The gaps in domestic leagues across Europe will become larger and larger."

European football's governing body is trying to persuade English clubs to accept a smaller chunk of the Champions League pot after it was revealed British clubs made up 26% of the £462m total Champions League television and sponsorship revenues last season.

Champions League runners-up Chelsea earned £28.7m, while semi-finalists Liverpool scooped £21.1m after beating Arsenal, who made £18.3m, in the last eight.

In comparison, Tottenham and Bolton each earned £352,000 and Aberdeen £265,000 from their Uefa Cup forays.

The figures did not include gate receipts or matchday revenue.

Wyness said a change was necessary to ensure the Premier League remained competitive.

"At Everton our aim is to bridge the gap in the Premier League," Wyness added on the club's website.

We certainly believe we are moving in the right direction following the progress the team has made over the last few season and are now calling on the football authorities in Europe to aid us in our bid."

Uefa will try to earn the support of the European Strategy Council, the consultative body representing clubs, leagues, players and associations, to implement changes to the revenue structure, which is currently fixed until 2010.

Earlier this month, Uefa spokesman William Gaillard said: "We are well aware there are some imbalances in the revenue distribution which have a negative effect in national leagues by widening the gap between the rich and not so rich.

"We will talk to the clubs and see how they feel, and try to convince them that in the longer run it is not in their interest if, because of the way money is distributed, national leagues become too imbalanced."

So our clubs make up 26% of the total revenue. Would UEFA even be having this discussion is so much of the money was going to one place? Would they be bothered if that 26% was spread between England, Spain and Germany?

Of course Everton will agree, ******s. An imbalance, there is an imbalance because some teams like United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool has invested money to make it into the CL and be successful and are rightly being rewarded in prize money. Which let's face it isn't that much of a return on what some teams invest.

I guess they want the Tesco business model to apply to football.

[dww]

But surely such a system harm competition. I have to say that I think the imbalance is unhealthy in the long run. What would you say are the benefits of having a self perpetuating elite which no other teams can afford to break into?

If anything the model is too much like the Tesco one - the companies with the big money squeeze out competition and reduce the variability and interest of teh marketplace.

My problem with these plans is not so much that they exist but that they appear to exist as political tools designed to get greater power for international football and central bodies like UEFA. Increasing the sustainable competitive nature of football is a laudable aim, who wouldn't prefer it to be a plausible for teams to be owned by genuine fans than foreign billionaires and still compete? The problem is that the plans as presented are always an attack on the rich with no plan of how to introduce them and no sensible way to allow teams to grow within the framework.