No UEFA No Cry : Other Opportunities For Manchester City
By David Crook
There is an old quote from Benjamin Franklin about how out of adversity comes opportunity.
Manchester City sit in the midst of a crisis, in part at least, of their own making. But this is not an article about how we have reached this point in the sorry debacle. Instead this is a look at what Benjamin Franklin would say are the opportunities arising from this crisis.
At the outset though it should be said that to really turn a crisis into success there are some commonly agreed steps which should be taken according to experts. Indeed, there is even a Ted Talk about it!
Usually the path out of crisis starts with acceptance and then turns into taking responsibility, but we are not going to deal with any of that here given this particular crisis.
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We will start by identifying new goals. Should the UEFA ban be upheld then City will be outside the European elite for a couple of seasons at least. That will mean some of our best players may consider whether City can meet their dreams and hopes and it will mean a shortfall in revenues which could ironically thrust City back into FFP problems.
What City must do therefore to arrest any decline is to replace the UEFA Champions League with another lucrative competition, which can be played midweek.
Whether that is a competition including other disgruntled European clubs, clubs from within the CFG stable or most exciting some teams from other continents, I am not sure. All options could be considerded.
As a friendly competition carried out between consenting clubs there is no oversight by UEFA. We can sell the broadcast and sponsor rights to the highest bidder. If we really wanted to get salty we could even call it ‘The League of Champions’.
If that prize money on the table amounted to around £80 million then the loss of Champions League income makes no discernible difference. In fact player bonuses could be parallel ensuring the squad is not inconvenienced at all. Other than in a sporting sense of course.
Of course if a broadcast deal involved free to air then that could really also devalue the TV rights available to UEFA for their flagship competition which could be considered a bonus.
Such an approach would attract the ire of UEFA, but if we are not competing in their competitions there is little they could do. Other Premier League Clubs would also be jealous but perhaps others we like could even join us?
And that is where it all gets really interesting, because being forced outside by UEFA may mean we become self sufficient entirely. And in those circumstances, why would we ever want to go back?
As it stands, if City erode the existing 2 year Champions League ban then we could compete in that competition again but the reality is would we want to? Would City fans really want to watch?
Or how about a new tournament, offering jeopardy and different teams and experiences? As Benjamin Franklin intimated, there really are many potential solutions for City arising from this crisis. The future may well be very different, but still blue.