Everton and Nottingham Forest have both fallen foul of the league’s Profit and Sustainability rules this season, leading to points deductions, with an overhaul of the financial system in England’s top flight now in the offing
Andy Gray has warned the Premier League will no longer attract the best players in the world if restrictive financial rules continue to be in place.
He has seen former club Everton and Nottingham Forest fall foul of the Profit and Sustainability rules while a UEFA style Financial Fair Play system is set to replace the current controversial structure.
But for the Goodison Park and Aston Villa legend there is a bigger picture. “The Premier League need to be careful. The thing about it for the last 30 years is the ability to attract some of the top foreign players to help make it the best league in the world,” he stated.
“If we restrict the clubs in continuing to do this because they are running scared of breaking financial rules then other leagues will get the top players. That would be a huge worry because the standard of the Premier League would invariably drop.
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“Of course we don’t want to see clubs bankrupting themselves but in the grand scheme of things I can’t think of too many big clubs who have gone to the wall. Some smaller clubs have had their problems but not the big hitters.”
Gray who won the League title with Everton also says that financial constraints helps maintain the cartel of the same small band of clubs repeating his achievement.
“For instance with suffocating financial rules in place the Premier League are denying one of my old clubs Aston Villa, with ambitious multi-millionaire owners, the opportunity of spending some decent money to bring in better players,” Gray added.
“They should be allowed to do that otherwise it’s a closed shop. That’s not good for football in this country. You want to see Aston Villa doing what they are doing this season, challenging for a Champions League spot as Newcastle United did last season.
“In TV parlance it’s like having the old cartel of BBC and ITV running football. How much better has it been for the viewer opening it up for other platforms?
“Why can’t an up and coming club be allowed to spend and threaten the current cartel? Look at the excitement Wrexham have generated by spending lower down the leagues. They will soon probably run into rules governing their spending.”
Gray who with Richard Keys fronts the successful Premier League coverage in Qatar for beIN Sports also feels Everton and Nottingham Forest have been unfairly targeted.
“Regarding Manchester City we are still waiting on those 115 charges which is ridiculous when you think what has happened to Everton and Nottingham Forest,” he added. “Who knows what is going to happen to Chelsea?”
But with financial worries hovering over the whole of the Premier League whose popularity has soared with the influx of world stars Gray is concerned over its future drawing power.
He stressed: “Okay we need to watch what we are doing but we shouldn’t restrict teams going out and buying the best players enabling us to enjoy watching them play in the best league.
“I’m worried we are going to influence the quality in the league.”
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