Uli has been spoiling us: Dating the fans Tales of the unexpected Bundesliga top of the shots (again)
Really good Uli piece with a cliffhanger for part II which comes tomorrow.... http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/933719/fifty-plus-one-of-a-kind---part-i?cc=5901
It is clear how Uli will continue ... but it is his story. Nicely written with a hilarious video he refers to. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr4gtE-WnK4"]Eintracht Frankfurt assembly 1988[/ame]
I remember this pretty well. What I didn't remember was that female news broadcasters used to wear ties back then.
I'm wondering if the 50+1 rule would really be toppled by a court. The DFB obviously can't prohibit a takeover, a court would rule that indeed illegal. But the DFB (or maybe the DFL, not sure who does it) could revoke the license for the Bundesliga or generally the league structure which would kill the club. I don't know if DFB or DFL have such a rule but I could imagine them putting one in if necessary. I could think that a court would accept that.
Well, that's the current rule. Otherwise the whole thing would be pretty pointless, considering that not allowing clubs to take part in their leagues is already the only thing the DFL can do to prevent clubs from doing pretty much eveything.
1860's deal with their minority investor was the first step to eliminating the 50+1 rule IMHO. I would suspect that the rule will eventually come under a challenge in the ECJ. Now, whether that results in it being held as "illegal" is another issue. Don't know.
1860 isn't the first Bundesliga club with such a minority investor. Hannover's president is threatening to take it to the ECJ, though I expect the rule to be amended so as to allow long-term minority investors to be eventually allowed to take over a majority. I'm afraid the dam will break and we'll have a quite different league structure in 20-30 years.
even if the rule is broken, the club members would still have to vote to sell off their pro section to investors. nobody can make them do it if they don't want it. as the vast majority of fans are against breaking the rule, they would most likely be against selling of their clubs even if they get the chance to do it.
You are following Kind's line of reasoning here, actually. Basically he said that half of all EPL clubs as well as a few Spanish ones were in the hands of fools. lol.
You do not need investors to be in the hands of fools. 1860 has been in the hands of foolish fan bases for a LONG time with a corresponding Board to match. I, for one, welcome the minority investor. Maybe he can get things back on track.
I wasn't saying it's right or wrong. Experience just shows that football club presidents are fools more often than not. (End of the GDR anyone?) And I agree, it usually is better for them not to be run by fools (96 under fools: Regionallige Nord-Ost; 96 under Kind: Europa League). I like the idea of only allowing it to parties that have shown long-term interest, though.
Well, that's football. I can tell you from 30 years in the business world that fools abound everywhere, not just in football. One man's fool is another man's President. Agree. But unfortunately fools don't run around with a big "L" on their head warning us that they are losers and cannot manage their way out of a wet paper bag. More often than not we need to give them the chance to show what they can do HOPING that they know what they are doing. However, all too often they show us they are morons once in the position. Just look at recent American Presidents for proof of this theory. What determines "long-term interest"? What is the correlation between someone with long-term interest and their demonstrating they know what they are doing? What is the correlation between knowing what you are doing and success? History shows us even investors (in ANY industry) who know what they are doing AND are in it for the long-term, still are not necessarily successful. In 1860's case, our minority investor is saying all the right things. He is demanding financial transparency. He is advocating conservative fiscal management and adherence to a budget. He is demanding long-term planning within these constraints. He is asking for accountability among the Board, the organization and the players. So, while there are no guarantees that his policies will be successful, he is not simply pulling an Abramovich and pumping money into a club. If Ismaik's model for 1860 continues long these lines I would have high hopes that, should other German clubs follow suit, that such a model would be beneficial to German clubs. The 1860 model will certainly be watched closely by the DFL. I hope it succeeds.
not exactly a new article but it hasn't been posted on BS yet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/944258/you-can't-beat-the-system?cc=5901
Uli now also writes a weekly Bundesliga rundown: Bundesliga Weekly: Uncertainty interfering with play Bundesliga Weekly: Confusion and comebacks Bundesliga Weekly: Eleven: The magic number? Bundesliga Weekly: Twelve - Goals galore Column: Breaking the wind of change Coach's corner
Saw this article linked in another thread, and since I have critized some of his pieces here I thought I might as well link to one I can't find a fault with http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/may/01/german-fairytale-champions-league-spiel Of course in the comments there he already gets accused of being anti-German .