FFP

[Leonickroberts]

Nothing will happen to Derby at best a slap of the wrists.

Yep that's about the limit of it and I doubt there will be any slap on the wrists either. There will be a lot of pretend chuntering and a promise to tighten everything up so as it can't happen again. Big Deal!

If they haven't actually broken any rules, they don't deserve to be punished...

[NottinghamWhite]

Nothing will happen to Derby at best a slap of the wrists.

Yep that's about the limit of it and I doubt there will be any slap on the wrists either. There will be a lot of pretend chuntering and a promise to tighten everything up so as it can't happen again. Big Deal!

If they haven't actually broken any rules, they don't deserve to be punished...

Bielsa didn’t break any rules at Derbys training ground but still got fined £200k.

[Leonickroberts]

Nothing will happen to Derby at best a slap of the wrists.

Yep that's about the limit of it and I doubt there will be any slap on the wrists either. There will be a lot of pretend chuntering and a promise to tighten everything up so as it can't happen again. Big Deal!

If they haven't actually broken any rules, they don't deserve to be punished...

Bielsa didn’t break any rules at Derbys training ground but still got fined £200k.

We'd all disagree with the interpretation it, but the EFL claimed he was in breach of a specific law. All I'm saying is that the FFP rules aren't fit for purpose, and we shouldn't necessarily hold it against clubs who are taking advantage of their weaknesses. I really dislike Derby as a club, but creative accounting is different from rulebreaking (i.e. Villa).

If, following a review by EFL legal advisors, it turns out Derby broke a law under FFP by selling the ground to Morris, they deserve to be punished. If not, the EFL just have to accept they did a terrible job in not closing all loopholes in FFP and try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

A neat parallel is Cellino and the fit and proper owners test. Technically, he passed the test, and his lawyers totally out-manoeuvred the EFL to show this. His previous business track record might have breached the 'spirit' of the test, or what it was intended for (I very much think he did), but in the eyes of the EFL's own laws, he was fit to own a club, and they just had to accept their laws were rubbish.

[PhoenixUnited]

Nothing will happen to Derby at best a slap of the wrists.

Yep that's about the limit of it and I doubt there will be any slap on the wrists either. There will be a lot of pretend chuntering and a promise to tighten everything up so as it can't happen again. Big Deal!

If they haven't actually broken any rules, they don't deserve to be punished...

Bielsa didn’t break any rules at Derbys training ground but still got fined £200k.

We'd all disagree with the interpretation it, but the EFL claimed he was in breach of a specific law. All I'm saying is that the FFP rules aren't fit for purpose, and we shouldn't necessarily hold it against clubs who are taking advantage of their weaknesses. I really dislike Derby as a club, but creative accounting is different from rulebreaking (i.e. Villa).

If, following a review by EFL legal advisors, it turns out Derby broke a law under FFP by selling the ground to Morris, they deserve to be punished. If not, the EFL just have to accept they did a terrible job in not closing all loopholes in FFP and try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

A neat parallel is Cellino and the fit and proper owners test. Technically, he passed the test, and his lawyers totally out-manoeuvred the EFL to show this. His previous business track record might have breached the 'spirit' of the test, or what it was intended for (I very much think he did), but in the eyes of the EFL's own laws, he was fit to own a club, and they just had to accept their laws were rubbish.

Now hang on a minute. It's boring International fortnight so can I wade in and ask how many mouthpieces were having a rant about Bielsa having broken some unwritten code which all right minded managers in England, such as FF Lampard, know and follow.

What the Derby owner did was to completely circumvent the intended core principle since they were in deep doo doo. Clearly a case of double standards in my book

[Another Northern Soul]

You do know that Bielsa admitted he had done wrong and that he paid the £200k fine because he felt it was the right thing to do?

[Nic]

The EFL isn't fit for purpose, their fit & proper test is woeful, after-all how can they sanction someone who has previously had companies where 47 of the 53 have gone into liquidation to buy a club for £1. There are so many holes in its rules and run amateurly that it is often reacting to change things. They do really need to penalise Derby, though I'm not sure they will, otherwise clubs will flout it time and again and make FFP a mockery.

[Deleted User 3289]

Shaun Harvey needs to contact his old mate Kenneth Bates. He will provide the answers to all this silly talk of fraud. Once a shyster....

[Deleted User 5081]

The EFL isn't fit for purpose, their fit & proper test is woeful, after-all how can they sanction someone who has previously had companies where 47 of the 53 have gone into liquidation to buy a club for £1. There are so many holes in its rules and run amateurly that it is often reacting to change things. They do really need to penalise Derby, though I'm not sure they will, otherwise clubs will flout it time and again and make FFP a mockery.

I was going to agree with you 100% on this Nic as i agree with it in principle, they are a reactionary board, but, when i look at society as a whole and life in general nobody can predict the future and when a rule has been made it takes a certain length of time to see where the flaws are and there will always be loopholes and those who will break them legally or illegally. Derby have technically not broken any rules by selling the stadium to their owner same as Bielsa didn't either, but, the EFL have been so slow to close the loop holes in the first place that others are doing it like a domino effect if one club can get away with it why cant we sort of attitude.

The buck stops with the EFL board and no one else. If you want to implement rule changes on clubs to help stop the clubs from falling into bankruptcy then do a proper job of not allowing (a) Sky to control the TV rights (a personal pet hate) for pittance on EFL clubs. (b) Make sure that the fit and proper testing is done by someone who is actually fit and proper to do the darn test which is what it appears like to me. I mean who do the EFL hire for these tests?

[Grumpy]

You do know that Bielsa admitted he had done wrong and that he paid the £200k fine because he felt it was the right thing to do?

He didn’t admit he had done wrong with prior knowledge. He said that what he did was common practice where he comes from but accepted, when it was pointed out AFTER the event, that it was not common practice here and that if it was wrong, he apologised. He paid the fine himself because he said it was at his direction that the ‘observing’ took place and not the club’s.

[Another Northern Soul]

You do know that Bielsa admitted he had done wrong and that he paid the £200k fine because he felt it was the right thing to do?

He didn’t admit he had done wrong with prior knowledge. He said that what he did was common practice where he comes from but accepted, when it was pointed out AFTER the event, that it was not common practice here and that if it was wrong, he apologised. He paid the fine himself because he said it was at his direction that the ‘observing’ took place and not the club’s.

On another forum it was also said by an alleged insider that the club were relieved it was 'only' £200k.

The point is that lots of fans go on about the unfairness of the fine but no one in the club does.