Chapter 490: If you don't make a sound, you will be amazing.
What Scudmore said does make sense.
But making sense doesn't mean it will pass.
The reason is simple. For Manchester United and Arsenal, limiting player salaries and limiting agent commissions is equivalent to limiting the path for teams including Manchester City, Chelsea, and even Southampton to make sky-high signings.
It cannot be said that it has been completely cut off, but at least it has a certain limiting effect.
But for teams like Manchester City and Southampton, if they cannot improve their strength through signings, how can they compete with the giants? How can they have the opportunity to show their strength in the European arena?
So, there is truth in this, but things in the world are often complicated.
Just like the broadcasting rights for the Premier League are selling so well, all Premier League teams are making a lot of money, so everyone should be happy, right?
No, in fact, if a reporter asked the owners of the 20 teams present, he would definitely find that at least five teams were worried or even unhappy.
Don't be surprised, they are not fools or idiots, they will not be unhappy about making a lot of money.
The real reason they are unhappy is that by making more money, relegation will become more brutal than ever before.
Because the difference between the Championship and the Premier League is like heaven and hell, no one wants to be relegated to the Championship.
By then, the Premier League relegation battle will be a brutal war involving tens of millions of pounds. All teams will do everything they can to defeat their opponents and keep their seats in the Premier League.
Then, the team in danger of relegation will naturally not be happy.
The ones who are really happy are usually the upper-middle teams that are ranked high in the league and have no relegation threat.
Even the top teams
So, sometimes, reason doesn't make sense.
Finally, after a fierce debate, the two sides could only reach a consensus, which was to start negotiating the Premier League version of the financial fair play policy. The specific details will be initiated after the summit, and each club will send people to negotiate and discuss.
To put it bluntly, this policy still cannot prevent the club from spending money.
As long as you do not violate the Financial Fair Play policy, the Premier League will not care how little you spend and will spend as much as you want.
For Southampton, it makes little difference whether this policy is in place or not.
Yang Huan certainly likes to spend money, but given Southampton's current situation, how much is spent is not a problem.
If Financial Fair Play was a somewhat common topic, the next one was a little less popular.
Especially when Scudmore invited FA Chairman David Bernstein to explain this youth training reform plan, which was named the Glorious Revolution, at least half of the team owners present stood up to oppose it.
"Five percent?"
The entire conference room suddenly exploded.
"Mr. Bernstein, are you kidding me? You want us to take out 5% of the Premier League's revenue every year to support your youth training reform plan? Are you sure you didn't forget to take your medicine before going out?"
“That’s right, this is just a money grab.”
"Do you know how much money we waste every year for no reason?"
"Let me do the math for you. The parachute subsidies given to Premier League teams that were relegated in the past two seasons are more than 60 million pounds each year. The subsidies given to mid- and lower-level leagues have increased from 11.2 million pounds three years ago to 56.4 million pounds now, a full five times."
"In addition, we give £12m a year to Tony Blair and Keegan's Football Foundation, £17.3m a year to the Professional Footballers' Association and £10.8m a year to the Opportunity I Create programme.
"In addition, there are the Professional Referees Committee, the Professional Coaches Association, the youth training system, and the national league subsidy."
"Now you want us to pay 5% every year to support youth training. Are you sure?"
The club chairmen and owners present were all very angry when they heard about supporting youth training, and some even wanted to leave in anger.
Seeing this scene, David Bernstein was a little overwhelmed and could not help but look at Yang Huan immediately, with a pleading look in his eyes, as if to say, Master Huan, I can't hold it any longer, please say a few words.
Yang Huan looked at the poor old man and smiled slightly.
"Let me say a few words."
As soon as Young Master Huan opened his mouth, everyone present suddenly fell silent.
Many people looked at him silently, wanting to hear what he was saying.
After all, the entire Premier League knows that Yang Huan is the most thoughtful Premier League boss, and many times, his ideas are very advanced.
"I'll tell you what I think, but I have one request: please don't interrupt me before I finish. Thank you."
Everyone present nodded in agreement.
"First of all, let's make a premise that youth training must be carried out"
"I won't say a lot of high-sounding words. I'll just say one thing. I've counted the past three seasons. The Premier League's agents have taken more than 200 million pounds in commissions from the transfer of players from 20 teams. This money went into their pockets and did not flow back into the Premier League."
When Yang Huan said this, many people present opened their eyes wide.
More than 200 million pounds?
And this is the past three seasons?
On average, that's 70 million pounds a season.
This is equivalent to 14% of the domestic broadcasting rights of the Premier League for one season.
"I don't know if you have ever thought about why it has reached such an outrageous level. It means that every year we work hard to run the team, develop the market, and even take huge risks, but in the end, most of the profits we earn go into other people's pockets."
"Why is this happening?"
In fact, everyone present knew it well. The reasons might be complicated, but the poor youth training in England was definitely a very important factor.
If local players are not good enough, then we have to introduce foreign players
Many people say that the value of English players is inflated. This is true. It is indeed inflated and it is ridiculously inflated.
But won’t English teams be ripped off if they bring in players from abroad?
All the owners and chairmen who run British teams know that, in many cases, they rely more on recommendations from agents to bring in players. Some teams don't even have a decent scouting system, let alone scouting players everywhere.
It would be strange if such a team was not slaughtered.
Yang Huan even thought that with a Premier League team earning at least 50 to 60 million pounds a season, it was unimaginable that the company's management was so poor, and it could even be said to be completely irresponsible.
"Players' salaries need to be properly controlled, agents' commissions also need to be taken seriously, and the Premier League must find a sustainable development path, and reducing unnecessary losses and waste is one of them."
"We can no longer be the fool that allows the brokers to slaughter us. We will not be their ATM."
"If we can't effectively improve the level of youth training, then we will continue to be at a disadvantage in the transfer market. We have worked hard to negotiate for increased broadcasting fees, but in the end, our agent just says one word, raise wages and increase commissions, and we have to give the money away obediently."
"And it's an endless, unlimited surge. If you don't believe me, look back at the past few years. As soon as the broadcasting fee contracts increased, the players' salaries and agent commissions also increased immediately, like a vampire."
When everyone present heard this, they nodded continuously.
Master Huan's words hit the nail on the head and hit the sore spot of the club owners.
No one is a fool, and almost everyone knows that the Premier League cannot continue on this path, otherwise there will be no consensus on the fiscal policy just now.
But this is a long-term benefit.
However, some people and some teams may choose to sacrifice long-term interests for short-term benefits.
Yang Huan told them that this was related to the common interests of everyone.
If you cannot improve your bargaining chips, you will always be exploited by your broker.
Improving the level of youth training is undoubtedly one of the effective means to increase bargaining chips.
"Okay then, youth training must be carried out. Once the general direction is determined, the details will be easier to solve."
"I have read the reform plan for youth training submitted by the English Football Association. The abolition of the 90-minute youth training selection limit and the establishment of a fifth-level professional league are all very good suggestions. I think it is also necessary to require clubs to improve their youth training hardware and software facilities, which will help every team."
Speaking of this, Yang Huan couldn't help but smile.
"To be frank, the training bases of many Premier League teams are lagging behind. Many investors are discouraged after seeing them. If you can improve the training base and youth training camp, you may be able to sell the team at a better price."
Many people present couldn't help but smile knowingly after hearing this.
Football clubs are actually like luxury goods. If you buy them, you can't make money or create profits. In fact, not losing money is considered quite good.
The real way to make money is to wait until you sell the team.
The investor earns the difference between buying and selling, which is the way to make money.
"Another thing we need to pay attention to is the referee."
Yang Huanyu Cui walked out of his seat directly and talked freely under the gaze of everyone present.
"Our Premier League is like a company, and our product is our league. All those who sell products know that you have to pay attention to packaging and build a good image. However, in the past few years, the endless violence on the field and the poor and wrong judgments of referees have seriously damaged the image of the Premier League."
Yang Huan held up the document in his hand. "I just took a look. We give the players' union more than 10 million in subsidies every year, but how much do we give to referees? 2.9 million pounds."
"I think this number is too small. We need to increase it. The specific amount is negotiable. But I suggest that we should establish a powerful incentive mechanism so that every excellent referee who strictly and fairly enforces the law can get a higher and more decent income, so that our refereeing level and enforcement standards can be aligned with those of continental Europe as soon as possible."
The referees of the Professional Referees Committee not only officiate in the Premier League, but also in all professional leagues in England. There are a large number of them and their enforcement levels vary widely.
In the past few years, when Premier League teams entered European competitions, they suffered from inconsistent refereeing standards.
"Many teams think that European competitions have nothing to do with them, which is a very short-sighted view."
"When fans pay attention to a team, they must first pay attention to its stars. When they pay attention to a league, they must first pay attention to the top teams in the league. The way and means for them to pay attention to and evaluate these top teams is the European arena."
"I can even say that the better the top teams perform in European competitions, the greater the impact on the Premier League and the greater the impact. In the end, you will find that the next broadcasting contract will be bigger than the current one."
This is another virtuous cycle.
"So I personally think that we should keep the Christmas schedule while appropriately considering introducing a short winter break in January, or staggering some games to give the players more rest time."
"I also believe that while we attach importance to the training and competition of local players, we should also try our best to increase our appeal to top superstars, because the joining of superstars can greatly promote the expansion of the league's influence and then drive the operation of the entire market."
The more Yang Huan talked, the deeper he got into what he said, and the more he talked, the more he talked, until he couldn't stop talking anymore.
He himself was fine, but many people present, including Schudmore and David Bernstein, were frightened by many of his words.
Who would have thought that Young Master Huan, at such a young age, has such broad and profound thoughts, even more than those veteran football practitioners.
How could it not be surprising?
Master Huan is really a man who makes a big splash when he does make a name for himself.