Kevin McCabe leads the news today after saying that he would turn to the European commission for compensation if an independent court of arbitration fails to overturn the relegation of Sheffield United. Mr. McCabe is chairman of the Blades and will not look to the European commission to appeal any decision made by the court of arbitration, but rather to gain compensation for those who will lose their jobs and other “human rights” issues. Well well, where to start? I have got to say that I couldn’t believe that West Ham weren’t docked points by the Premier league, especially due to the precedent set by docking Middlesbrough points in 1997 when they didn’t fulfil a fixture. The record fine of 5.5 million was intended to gloss over this point, but backfired and brought more attention to it, and since then the issue hasn’t gone away. I have sympathy for both sets of fans but West Ham should’ve been docked point and should’ve gone down, however the Premiership has already ruled on the matter and any sort of challenge to that ruling will open up a door to the clubs that may never close. It’s a hard one to sort out, but the most important factor is how far can the ruling body be held accountable for its decisions? By joining the Premier League, the clubs gave the ruling body complete power to make these decisions and I’m afraid that Sheffield United may just have to face another season in the Championship, however unfair it may be. We shall watch, with interest, how it turns out on Monday.
Over at Manchester City, their managerial search has been in the news today with Sevilla manager Juande Ramos and ex-Porto manager Co Adriaanse both emerging as front runners for the job. Tonight they both distanced themselves from the job, which is understandable considering the situation at City and the fact that Ramos is fighting for the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey in Spain. Both have big reputations but Ramos is probably top of the list, he has won the UEFA cup twice, and has given the big boys of Spanish football a run for their money this season. He must see more potential at City if he is to consider this job so everything may hinge on the takeover talks and how they go. Again, we shall observe with fascination.
As always we finish with transfer news: Middlesbrough have signed Turkish international striker Tuncay on a free transfer, which looks to be a nice bit of business. He famously scored a hat-trick against Man Utd and bolsters their striking options, good deal all round. Sunderland have apparently made an offer for David Nugent, who I’m a fan of, and he’ll be a decent signing, though at 6 million he is overpriced, like all English players. Lastly, Wigan have had a 4 million pound offer for Jason Koumas rejected. He’s a lovely player to watch when he’s on form but he’s need to play in his best position, behind the 2 strikers, and there aren’t very many managers willing to employ that type of role so if he does come to the Premiership, I hope he gets the chance to shine.
Night all.
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Geeky law student here, two problems with a legal appeal against the FA decision. First, the only way that the decision can be looked at is throgh judicial review, and as the PL commission is not a government body or quasi body it is unlikly the courts will review the decision. Second there is the question of whether any of the other clubs would get standing in the high court. Therefore, any challange is likly to go throught the footballing authorities, which won't overturn the decision especially as the new fixtures have just come out.
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