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But since when does a governing body of a sport change it's rules to suit one Federation , and as the last article shows the French are 100 % behind this , UEFA has also signed up to it , however I cant find my link to the story

Rama Yade: France will be up to the task(FIFA.com) Tuesday 30 March 2010 Print Email my friend Share France’s Secretary of State for Sport, Rama Yade, paid a visit to the Home of FIFA in Zurich on Monday, 29 March, 2010. One of the rising stars of French politics, Yade was appointed to the government in May 2007 as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights. Since moving posts just under a year ago, the 33-year-old has been responsible for the future prospects of French sport in general and football in particular. Following a recent tour of South Africa in January, where she visited the Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, the Secretary of State met with FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter on Monday. The meeting notably provided an opportunity to discuss the 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup™, which is being held on African soil for the first time. The French public is quite demanding, which is completely natural. However, we have to get fully behind the team and leave Raymond Domenech alone to get on with the job.France’s Secretary of State for Sport Rama Yade on the chances of Les Bleus The event is a powerful symbol for Yade, who was born in Dakar, in Senegal. "It’s a source of pride for all Africans to welcome this major competition,” said the French politician. "The continent will have the chance to feel that it can play a leading role on the international stage and promote a positive image." When asked about France’s chances in the competition, the Secretary of State said that she was fairly confident. “The players will prove that they are up to the task of competing in this great tournament. The French public is quite demanding, which is completely natural. However, we have to get fully behind the team and leave Raymond Domenech alone to get on with the job." Finally, to round off this first visit to Zurich, at the home of world football’s governing body, Rama Yade assured President Blatter of her support for the 6+5 rule. “I’m delighted that things are progressing well. The 6+5 rule is important because it will enable young people to identify with professional sport and to have the opportunity to shine at the top level in their own country. It’s a plan which is equally paramount for clubs' sense of identity."

FROM REUTERSEU backs UEFA homegrown in bid to avert FIFA quotas vote Darren Ennis BRUSSELS Wed May 28, 2008 3:41am EDTBRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission formally backed UEFA's "home-grown player rule" on Wednesday in a bid to avert controversial FIFA plans to curb the number of foreigners at soccer clubs which Brussels said is illegal. Sports The EU executive hopes the move will be enough of an olive branch for soccer's world governing body to ditch Friday's vote on president Sepp Blatter's "6+5 rule", which limits the number of foreign players starting any club match to five. "After intensive discussion, in-depth analysis and a report carried out by the European Commission, I can for the first time say that UEFA's so-called homegrown player rule is compatible with EU rules concerning free movement of workers," EU Sports Commissioner Jan Figel told Reuters in a telephone interview. "I do not tell FIFA what to do ... but the FIFA rule which is currently on the table constitutes a clear direct discrimination based on nationality which is against EU laws. "We think the UEFA rule is the best rule, but I can now offer even more intense and open dialogue with Sepp Blatter." UEFA's home-grown player rule sets a quota of locally-trained players at clubs but without any discrimination on nationality. But FIFA had said it opposed the rule arguing it encourages recruitment at a young age. "The rules adopted by UEFA are necessary and proportionate. We cannot see any need for additional rules such imposing further restrictions on the transfer of young players," Figel said. On Tuesday, Blatter said despite EU opposition he would forge ahead with his plans after FIFA's executive committee backed "the objectives of 6+5", which soccer's top official believes will ensure the sport's growth and prevent a handful of rich clubs dominating honors. NEW SCENARIOS But UEFA officials said the move by Brussels may persuade the FIFA chief not to put the issue to a vote at the congress in Sydney, thus avoiding a showdown with the EU and placing the European governing body in a difficult position. "The key word is objective. The home-grown player rule achieves most of the objectives of 6+5, so hopefully Blatter will see this as a compromise, at least in Europe," one senior UEFA official told Reuters. The UEFA officials said Blatter now faces a number of possible scenarios: -- go ahead with Friday's vote, angering the EU and forcing a confrontation with UEFA boss and ally Michel Platini who said his organization will not pursue 6+5 on legal grounds. -- vote on 6+5 with the exception of Europe, which UEFA says is workable, but others say will lead to future complications for FIFA. -- replace his 6+5 with UEFA's homegrown player formula -- postpone the vote for a year and have further discussions with the various confederations. Whatever Blatter decides, UEFA, which only enforces its home-grown player rule in its own club competitions such as the Champions League, said it would not be asking its associations to automatically impose its rule domestically. "That is something for them to decide themselves. They now know if they want to, they can without contravening any EU laws," a spokesman for UEFA said.

The great arguement has always been and will always be what is the greater , FIFA , the governing body or the European union , if all the countries that are affiliated through their various associations accept ,which they have , this rule then how can UEFA go against it . Also the English are already starting to implement this , the following article was written last Sept : The Premier League will introduce a squad cap of 25 players and a quota on home-grown players from next season, chief executive Richard Scudamore has confirmed. The 20 clubs met last Thursday to agree the introduction of a home-grown player rule, which will take effect at the start of next term, and the immediate implementation of financial reporting rules. "As of next season clubs will be required to have a squad named of up to 25 players, of which no more than 17 can be over the age of 21 and not home grown," said Scudamore. "The definition of home grown is trained for three years under the age of 21 by somebody in the English and Welsh professional system. Clubs will have to declare their 25 at the end of August when the window shuts and then again at the end of January." Scudamore denies the move will encourage clubs to hoard young foreign players and claims the England team will ultimately reap the reward. "It's not in the club's interests to stockpile players. It will make buying home-grown talent more attractive," he said. "We're not going down the route of a nationality test but what this will mean is that you just can't buy a team from abroad. We think it will give clubs an extra incentive to invest in youth. We think that one of the benefits will be that it will help the England team." All 20 Premier League members also agreed to adhere to a set of financial reporting rules designed to protect the viability and sustainability of the clubs. "They will all have to annually submit accounts and future financial information," said Scudamore. "At all times the board of the Premier League will be applying a test which basically says this: can the club fulfil its fixtures, pay off its creditors when they are due and also to meet obligations to the Premier League's contracts and partners? "If the board believe a club is at risk of not meeting those obligations, it has to then step in and agree a budget for the running of that club. Any transfers can be embargoed. It's absolutely crucial that these clubs are run as ongoing viable concerns. These financial rules apply immediately. "This is tied in, and we passed the rule during the summer, to a 'fit and proper person test'. At our club meeting last week, the clubs absolutely endorsed our position of not linking expenditure to income."

Scottish football clubs could feel the heat under European Commission debt proposals, according to an international law firm. HBJ Gateley Wareing has said the EC could force clubs to reduce the levels of debt they currently hold. In Scotland, Rangers FC has debts of about �£25m and Scottish football overall has debts of more than �£100m. The legal firm said one reason that clubs were feeling the financial strain was ever greater transfer fees. Under the 300-page EU rulebook, which came into force in December last year, the European Commission gained a greater say in the area of sport. The commissioner, Androulla Vassiliou, plans to publish a communication outlining a new EU framework for co-operation in sport later this year. She has said the commission could try to reduce the currently high levels of debt carried by some European football clubs, especially in the UK and Spain. Simon Catto of HBJ Gateley Wareing said: "These are challenging times for many football clubs, and concerns are being raised by some bodies over the role of UEFA and potential interference by the European Commission on the debt levels experienced by many football clubs." Great timing Wabash

That will be the crux of any future financial break through , one thing we do have is a following throughout not just Europe but world wide and any future breakaway league will require teams that have the greatest draw possible. No one can tell me that a Birmingham or Stoke deserve the money they get through the teams they are , they are just in the fortunate position that they play in the richest league in the world , one that believes in equal share for all (with the exception of the prize money for league position) . No other league in Europe operates in this way I believe with many leagues and clubs allowed to negotiate their own TV deals , Barcelona , Juventus , Real Madrid to name but three , however even these clubs with their riches are finding it hard to compete as the absolutely crazy fees and wages they are paying cannot be met by their incomes , even the C/L does not pay percentage wise what it did even just a few years ago . Now if Platini's plans for 6 home plus 5 away players is finally introduced the season after next ( and it has been signed up for by not just FIFA but every UEFA country also ) then things will certainly change and rapidly , within three years the shape of European football will be totally different to the model we now watch , whether we are involved at this or not only time will tell .

That's a different arguement mate , and I would totally disagree about La Liga the ajority of games I have watched have been very very good , Seria A I would totally agree , the Bundesliga is a brilliant league and the football is excellent , but the majority of players that are brought into the EPl are very substandard and totally over priced . You only need look at portsmouth , or even the majority of the many players Liverpool have turned over to see that , also once they arrive in the epl they end up staying as the european leagues dont want them back

sorry but that just shows how poor the championship actually is , and as for the Epl how many really top class players play in England , by that I dont mean according to the bbc or Sky if there was a european team how many would be from the EPl , just look at the C/L team of the year from the last few years as proof , over paid , over hyped , and generally piss poor games

sorry mate but you have just joined the " they play in the EPL they must be good club " dont worry you aint alone , european teams have been passing off average players as superstars to the english for years , the term bullshit baffles brains spings to mind Put another way , Charlie Adam who was nothing more than ok for us is sold for �£500,000 , he has an ok season for a team finishing 6th, yes 6th , in the Championship and now he is rated at �£ 5 million , now just look at some of the players you mentioned and look at their transfer fee's and wages and go compare with oor charlie . sorry forgot to add we are as guilty as the english for buying diddy's of agents who took the piss out of Murray and Bain

if only they knew their history eh !!! , my god celtic fans dont do irony shocker

It's quite simple in that their smaller teams are much better at attaining points .For whatever reason ( mainly the way we play football IMHO ) they manage to get results that our smaller teams just dont seem able to do Cup qW qD qL #W #D #L Bonus Points Average 9 Belgium 5 teams 4 1 9 13 8 9 5 43.5 8.700 ( the average for Belgium is 8.7) 24 Standard Li�¨ge EL 0 0 0 4 3 5 5 16.0 33 Anderlecht EL 1 0 3 5 3 2 0 14.0 38 Club Brugge EL 2 1 1 4 2 2 0 12.5 168 AA Gent EL 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 1.0 204 Racing Genk EL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 . Cup qW qD qL #W #D #L Bonus Points Average ( the average is 6.083 ) 14 Romania 6 Teams 10 5 3 6 8 18 4 36.5 6.083 47 Unirea Urziceni EL 0 0 0 2 2 4 4 10.0 49 Steaua Bucuresti EL 6 0 0 0 4 2 0 10.0 73 FC Timisoara EL 0 3 1 1 2 3 0 5.5 75 Dinamo Bucuresti EL 1 0 1 2 0 4 0 5.0 92 CFR Cluj EL 1 1 0 1 0 5 0 3.5 100 FC Vaslui EL 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.5 17 Denmark 5 teams 12 6 6 3 1 4 0 22.0 4.400 ( average 4.4 ) 42 FC K�¸benhavn EL 4 1 1 3 1 4 0 11.5 79 Randers FC EL 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 4.5 96 Br�¸ndby IF EL 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 3.0 100 OB Odense EL 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.5 176 AaB Aalborg EL 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.5 25 Scotland 6 teams 5 0 11 1 5 6 4 16.0 2.666 ( average 2.666) 67 Glasgow Rangers CL 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 6.0 70 Celtic EL 1 0 3 1 3 2 0 6.0 125 Motherwell EL 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 2.0 140 Falkirk FC EL 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 140 Hearts FC EL 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 204 Aberdeen EL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 The numer before the team name is their ranking for this year ie we were 67th , also all those countries were in the Europa league , none had qualified for the C/l .

No problem , there is too much doom and gloom talked about re europe , the biggest problem we as a country have encountered is that we rely nearly always on the old firm to keep our coefficient points up and the smaller teams whether from lower divisions or bottom of the league contribute very little. Add in the disaster that was last year when all the teams were poor and you see what happens . one other difference is that the Eurpoa /uefa cup teams from countries such as Romania year on year are very very steady in the points they contribute , something we haven't managed for a long while.

As next season is a hugh season for our clubs , in the position of only having only one C/L spot I thought it would be a good idea to see where we actually sit coefficient points wise , also wht possible effects having 5 teams in europe might have . Currently the coefficient table looks like this : England 14.428 16.625 17.875 15.000 17.928 81.856 1/ 7 2 Spain 15.642 19.000 13.875 13.312 17.642 79.471 1/ 7 3 Germany 10.437 9.500 13.500 12.687 18.083 64.207 1/ 6 4 Italy 15.357 11.928 10.250 11.375 15.142 64.052 1/ 7 5 France 10.812 10.000 6.928 11.000 15.000 53.740 6 6 Russia 10.000 6.625 11.250 9.750 6.166 43.791 6 7 Ukraine 5.750 6.500 4.875 16.625 5.800 39.550 5 8 Romania 16.833 11.333 2.600 2.642 6.083 39.491 6 9 Portugal 5.500 8.083 7.928 6.785 10.000 38.296 6 10 Netherlands 7.583 8.214 5.000 6.333 9.416 36.546 6 11 Turkey 4.000 6.100 9.750 7.000 7.600 34.450 5 12 Greece 3.333 4.666 7.500 6.500 7.900 29.899 5 13 Switzerland 9.375 4.100 6.250 2.900 5.750 28.375 4 14 Belgium 5.500 4.700 4.500 4.500 8.700 27.900 5 15 Denmark 3.500 6.125 5.125 8.200 4.400 27.350 5 16 Scotland 4.250 6.750 10.250 1.875 2.666 25.791 6 17 Bulgaria 8.750 5.125 2.750 2.250 3.125 22.000 4 18 Czech Republic 4.625 5.750 5.125 2.375 4.100 21.975 5 19 Austria 3.250 1.500 3.200 2.250 9.375 19.575 4 The Highlighted teams are what or rather who we will fight it out with for a possible 12th/13th place , Turkey will be outwith our range unless they have a disaster and we have a miracle. Now if we take away the points that drop of at the end of next season , in our case 4.250 the table looks like this : country 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 ranking teams 1 England 16.625 17.875 15.000 17.928 0.000 67.428 0 2 Spain 19.000 13.875 13.312 17.642 0.000 63.829 0 3 Germany 9.500 13.500 12.687 18.083 0.000 53.770 0 4 Italy 11.928 10.250 11.375 15.142 0.000 48.695 0 5 France 10.000 6.928 11.000 15.000 0.000 42.928 0 6 Ukraine 6.500 4.875 16.625 5.800 0.000 33.800 0 7 Russia 6.625 11.250 9.750 6.166 0.000 33.791 0 8 Portugal 8.083 7.928 6.785 10.000 0.000 32.796 0 9 Turkey 6.100 9.750 7.000 7.600 0.000 30.450 0 10 Netherlands 8.214 5.000 6.333 9.416 0.000 28.963 0 11 Greece 4.666 7.500 6.500 7.900 0.000 26.566 0 12 Denmark 6.125 5.125 8.200 4.400 0.000 23.850 0 13 Romania 11.333 2.600 2.642 6.083 0.000 22.658 0 14 Belgium 4.700 4.500 4.500 8.700 0.000 22.400 0 15 Scotland 6.750 10.250 1.875 2.666 0.000 21.541 0 16 Switzerland 4.100 6.250 2.900 5.750 0.000 19.000 0 17 Israel 6.000 2.375 1.750 7.250 0.000 17.375 0 This really shows how close we are to getting our 2 places back Denmark and Romania are both very catchable which at worst would bring us back to 13th if Belgium match our performance . Teams ranked from 7th up to 15th place have exactly the same amount of teams that are entered into European competitions , the only difference being rounds that the Europa league teams enter at . And unless D Utd have a disaster in the Final of the Scottish cup we will have our top 5 teams all participating instead of teams from a lower division or from the bottom of the league . It,s shaping up to be a very interesting year , on a personnal level we are looking ok ranking wise , we currently sit at number 31 and have a bit of leeway for the following season . Big onus on the rest of our teams to get points in the Europa league . Also considering that we ( if we won the league next year ) would be seeded against a team from a much smaller country have a great chance of getting into the groups it's imperative we get players recruitment right this close season .

shock horror , Murray opens his mouth and further muddies the water , or was he just pandering to the masses yet again

no shit sherlock

some if not all of what he writes is very very good

He doesn't say anything that isn't bloody obvious , and the Rangers had a bad year oh my sides !!! just about every year under Murray is a bad year

My understanding is that the current business plan, which has resulted in the club operating within its means, will subsist for the rest of the calendar year. It was based on the assumption that Rangers would win the SPL and would qualify to play in the Champions League again next season. That's not what I was told and considering when this meeting took place it would need to be one hell of an assumption considering how we were playing at the time

The man told me that story himself in the Houston inn two old firm games ago , he was in with Jody Morris and they were talking about players wages today , he used himself as an example . I dont think some people realise the size of salaries we were dishing out to players at that time , and just to clarify that was not his initial salary when he first signed that was when he resigned . As a side story Jody Morris is one very very funny guy and the stories he tells especially about Jody Kidd's parties you wouldn't believe and it's much too early to tell them on here !!!:giruy:

Sorry but Dick Advocatt geting the blame really does my head in , yes he identified players and often decided he didn't want them , but once again the guy who should be getting the blame or at the very least shouldering the blame is Murray who gave out contracts like a wean in a sweetie shop who is told help yourself kid , very often against medical advice and even against Advocatt's advice . But Murray loved mixing it with the big boys , and felt we had finally made it . He signed the cheques and he decided on length's of contracts , giving players nearly double what their agents wanted in certain cases , even the scottish lads clicked on very very quickly Derek McInnes went in asking for �£10,000 a week expecting possibly �£6 ,000 to be told no problem Derek much to the annoyance of his agent who stated upon leaving " we should have asked for �£15000 " , Murray spent money because he was arrogant and believed all the hype as Maineflyer stated before people especially in the press were calling him Mr Rangers and he lapped it up .

Because these plans were made on worse case scenario and did not rely or even dream of us winning the league . There was no allowance for a transfer budget as they were working on worst case scenario , however as even you must appreciate things have changed massively and even taking the worst case scenario for next year if we prepare properly ie players wise we will have a good shot at winning next years league , and since the path to the holy grail of the C/L is though not certain it is one hell of a lot easier than if you finished second this year. Wabash you seem to believe and I may be wrong in this that Lloyds have a certain detailed plan in place , the reality is their plan involves spending no money and selling players , that is how detailed it is , and that comes directly from one of the managemnet team two nights ago , there is no great detailed financial plan , they are in plain terms winging it

WASHINGTON (AP) - Major League Soccer's D.C. United will host an exhibition against Scottish Premier League champion Glasgow Rangers on July 24 at RFK Stadium. It's the first game between the teams. Rangers clinched a second consecutive league championship on Sunday. Their current roster includes Americans Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley, both vying for spots on the U.S. World Cup roster. D.C. United earlier announced it will host AC Milan in an exhibition May 26. AC Milan will be missing players who are with national teams preparing for the World Cup. Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/wires/04/28/2050.ap.soc.mls.rangers.dc.united.0181/index.html#ixzz0mQbwCgbR Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription

Fair play I can see where your coming from , but then AJ eventually got involved and the story changes slightly , though it doesn't really change anything or the game that is getting played out behind the scenes , which if I am honest is boring the tits right off me , who ever eventually buys us has a hell of a lot of explaining to do .

Bluedell trust me , this is what he was told by senior representatives of our club , now AJ came on Radio last night and put a different SPIN on the story , If certain people want to say different things and are prepared to give him direct quotes I dont believe we can blame him , there is not a massive difference in reality , we are right in the shit , players need to be either resigned or brought in and it's absolutely ridiculous that a meeting hasn't even been set up never mind what AJ has said , lloyds have not even agreed when they will meet with our esteemed chairman