Paul Howie

Family man, NUFC supporter ⚽️

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@LukeEdwardsTele So we should keep an extremely unhappy player who has lost the fans, just to ‘show strength’? And what good is that going to do? How is that better than signing his replacement and probably strengthening overall squad?

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@JanAageFjortoft They have Sasa and Hwan?

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@rockandrollmag So we should buy him, right?

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@rockandrollmag I think you’ll find we want Larsen mate 😂

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@rockandrollmag None of that matters. We are where we are. He’ll cook!! 😉

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@rockandrollmag You know fine well what cook means in football terms don’t be horrible 😉😂

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@rockandrollmag There isn’t better out there mate, Samu for example would be no guarantee. These 2 scored 33 PL goals between them last season. I’d be buzzing with them 2 and selling the rat for £130m

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@slbsn I wouldn’t call that unpalatable. There’s obviously a reason they’ve chosen not to push the boundaries and we aren’t doing too badly despite!

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@LukeEdwardsTele Why would clubs still be doing this when they know for a fact we can’t spend what we want? Doesn’t make any sense.

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@agbnufc_ Semenyo

[Nick De Marco KC @nickdemarco_]

The New Football Governance Bill – some preliminary personal thoughts

Today the government introduced a “strengthened” football governance bill. Broadly speaking, the headline changes to the bill overall improve the mainly sensible plans for an independent regulator of football. In particular:

·     The ability to include parachute payments in considering football finances and distribution – even if only as part of the “last resort” backstop mechanism - is likely to apply greater pressure on the Premier League to agree to a more generous distribution of revenue, and may lead in a more competitive and less skewed Championship competition.

·     Dropping the previous proposal that the Regulator consider government foreign and trade policy when approving club takeovers is to be welcomed – such a requirement would have opened up a pandora’s box and risked political interreference in football, undermining the key concept of an independent regulator.

·     Greater ‘fan engagement’ and representation sounds like a good thing, but one always wonders how effective such measures will be.

·     Finally, the regulation of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in football has been something many have called for, and is an interesting development further demonstrating the special status football appears to be given in our national culture.

Despite these changes, and the overall good intention behind independent regulation, in my view the elephant is still in the room. The (understandable) reluctance of the regulator to get involved in the league’s various financial control regulations is inconsistent with the key justifications for the independent regulation in the first place for three main reasons:

First, the main justification for the Independent Regulator is to promote financial sustainably. That is also the main justification for the various Profit & Sustainability rules now in place, and those the leagues are considering replacing them with. To have at least two entirely different financial regulation regimes operating on clubs at the same time is irrational and wasteful, may lead to contradiction, and does not address some of the key problems of existing and proposed league financial control schemes.

Second, the justification for staying out of league financial controls, that the leagues must be responsible for competition rules, does not withstand scrutiny when the existing financial rules are justified on sustainability and not competition grounds, and in many respect can be seen as anti-competitive, where they discourage investment and re-enforce the status quo in terms of bigger established clubs against others.

Third, most of the significant problems with self-regulation involve those financial rules - including the recent ATP issues, issues arising in the various PSR cases, and the non-alignment of financial rules between the PL and the EFL. There is always a risk that where clubs make the financial control rules in their particular league they shall vote based on individual self-interest, which may involve attempts to hold back competitor clubs. An independent regulator capable of making rational and fair financial control rules to be applied across the leagues, in an aligned and proportionate way, that reflect the Bill’s “light touch” approach seeking to take preventative steps to protect vulnerable clubs from overspending when they cannot afford to do so, rather than seeking to punish clubs with points deductions at the end of every season, would be in wider interests of football.

Despite my reservations, and the concerns others have expressed about the Independent Regulator having the resources to do much in what has become such an expensive business, I remain of the view that the idea of independent regulation has become even more of a necessity today than when the proposals were first discussed.

Don’t get me wrong, the Premier League in particular ought to be heavily praised for the commercial product it has developed, one of the best UK exports there is, the richest and most popular football league in the world. Regulation that interferes with that commercial success should be avoided. But the league, its success, and the English pyramid system of football are all threatened by the increasingly abject failure of self-regulation.

[Sky Sports Premier League @SkySportsPL]

"It's the most bizarre transfer window!" 🤨

Gary Neville believes the PSR rules need to change 💰

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@GingerPirlo_ Joelinton set the tone, so ‘laxy-daisy’ with the ball. Unbelievable coming off the back of last weeks display.

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@GingerPirlo_ Can’t argue with any of that. It’s all a bit strange.

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@Edit_Kev The most concerning part of today was Joelintons display, how you can go from last week to looking like your hungover is beyond me. We know all other limitations. Tonali for Longstaff can’t come quick enough. I think the criticism has killed him, looks shot of all confidence.

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@HLTCO So do we 😉

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@spencermorgan93 You said it was his fans you were against, lying whopper.

[Paul Howie @PaulHowie1]

@nufcsanjay Very small market with that profile:
Neto
Zehgrova
Soule
Conceicao
Bouanani
Yaser Asprilla