Monthly Archives: February 2013

Premier League clubs face points deductions over spending cap, warns Scudamore

The top-flight chief executive has insisted that the English game’s governing bodies are committed to enforcing new proposals controlling wage bills and transfer spend

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has warned clubs that they face points deductions if they fail to adhere to new spending controls.

13 out of 20 top-flight clubs voted in favour of proposals which will cap wage bills and restrict losses to £105 million over a three-year period on Thursday.

And Scudamore has insisted that sanctions will be handed down should these new guidelines not be followed.

He told reporters: “As all things in our rulebook you will subject to a disciplinary commission.

“The clubs understand that if people break the £105m we will look for the top-end ultimate sanction range – a points deduction.

“Normally we stay silent on sanctions as the commission has a free range but clearly if there is a material breach of that rule we will be asking the commission to consider top-end sanctions.”

The six sides who are believed to have voted against the proposals are Aston Villa, Fulham, Manchester City, Southampton, Swansea and West Brom, whilst Reading abstained.

But Scudamore has assured those in opposition to the controls that an improvement in their circumstances is still possible.

He continued: “The balance we have tried to strike is that a new owner can still invest a decent amount of money to improve their club but they are not going to be throwing hundreds and hundreds of millions in a very short period of time.

“While it has worked for a couple of clubs in the last 10 years, and I am not critical of that, if that’s going to be done in the future it’s going to have to be over a slightly longer term without the huge losses being made.

“I think at £105m you can still build a very decent club with substantial owner funding but you have to do it over time, you can’t do it in a season.

“In some ways that’s the most significant part; this is a three-year rolling system of secure funding – it’s one year at the moment.”

Liverpool failed in January bid for Dzsudzsak, confirms Dinamo Moscow

The winger revealed earlier in the week that Brendan Rodgers was keen on a loan move, only for the Russian outfit to reject their advances as they looked for a permanent exit

Dinamo Moscow have revealed that Liverpool failed with a loan bid for winger Balazs Dzsudzsak during the January transfer window.

The Hungary international recently revealed that Brendan Rodgers was interested in bringing him to Anfield, only for the Premier League side’s advances to be turned down by the Russian club.

“I am staying but it wasn’t up to me,” Dzsudzsak told Nemzeti Sport on Tuesday.

“Dinamo didn’t let me go, not even to Liverpool. I can’t say any more because it is not my position to do so.  

“I want to say that in Hungary people have written me off but it seems that some respectable teams still believe in me.

“I am not that disappointed. What I couldn’t do during the winter transfer window can be done in the summer. It’s also a nice feeling that in Moscow they have faith in me.”

Dinamo’s sporting director, Dmitry Galyamin, has now confirmed that an offer was rejected, as the club were only prepared to let the winger leave on a permanent deal.

“We received an offer from Liverpool for a loan deal but not for a permanent deal,” he told Sky Sports.

“Loaning is not an option for us so we finished the discussions immediately.”

Borini’s agent dismisses exit rumours

The former Roma and Chelsea attacker has been linked with a move to Fiorentina recently due to his lack of playing time at Liverpool, but his representative rejected departure talk

Liverpool attacker Fabio Borini has no intention of leaving the club in the immediate future, his agent has declared.

The 21-year-old has struggled for a starting spot in the Reds’ first team this season after joining last summer from Roma, though has been hampered by injuries.

As a result, the former Chelsea forward has been linked with a move back to Serie A, with reports suggesting Fiorentina as his likely destination, but his representative Marco De Marchi dismissed any notion of his client leaving Anfield.

“I have to be honest, I’ve not had any contact with anyone at Fiorentina,” he told Firenze Viola.

“Fabio is happy at Liverpool because they are one of the most famous clubs in the world. He chose Liverpool in the summer and he’s happy with his English adventure.

“If Fiorentina, a club who have shown they are ready to target youngsters with bright futures, are really interested then we’d thank them.

“But Fabio is just focused on getting back to full fitness after injury and thinking only of Liverpool.

“Fabio is 21, he’s already changed five clubs and he’s contracted to Liverpool until 2017.”

Borini has played 14 competitive matches for Brendan Rodgers’ side, but the attacker has scored only once for the Reds.