An interview with Rob Fielding
We have had a series of interviews with leading fans in Stoke-on-Trent about England in Euro 2012 and the current situation for clubs in England outside The Premier League. It has all been translated to Swedish, but since we know we have readers who don’t speak Swedish, we will now publish all the original interviews in English. The second interview is with OVF’s Rob Fielding. The interviews were made in April.
Q: How do you see on the economic problems of many football clubs today in the lower divisions ? What would be your solution in helping clubs to avoid financial problems (that is clubs outside The Premier league) ? Can football clubs in the future only survive with a wealthy owner or in a affluent area ?
A: I was asked this question recently by another enquirer to the website, so I’d like to repeat what I said to them at the time:
With the money from Sky television, football is/has moved away from its working class roots. Ownership has become a rich man’s plaything and supporting your side increasingly requires more and more money as well. Ultimately, with so much money tied-up in player contracts etc, this means that when things go wrong, it is difficult for clubs to get themselves out of their financial problems without going into administration.
So, I feel that the authorities would need to impose sensible financial restraints (such as a maximum playing budget, which the Football League has partially implemented) and undertake a complete revamp of the fit and proper persons act (because at the moment it clearly isn’t fit for purpose). These measures will stop clubs over-spending and also restrict the wrong people being allowed to run football clubs. I think it's crucial that regulations to stop clubs spending what they don't have are put in place as soon as possible - for both FL and PL sides!
Finally, the gap between the rich and poor clubs must be narrowed. The level playing field that allowed clubs to progress through managerial and player ability alone has now almost entirely gone. It seems you have to spend big (yes, even the likes of Norwich, Blackpool and Swansea have spend big money in FL terms to reach the PL- two of those sides have new/rebuilt stadia for a start) and be a big club to stand any chance of reaching the Premier League. The parachute payment to relegated club is also a flawed concept and now gives some clubs in the Championship an unfair advantage in the transfer market. To us smaller clubs, it just seems like everything has been set-up to benefit the big, well-known clubs, often at our expense.
This is predominantly down to TV revenue distribution and the only way it can be checked is by redistributing it and/or restricting the huge sums coming into the game this way. I am not certain there is a "magic bullet" that will solve all of football's problems in one go. I'm not even sure that my measures would solve the problems. But I do think it is time for sensible and reasoned debate so that football can learn from past and current mistakes and put in place measures that will stop the game potentially self-destructing.
Q: AFC Wimbledon are supposed to be a supporter owned club. How come they succeded in rising through the football ladder, whereas Port Vale failed ? Is a membership owned club doomed to fail in England. Is there a too strong culture of privately owned clubs in England (FC Barcelona is run by it's members = one member = one vote and they are quite a good team). Can members run club survive and prosper ?
A: Many would argue that in an ideal world, there should be fan-owned clubs. I like the concept of a fan-owned club, but I think just being fan-owned is not necessarily the answer. Many people trumpet Barcelona as a fan-owned club, but look at how much money they spend on players and what the club's debt is (it's huge). It's owned by 170,000 shareholders but due to its spending its debt is 58% of its value and currently stands at just under 500m Euros. So, it's not just the ownership that needs to be changed - it's both ownership and financial regulation that needs to change. Not one or the other but BOTH need to be changed.
Q: Any differences or similarities between the two times that Vale went into administration ? Do you think the club will be better off after the administration this time ?
A:I think both times are similar. There’s a period of deep anxiety followed by enthusiasm generated by the new owners. However, I think the difference this time is that the previous regime (Valiant 2001) never had the money to take the club forward wheras the indications are that Keith Ryder does.
Q: Is it nice to live in a city of two football league clubs ?
A: Yes. Unlike some Vale fans (and perhaps because I no longer live in the city so I don’t suffer the daily banter) I hope both clubs enjoy good fortunes. I think that the two clubs have been around so long that the city would definitely suffer if one or other of the teams were to close. That said, I’d still celebrate for the next month the next time we beat them…
Q: Is there correlation between the success of Stoke City in recent years and Vales economic problems ? Is the city big enough for two successful league clubs ? Is there strong competition between the two clubs in getting sponsors etc ?
A: Stoke have always been the better supported side so Vale have always been the “poor relations” – the gap has widened massively since Stoke were presented with the riches of the Premier League.
Q: With the introduction of Premier League 20 years ago the big teams has been the same for almost the entire period. In the 70's and 80's there quite of number of teams who could do well in the first division team besides Liverpool. Besides that, have the introduction of the Premier League been worse or better then you expected ?
A: I think the Premier League is deeply flawed. It is almost predominately down to money and as a result there is now a massive gap between the PL clubs and the rest. As an example – PL clubs can now afford massive squads and this means the “old days” of cup shocks are fewer and further between because often a top-flight team’s second or even third team is too much for a FL club to beat.
As I mentioned earlier, the parachute payment to relegated club is also a flawed concept and now gives some clubs in the Championship an unfair advantage in the transfer market. To us smaller clubs, it just seems like everything has been set-up to benefit the big, well-known clubs, often at our expense.
Q: Do former Premiership players too easily get the chance to manage a team without any previous managerial experience, especially in the the top divisions ? While on the other hand successful managers who are on a small budget in a small club (like John Coleman in Accrington) never get the chance in the top division !?
A: Yes. A lot of appointments have quite wrongly been a reflection of people’s playing careers not their management skills.
Q:Lee Sinnott had playing experience from The League, but only from non-league football in managerial terms when he came to Port Vale. People complained that he had no experience from the league professional football and he shouldn't have been given the job at Vale because of that. Was it right to appoint him at the time ?
A: I think Lee Sinnott’s scouting system was a revelation (five of his signings still play for us) but on the pitch his tactics were a mess. But I think the main problem with the Sinnott regime was that the board panicked and sacked him. He should have been given longer than a season and a half to prove himself.
Q: Are there talented managers that are stuck in non-league because people think experience is the most important thing when it comes to being a league manager !?
A: Undoubtedly. And I think former Valiants Ian Bogie and Neil Aspin are doing the right thing by learning their trade in the non-league first.
Q:What is your view of Englands chances in Euro 2012 ? Can they reach the final ?
A: I have very little interest in the England team. To me, it is full of overpaid Premier League players who mean very little to me. I feel more in common with Port Vale’s players than England players.
Q:Would an Englishmen with the same background as André Villas-Boas (former Chelsea) get a managerial job in The Football League. He stopped playing early and instead focused on a managerial career. In Sweden we got quite a number of managers in the top flight who stopped playing in the early 20's and at a not very high level. Would an Englishmen with the same background (as AVB) like that get a chance to be a manager in England before they were 40?
A: There are some, but they tend to be the exception. For example, Andy Scott and Aidy Boothroyd both became managers in their early to mid 30’s.
Q:Best Port Vale game you have ever seen ?
A: For my first taste of a giant-killing, it has to be the FA Cup win over Spurs in 1988.
Q: Your favorite Port Vale player?
A: Andy Jones, but only just. The likes of Neil Aspin, Andy Porter, Robbie Earle and Ray Walker are all heroes too.
Q: Your favorite foreign Vale player ?
A: Robin van der Laan.
Q: Ever been to Scandinavia ?
A: Yes, a long time ago I went to Copenhagen with an ex-girlfriend.
