ManU and Man City "are on opposite sides of a new divide in the Premier League: whether the competition should introduce its own UEFA-style financial fair play regulations," according to Matt Scott of the London TELEGRAPH. At the league's annual meeting, the idea of tighter financial controls being imposed on clubs was advanced by Liverpool. It gained the support of a number of its rivals, including ManU CEO David Gill. The delegation from Arsenal "is believed to have spoken up in favour." Arsenal Owner Stan Kroenke, Liverpool Owner John Henry and ManU Owners, the Glazer family, are familiar with "restrictive financial regulations through the U.S. sports franchises they own." However, the subject was not unanimously supported. Man City is believed "to have cautioned that they would prefer to manage their business as they see fit." City Owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan subsidized spending with £43.3M in cash between June 1, 2009 and the end of May '11. Chair Mohamed Fayed financed Fulham's rise through the leagues with "soft" loans. Fayed has also historically expressed the view that they would not endorse a system that "kills the dreams" of others. It all meant the EPL exec staff has been "tasked with drawing up a report on what proposals could be introduced." One option would be "to adopt wholesale," the UEFA financial fair play regulations (TELEGRAPH, 8/22).
