3 months ago
20 In his fortnightly exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jon Smith, one of football’s first-ever agents and a man who was an integral figure in the forming of the Premier League, discusses Ivan Toney’s potential move to Saudi Arabia, why nothing has changed at Chelsea, why the Man City case could cause FFP rules to be rewritten – and more!
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Former Arsenal and Tottenham target Ivan Toney looks to be Saudi bound
I’m pretty convinced now, after everything that I’m hearing, that Ivan Toney is on his way to Saudi Arabia.
Now the interesting thing about that is, under Islamic law, alcohol and betting are two major sins. He’s paid the price for his betting issue, but it’s an interesting dichotomy of when does a sin not become a sin anymore? Certainly, he’s going to have to be very, very careful.
And it’s also an interesting decision isn’t it, because one would hope that the Saudi league is going to be successful and one assumes that the Gulf states will be promoting themselves heavily in the football world in the coming years, but it’s still considered to be a footballing backwater at present.
He’s probably chosen the financial route rather than the footballing one and I think he runs the risk of people saying ‘ok he was good, but he went for the money,’ and underplaying his role in the Premier League to date.
Personally, I was amazed when I was in Saudi in terms of how enthusiastic the audiences locally are, and I’m hoping that the experience produces an enjoyment for Ivan Toney on a par with the rest of the world’s football.
The Toney’s are a nice family, and I wish them well.
MLS will boom ahead of World Cup 2026 as more big names head Stateside
MLS can most definitely rival the other leagues in the world at present.
Don Garber, the supremo of MLS and who was my link person when I owned the London Monarchs and he was at the NFL in 1991 was, and is, great.
He’s a fantastic asset for MLS and has grown that league over 20/30 years to a place where it’s significant.
Although European football has its hierarchy and its home base, and it’s considered to be the ultimate place to play football, the world of football is growing around it.
MLS is much more mature now and it’s a tough league. The values of senior clubs are in the billions, so how wonderful is that for the investors who got behind the game with the round ball across the pond all those years ago?
With the World Cup going to the US in 2026, I absolutely think it’s a place to be and MLS can be considered as the next door neighbour now to Europe, as far as footballing interest is concerned.
Man City case will force a rewriting of FFP rules
The $64,000 question is what happens next for Man City.
It’s clear that having 215 charges against you is sizeable. I haven’t seen the evidence and obviously I can’t comment in front of a legal case, but the one thing for sure is that financial regulations are necessary in advance of sizeable pan global ownerships, be they nations, hedge funds or corporates – especially with multi-ownerships.
What this case will highlight is that the regulations are probably not yet quite right.
They don’t quite take into account the understanding of the multi ownerships that are currently in existence and will continue to grow, and also how the lesser financially able clubs need to protect the level playing field.
In summary, what’s likely to happen as a result of this case, whatever the result, is there will be a challenge from Man City.
If they’re found guilty, then there’s going to have to be a punishment which is applicable, but then, once the challenge is issued, that probably pushes everything into 2025.
Not forgetting too that City are also mounting a challenge against the Premier League itself for misappropriation of regulation.
It’ll probably be a real buggers muddle through this season, which will ultimately, in my opinion, result in the rewriting of Financial Fair Play in a much more realistic manner.
Big job needed at Everton… but John Textor is the right man
Everton is is a fascinating melting pot of decisions that perhaps should have been made in a different manner, and financial management that perhaps should have been a little bit more adroit.
It’s a club that needs a major clear up, however, the stadium is amazing. It’s like a little city in itself which will operate seven days a week, and I think that can only be good.
I think John Textor has enough financial muscle and experience to be able to re-establish Everton as a major contender but that’s going to take a few years, probably four or five, and he has to completely ring fence his Crystal Palace shareholding too, which I believe is 41% and so not a small holding.
I would suggest that would hasten a sale of Crystal Palace, because that just puts such a level of instability in their ballpark that it’s probably time for new owners to move in there as well within the next 24 months.

In terms of whether John Textor is the right man for the job, he’s certainly got experience and, importantly, he knows the business of football. He will be one of the more interesting group of multi ownerships, that’s for sure.
Everton is not for the bashful and it really does need a sizeable turnaround including some of the previous investors to write off a lot, which I think will probably happen.
But if I was an Evertonian – and I wouldn’t expect miracles for the first 24/36 months – it’s going to need a little bit of a little bit of patience, but at least John Textor knows the business.
Unlike at Chelsea, he’s not just coming in as as a wealthy guy who thinks it will be fun to run a football club.
More of the same from Chelsea
There’s no change at Chelsea, it’s the ongoing saga and more of the same.
They’ve got a lot of financial issues to sort and did they grab their coach because he was another one of Pep’s disciples, or is he as good as obviously they think he is? I think that’s a big question which will be answered, probably, by the turn of the year.
There’s unlikely to be too much happening at Man United until Christmas either, but it will be interesting to see what may or may not happen there too.
West Ham will do well. I think there’s a little bit more about Ipswich and Southampton this year which means that the three that came up may not be the three that go down, and Wolves appear like a team stuck in a rut and going nowhere.
The only thing I will say about this season, however, is that I don’t think there’s anything dramatic that can be said after just one game.
