Gary Neville wants to see Sunderland competing for the Premier League title and in the Champions League - but admits that under the existing Financial Fair Play rules it could never happen. Neville was talking as part of a discussion with fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher and presenter - and Sunderland non-excutive director - Dave Jones on Sky's Monday Night Football show, debating the charges that have been laid against Premier League champions Manchester City under the FFP rules.
Ex-Manchester United star Neville has been a strident critic of the FFP rules, saying they were introduced to prevent a group of elite clubs from seeing their dominance challenged by teams who had been taken over by wealthy backers. There were no such restrictions when Blackburn Rovers' then-owner Jack Walker spent tens of millions of his own cash to win the Premier League title in 1994-95.
And Chelsea, under former owner Roman Abramovich, and Manchester City, under Sheikh Mansour, have managed to break into the elite, with the Londoners making the leap just before the FFP rules were introduced while City's more recent rise is now being scrutinised. But Neville says the FFP rules mean that a club such as Sunderland could not tread the same path as Blackburn, even if they had an owner willing to invest unlimited funds into the transfer market.
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"I've got a real problem with FFP," said Neville. "I've had it for a long time.
"It was driven through by the established elite so that clubs like [Manchester] City, clubs like Chelsea, couldn't compete with them. Basically they could always pat them on the head and say 'stay down there'.
"No-one ever complains about Jack Walker buying the league [with Blackburn] 30 years ago - FFP wasn't in at that point, but no-one ever complains about that. I think that a new Jack Walker, of any town, should be able to drive their team - Sunderland, your team Dave .
"I like the idea that one day Sunderland could compete for the Champions League and for the Premier League title again. But, under FFP where you can only spend the money that your revenue allows you, you'll always be maintained down there."
The idea of an elite is itself built on shifting sands, with Manchester United having gone a decade with a Premier League title, after dominating throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Arsenal have gone 19 years since winning the title, while Liverpool have won one title in 33 years.
Sunderland are themselves six-time English league champions - with only Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Manchester City, and Aston Villa having won the title more times - but last finished top of the pile in 1935-36. Man City had won only two titles until their takeover by Sheikh Mansour, but have now won the title seven times in the last 12 seasons.
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