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Michel Platini is clearly a man on a mission. His long-running feud with the EPL over the "obscene" (his word) amounts of money that English clubs are prepared to spend is becoming an obsession with him.

In a presentation to the European Parliament in Brussels he was applauded for his forthright plea for wage caps and limits on transfers, citing once again Machester City as the rottenest apple in the barrel;

During this year’s festive season, one club, which had suddenly become very rich, made various astronomical bids in the transfer market. Of course, there was a tremendous outcry in the football family, people called it outrageous and scandalous. Many people have responded by talking about limiting players’ wages by introducing a European salary cap.”

Football family! Oh dear me. That makes us the black sheep then.

There are some merits to his argument, of course, and there is no doubt he is genuinely concerned for the future of the game, but his constant reference to the EPL especially after the revelations by Deloitte of the top twenty earners here sounds a little like the old green-eyed monster to me.

I am fascinated by the little man's anglophobic ravings, I was under the impression that it was one-way. That it was we the brits who disliked the French! It's a comfort to have proof that it's reciprocated!

Platini in Brussels yesterday

To keep things nicely shallow, can I just quote Admiral Nelson's thoughts on the French?

"There is no way of dealing with the Frenchman but to knock him down - to be civil to them is to be laughed at. Why they are enemies!"
11 Jan 1798 after surrender of Capua.

TIMES ONLINE: The European Club Association, which represents 137 leading teams such as Manchester United and Real Madrid, said this month that it did not support salary caps. The Premier League also opposes any Europe-wide financial regulation and has previously told the Frenchman to mind his own business when he scolded English teams for poaching players from around the world. The Premier League did not respond to Platini’s comments last night.

UPDATE SCUDAMORE 21/02/09

"We've looked at this for 10 years," he told BBC Radio 5's Sportsweek programme. "We keep looking at it and the practicalities of it and if you say 60% or 50% can be capped on wages, what it really does is absolutely lock in the natural order.

"I know Manchester United sit on top of our league today but they would be sitting on top of our league just about forever if you decided on that.

"It would help the big clubs far more than the small clubs. So if you have a small club who have got a benefactor, or who have got other ways of raising money or ways of funding, at least it gives them a chance to compete.

"The problem with a percentage-based salary cap is it would really, absolutely, lock in a far more natural order than we've got now. I can't really ever see it happening."

CLEVBLUE