BREAKING NEWS: EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE

I hope so but don't count it. You will not find owners who are rich enough to make teams competitive, without wanting to maximise revenues and profits, and will put the fans above all. It just won't happen.

 

Of course, this is why UEFA were so against the Super League: no control. The fact that it was a crappy idea to start with was convenient for them.

John Henry's apology was sincere enough, but it helped that one of my boys was there in the background with his knuckle duster

 

The 5 and LWT brought the FA in after the planning had started .

 

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If it’s in our (fans) power to do it we should do it. My view is that that the current situation is far from perfect but that’s not a reason to allow some greedy ****s to make it even worse by grabbing even more money off the back of our football history and popularity.

 

people talk like there was some halcyon era of football.

Form the day football went professional there have been accounts and books to be balanced, wages and all of that ****.

there have been owners and people making money.

The transfer record discussion is older than i am.

the reality is the premier league is only an extension of this growth in money and really its the same thing different day.

 

English football was in the deep **** in the early 90’s, in the wake of a Heysel, then Hillsborough, the game’s reputation was in tatters, and the revenue generated by the league was a joke.

The English league were paupers compared to even the SPL at that point ffs, as they’d already created a product that Sky had bought and funded. The SPL was where top players were heading from both here and abroad, the ****ing SPL, let that sink in.

The rebranding and reorganisation of the game that came with the formation of the PL and the Sky cash, brought about massive change. Look at our grounds and facilities compared to back then, look at the leagues standing in the World between now and then, look at the quality of players the league can attract and compare between now and then.

Anyone who says that the PL was somehow bad for English football either wasn’t around in the late 80’s or has lost touch with reality imo. Where the PL ****ed up, was not in its mere being, but by it failing to put in measures that stopped its constantly increasing revenues just passing straight into the hands of players and agents. It had a brief go at it with STCC but that soon went in the bin. It’s there that the PL has failed itself, not in its mere existence, and it has absolutely **** all relevance to the absolutely disgraceful actions of the 12 clubs who’ve just tried to change the very essence of the football pyramid. Anyone trying to conflate the two scenarios is comparing apples with pears imo.

 

The biggest thing for me was the secrecy. The game is never going back to what it was. Change needs to involve all clubs getting together and discussing the best way forward not a bunch of them meeting in secret to try and secure what's best for them. As Jimmy has said though, even the clubs being very vocal about this have looked at what's best for just them in the past.

The self interest was really magnified during the lockdown last year and I was proud that Klopp's focus was on 'healing the world ' before even talking about football. While Lennon's first words were 'as long as Celtic get the title', Klopp didn't want to talk about football at all. To now tell that man he has to 'earn it' is disgraceful. Shouting 'scum ' at him and the players is a step too far. The managers and players have done nothing wrong. They don't deserve the flak they are getting.

As for you not getting the massive level of outrage, you know Twitter etc. and those who have made it their life's work to seek out as much as they can to be outraged about. They will be in their element over this even if they've got no interest in football whatsoever

 

It’s obvious no one cares about the fans or they’d make the football for the fans by doing the only 1 thing that massively affects them, massively reduce season ticket prices.

PL, FA, Uefa and Fifa could all force reducers or capped ticket prices at an affordable level. However they don’t...

They could sell tv rights to free to air channels, but they don’t cos sky bt offer more money.

Sky and BT could charge less, offer more free to air games.. they don’t abs the fact football is now split across multi channels is even worse!

they thought getting more channels would help stop a monopoly of one channel owning everything, but at least then you need 1 subscription. Now you need sky, bt, amazon if you want to watch your club every time. Having multi channels only works if they all offer the same service so you can pick the cheapest. Now you just have to pick the one that shows more of the games you want

 

But the super league type talk stared mid 80s and was about how much more money could we screw out of itv.

You could use the exact same line you've written "reputation was in tatters, and the revenue generated by the league was a joke."

and insert champions in front of league in this lot's minds. they are probably selling it for about half it could be sold for.

I can recall the few types who went to scotland, very few really

again the grounds and all that great stuff is all fine but you could turn around and hear these guys claim they would have done the same their thier ESL.

the premier league is what it is. Its all amount money. To counter your discussion on the good the cost and all of those other elements have drive large amount of local and ordinary fans away. it must be said, the premier league model when compared to the german model is certainly not perfect.

my view the the german are stuc kwith the same wild west approach to agents and horrid money grubbing antics but fans can still get into the ground.

They are both about money mate and the FA were not saints in the set up of the premier league. IMO they did it for their own power.

 

Sorry but I find the comparisons nothing more than apologist whataboutery tbh.

There’s no genuine comparison on any level for me.

I tell what is relevant though, Project Big Picture, when spookily the same self anointed Big 6 tried to carve up PL TV revenues for their own ends. Give themselves special voting rights and to include an additional ‘not quite as special as us 3’ to secure their position, and become bomb proof with regards to any future rule changes or sanctions.

Reducing the league to 18 clubs, ditching the League Cup and Charity Shield, for what? Oh yeah to free up additional space in the calendar for ESL games....coincidence? My ****ing arse.

Self serving, devious ****s. Thank **** we told them to go and poke it.

Are the rest of the PL clubs expected just to forget all of this like? Now that is has been firmly put into context by their actions this week and to sit round the same table as these back stabbing snakes again?

 

Hypothetical question alert:

If places in elite competitions should be awarded based on merit, then shouldn't TV money being distributed based on merit ...

 

The rest of the PL clubs are probably as relieved as we all are that this didn’t get off the ground. If you think that the league will generate as much cash without the 6 mentioned clubs, you’re mistaken. Stop being so righteous because your club has the moral high ground because it is one of the little guys.

Seriously though, it’s heartening that fans and the league rules themselves have stopped this anti sport idea in its tracks..... everything/everyone has done it’s job.

The only problem with the outcome is that we still have UEFA and FIFA dictating things....but I guess better the devil you know eh?

 

It already is.

 

I never mentioned the league minus the self anointed big 6 mate (it’s really the big 4 plus 2 special invites to make up the numbers btw) no genuine football fan wanted to see the league without them, so I’ve no idea what you mean there tbh.

We’re all collectively pleased this has hit the bin, but there has to be consequences for what they’ve done here. Quite what that looks like I’ve no idea, but they can’t be allowed to just carry on as if nothing has happened after the extended ****housery they’ve orchestrated.

It doesn’t make UEFA the good guys either, they’ve got years to get back any semblance of respect after the exposure of their totally corrupt ways, same goes for the carpet baggers at FIFA.

 

Two ways of looking at that; complete ignorance to what currently happens so starting from a blank sheet, or looking at how it currently is and moving forward.

Personally, I'd prefer all income to be split as evenly as possible like it was pre-PL. It wasn't 100% even but it was a lot closer than it is nowadays with the only difference being to do with match income I believe.

In reality, it's been performance based for years which as created the different tiers and brought us to current circumstances. Basically, the strong get stronger.

Don't forget, football is about competing, winning trophies, promotion, relegation, the highs and the low, etc. It's not supposed to be about money!

 

I was referring to your comment below and suggesting all will be relieved.

Are the rest of the PL clubs expected just to forget all of this like? Now that is has been firmly put into context by their actions this weekand to sit round the same table as these back stabbing snakes again?

I think the clubs have been well and truly slapped down and truly humbled and It needs to stop there imo. You think they’ll try this bollox again after this? Personally, I’d like the government to look into putting something like they have in Germany in place as legislation. Fans control decisions that there own clubs make seems to make sense after this malarkey.

it’s in everyone’s interests now to move on.

 

The thing with the tv money is that all teams have to play each other. Without the dross, the elite have nobody to play

Maybe take each televised game and give the winner more from winning

 

What should happen if anyone with any nous whatsoever is advising the associations, is that the rules for participation are amended.

So for example. Rule L9 in the PL handbook, needs to have a clear and concise outcome for any club who not only agrees to participate in another competition that has not had prior approval by the board, but also who merely participates in negotiations around forming one, with the penalty being exclusion. Same should apply to all UEFA comps.

That should stop any future reoccurrence of this kind of ****housery, as the risk would outweigh the potential gain.

As for the individuals concerned, I’m not sure they will all be able to just move on. The clubs can collectively move on, but I can’t see a future for any of the individuals behind this, I think the CEO’s and owners concerned are in an untenable position tbh. The trust has been destroyed, certainly at PL level anyway.

 

You do realise that had there not been this sort of ****housery in the early 90's then the Premier League would never have formed?