European Super League

Do you want the ESL to happen?


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  • Poll closed .

pratyush_utd

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Spent who's money. Certainly not their own, but from the club turnover and profit.
They didn't even spend their own money to buy the club.
They own the football club and whatever money it makes. So in a way it's their money. They can even choose to not spend whatever United make and there is nothing we can do about it.
 

Cloud7

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For people that are wondering about competitiveness, they should keep in mind that this league is created for revenue and the owners need to have a sexy and entertaining product on the field week in week out. So like the NFL, they will make sure to keep us hooked by artificially creating competition one of the ways is for example to have a salary cap and floor, there is also the system of free agency and even an entry draft.
They’ll probably create storylines, like in the WWE. Look out for Arsenal starting off the season losing 4-5 games in a row, then winning every game for the rest of the season, with Wenger making a dramatic appearance on the touch line in the final after Arteta was unable to make it due to his wife being in the delivery room the exact moment the final is about to take place.
 

crossy1686

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They've spent money on the team as there were financial consequences to the team struggling and missing out on CL places. Though not so much as to prevent them taking out plenty.

Under a SL they would have successfully removed the financial impact of under-investment in the team or sporting failure. So why would they invest money in the team? Whether United are winning the SL or are a b-franchise who don't compete with the rest makes no difference to them.
What do you think the financial reward for finishing 15th and 1st are in a SL?
 

Lastwolf

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I don't like this ESL solely because of the lack of relegation, it's a franchise model, next step is New York Devils.

I think the Champions league does need some reforms, double elimation would be nice, I enjoy that format in other things.

The groups, top two teams go winner bracket, bottom two go losers bracket, Best of 1 games in loser bracket (in Neutral Venues!) there you go play that shit in Dubai for all I care.
 

JB7

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Yep, the mighty Midtjylland and Lincoln Red Imps battling it out in a Champions League final any day now, what a time to be alive.

If you've got to play two qualification rounds to get into a tournament, you've got no business being there.
What a disgusting attitude.
 

kouroux

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I wont argue that, I think anybody who mentions fans at this point is taking the piss with the rise of season tickets, cost of watching on TV, and the different services we all have to sign up to.

Uefa thinking about a new European competition and revamps to make more money, and now they are surprised this is happening.

Whatever happens, fans will lose out and none of them will care, except the losers will pretend they care.
Yup, it's all set up for a big change and no fans will win in the end. I guess I won't have any regrets going full river on all games now :wenger:
 

Nani Nana

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For people that are wondering about competitiveness, they should keep in mind that this league is created for revenue and the owners need to have a sexy and entertaining product on the field week in week out. So like the NFL, they will make sure to keep us hooked by artificially creating competition one of the ways is for example to have a salary cap and floor, there is also the system of free agency and even an entry draft.
Absolutely no chance this happens, think of the various fiscal regimes between Spain/England/Italy etc.

You cannot do drafts like in the NBA when players are subjected to different tax rates.

As for making it entertaining, I agree with other posters that the scarcity of facing Real Madrid every other year is a big part of my interest in those games. Playing them week in week out takes out all the charm.
 

cyberman

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The new league represents an American takeover of elite European football, which will become a closed shop run by its founder members.

One source described it as ‘a US-led operation’, adding: ‘This is down mostly to the Americans at Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal who have believed for a long time that they should be making a lot more money.'
This is just racist nonsense imo. Theres been rumours of a super league for decades now, the whole thing is led by Juve, Barca and Madrid ffs.
 

duffer

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Why will it? As a fan of a club that's just doubled its income, will you be satisfied with a lack of recruitment and falling behind the other SL teams? Will that sit well with the Chelsea fan base?
Lack of investment on new players is not something I've been concerned about as a Chelsea fan for nearly 2 decades.

This move will make the rich clubs richer and slam shut what was already a nearly closed door for everyone else.
 

izec

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The new league represents an American takeover of elite European football, which will become a closed shop run by its founder members.

One source described it as ‘a US-led operation’, adding: ‘This is down mostly to the Americans at Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal who have believed for a long time that they should be making a lot more money.'
I would also add Real/Perez (Galacticos) and Juve. I mean Juve have been quite obviously preparing this for years and their branding suggests to me they pushed for this heavily.
 

slyadams

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Just have a 25 team European Super League which has relegation into various domestic leagues. At the end of each season, there can be some Superbowl type playoffs for the top 16.

The founder clubs can remain as investors for the foreseeable future. They can take a slice of the profits (thereby removing UEFA from the equation), but won't be guaranteed a spot in the league. So after Spurs inevitably get relegated, they can keep gaining revenue from competition to have a better chance of getting back in. Maybe after 5 consecutive years of no qualification, a 'founder' club can be removed and a new member voted in.

It'd be like a tweaked version of Premier League model with parachute payments, and sharing of TV revenue.
I thought this could be a paletable natural progression of the game that would eventually have to happen, save for a complete bursting of the football bubble, because all industries have to expand and grow or they die. Stagnation is death. With the increasing popularity of the game world wide it seemed somewhat far fetched to imagine that United playing Burnley or Real playing Heusca would be maximizing the potential of the game. I could see a scenario where a new level of the pyramid was created that is fully integrated into the european leagues to allow for this with a more egaliterean design.
 

justsomebloke

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People say the Glazers will spend less money... but they won't be able to hide when they are 15th in the SuperLeague instead of a weak 2nd in the EPL

If anything their weaknesses will be exposed and they will have to spend more to keep up with the other "super" teams.

It's a work in progress... so I reserve judgment until this actually plays out awhile... if indeed it does get off the ground.
You will see parity mechanisms in the ESL to keep costs down, and help ensure competitiveness across the 15 clubs without the clubs having to overbid each other.
 

Tom Cato

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I'm not, our model is what it is. If the board agree they should be paid dividends then it is what it is. I don't personally believe that's how a football club should be run but I'm also not stupid enough to think a billionaire should buy the club and just continue to pump money into it at their expense.
The Glazer family has never "pumped money" into the club. The club was bought on debt with security against Glazers own holdings. That debt has been paid off by the club. The remaining debt is the debt that was secured against the clubs own assets.

The only thing they have allowed the club to do is invest its own money in its own operation, while being the only owners in our league that take money out of the club.

We're purely, and solely a investment for the owners. Where other clubs have owners that are at least part interested in success on the pitch, we have owners that are interested in financial success and to do reasonably well on the pitch to ensure the investment value increases.

Man, Joel Glazer even said he took years to understand offside. They don't even know the bloody sport.
 

slyadams

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One of the most galling things for me is the base hypocrisy from Chelsea and City who always used the line "its not fair for the big clubs to pull the ladder up after them, we should be able to invest to catch up", and now they're trying to pull the ladder up after them.
 

JPRouve

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I don't really see how an entry draft could work for European football. There's not anything like the same kind of college sports network.

And what players, rather than becoming multi-millionaires as teenagers are going to want to have their current path replaced with one where they don't get to even choose their club?
Eligible players would come from clubs that aren't in the league. For example lets say that Mbappé plays for PSG in 2023 and his contract ends in 2024, he registers for the entry draft and the team with the 1st pick can have him. In many ways it's comparable to the NHL where european young players are in a traditional european format but still register to the NHL entry draft every year.
 

sullydnl

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What do you think the financial reward for finishing 15th and 1st are in a SL?
As per the reports yesterday, an insignificant amount when compared to the money gained from being part of an elite 15 and the spend that would currently be required to compete with the top clubs.

The Glazers would unquestionably make more money underinvesting and finishing bottom of the SL than they would spending the money required to win or indeed consistently compete in the CL.
 

pratyush_utd

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How can this be undone? What kind of compromise we would be willing to accept? Stringent FFP, ownership model changes ( no state sponsored ownership) , bigger share of European TV money?
 

crossy1686

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@crossy1686 multiple posters have argued against you that the merit has been removed because these 15 clubs automatically qualify anyway. What's your response?
I've replied multiple times to that question.

Merit still exists, these clubs weren't just selected at random. This isn't a postcode lottery of teams is it?

As it currently stands, it's 15 'elites' and 5 that drop in and drop out. There's nothing stopping a team like Southampton winning the CL multiple times, growing a following and becoming more competitive and asking questions about joining the SL full time, otherwise they'd just create another SL that involved them and other clubs.

It doesn't make sense for the competition is completely exclusionary it's entire lifespan.
 

JulesWinnfield

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Eligible players would come from clubs that aren't in the league. For example lets say that Mbappé plays for PSG in 2023 and his contract ends in 2024, he registers for the entry draft and the team with the 1st pick can have him. In many ways it's comparable to the NHL where european young players are in a traditional european format but still register to the NHL entry draft every year.
But what is the incentive of Mbappe doing that when right now he could run his contract down and let the best paying club sign him in a location he actually wants to go to?

The club might have power over governance but they don't have power over the players here.
 

Gambit

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The new league represents an American takeover of elite European football, which will become a closed shop run by its founder members.

One source described it as ‘a US-led operation’, adding: ‘This is down mostly to the Americans at Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal who have believed for a long time that they should be making a lot more money.'
Perez and Madrid have been pushing for this for years. It's no surprise that Perez is the President. I'm sure our American owners are all heavily involved but its not just at their feet to lay the blame.
 

Sentient Meat

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I thought this could be a paletable natural progression of the game that would eventually have to happen, save for a complete bursting of the football bubble, because all industries have to expand and grow or they die. Stagnation is death. With the increasing popularity of the game world wide it seemed somewhat far fetched to imagine that United playing Burnley or Real playing Heusca would be maximizing the potential of the game. I could see a scenario where a new level of the pyramid was created that is fully integrated into the european leagues to allow for this with a more egaliterean design.
I think people enjoy the fantasy that Real, Juve, Bayern, MU, Liverpool, Arsenal, PSG could be relegated in the modern era... rather than the reality.

It's like the American illusion that if you compete hard enough and find a niche that you can defeat Amazon or Walmart in retail.

But I suppose keeping that illusion intact would make it much more palatable for fans who actually think the game is played on a level playing field.
 

red4ever 79

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I've replied multiple times to that question.

Merit still exists, these clubs weren't just selected at random. This isn't a postcode lottery of teams is it?

As it currently stands, it's 15 'elites' and 5 that drop in and drop out. There's nothing stopping a team like Southampton winning the CL multiple times, growing a following and becoming more competitive and asking questions about joining the SL full time, otherwise they'd just create another SL that involved them and other clubs.

It doesn't make sense for the competition is completely exclusionary it's entire lifespan.
What a strange guy. Gone down in my estimations as a poster on here.
 

Sylar

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Yup, it's all set up for a big change and no fans will win in the end. I guess I won't have any regrets going full river on all games now :wenger:
Remember Sky/PL/Clubs whoever it was charging for those extra games and it flopped?
Im surprised it doesnt happen more with all these pay packages.
 

justsomebloke

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I'm not, our model is what it is. If the board agree they should be paid dividends then it is what it is. I don't personally believe that's how a football club should be run but I'm also not stupid enough to think a billionaire should buy the club and just continue to pump money into it at their expense.
That does mean though that this billionaire hasn't been pumping money into the club. Which you just argued that he had.
 

RobinLFC

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Absolutely no chance this happens, think of the various fiscal regimes between Spain/England/Italy etc.

You cannot do drafts like in the NBA when players are subjected to different tax rates.
USA states have different tax rates as well. For all the reasons why an entry draft wouldn't work in European football, different tax regimes is the least of their problems.
 

VojjE

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This is just racist nonsense imo. Theres been rumours of a super league for decades now, the whole thing is led by Juve, Barca and Madrid ffs.
Berlusconi suggested it as far back as the 1980's.
 

Wednesday at Stoke

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Its really hard to empathize with UEFA or FIFA over this, although I do feel for the supporters of clubs like Ajax, Porto, Benfica, Lille etc who have always accounted well for themselves when given the opportunity. FIFA has been a shit hole of corruption.

UEFA has failed many times over to address racist abuse in European competitions and with more commercial revenue at stake and a strict attitude towards that, at least the super league would be free from it.

Other than guaranteed participation, I don't see much wrong with a super league proposal. Will it be any worse if the league is gradually expanded to 32 teams and they hold onto a franchise system like in American sports?
 

Gambit

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Cardboard elk

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What is the point with solidarity payments to clubs that no longer can compete, even in theory? 10 bn over 23 seasons.. that amounts to less than 0,5 bn per season divided between 2-300 clubs? Decided by which factors? Who places highest in the domestic leagues, or sells the most players to a Super League team?
 

Raven

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This is just racist nonsense imo. Theres been rumours of a super league for decades now, the whole thing is led by Juve, Barca and Madrid ffs.
Mehh, when it's financed by JP Morgan? I think you can piss off with the racism argument. It's American turbo capitalism performing a coup against football, I'm really hoping this will help wake people up to what capitalism is really about which is, protect yourself and your profits and feck the rest.
 

VorZakone

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I've replied multiple times to that question.

Merit still exists, these clubs weren't just selected at random. This isn't a postcode lottery of teams is it?

As it currently stands, it's 15 'elites' and 5 that drop in and drop out. There's nothing stopping a team like Southampton winning the CL multiple times, growing a following and becoming more competitive and asking questions about joining the SL full time, otherwise they'd just create another SL that involved them and other clubs.

It doesn't make sense for the competition is completely exclusionary it's entire lifespan.
1. Why do these 15 clubs get to automatically qualify because they are the top dogs at this moment? The time factor is the random variable here. Do this in 1995 and it may include Blackburn. Do this in 1980 and it may include Forest. These Super League clubs have secured their position for the foreseeable future.
2. Again, you are assuming that new teams get to join this exclusive group of clubs who automatically qualify. There is 0 indication of that so far.
 

JulesWinnfield

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Its really hard to empathize with UEFA or FIFA over this, although I do feel for the supporters of clubs like Ajax, Porto, Benfica, Lille etc who have always accounted well for themselves when given the opportunity. FIFA has been a shit hole of corruption.

UEFA has failed many times over to address racist abuse in European competitions and with more commercial revenue at stake and a strict attitude towards that, at least the super league would be free from it.

Other than guaranteed participation, I don't see much wrong with a super league proposal. Will it be any worse if the league is gradually expanded to 32 teams and they hold onto a franchise system like in American sports?
I was wondering how long it'd take for woke capitalism to rear its ugly head as an excuse.

I'm sure we can also improve diversity in the league by incorporating teams from Tokro, Beijing, Singapore, Delhi, New York, California, Houston, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.