European Super League

Do you want the ESL to happen?


  • Total voters
    1,921
  • Poll closed .

calodo2003

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I have been harping on this above, but I still can't wrap my head around this. If the business case laid out to JP Morgan was an explosion of revenue out of the states I just can not see any way this happens. Native (non ex-pat) Football fandom is still nascent here, and the majority of us take our cues from our ex-pat friends or from what we see on tv coming from Europe (just look at the MLS team names for gods sake). The complete negative reaction to this will trickle down to all the viewers and I just can not fathom any instance in which they maintain, let alone expand, on the current CL viewer base. Few people here are going to pay extra for this. I guess we would watch it if it gets bundled into Amazon Prime or Disney+, but we would not seek it out and I would drop any streaming service that starts charging extra.

tldr; if this plan at all requires a significant viewer base in the US they fecked up.
This x 1000
 

Tom Cato

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Bigger market isn't it. Feck the local fans, target America and Asia, chase the money, its what its all about. We'll have special kick off times to suit foreign markets next.
The moment one of these people mention "player draft", someone better cozy up to Bill Gates and convince him that buying all the clubs and giving them to the fans is going to cure malaria
 

stevoc

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They had to risk travelling back by air so they would be back in time to play in their next league game. The English Football League wouldn't let them rearrange it because they were against United competing in European competition at all.
 

hobbers

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UEFA President: United weren't a big club until Alex Ferguson




People want to bow down to the governing body of a competition which the president thinks we were a tinpot club before SAF even though we had won a European Cup 18 years before SAF?
That obviously isn't his point or you're deliberately misinterpreting it.

It's exactly the same point Neville was making yesterday. We were fecking relegated in the 70s. We were not a top force in Europe in the 80s. If you go back far enough the big clubs were Villa and Everton. Even further and the big clubs were Wolves and fecking Bolton.

The point is that the big clubs have not always been big clubs, if the measure is success. They dont deserve permanent seats at the top table, those have to be earned every year or there's no fecking point to any of it. Arsenal and Spurs are weaker than Everton, Leicester and West Ham right now. Inter and Milan have been a joke for a decade. Barcelona are bankrupt.
 

Ixion

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Those who think this is comparable to Sit Matt taking us into Europe, you have seen Sir Alex's reaction to this right? Calling it out for being the bullshit that it is. He even took us into the World Club Cup. He sees this for the obvious greed that it is, it is nothing in the same spirit as Sir Matt.

This isn't about breaking boundaries or competition, its about billionaires not wanting their toys to miss out on Champions League football no matter how shit they are. Comparing any of these clowns to Sir Matt is a disgrace.
 

red4ever 79

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I might be wrong but have the clubs not signed contracts to join the 'super' league?

If so that would be grounds that they have breached the rules of the game
I was debating this with another poster this morning. These are questions for our posters who are legally trained :) .I believe those 12 clubs signed a letter of intent. You will have seen that various high ranking officials from those clubs have also resigned their posts within UEFA
 

talking robot

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I might be wrong but have the clubs not signed contracts to join the 'super' league?

If so that would be grounds that they have breached the rules of the game
Not sure. If I had to bet I'd say that they have conditional funding, but nothing binding. I also imagine the clubs will have been very careful to cover their bases legally before making an announcement of this sort.
 

Gasolin

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But that's not the case? There will be some spots open for new joiners. Details are not available yet but it's not a completely closed shop.

Champions League suffers from having so many teams in it now. Viewer figures are high for games involving the likes of us, Barcelona, and so on, but poor for games featuring teams like Leipzig (who have never been champions in their entire existence). That needs addressing.
That is the case because we are guaranteed to not fall out of this league for 23 years. It's nonsense really.
 

Reditus

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No idea of course if this is true. But if it is....

Joel Glazer and Ed Woodward seeing themselves in anyway shape or form like Matt Busby is truely vomit inducing
 

Solius

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But that's not the case? There will be some spots open for new joiners. Details are not available yet but it's not a completely closed shop.

Champions League suffers from having so many teams in it now. Viewer figures are high for games involving the likes of us, Barcelona, and so on, but poor for games featuring teams like Leipzig (who have never been champions in their entire existence). That needs addressing.
There are ways to address any problems without resorting to something as soul-destroying at this.

Plus the open to new joiners thing is also incredibly elitist. No way Leicester would've been allowed in if this was back in 2015/16 and I don't even think they'd want to join. What right do these clubs have to act like they deserve a closed competition? It stinks.
 

meamth

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I mean..what do you expect?

"Let's form a super league and break away from UEFA and FIFA"

Spurs: "For one tournament? and then what if I got relegated? I'll be left in the streets?"

"Let's do no relegation clause for some period of time and we'll see how this goes"

Spurs: "I'm in, feck UEFA!"
 

Strelok

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Regardless of the clubs have done right or wrong, it's another subject. Still I don't get why there are people who support Fifa/Uefa/domestic governing body to ban the players from WC or Euro. They're actually just professional workers who are respecting their contracts. If Fifa/Uefa have any issue with the ESL, they should target those 12 clubs not the players I think.
 

GameOn

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But that's not the case? There will be some spots open for new joiners. Details are not available yet but it's not a completely closed shop.

Champions League suffers from having so many teams in it now. Viewer figures are high for games involving the likes of us, Barcelona, and so on, but poor for games featuring teams like Leipzig (who have never been champions in their entire existence). That needs addressing.
Ho naive can you be?

There are reportedly only 4 open spots for changing "guests" each year.

Not only that, but the teams, which are a permanent part of the ESL, will have such a huge financial advantage, no non-permanent club will EVER be able to close the gap. Not even when they're doing decades of exceptional work.
 

Boavista

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Bayern is the biggest hypocrite here:


Playing the hero card, what a load of bollocks.
That video makes the opposite point you're making? They're held back by their own league's tv money, so they'd have the most to gain from joining the Super League.
 

Pexbo

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Leicester @26/1 looks pretty good for a tenner right now.
 

ti vu

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I didn't suggest that he should shut up, you seemingly didn't read nor care about the posts you responded too. I said that he can't target the owners specifically, not that he should shut up.
In political sense, he is not required to name call the owners specifically. In his positions, he's talking with club's chairmen, CEOs. There is no reason in business and politic senses, to name check someone behind the scene. If that's what you want to say. That I can agree.

However, when you put personal twist as in "if I am a businessman" looking out for my career long term, then getting to the owner, may open doors of opportunities if you're ambitious. Working for a big boy now, but anticipate to a climate change, it's better to catch the other big boy attention, with the protection of the spotlight. Play the card right, and secure your future job.
 

Hammondo

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I mean..what do you expect?

"Let's form a super league and break away from UEFA and FIFA"

Spurs: "For one tournament? and then what if I got relegated? I'll be left in the streets?"

"Let's do no relegation clause for some period of time and we'll see how this goes"

Spurs: "I'm in, feck UEFA!"
Same for us though. It is normal for us to be knocked out of the CL into the Europa league.
 

Dirty Schwein

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Those who think this is comparable to Sit Matt taking us into Europe, you have seen Sir Alex's reaction to this right? Calling it out for being the bullshit that it is. He even took us into the World Club Cup. He sees this for the obvious greed that it is, it is nothing in the same spirit as Sir Matt.

This isn't about breaking boundaries or competition, its about billionaires not wanting their toys to miss out on Champions League football no matter how shit they are. Comparing any of these clowns to Sir Matt is a disgrace.
Thank you. It's doing a disgrace to his name and what he was trying to do.
 

Alvaro Maestre

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feck UEFA, feck FIFA , feck the FA , feck the Super League. If this is something that affects all involved parties and helps us build something new from scratch without politics, greed and corruption, Im in. Burn everything down to the ground!
 

BluesJr

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I am loving the drama of all this I have to say. Football was ruined the second they let countries and sugar daddies buy football clubs. I want this to blow up further.
 

Rightnr

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Regardless of the clubs have done right or wrong, it's another subject. Still I don't get why there are people who support Fifa/Uefa/domestic governing body to ban the players from WC or Euro. They're actually just professional workers who are respecting their contracts. If Fifa/Uefa have any issue with the ESL, they should target those 12 clubs not the players I think.
Because you need leverage to make criminal capitalists change their view. How can you be so blind as to not see they wouldn't care if no external pressure was applied?

No one is supporting UEFA or FIFA but opposing the ESL. How is this so difficult for some of you to comprehend? Is nuance that difficult?
 

calodo2003

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Would this have happened if fans were still in the stands?

Would that have mattered at all, the potential immediate backlash from the match going fan, or would greed have ruled the day regardless?
 

JPRouve

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I mean..what do you expect?

"Let's form a super league and break away from UEFA and FIFA"

Spurs: "For one tournament? and then what if I got relegated? I'll be left in the streets?"

"Let's do no relegation clause for some period of time and we'll see how this goes"

Spurs: "I'm in, feck UEFA!"
The no relegation was the starting point. The point being that the most marketable clubs want to keep the money for themselves.
 

Rolandofgilead

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What does that even mean?
Well, in 1955 Chelsea won the title, under pressure from the FA they chose not to take part in the European Cup. The following year Busby and United won the league and Busby promptly told the FA to do one. The FA responded by saying that if We didn't manage to fulfil our domestic responsibilities then we would be heavily sanctioned. They also refused to move any games and that is why Busby chartered a plane to Belgrade a couple of years later and we ended up with Munich.

The fact that our higher ups are even comparing the two is disgusting.
 

hubbuh

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Bigger market isn't it. Feck the local fans, target America and Asia, chase the money, its what its all about. We'll have special kick off times to suit foreign markets next.
We are what's known as 'legacy' fans now, mate. The 'fans of the future' (aka the likes that couldn't give a toss about the importance of a club's heritage and history) are where it's at. They'll take games on the road too, I have no doubt. Shanghai Stadium and the sort. What a fecking disgrace.
 

izec

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What a shambles this is :lol: I love the drama though. I always knew football would go down the shitter, not so soon, but here we go