This whole kicking out of the league, stripping titles etc seems so ridiculous. It makes zero sense and stinks of big TV companies trying to fan outrage because they are scared about what this does to the monopoly they have held for so long.
Seems like their best tactic now is try and enrage the fans and squash the thing.
Do you actually think sky give two shits about Southampton not being able to qualify for the super league? Are people that naive? This isn't about integrity and dreams, it's about some people realising that their golden egg is going to become someone else's golden egg.
They will still have the champions league. Why aren't sky excited about all the clubs who could never qualify before, now being part of that? Hm? The likes of Everton, Wolves, West Ham etc can now all regularly play European football. Why aren't sky embracing that?
Because they don't want the likes of West Ham and Everton being the face of their product. Sky know their TV rights will be impacted by this and they are shitting it.
I've said for years I'd rather just pay a membership to United and have access to all of our games. Sky have had us by the balls for years.
Champions League will still be a thing. Anyone who says "it will be shit though" shouldn't also then be moaning because those teams can't get into the super league because that's the point, people would rather watch Man United vs Real Madrid than they would Everton vs Valencia. The champions league only has as much value as the fans etc grant it. If the champions league died due to low viewership then its because fans are the ones choosing not to watch those clubs. So why be so desperate for those clubs to 'have a chance' when if enough if them took their chance, you wouldn't tune in to watch it anyway.
No, I don't think clubs will be kicked out of their leagues either. The leagues can't afford it. And I suppose the clubs know it, and know they have the upper hand in this disgusting power play. I'm just saying I wouldn't actually mind that scenario.
It’s not even smaller fish we won’t get a chance to play against. It’s big fish too. Winning a competition that a club like Bayern Munich isn’t taking part in will ring pretty hollow, surely?
I wonder if it is fans of American sports who find this so appealing? They’re used to money-spinning franchises making sure they’re at the top table every year. To everyone else this proposal feels all kinds of wrong.
That's not really how the North American leagues work. The basic principle is there, but if that's the way European football is taking, there are two crucial elements missing. One is that, because the clubs are actually franchises under the league, there is better geographical coverage, which is nice. But more importantly, in response to your point: there are not really big clubs with a ton of influence on the league, and you don't really have clubs winning everything forever.
In fact, the latter is the one way in which North American leagues trump the European football system: no-one has a stranglehold on the leagues. (Like the top 1, or 2, or 6, in every European league.) The salary caps, trade, and draft systems give every club a chance to make it through at some point. Just take a look at the NHL in particular: champions have been really varied for a while now.
If they would establish this ESL similarly, with clubs from all over Europe and a similar system to balance out their 'power', I'd actually be interested. But this is just 12 of the regulars solidifying their domestic and European stranglehold.