European Super League - clubs withdrawing p42 onwards.

Valley11 said:

I think the way people have reacted to lockdown has shown big business and powerful institutions they can do want they like and the common man might grumble a bit but eventually sucks it up.
We’re living in such dangerous times IMO. 

Let’s hope fan power wins the day in this instance. I guess our experience with Roland and ESI shows it can be done but my god what an effort. Once the flashy ESL PR machine kicks in and starts promoting the new league, will fans care enough or think their voice is powerful enough to stop it? Doubtful. 

The fans they care about won't care about this - the fans that they want to monetise more are the foreign fans that will never step foot inside the stadium other  than once in a blue moon - not to say that there is necessarily anything wrong with that, but the real fans, the legacy ones as above, don't bring in enough cash for them to give a shit about them. 

These clubs have been slowly killing football league clubs since the formation of the premier league. I couldn't really care less what they do.i would hope they are kicked out of English football but that will not happen.

Huddersfield Town are still unbeaten in the ESL. 

Dortmund have confirmed they will play no part in this. 

Interesting to see if the sums can add up without the French and Germany TV markets

If it goes ahead, so many talented players are going to end there careers with no medals or trophies to look back at. At least now, they have opportunities to pick up domestic league and cup medals. Not going to happen when only one of the fifteen can win each season. 

kentaddick said:

this is the football equivalent of the hundred, isnt it? no doubt they'll be scheduled games in the USA and china. Doomed to fail imo.

I thought about this. People are getting really desperate to milk everything they can out of all our sports at the expense of the sports themselves 

I really hope UEFA make the first move and remove Chelsea, Real M & Man City form the Champions League and Man U and Arsenal from UEFA CUP. Show that they mean business early on. 

Premier League should do the same and League should stop the cup final this weekend. 

Rothko said:

kentaddick said:

this is the football equivalent of the hundred, isnt it? no doubt they'll be scheduled games in the USA and china. Doomed to fail imo.

The Hundred is a governing body driven competition supported by the Counties.

I also find the Premier League comparison a bit flaky

It's only supported by ALL the counties because they got bunged some much needed cash to support it. 

Cafc43v3r said:

When issue I haven't seen talked out much is how this will change the transfer market between the clubs involved.  In the scheme of things there isn't much activity between them, it is more common in Italy though.

But when you have a player like Haaland you end up with a bidding way between 3 or 4 of them.  It might not increase the fee Dortmund get but it drives the wages and agents slice up through the roof because they are all scared the other one will get him.

If the "prize money" is guaranteed there isn't that arms race is there?  They could even buy him from Dortmund and "give" him to the team, out of the 12, that finishes lowest. 

Assuming he wants to go there. If the ban from players playing for their national teams is enforced, he might see that as a deal breaker.

I don't like this one bit, and neither do many others - but it may yet succeed.  Not just because money talks and the big clubs can get their way.  Plenty of media, sponsors and fans (I use the term loosely) like it.  

It's driven by finance/business and branding, of course.  Nobody is pretending that it's for purely sporting reasons.  And a big 'rule' of branding is that, actually, the views of the ultra loyal fans don't matter as much as you might think.  These clubs thrive on the millions of occasional/armchair/plastic (DELETE AS APPROPRIATE) fans, not the diehards who enjoy an awayday at Villa Park.

We might end up with a 2-track system not unlike American Football, which has the NFL with its glitz & glamour, and College Football for perhaps a more authentic experience - but the analogy breaks down because the College system is clearly a stepping-stone in one direction only.  But if instead the big 6 etc stay in the Premiership, it's inevitable that they'll be playing under 23s in March fixtures against Villa/Burnley/etc - so the Premiership will be forever devalued.  Best chucking those clubs out altogether IMO.

And as for the big 6, if I were Chelsea I'd be careful what I wished for.  A plausible scenario down the road is one where where the league says 'max 2 clubs/franchises per city' (and is under pressure to grant a UAE franchise').  Welcome to the league, Dubai Blues!

Speaking to BBC World News earlier, Chris Beauchamp, the chief market analyst at IG, said: 

“I can understand it from a business perspective. These football clubs are far more than businesses. They are giant businesses with huge revenues and huge costs. There’s a lot of that behind it.

"These clubs can take themselves off from their national leagues and monopolise that revenue and provide secure incomes very much on that American model. These teams are essentially giant franchises and you get that visibility of revenue. This will command attention around the globe so this is why they’re doing it.

“They’ve stirred a multitude of hornets' nests here and reflect the anger from top to bottom.

“Trickle down economics is clearly alive and well in football, if nothing else, but it doesn’t seem to work that way. The perception will be that they take control of these revenues and make sure they get the lion's share. They will argue because they’re the ones bringing the attention.

"It’s right to say it will hurt teams further down the scale. If you have a game that is isolated from the grass roots and its foundations, you wonder how long it can really last in its form."