European Super League

[MikelHadADream]

I think a lot of people underestimate just how much English football fans hate this idea. Like it was something that got Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal fans on the same page....That's basically impossible to do

Sorry but the PL is basically the Super League. A fairly middle of the road English side like West Ham probably have more economic firepower than all but 4-5 European sides.

Quality is one thing but the PL is undeniably the most attractive product out there, that's why it gets the most eyeballs.

They rightfully hated the idea of a closed league with no promotion or relegation, which this incarnation supposedly won’t have…

 

[Batman]

Personally, I'm all for a Super League because we have a team good enough to win it a couple of times quickly and make everyone forget how we haven't won a CL. Kind of like how people forget that Chelsea were just a punchline before 2005.

 

[Ripe Banana]

They rightfully hated the idea of a closed league with no promotion or relegation, which this incarnation supposedly won’t have…

it will still be hated

 

[MikelHadADream]

it will still be hated

Probably, but I’m curious to understand why if the no promotion/relegation thing is off the table.

 

[Mickey Rooney]

I think you need salary and transfer caps along with substantial revenue sharing. Goes to ensuring competitiveness and that sound management and sporting merit, rather than spending, matters most.

EPL has done a very good job with revenue sharing and is reaping the competitiveness rewards. Salary and transfer caps may be more difficult to introduce if foreign clubs can outbid them -but I’d be all for it, especially with a Europe wide agreement. As a fan, I’m much more focused on there being more spending parity than anything else. If the EPL can achieve that (along with the revenue sharing already in place), well I don’t think it needs anything else. Although, as a Canuck, I can’t say that I care too much whether I watch Arsenal in the top European league (in a pyramid system) or the top English league. I’m kinda agnostic as long as the league has actual high spending parity and revenue sharing to make it a product based on sound management and play rather than outspending. It’d be cool to have league matches/races against the likes of Ajax and Benfica and Napoli and whatnot. There is also undeniable charm in the history of 100+ year old national rivalries and cold weekday nights in Stoke.

 

[Rasmi]

Personally I’m all for super league if it’s done right. I don’t think the English way of having 92 professional clubs is sustainable and now we have lower leagues demanding to get share of the PL money. One of the first thing independent regulator will propose is a % of PL money being given to lower leagues and big clubs are rightfully against it. Trash teams in the pl are already benefiting from the top teams in the pl

 

[Ripe Banana]

Probably, but I’m curious to understand why if the no promotion/relegation thing is off the table.

This is just a way out for Real, Barca and Juve after being badly ran. They're trying to get some of that PL money. If the PL teams join, they immediately lose their competitive edge, Real Barca get PL level money and also all the talent because let's be honest, they're situated in a better climate. Why play in England when you can play in Spain and earn just as much.

 

[dashsnow17]

Something will change eventually surely, you can’t have the current system with one league so much more financially dominant than every other, that’s not sustainable.

 

[Rasmi]

Something will change eventually surely, you can’t have the current system with one league so much more financially dominant than every other, that’s not sustainable.

Exactly. In England it’s like we are on top now. Keep things up. But when Bournemouth with 11k stadium can blow AC Milan out of the market for a player. Something is really off. Super league is the future

 

[SuperGoon]

This is just a way out for Real, Barca and Juve after being badly ran. They're trying to get some of that PL money. If the PL teams join, they immediately lose their competitive edge, Real Barca get PL level money and also all the talent because let's be honest, they're situated in a better climate. Why play in England when you can play in Spain and earn just as much.

Agreed strongly.

 

[Rex Stone]

Wonder if I can get odds on Al Nassr joining?

They’ll be doing the most to get old man Ronaldo in

 

[Paperino]

Something will change eventually surely, you can’t have the current system with one league so much more financially dominant than every other, that’s not sustainable.

This has very little to do with the financial power of one league. Its just classic greed from rich people that want to get richer. That was the case when several PL clubs co-founded the ESL and its the case now.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

I've zero doubt Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool etc still have this on the backburner. That's not the point.

There will be major problems if they try this stuff again whatever the format because they've been told in no uncertain terms by fans that they don't want a European Super League and the clubs had to put out snivelling apologies.

People are seriously underestimating the passion for English football from British football fans, they don't just care about Arsenal. They do care about the game in this country in general and its status.

For example MK Dons are still pretty much a pariah club to football fans here after 20 odd years because they moved Wimbledon out there. That's just from moving a fairly small club internally in England. Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd leaving the PL would cause carnage in comparison.

This isn't America where you can move franchises from city to city and change conferences or whatever.
English football fans pride themselves on the history and tradition of their clubs and their status in this league.
They care much more about playing clubs like Everton and Aston Villa week in week out than they would Dortmund and Sevilla.

 

[Rasmi]

I've zero doubt Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool etc still have this on the backburner. That's not the point.

There will be major problems if they try this stuff again whatever the format because they've been told in no uncertain terms by fans that they don't want a European Super League and the clubs had to put out snivelling apologies.

People are seriously underestimating the passion for English football from British football fans, they don't just care about Arsenal. They do care about the game in this country in general and its status.

For example MK Dons are still pretty much a pariah club to football fans here after 20 odd years because they moved Wimbledon out there. That's just from moving a fairly small club internally in England. Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd leaving the PL would cause carnage in comparison.

This isn't America where you can move franchises from city to city and change conferences or whatever.
English football fans pride themselves on the history and tradition of their clubs and their status in this league.
They care much more about playing clubs like Everton and Aston Villa week in week out than they would Dortmund and Sevilla.

I think you are really overestimating fan resolve. Has United fans boycotted the glazers or Newcastle fans their previous fat owner? Fans may moan, but they will not stop going to games or support their teams

Look at the World Cup in Qatar, how many cried about it being bought and all those lgtbq supporters going to boycott it. Every self righteous cvnt from the BBC was there living it up in Qatar.

If we join the super league, we would all still watch it

 

[Tir Na Nog]

UEFA haven't helped themselves with the new CL format. This by far trumps it.

 

[Ripe Banana]

Exactly. In England it’s like we are on top now. Keep things up. But when Bournemouth with 11k stadium can blow AC Milan out of the market for a player. Something is really off. Super league is the future

Why should anyone in the EPL care that Bournemouth can blow AC Milan out of the market for players? When Italian teams were dominating the transfer market in the 80s and 90s did they care about others? Bournemouth are reaping the rewards of a decades of ground work done to get to this point.

 

[Rasmi]

Why should anyone in the EPL care that Bournemouth can blow AC Milan out of the market for players? When Italian teams were dominating the transfer market in the 80s and 90s did they care about others? Bournemouth are reaping the rewards of a decades of ground work done to get to this point.

They should care because that will explain the reason behind the super league and why I think it will happen. If things continue like this rest of Europe will just become feeder leagues to the PL and I don’t think they will accept it.

A league with Ajax, Bayern, psg, juve, Milan, Benfica, inter, Dortmund is more interesting than the pl without the top 6. And once it gets going I expect the top 6 to gather enough courage to go over

 

[Maybe]

People are seriously underestimating the passion for English football from British football fans, they don't just care about Arsenal. They do care about the game in this country in general and its status.

That's all fine, but as soon as there is an alternative to the PL (which CL is surely not in recent years), people will focus more on that, and the European market is far greater than the English.

In theory, let's say there is this new league and English clubs don't join, eventually, most of the commercial focus and tv rights will be directed to that new league, and you can imagine where the money and top players will go.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

That's all fine, but as soon as there is an alternative to the PL (which CL is surely not in recent years), people will focus more on that, and the European market is far greater than the English.

In theory, let's say there is this new league and English clubs don't join, eventually, most of the commercial focus and tv rights will be directed to that new league, and you can imagine where the money and top players will go.

But it's the paradox of this Super League idea. These clubs want it to compete with the PL big boys but they can't get it off the ground without them. As soon as Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool etc backed out the whole project folded like cheap cardboard.

Real, Barca, maybe Bayern, the Italian clubs (No PSG because they're hand in hand with UEFA) and filler clubs, that's not going to have the might to challenge an established draw like the PL when it comes to TV rights deals in the US or China or anywhere else.

In the process you kill every important national league in Europe.

It's just a terrible idea driven by clubs whose own greed has come at the expense of their own domestic leagues competitiveness. Barca, Real etc would be doing the exact same thing in this supposed Super League within 5 minutes too

 

[Ripe Banana]

They should care because that will explain the reason behind the super league and why I think it will happen. If things continue like this rest of Europe will just become feeder leagues to the PL and I don’t think they will accept it.

A league with Ajax, Bayern, psg, juve, Milan, Benfica, inter, Dortmund is more interesting than the pl without the top 6. And once it gets going I expect the top 6 to gather enough courage to go over

Lol, as a Nigerian, speaking from the pov of a Nigerian living in Nigeria, a League with those teams without the EPL clubs isn't going to move the needle. We don't care. I've never met a fan of those clubs in Nigeria or in my extensive travels across Africa. I bet the same rings true across Asia too.
They need the English teams. why do you think they were willing to give 6 permanent spots to the English clubs in the last proposal?