European 'Super' League

[The Culture Bunker]

I actually believe there's a sincerity to what Neville is saying, and that maybe the scales have fallen from his eyes now that he's not involved at united, but there's a failure by him and all at SKY to acknowledge that years of calling these clubs 'the big 4' the top 6' and branding everything around them has led to the sort of delusions of grandeur that convinces them they can bail on their domestic league at the drop of a hat.

He did acknowledge before he's probably been complicit in not attacking the Glazers and maybe this well lead to them all taking a step back when discussing 'the big boys' and 'the product' in future.

Most United fans I know find his stance a bit distasteful due to his previous acceptance of the Glazers, as well as the stuff with Salford City. Not that there's not agreement what with he is saying now, but that it's all too late.

It does seem United may be the big pushers for this, given that gobshite Woodward used his connections with JP Morgan to get the cash. But if it does all fall to pieces, will UEFA punish the 12? Properly, I mean, like three year bans from their competitions at the very least.

[finnquark]

I actually believe there's a sincerity to what Neville is saying.

To the extent that he only wants the right kind of venture capital in the game, yeah.

[Spode]

Most United fans I know find his stance a bit distasteful due to his previous acceptance of the Glazers, as well as the stuff with Salford City. Not that there's not agreement what with he is saying now, but that it's all too late.

It does seem United may be the big pushers for this, given that gobshite Woodward used his connections with JP Morgan to get the cash. But if it does all fall to pieces, will UEFA punish the 12? Properly, I mean, like three year bans from their competitions at the very least.

Similar feelings for me when he put up a load of homeless people in his plush soccer city complex during Covid. A decent gesture at the time but able to do so by the very market that created the issue in the first place.

I do feel he is fuming over this, but like with most stuff he can't see his role in the bigger picture.

[Spode]

To the extent that he only wants the right kind of venture capital in the game, yeah.

Oh don't get me wrong, his grasp of the bigger picture doesn't exist. He sat back and said nothing when the Glazers took over, nobody challenged financial fair play when it was brought in to protect the established elite. Everyone sat back as Rochdale and bury went to the wall. As Parish said earlier, the clubs involved have already coerced UEFA into signing over money to them through the champions league and stacked future qualification in their favour and nothings been said.

He's right in the instance and he's using his voice to get it public but, yeah, ultimately, he'll be happy when everything settles back to united being at the top of tree and cherry picking the best players from the competition at home and having millions more than their closest rivals to cement their status

[Wonderful Butternut]

Most United fans I know find his stance a bit distasteful due to his previous acceptance of the Glazers, as well as the stuff with Salford City. Not that there's not agreement what with he is saying now, but that it's all too late.

It does seem United may be the big pushers for this, given that gobshite Woodward used his connections with JP Morgan to get the cash. But if it does all fall to pieces, will UEFA punish the 12? Properly, I mean, like three year bans from their competitions at the very least.

United and Liverpool are meant to be pushing the hardest.

[Alberon]

Don't know much about football but it sounds like when they want to demolish a listed building or something and they basically just challenge the council to stop them. Like, we're doing it, we've got lots of lawyers, how many do you have. And they're banking on it being irreversible once it starts.

There was this case where a company 'accidentally' demolished a listed pub. But in that case they were forced by the courts to rebuild as close as possible to the way it had been.

So it does happen.

[notjosh]

The whole conversation around this seems to accept that the control that big money has over the game is irreversible. Fucking why? It could absolutely be changed if the will is there. What if every fan took their money away from the billionaire brands and invested in a local club? Why couldn't 20 new AFC Wimbledons spring up overnight?

[Inspector Norse]

Why couldn't 20 new AFC Wimbledons spring up overnight?

The groundsharing logistics would be a fuckin nightmare

[sevendaughters]

The whole conversation around this seems to accept that the control that big money has over the game is irreversible. Fucking why? It could absolutely be changed if the will is there. What if every fan took their money away from the billionaire brands and invested in a local club? Why couldn't 20 new AFC Wimbledons spring up overnight?

They could but fans won't act until their team has hit the wall completely. When Wigan were really nose in the dogshit earlier in the season, I wrote a piece in the local paper suggesting the fans get prepared like Bury, to grab the history they're entitled to keep over the heads of some grubby megarich prick, and take it to a new club. I got fairly slated and the best course of action was to do nothing, write tweets, and wait for a saviour. Now we've got some Bahraini prick who the club retweet every bit of stage-managed lackey-written banal inspiro-shite he pumps out.

Maybe the fans of the Weasel Six are less apathetic than my lot, but they've already been termed legacy fans by the nabobs behind the league ie. THEIR OWN FUCKING CLUBS

[Inspector Norse]

I actually believe there's a sincerity to what Neville is saying, and that maybe the scales have fallen from his eyes now that he's not involved at united, but there's a failure by him and all at SKY to acknowledge that years of calling these clubs 'the big 4' the top 6' and branding everything around them has led to the sort of delusions of grandeur that convinces them they can bail on their domestic league at the drop of a hat.

I think that the sincerity comes from the fact that whatever effect the Premier League and rebranded Champions League, and indeed the expanded World Cup and UEFA Cup have had on football, for all that they have created a dominant group of superclubs at the top and introduced obscene amounts of money into the game while cutting the income to other teams, the structure and feel of the game is still there: the history of the leagues and tournaments is intact, with the Premier League just being a natural continuation of the First Division, for example; there is enough rotation among the clubs and enough excitement about who will qualify, who will be relegated, who will be knocked out, who will be the dark horses, which players will shine and flop; there is still that tiny carrot at the end of the tunnel for most clubs, that notion that there could be something better around the corner if they can just get the defence organised or find a reliable goalscorer or sack Stuart Pearce. This has ensured that for all we disdain the trappings of modern football and the unsavoury aspects on and off the field, we still follow it and care about it.

That all goes out of the window with the creation, the confirmation, of a closed shop of megaclubs; whenever a Man City or Chelsea or PSG were bought out the fans could still feel attached to them and feel that they were still a part of it, but this is just a knife in the back, a piss on the face: a naked confession that they don't care, it's the Asian dollar that they want. It's the killing of competition and the end of what everyone loves and it's that realisation, more than the fact that this will create more Burys and Macclesfields, that your Nevilles and Carraghers can share with the rest of us.

[amateur]

There was this case where a company 'accidentally' demolished a listed pub. But in that case they were forced by the courts to rebuild as close as possible to the way it had been.

So it does happen.

The Carlton Tavern! Is brilliant pub!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/mar/21/rising-from-the-rubble-london-pub-rebuilt-brick-by-brick-after-bulldozing

[The Culture Bunker]

United and Liverpool are meant to be pushing the hardest.

Does make me wonder that if the authorities had done their job properly in 2005, and blocked the Glazers' "purchase" of United, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation.

[mothman]

The groundsharing logistics would be a fuckin nightmare

AFC Hackney Marsh. Now THAT'D be a superclub.

[BlodwynPig]

Rumours that the Italian clubs are about to drop it, so that'll probably kill it. Once one goes, they'll all go.

But they chopped down half of the Amazon just for that website and launch!!!

[Wonderful Butternut]

Does make me wonder that if the authorities had done their job properly in 2005, and blocked the Glazers' "purchase" of United, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation.

And that likely would've stopped H&G from taking over Liverpool too (12 month loan facility to buy a football team. Nothing wrong there, lads. Deffo not going to put the debt on the club), and consequently a possibility of no FSG now. But some other shower would've gotten in somewhere.

[greenman]

Honestly calling it the European super league seemed like a pretty big PR gaff, thats always been associated with the idea of these clubs totally breaking away from their domestic leagues and a lot of the reaction does seem to be based on people beveling this is whats happening.

Functionally the champs league has pretty much been a closed shop ever since its expansion hasnt it? these big 6 clubs have taken probably 95% of the spots over that period bar the likes of Leeds, Everton and Leicester having the odd year.

[Wonderful Butternut]

Functionally the champs league has pretty much been a closed shop ever since its expansion hasnt it? these big 6 clubs have taken probably 95% of the spots over that period bar the likes of Leeds, Everton and Leicester having the odd year.

But hypothetically, at least under the current system, there is the possibility that Everton can come in to the CL and humiliate themselves by being knocked out of playoff by Villareal and then get tonked 5-2 by some Romanian farmers in the Europa league. With this they probably won't even have that chance.

[Chedney Honks]

Klopp should have done a Mourinho tonight, made a stand and taken the consequences. I really thought he had some integrity.

[Harry Badger]

Klopp should have done a Mourinho tonight, made a stand and taken the consequences. I really thought he had some integrity.

Rumours are that he will later.

[DrGreggles]

I assume he wants to speak to the board about it first, but I doubt he'll stick around for long. Maybe see out the season.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Rumours are that he will later.

Unless he tells Liverpool fans they need to support Everton now he should be strung up from the highest bow, Prison is too good, and I mean that.

[jobotic]

"Chappers" sounded unusually cynical and angry on 5 tonight. Does any of this matter?

[chveik]

i think it's a desperate move because the bubble's about to explode. it'll probably be easier to abolish capitalism than trying to make football egalitarian under the current circumstances

and sorry ferris but that american model fucking sucks

[DrGreggles]

James Milner: "The first we heard of it was when it broke yesterday. My personal opinion is I don't like it and hopefully it doesn't happen. I agree with most of what has been said about it."

Obviously Milner is a great bunch of lads, but you need the big names coming out and saying this. And now.

[DrGreggles]

and sorry ferris but that american model fucking sucks

The American model is fantastic - for American sports.
They have the college system in place to support it and, along with the salary cap, it's led to a generally competitive league.
Can't work with football.

[BlodwynPig]

James Milner: "The first we heard of it was when it broke yesterday. My personal opinion is I don't like it and hopefully it doesn't happen. I agree with most of what has been said about it."

Obviously Milner is a great bunch of lads, but you need the big names coming out and saying this. And now.

Saying what? He said he agrees with most of what has been said... und? Its hardly incisive. "He's got to so better for me there, Clive"

[DrGreggles]

He's saying he's against it.

[Ferris]

The American model is fantastic - for American sports.
They have the college system in place to support it and, along with the salary cap, it's led to a generally competitive league.
Can't work with football.

Yeah that was my whole point. It relies on a massive latent fanbase that can (and are) regularly tempted away by other sports. Also requires a huge semi-pro setup (college sports/minor leagues) which is just not European football at all.

[lankyguy95]

Klopp should have done a Mourinho tonight, made a stand and taken the consequences. I really thought he had some integrity.

Mourinho?

[chveik]

chedney's doing one of them jokes