European League

[Whitey Grandad]

48 minutes ago, Pedantic Pete said:

That's just mental...Well don't spend 70m on a centre back and don't pay 150k per week then it would be sustainable. 

It’s called living within your means.

[S-Clarke]

Uefa showing their lack of balls by 'welcoming back' Man City:

 

“I am delighted to welcome City back to the European football family," said Ceferin.

“They have shown great intelligence in listening to the many voices - most notably their fans - that have spelled out the vital benefits that the current system has for the whole of European football; from the world beating Champions League final right down to a young player’s first coaching session at a grassroots club.

[Disco Stu]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Uefa showing their lack of balls by 'welcoming back' Man City:

 

“I am delighted to welcome City back to the European football family," said Ceferin.

“They have shown great intelligence in listening to the many voices - most notably their fans - that have spelled out the vital benefits that the current system has for the whole of European football; from the world beating Champions League final right down to a young player’s first coaching session at a grassroots club.

[hackedoff]

Wonder what it will take to make them behave in future ? I know what about a 16 team Premier League so they will have more time to focus on European glory.

[hypochondriac]

6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Uefa showing their lack of balls by 'welcoming back' Man City:

 

“I am delighted to welcome City back to the European football family," said Ceferin.

“They have shown great intelligence in listening to the many voices - most notably their fans - that have spelled out the vital benefits that the current system has for the whole of European football; from the world beating Champions League final right down to a young player’s first coaching session at a grassroots club.

Utterly pathetic. Uefa are a joke. 

[nta786]

So surely after these last 48 hours the only winners from here on will be the lawyers?  

 

 

[MLG Note: yes we know that the fans/clubs/players etc etc have won too if this does all get disbanded]

[Jimmy_D]

https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2021-04-20/southampton-football-club-statement-european-super-league-april-20th-2021

[Pedantic Pete]

28 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

It’s called living within your means.

Yeah as long as you have a guaranteed 350m each year from a closed shop league! 

 

[rallyboy]

I do hope the participants have broken Premier League rules and all get relegated.

And has anyone come forward and said it's a good idea yet?

Bonkers.

[Trader]

6 minutes ago, rallyboy said:

I do hope the participants have broken Premier League rules and all get relegated.

And has anyone come forward and said it's a good idea yet?

Bonkers.

https://sbcnews.co.uk/europe/uk/2020/10/12/fa-stands-by-golden-share-to-thwart-any-premier-league-power-grab/

Ah, the old ‘Golden Share’.

i’m getting all nostalgic - seems like yesterday.

[Jimmy_D]

I'd missed this happening before, looks like there are some consequences already starting to hit Liverpool.

 

[badgerx16]

All English clubs are now out.

[Fan The Flames]

1 hour ago, Saint_clark said:

2 year ban from European competitions, 20 point deduction next season. 

To only take affect when they qualify, sweepstake on what years Arsenal and Spurs will complete these bans. I'll go 2026 and 2030.

[Fan The Flames]

2 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

Can the FA compel owners to do so ? Not sure the Government would want to.

The government would have to nationalise the other 50% and give it to a supporters trust or something.

[Saint_clark]

All English teams now pulled out.

[badgerx16]

The Arsenal Board have apologised.

[CB Fry]

And the kite is down.

[Fan The Flames]

1 minute ago, CB Fry said:

And the kite is down.

Only because they flew too close to the sun and the string burnt. They have fucked up good and proper.

[Baird of the land]

Arsenal’s statement is just funny. Going on about how stability is essential and they’ll carry on working to deliver security. So a fancy way of saying they still want a closed shop.

[aintforever]

Well that lasted long!

So in one cluster fuck of a descision they have managed to piss off UEFA, alienate their own supporters, expose themselves as the greedy underhand snakes they are and trigger a government fans-led inquiry into club ownership in football.

[CB Fry]

2 minutes ago, Fan The Flames said:

Only because they flew too close to the sun and the string burnt. They have fucked up good and proper.

Every single element was amateurish. Just one step up from a teenage tantrum.

The only way they could make it work was to get one of the administrative bodies on board. The most obvious route maybe FIFA pitched against UEFA, or buy off the parent leagues (PL, La Liga) so they get behind it. But they didn't even attempt to get a sliver of respectability or viability so they just got shat on.

And the second they said "....and it starts this August" I knew it was bullshit. None of the broadcasters or any potential corporate sponsors can act that quick for a project that big. 

Was a blundering fantasy with absolutely no grounding in reality whatsoever. Complete embarrassment for those involved.

[Griffo]

Don’t think we’re any better. Given half the chance most owners would do the same. Didn’t vote against pay per view early on in lockdown until we’d judged which way it was going, late to come out with our statement today. We’re all consumers and customers to Saints too. This could be a real chance to change the way the game is run. Get rid of VAR, proper rules on ownership, spread more money further down the pyramid, sort ticket pricing, safe standing etc. Instead we’ll just welcome those 6 back and get on with our sport that’s rapidly dying on its arse for match going fans already. 

Edited 20 April, 2021 by Griffo

[Cartman]

Hilariously entertaining couple of days, Amazon should make a documentary. Call it All or Nothing: Superleague. Result was nothing just like Spurs' documentary, should have known better than to invite them, their Spursiness infected the whole thing.

[Jimmy_D]

The Neville bit cracks me up  

[Jimmy_D]

24 minutes ago, aintforever said:

Well that lasted long!

So in one cluster fuck of a descision they have managed to piss off UEFA, alienate their own supporters, expose themselves as the greedy underhand snakes they are and trigger a government fans-led inquiry into club ownership in football.

Between the reputation damage they've taken, as well as the fact it looks like they've gone far enough that they're probably triggering penalty clauses by leaving, it's likely they've blown a fairly sizeable hole in their budget. Considering this was basically a money grab... that went well.

[Dry Toast]

What a bizarre couple of days. They seemed so confident, were they testing the water? Seemed a bit more than that. Are they that out of touch? These are successful business people, either with no respect or knowledge of peoples feelings or worse, trying to expose peoples worse feelings. I'm shifting towards the latter.

[LVSaint]

14 minutes ago, Dry Toast said:

What a bizarre couple of days. They seemed so confident, were they testing the water? Seemed a bit more than that. Are they that out of touch? These are successful business people, either with no respect or knowledge of peoples feelings or worse, trying to expose peoples worse feelings. I'm shifting towards the latter.

The whole thing about 'starting in August' is a giveaway IMO, that they want to test the water suggesting an immediate change rather than something that wouldn't take effect for several seasons. It would garner the maximum outcry it was going to get.

[AlexLaw76]

All great news, but surely the big clubs wont let this idea just go away.  I notice the statement from all/most is that the ESL has been 'suspended'!

Man United have also said that they are "committed to working with others across football to come up with a sustainable solution".

What they mean is -  they want something else that factors in their own financial losses that ensures they remain ahead of nearly everyone else, so they can still pay Paul Pogba £400k a week etc.

As a fan, the whole this seemed a farce but the cynic in me thinks there was an element of 'testing the water'.  They have seen the reaction, and will now manipulate something else, whilst allowing fans/football to think they have won!

[skintsaint]

so...........now what ? Back to normal and pretend it didn't happen until it comes up again next year? Surely there should be some form of punishment for bringing the game into disrepute or something. 

 

[Turkish]

13 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

so...........now what ? Back to normal and pretend it didn't happen until it comes up again next year? Surely there should be some form of punishment for bringing the game into disrepute or something. 

 

Lots of uproar that this is going to make things change, the owners no longer welcome. I expect In a week it will have blown over and everyone will be talking about the incredible end to the season that only the premier league can provide with at least 4 clubs in the fight to finish fourth, what a league this is. 
 

 The reality there isn’t much anyone can do to change anything with club owners, unless there is someone rich enough to buy a club you’re going to be stuck with what you’ve got or overseas ownership forever now. So no doubt we’ll see similar ridiculous ideas in a short while to make sure the big clubs get the biggest cut of anything available. 

[JRM]

Agree , looks like they think they can just say they have withdrawn and that's the end of it, will be a shame if that's allowed to happen. 

Champions league is already being amended to suit the needs of these clubs, they'll still keep trying to wrestle more control no doubt about it. 

[Weston Super Saint]

Maybe the one ray of light from all this is the news that Spurs are apparently £1bn in debt!

Fingers crossed they go pop over the summer!

[CB Fry]

I think everyone is forgetting the "root and branch" review of football which will show its teeth with incredibly hard hitting measures like "a fan's parliament" or a "fan consultant" on every club board.

Fig leaf bollocks like that. And squeaked out on a dull news day in six months time when everyone has forgotten the fuss.

Meanwhile, the UAE, the yanks and and the Russians continue to own our national heritage, and plenty of dinlows on here will wish and wish and wish that it was us they owned.

Edited 21 April, 2021 by CB Fry

[Chapel End]

Great news that its all come crashing down and all fans will be delighted but this is just the beginning, it will turn up again in some form.

The rich don't like being told no!

Watch this space 

[Verbal]

7 hours ago, LVSaint said:

The whole thing about 'starting in August' is a giveaway IMO, that they want to test the water suggesting an immediate change rather than something that wouldn't take effect for several seasons. It would garner the maximum outcry it was going to get.

I think you may be underestimating rank incompetence.  Remember, the key executives in this shambles were Woodward and Gazidis.

[Mr Saints]

Now punish the twats

[sadoldgit]

If this was an exercise to test the water, it couldn’t have backfired more spectacularly. It had all the guile of one of Baldrick’s cunning plans and has left them in a much weaker position than before. File under how not to have your cake and eat it.

[Sunglasses Ron]

I see Liverpool have just posted a cringeworthy apology video.

It's a bit like telling your kids that you're going to offload them for adoption and then 24 hours later saying you didn't realise how much it would hurt them.

Apology not accepted!

[Master Bates]

Can Saints still qualify for Europe next season via being in the FA Cup semis?

[rallyboy]

4 minutes ago, Master Bates said:

Can Saints still qualify for Europe next season via being in the FA Cup semis?

With Leicester hot favourites for the title, yes.

[Sarnia Cherie]

Here they come. Tails between their legs with mealy mouthed, half-arsed apologies which they don't really mean. I hope the FA or UEFA take some robust action against these greedy owners so this can't happen again. The game of football may need a revamp here and there but not like this and not by money grabbing owners. They will have to find some other way of getting their astronomical debts sorted. Perhaps refusing to pay players eye-watering salaries on long contracts may be a start.

[M271]

1 hour ago, Sarnia Cherie said:

They will have to find some other way of getting their astronomical debts sorted. Perhaps refusing to pay players eye-watering salaries on long contracts may be a start.

Exactly. If the 'rich' clubs refused to pay the high transfer figures or the stupid salaries the whole of the football pyramid could settle into a more affordable environment. A lot of the sky high deals don't work out well anyway.

Edited 21 April, 2021 by M271

[jasonb]

9 hours ago, Fan The Flames said:

The government would have to nationalise the other 50% and give it to a supporters trust or something.

The government will do nothing as I said a few pages back. They simply saw the reaction and universal uproar as an opportunity to be seen to care. Business as usual now its all collapsed. 50%+1 fan ownership goes against everything for a right-wing, free markets capitalist doctrine. 

All that has happened here is that the oil men have gained even more power over UEFA. The likes of Liverpool and Man United saw this as an opportunity to control those oil men. It failed. You might even consider that Chelsea and Man City played a blinder in all of this. They've even managed to come out of this, from a PR perspective, very well it seems. 

[Saint86]

My crude two cents on the 50+1 rule.

Government/FA/EFL/EPL etc should make it a condition of takeovers that no party can purchase more than 49%. There should then be scheme put in place, whereby clubs are required to make available a certain percentage of ownership to fans over a set timetable. This can be based on the club valuation, and it wouldn't require those "shares" to be sold, just that they were available to buy at a regulated price. Supporters' groups would then have the opportunity to secure ownership as and when the funding was available.

A more drastic option, is that the government (at some level or another) buys out owners at certain times and returns clubs to a community ownership / council ownership etc. But acknowledge that is extremely far fetched and would have huge working issues.

Edited 21 April, 2021 by Saint86

[Minsk]

52 minutes ago, Mr Saints said:

Now punish the twats

Fully agree.

The EPL should hit them all with -30 points, and tell them it will be -40 next time. That would put Arsenal 19th, Spurs 18th, Liverpool 17th, Chelsea 16th, Utd 13th, City 11th. Effectively meaning none could qualify for Europe next season via the league, and hopefully 1 or 2 to be relegated. That would certainly make an exciting end to the season!

Second choice would be Eufa giving them all (and the other 6) a 1 or 2 year ban from European competitions.

[Billy the Kidd]

Just now, Saint86 said:

My crude two cents on the 50+1 rule.

Government/FA/EFL/EPL etc should make it a condition of takeovers that no party can purchase more than 49%. There should then be scheme put in place, whereby clubs are required to make available a certain percentage of ownership to fans over a set timetable. This can be based on the club valuation, and it wouldn't require those "shares" to be sold, just that they were available to buy. Supporters groups would then have the opportunity to secure ownership as and when the funding was available.

A more drastic option, is that the government (at some level or another) buys out owners at certain times and returns clubs to a community ownership / council ownership etc. But acknowledge that is extremely far fetched and would have huge working issues.

I think this is a great idea, once our sale to Amazon goes through.

[Saint86]

11 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Not as bad as the Kevin de bruyne one. When I read that earlier I audibly said "oh fuck off." these players all employ social media managers to curry favour. 

Its very obvious that certain players have used PR firms to right their messages. Its also extremely obvious that the vast number of them have waited to see which way the wind was blowing.

[Morse]

Its hard to think of a worst managed business strategy. From 'this is happening from August' to complete collapse in 48 hours. !!!! It's surprising these owners and their CEO's have the wit to dress themselves in the morning. 

[skintsaint]

...

Edited 21 April, 2021 by skintsaint

[MarkSFC]

This has not gone away. I repeat what I said a few days ago. I thinkvthe solution is a European League System, 3 or 4 on top of the domestic leagues, with promotion and relegation throughout. 

It's not really that people do not want the best teams (I'm not saying biggest clubs, as that's different) play each other - I for one havnt enjoyed 2 CL games as much as I did the recent PSG v BM games - it's the closed shop mentality that's the issue. 

 

All businesses get to a point where they have to make a decision, expand, stand still and possibly shrink, or even collapse. Football is possibly at that place now financially, not so much sportingly, but money drives this industry because of the commitments already in place. 

 

This is not the end of the desire for change. This may well of been a red herring to stir UEFA and fans into what they really want, which is basically anything that guarantees more money. 

 

There does need to be some form of punishment for these people, and the easiest thing is hitting the club with financial penalty and points deductions but those hurt the wrong people, the fans and the players. 

It's far form over, it may go very quiet for a few months but this will come back.