To super league or to not super league ...

[Charlie Darwin]

Yeah - they'll start supporting them either in their holes or from the comfort of their own sofas.
Well they can't exactly go to games tomorrow.

[Bucket]

Even if they don't go to games, there's always online merchandise to be sold or online streaming of games. Every little helps.

[bennocelt]

We communicate the community and volunteer aspects of the club constantly. There's no harm breaking it up with the odd bit of humour or opportunism, especially when the club tends to get relatively little coverage nationally so a bit of sark / attitude is justified too, but I totally get you have to be careful as well. When we have no shirt sponsor it's worth it to take an opportunistic one when it pops up- nice engagement numbers to show anyone interested in coming aboard.

Re Bray and Finn Harps and their humour. The Bray one made the rounds over here on the social media in German speaking land, so even if a few handful goggle Bray Wanderers, and next time they are in Ireland.................. its always good to have a decent social media presence.

And to throw a curveball into this discussion. FC Basel fans and board are at loggerheads the last few years, just last week thousands protested by handing in their season club cards. The general running of the club has gone downhill since they sold and got rid of the backbone of a good team a few years ago, have done some shady deals with an obscure team in India but a lot of it has to do with the club giving a lot of focus to their E Sports Division, to the seemingly neglect of the football side of things (I agree with the fans here totally) I wonder is this something to think about with the breakaway teams. That future fans (The youth who never leave their bedroom) might not necessarily care about the real footballing side of things but more the electronic and gaming part, and clubs will increasingly cater to that huge and lucrative market, especially in Asia, to the neglect of the real business they should be caring about, the football on the pitch.

[jbyrne]

The IPL cricket franchise system would suggest to me you can fabricate something immensely popular and successful from zero tradition if you package it well enough.


the IPL wasn't trying to replace existing successful competitions though. there was a void there that needed to be filled....... from my view as someone with very limited cricket knowledge it must be said

[sbgawa]

Equaly important was it had its own space in the cricket calender which allowed all the players play in it that wanted to before returning to their club/country

[NeverFeltBetter]

How much leverage do UEFA and the FA's actually have here? The bombast of the official responses yesterday - though not from FIFA, rather interestingly - strikes me as a bit of desperation. I'd say some of the people behind this ESL wouldn't actually mind saying goodbye to their national leagues, being then able to pivot to the NFL model of a season totally, where they play 16 competitive games in a season and a few "play-offs" if they are successful, along with a few pre-season friendlies. Real "event" style calendar. If they stay in their national leagues, they won't be taking them seriously.

What does that leave UEFA/the FA's in terms of a response? Banning players from national teams? Even if that stuck, which I don't think it would, are we certain that it would be the magic bullet some are acting like it is? I'd say a lot of players would take a big paycheque and then the stance of "I'm playing to my value and level for my club, I want to play for my country, it's UEFA who won't let me, blame them".

[sbgawa]

How much leverage do UEFA and the FA's actually have here? The bombast of the official responses yesterday - though not from FIFA, rather interestingly - strikes me as a bit of desperation. I'd say some of the people behind this ESL wouldn't actually mind saying goodbye to their national leagues, being then able to pivot to the NFL model of a season totally, where they play 16 competitive games in a season and a few "play-offs" if they are successful, along with a few pre-season friendlies. Real "event" style calendar. If they stay in their national leagues, they won't be taking them seriously.

What does that leave UEFA/the FA's in terms of a response? Banning players from national teams? Even if that stuck, which I don't think it would, are we certain that it would be the magic bullet some are acting like it is? I'd say a lot of players would take a big paycheque and then the stance of "I'm playing to my value and level for my club, I want to play for my country, it's UEFA who won't let me, blame them".


UK Government could kill this dead very quickly.
They are an independent nation answerable to nobody (as the brexiteers would remind you) , bring in a levy (like Ireland did with the banks and insurence companies) of a few hundred million for football clubs operating in the UK without the sanction of the FA.
Or a Law making it illegal for professional football club to play in the UK without the sanction of the FA.
IF they want to stop it they can.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Whats to stop the clubs from leaving the UK? Or just registering themselves somewhere else.

Tbh the British governments response yesterday didn't re-assure me too much, seemed very wishy-washy. Condemn, criticise, but there was very little in the way of "We can stop this by xxx".

[sbgawa]

Whats to stop the clubs from leaving the UK? Or just registering themselves somewhere else.

Tbh the British governments response yesterday didn't re-assure me too much, seemed very wishy-washy. Condemn, criticise, but there was very little in the way of "We can stop this by xxx".

They could leave the UK in theory but is that really likely.
If they did i think you would see a new FC Liverpool playing in the Premier league pretty shortly renting the now empty Anfield (which has a preservation order slapped on it by UK Govt banning redevelopment). (or Sharing Evertons new Stadium
If a Government really wants to stop something they can.
If i had told you 18 months ago the Police would be on the streets making sure you didn't travel more than 5k from your home you wouldn't have believed me.
The question is will they? If its seen as an issue that there are votes in they might

[Kiki Balboa]

To be honest, I think a bigger problem is that the ESL just seems boring. So far only 12 teams. Lots of meaningless games to qualify for the knockout round. Then you are meant to are about the final, which you never heard of before? Where will it be in 10 years time. It just seems dull. Who would want to watch it once the novelty wears off.

Even the money within the tournament wont be evenly spread, and there are no mechinisms to ensure equality, so no doubt you will have 3 out 4 same teams in the semis every years.

[Sonny]

I think it's fascinating that this appears to be the straw that broke the camels back for so many. You've got Sky (in typically sensationalized ratings friendly fashion) taking up the position of defenders of the soul of football against evil corporate greed! Sky and the Premier League, who have gutted fan culture, priced out vast numbers of working class fans and turned football into a televised game of monopoly, are now rowing in behind "Football is for the Fans" campaigns and claiming to be outraged because the proposals say the quiet part out loud by referring to non-TV fans as 'heritage fans'. An Arsenal season ticket costs over 2k sterling a year. You can get a Bayern Munich season ticket for as little as €150. Where is the all the "football is for the fans" outrage about that?

Ultimately this is a ****ing contest between massive greedy corporations all trying to protect and pursue their own financial interests. Listening to Sky Sports lecturing about the need to preserve the soul and integrity of the sport is stomach churning.

[Kingdom]

Just on this. Struck me earlier that if it were to go the legal route and clubs challenge any exclusions from their own leagues, presumably they’d be using eu competition law ? (A la the Bosman case for example) But guess who is not subject to EU law anymore, thanks to Brexit :cool:

I really hope, if it happens, that the National FAs have the balls to throw those clubs out of their leagues. I’ve heard a lot of comment this morning that the league needs the clubs more than the clubs need the league. I’m not so sure. How will Arsenal or Spurs fans feel after a few seasons finishing in or around the bottom of this new league, with no other trophies to play for ? Even if they do better than that, and say, finish 5th or 6th, well really, who cares.

As a Pats supporter with only a passing interest in the English game now, I can’t say that it exercises me greatly. Our local teams will in all likelihood remain where they always were, but at least I can have realistic dreams of league titles and FAI cups (well one every fifty years at least :D)

The SL proposal isn't being discussed by MS this week, interesting to see if it comes up next week, as there's a Ministers for Sport Council meeting coming up shortly (2 weeks). FT Brussels saying this morning that the Commission has no interest in getting involved, leaving it to the Sports Authorities to resolve, and quoted a sports lawyer citing a ECJ case for two Dutch speed skaters as an example for the SL clubs (and importantly, their players) to latch on to, to avoid sanctions.

[jbyrne]

To be honest, I think a bigger problem is that the ESL just seems boring. So far only 12 teams. Lots of meaningless games to qualify for the knockout round. Then you are meant to are about the final, which you never heard of before? Where will it be in 10 years time. It just seems dull. Who would want to watch it once the novelty wears off.

Even the money within the tournament wont be evenly spread, and there are no mechinisms to ensure equality, so no doubt you will have 3 out 4 same teams in the semis every years.

exactly. just a longer drawn out version of the very drab champions league group stages. i have not really sat down to watch a champions league match before the last 8 in a good few years.

[blueblood]

6 nations is a fairly perfect tournament. Nations (ie everybody can get behind) playing against close rivals in Feburary (normally a lull in every other sport). Only 5 games, so every game matters. Can easily sell out stadiums because its only two or three games a year (short supply)

Asking anymore, people would get bored.
But with only 5 games you could potentially have nothing to play for after only 2 games but your probably right in the main difference being the national team, but would there be much interest from tv supporters if ireland rugby continually finishing around the bottom of the table? I suppose a lot is to do wit marketing etc

[El-Pietro]

This is the obvious eventual outcome football has been heading to for the past few decades. Every few years changes are made that concentrate more power and money in the hands of a select few. This leads to massive disparity in quality between the top teams/leagues and everyone else. Then you get people/teams complaining about boring group stage games in the Champions League, or predictable outcomes from the groups themselves with maybe one "surprise" team qualifying for the knock out stages each year. To rectify this they make changes that results in even further concentration of money and power in a smaller group of hands and the problem is exacerbated further. How anyone could look at the Premier League and La Liga and think... yeah La Liga is great, we want the same teams to win each year, that will get fans interested is beyond me. The one thing the Premier League did right was dividing up prize money/tv money more evenly than other leagues, which has allowed for the likes of Leicester or Wolves, or Fulham to go on fairytale runs. I'm not naieve enough to think Leicester or Wolves are "good guys" or anything, just that those runs by unfancied teams are what keep people interested, even if more often than not its Liverpool, or Chelsea or one of the Manchester clubs winning it all, or Bayern/Madrid/Barcelona/Juventus. I'm sick and tired of it. I'm no fan of UEFA/FIFA or the Premier League/FA but I think the various associations need to have backbone here. I see three possible outcomes from this process:

1. The associations negotiate with these teams, give them more concessions, exacerbating the problem and in a few years we are back at the same position. The proposal will look a little different, maybe a different set of clubs but its the same core plan. Those clubs will have even more leverage next time though.

2. They allow these clubs to stay in their respective domestic leagues while playing in the Super League. Thats the end of the Champions League as it is effective immediately which has severe knock on issues for leagues like our own, no one is funding Dundalk or Rovers, or Tranmere or Celta Vigo if there isn't a chance at a promised land out there to hope for. A few years down the line the Super League is established and has prestige, and these clubs come back looking for more concessions or they threaten to leave their leagues, leauges they are dominating financially anyway. Reduced fixtures etc, more prize money and control for the top teams. Eventually after bleeding their domestic leagues dry they completely separate into an expanded global league and the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A etc are completely devalued.

3. Have some backbone, kick them out now and take the hit financially, but leave those clubs to fend for themselves. Maybe they make a go of it, or maybe in a few years people get sick of the same 12-15 teams playing each other every week with no relegation meaning the likes of Arsenal and Spurs have no need to fight competitively as they rake in the cash - plenty of examples of this in the US, teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates make a tonne of money despite being a terrible team for a decade. If they come crawling back, they can start at the bottom of their equivalent pyramids.

Also, once they kick the traitor teams out - work on fixing European competition. Undo all the horrible work done to it in order to make the rich clubs richer. European cup goes back to Champions only. No qualifying, no seeding, no groups. Home and Away legs, straight knock out all the way until the semi final. Give me PSG vs Bayern Munich and Linfield vs Steaua Bucherest in the same round. Make the English champions travel to San Marino or Luxembourg in the first round if they have to. Bring back the Cup Winners Cup, and you can put all the other decent but not champion teams in the Europa League, with qualification if needed.
Will Liverpool, Arsenal, Athletico fans be excited about a team that loses as many games as they win in a season? Its once thing dominating domestically most years and getting knocked out in the quarter final of the Champions League by Bayern or Barcelona, but if they don't have a domestic league and only get to play these other elite teams mathematically these teams can't all win enough games to keep their fans happy. Do they want to be small fish in this new pond?

[NeverFeltBetter]

One thing UEFA won't be doing is downsizing the Champions League. The same day this was announced they increased the size of the group stage.

It strikes me a bit like the Club World Cup which, despite decent viewing figures as I understand it, has never turned into the red-hot must-win thing that FIFA wanted it to be. 20 years after it was first introduced, it's still struggling to really be as big a deal as the creators wanted it to be. How will the ESL do things differently? The marketing campaign will probably be enormous I suppose.

I wouldn't be so quick to use the constant similarity of the opposition as a reason for why it might fail. They might only be playing each other once or twice a year, and isn't that basically what a league is?

The real comparison is American sports, and specifically the NFL. That has more teams so it's automatically got more variety, but it does have a system where you aren't playing the exact same sides every season, just your divisional competitors. Something like that could easily be brought in to this venture.

Could be looking at a lot more too, if FIFA and UEFA aren't sanctioning anything. Stuff that springs to mind is shorter games with clock stopping, advertising during play, more VAR-related stuff, mechanisms to eliminate draws, sinbins.

Who are the other three teams allegedly to become "founders" does anyone think? German clubs are out, not sure more EPL teams would join, though who knows. PSG appear obvious, but have been silent on the matter. Zenit maybe? Roma, Ajax? Could they look further afield, to an American side, or Qatari or Chinese?

[sidewayspasser]

Who are the other three teams allegedly to become "founders" does anyone think? German clubs are out, not sure more EPL teams would join, though who knows. PSG appear obvious, but have been silent on the matter. Zenit maybe? Roma, Ajax? Could they look further afield, to an American side, or Qatari or Chinese?
According to German media, invitations are to be extended to PSG, Bayern and Dortmund. But Bayern and Dortmund don't seem to be interested. Maybe it's wise for them to watch on from the sidelines, and if the ESL blows up in the face of the 12 clubs, Bayern, Dortmund and PSG might be the ones benefitting from the fallout by being the biggest clubs left in the CL.

[jbyrne]

Listening to Sky Sports lecturing about the need to preserve the soul and integrity of the sport is stomach churning.

you don't have to look any further than skys transfer season and deadline day coverage on SSN for the grotesque nature of what its all become.
bragging about the ridiculous amounts that the clubs have spent on transfers during a particular transfer season as if its something every sport should be proud of

[NeverFeltBetter]

According to German media, invitations are to be extended to PSG, Bayern and Dortmund. But Bayern and Dortmund don't seem to be interested. Maybe it's wise for them to watch on from the sidelines, and if the ESL blows up in the face of the 12 clubs, Bayern, Dortmund and PSG might be the ones benefitting from the fallout by being the biggest clubs left in the CL.

Given the nature of fan ownership in the Bundesliga, it's hard to foresee any of their clubs accepting entry unless the Champions League totally collapses. Even RB Leipzig have come out strongly against the idea.

[sbgawa]

i would say geographic spread will be a factor, team from Poland , Portugal , Scotland ??, Holland Celtic and Rangers have been trying to leave for years.

[Sonny]

you don't have to look any further than skys transfer season and deadline day coverage on SSN for the grotesque nature of what its all become.
bragging about the ridiculous amounts that the clubs have spent on transfers during a particular transfer season as if its something every sport should be proud of

Yeah grotesque is the word for it but ultimately it's all part of the pantomime. 99% of e-fans, barstoolers and armchair fans watch football as a tv show not as a sport. Obviously this Super League would be another nail in the coffin, but I really don't see it as some sort of radical break from the current state of affairs. European club football is already way down the rabbit hole. As dismal as it is to be getting ****ed on trying to watch 3/4s of a game from a crumbling away terrace in Oriel with nowhere to take a ****, it's infinitely preferable to the alternative imo.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Porto have already said they aren't interested. Benfica maybe? A team from the Netherlands would probably be a high value target alright. Not so sure about the Old Firm myself, I think we (the Irish I mean) tend to overestimate their importance to the footballing landscape. I'm thinking somewhere like Red Bull Salzburg or Dynamo Kiev would be more likely to be invited.

[Sonny]

Porto have already said they aren't interested. Benfica maybe? A team from the Netherlands would probably be a high value target alright. Not so sure about the Old Firm myself, I think we (the Irish I mean) tend to overestimate their importance to the footballing landscape. I'm thinking somewhere like Red Bull Salzburg or Dynamo Kiev would be more likely to be invited.

I think Celtic have the potential to punch with some of the big clubs but are currently severely restricted by their operating environment. A big historic club with a 60000 capacity stadium with one of the best atmospheres in European football and massive potential to plug into plastic paddies the world over. It would seem a perfect fit for a new franchise driven soccer conference!!

[Dalymountrower]

I think Celtic have the potential to punch with some of the big clubs but are currently severely restricted by their operating environment. A big historic club with a 60000 capacity stadium with one of the best atmospheres in European football and massive potential to plug into plastic paddies the world over. It would seem a perfect fit for a new franchise driven soccer conference!!

Reductio ad absurdum... I hope that you are either Dermot Desmond or you are joking.

[Sonny]

Reductio ad absurdum... I hope that you are either Dermot Desmond or you are joking.

There is absolutely no way Desmond would be thinking that ambitiously about Celtic!

I'm half-joking obviously. Celtic obviously won't be anywhere near this. But if a club like Spurs can find themselves among the global elite of football clubs simply by virtue of billionaire ownership and truckloads of EPL tv money there is no reason Celtic couldn't do so also in the right circumstances. Only one of those clubs have won a European Cup!

[NeverFeltBetter]

PSG's President with a pretty strong statement against this idea now.

[pineapple stu]

You wonder what their angle is. It almost certainly isn't this -


As a football club, we are a family and a community; whose fabric is our fans - I believe we shouldn’t forget this.

- even though that's what they're saying.

Meanwhile, Florentino Perez is quoted saying -


We are doing this to save football at this critical moment

It's remarkable the amount of guff that some people will believe (and I'm fairly sure there's millions of Real fans around the world who'll lap up those words)

[NeverFeltBetter]

Very interestingly, Amazon have made a very tepid comment on the plans, having previously been mentioned as a company that were approached over broadcast rights:


Amazon Prime Video said in a statement it had not been involved in any discussions regarding the Super League."Amazon Prime Video understands and shares the concerns raised by football fans regarding a breakaway Super League," a statement on its official Twitter account read.
"We believe part of the drama and beauty of European football comes from the ability of any club to achieve success through their performances on the pitch."

[redarmyfaction]

The English clubs involved are no longer interested in terroir and will leave the UK if the Tories try and stop them and I don't think they will, I mean this kind of stuff is the Conservative and Unionist Parties raison d'etre. I wouldn't be surprised if some of Johnson's sleazy friends in finance like Crispin Odious are involved. The Johnson regime will make all the right noises that a populist administration ought to, but it will most probably end nowhere. You have to assume giving the parties involved in promoting the ESL that everything is legally watertight as far as the founding clubs are concerned.

[Bucket]

"Bringing the game into disrepute" covers everything though?

[Sonny]

You wonder what their angle is. It almost certainly isn't this -



- even though that's what they're saying.



Was thinking this myself, but apparently Al-Khelaifa and Ceferin are very good mates and it could be as simple as that. Either way it's nothing to do with sporting integrity, family or community.

[EatYerGreens]

I think it's fascinating that this appears to be the straw that broke the camels back for so many. You've got Sky (in typically sensationalized ratings friendly fashion) taking up the position of defenders of the soul of football against evil corporate greed! Sky and the Premier League, who have gutted fan culture, priced out vast numbers of working class fans and turned football into a televised game of monopoly, are now rowing in behind "Football is for the Fans" campaigns and claiming to be outraged because the proposals say the quiet part out loud by referring to non-TV fans as 'heritage fans'. An Arsenal season ticket costs over 2k sterling a year. You can get a Bayern Munich season ticket for as little as €150. Where is the all the "football is for the fans" outrage about that?

Ultimately this is a ****ing contest between massive greedy corporations all trying to protect and pursue their own financial interests. Listening to Sky Sports lecturing about the need to preserve the soul and integrity of the sport is stomach churning.

There is absolutely no way the Super League announcement would have been made without a major broadcaster on-board. Ad we're not talking Sky, Fox Sport etc - we're talking a global subscription player like Netflix or Amazon, or a heavily financed new entry who wants to use this content to drive their platform. There is a slight possibility the latter could be a bespoke platform just to sell the SuperLeague and run by it, but I suspect that would be seen as less beneficial than just hawking the rights to an existing or aspiring global platform. Sky's entire success was built on football. It's what drove adoption of its services throughout the 1990s (with the old adage of it being sold to blokes, who then justified it to their wife on the basis of the movies package for the both of them and Disney for the kids). Football remains Sky's crown jewels - even in a more competitive rights environment these days. If they lose the rights to the apex of club football in Europe - which they would, because they don't have a presence in every market - then the whole rationale for having it starts to crumble a bit. It's already very expensive as it is (€30-40 for a fairly basic package)

So there is zero principle involved here for Sky. This is them fighting for their very survival.

[sidewayspasser]

Was thinking this myself, but apparently Al-Khelaifa and Ceferin are very good mates and it could be as simple as that. Either way it's nothing to do with sporting integrity, family or community.
Al-Khelaifi is also chairman of BeIN Sports. Don't they have broadcasting deals with UEFA in some parts of the world?

[NeverFeltBetter]

What do people think of the potential of a player-based response? Some stories going round of a few big names - Henderson at Liverpool, Maguire at Man Utd, etc - expressing negative opinions and trying to rally support. Would enough players be willing to take a stand, and have the balls to back it up by walking? I suppose I'm basically asking if there would be any possibility of a players strike occurring. Is that wishful thinking?

[pineapple stu]

The English clubs involved are no longer interested in terroir and will leave the UK if the Tories try and stop them and I don't think they will
Yeah, the Tories have always been interested in letting business make lots of cash and pretty much nothing else.

Another question on this is - what makes Liverpool FC Liverpool FC? Is Anfield necessary? Is it a bunch of players in red kits and a liver bird crest? (Did the Harlem Globetrotters have a home venue?)

[El-Pietro]

Yeah, the Tories have always been interested in letting business make lots of cash and pretty much nothing else.

Another question on this is - what makes Liverpool FC Liverpool FC? Is Anfield necessary? Is it a bunch of players in red kits and a liver bird crest? (Did the Harlem Globetrotters have a home venue?)
I don't think the Harlem Globetrotters are a reasonable comparison. They were always more of a circus act than anything resembling competition. They typically aren't even playing local opposition, they bring their own opponents (the Washington Generals with them). Their games are more like WWE or the likes where the results are basically scripted/choreographed.

Not to say that something like that isn't an eventual possibility down the road but its not what is being proposed here.

But theres nothing to say these teams couldn't become permanent traveling teams playing a series of games in different parts of the world. Though several of them have spent a lot of money on their facilities in recent years so I can't see that being their plan in the short to medium term.

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, take out the fake nature of it alright (which admittedly is a lot of what they are). Maybe a better way of putting it is whether Liverpool could relocate to Beijing (say)?

[El-Pietro]

Yeah, take out the fake nature of it alright (which admittedly is a lot of what they are). Maybe a better way of putting it is whether Liverpool could relocate to Beijing (say)?

I'd be surprised if something like that didn't happen eventually, once the league is established. I don't know if it would be Liverppol, but even a European league of about 20 teams with 3 in London?Or 3 in Liverpool/Manchester? the NFL is far more widespread with a max of two teams per city.

[redarmyfaction]

Yeah, the Tories have always been interested in letting business make lots of cash and pretty much nothing else.

Another question on this is - what makes Liverpool FC Liverpool FC? Is Anfield necessary? Is it a bunch of players in red kits and a liver bird crest? (Did the Harlem Globetrotters have a home venue?)

Liverpool and Man Utd are brands just like Doc Martens, the football brands don't need a home stadium just like Doc Marten doesn't have and in fact never had a factory, they are made in S.E Asia now and despite the shoes being garbage they are are going public with a $5 bio dollah American offering.

N.B Legacy DM fans can buy shoes sold under the Solovair brand made by NPS who used to make DMs when they were manufactured in the UK, a much, much better shoe than DM have made since the 80s.

[pineapple stu]

I don't think that's a fair analogy though as club's home grounds have a certain resonance. Big nights at Anfield/Old Trafford/Camp Nou, etc. It's a locus for the team. There's merchandise money to be made off it too I'd say.

US sports have shown that relocation can work, although it ****es a lot of people off (although increasingly those people - the "legacy" fans, to use the earlier quote, are irrelevant), and it comes at the cost of a name change which I don't think would work here.

It may happen at some stage in the future - hence wondering if a Dublin Dons could be Ireland's football team at a lower level - but (and this is answering my own question I guess) I'm not sure if football's ready for it yet.

(I think this is still all a giant game of chicken btw, but the topic is going to keep coming up, so may as well chat away about it in the meantime!)

[Sonny]

(I think this is still all a giant game of chicken btw, but the topic is going to keep coming up, so may as well chat away about it in the meantime!)

Yeah I really think there is too much money at stake for there not to be a resolution of some sort. It might involve the associations and even UEFA capitulating, but the national leagues involved absolutely can not expel the teams involved. The EPL is a non-runner without those six teams.

I'd also be surprised if one of these clubs were ever relocated. I think long term you'll probably get a few home games touring around like the NFL, but the 'brands' are all to tied to specific place for them to actually permanently move.

[sbgawa]

It would be great if UEFA actually managed to clip these guys wings rather than do a deal which means that by guaranteeing access based on history (as currently floated but for only two teams) they effectively just create a ESL with the only difference being its run by UEFA instead.

Only way that happens is if Governments step up,
Chance for Boris to nail down the Working class vote in the UK maybe??

[Hulky]

On one hand, the big boys are not happy with the money. On the other hand, UEFA is/was a deeply corrupt organisation. In theory, I support any kind of rebelion against UEFA as long as it's properly done. But the current idea of the Super League is not OK.

If the big boys go on with it, we'll have UEFA retaliate. And I do have two tickets for the EURO, will not be happy to see Portugal without CR. But let's say this happens. We will surely have a lot of legal actions for years between clubs, UEFA, FIFA, players and so on. A total mess.

[NeverFeltBetter]

The Times is reporting that one of the six English teams is having emergency discussions at executive level about backing out after the fan backlash. Clickbait or signs of hope?

You'd imagine it's probably Liverpool.

[Kiki Balboa]

The Times is reporting that one of the six English teams is having emergency discussions at executive level about backing out after the fan backlash. Clickbait or signs of hope?

You'd imagine it's probably Liverpool.

Liverpool and United are the biggest pushers for it.

Chelsea and City are now rumored to be pulling out.

[NeverFeltBetter]

BBC reporting that Chelsea are pulling out. This idea might be sunk.

Edit - Confirmed that City are gone too.

Edit #2 - All happening fast, reports that all 12 clubs are considering disbanding the whole idea. Some turn around from this morning!

[sbgawa]

UEFA should now ram it up their arses by throwing out changes to cl

[Kiki Balboa]

Early feeling is that the clubs have 'shot their load' too early. Everyone in the game between politicans to broadcasters to fans to football associations are against it. They have no public backing. Seems a very strategic mistake, there is just a wave of negetivity. By the time it starts (which we assume now is next september), the clubs will be in massive legl fights, Government possibly passing legislation against it , and months of propaganda from Sky and BT sports (who dont have the rights) against it.

just dont see the massive expansion for Super league clubs from the market. The only option is compete for a 'slice of the pie' of the English, Italian and Spanish leagues.I just dont see any inovation. Everyone has no option but to fight tooth and nail against it.

(Obv, preaching to the choir here.... it also just seems boring..)

i was right about something

[NeverFeltBetter]

Ed Woodward resigns. Was apparently going to leave at the end of the season anyway, but I assume this means Man Utd are also abandoning the project.

[boynemunich]

After all the drama this is going to end up as a victory for the barstoolers as they will continue to think they are indispensable to the English sides.