European 'Super League' Shenanigans

summerisle · March 2, 2016

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...s-meet-to-discuss-breakaway-super-league.html

The pigs are secretly getting their snouts into the filthy lucre of a proposed closed shop European Superleague. I couldn't imagine anything more boring : season in, season out watching overpaid prima donnas play each other endlessly with no fear of relegation to an increasingly disinterested European public. Perhaps advertisers will pour money into the concept but what is the point of football without the consequences of failure ?

It's no coincidence that Manure and the RS are sniffing around after failing to qualify for the Champions League, and the narrowing of the field at the top of the Premiership. No thought of course of what the fans want. Who in their right minds, excepting the clubs' own supporters, would watch this Frankenstein' s monster ? I would hazard a guess that after a few years even these supporters after watching the same teams, would yearn to return to the present construct.

Ban them from domestic cups, and from the World Cup and European Championship,and let them wallow in their own green feculence.

Telegraph.co.uk

Five of England's biggest club are reportedly in secret talks to break away from the Premier League and join a European Super League.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea,Manchester City and Arsenal discussed the long-mooted shake-up with American billionaire Stephen Ross at London's Dorchester hotel on Tuesday, The Sun reported.

According to the newspaper, Old Trafford executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis, Manchester City’s chief executive Ferran Soriano and Liverpool’s Ian Ayre took part in the meeting.

Mr Ross, an American real estate developer who created the pre-season International Champions Cup in the US, China and Australia, hopes to wrap up a deal shortly, the newspaper said.

Manchester City?s chief executive Ferran Soriano reportedly took part in the meeting with Stephen Ross Photo: REUTERS

The concept of such a league, which would see England's top clubs join Europe's elite including Barcelona and Real Madrid, has long been debated.

Three years ago, the chairman of Turkish club Galatasaray said Europe’s biggest clubs were actively plotting to set up a “closed” competition of the continent’s 20 top teams. Unal Aysal said at the time such a league would be formed within five years.

The move would gurantee hundreds of millions of pounds for Europe's top clubs, some of whom do not always qualify for the lucrative Champions League.

This season, both Chelsea and Liverpool are expected to miss out on a Champions League place, while Manchester United are three points off the top four.

Chelsea, who won the Champions League in 2012, were reported to be represented at the meeting to discuss a European Super League. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

A breakaway league would spell the end of theChampions League and have a huge impact on the Premier League.

• Nine reasons why the Champions League is a bit rubbish anyway

The English competition currently enjoys a TV deal which guarantees £100 million per club for the next three years. The departure of the biggest clubs would see that revenue severely diminish, impacting the remaining clubs as well as having a knock-on effect on the whole league.

Uefa has been under increasing pressure from the European Club Association to reform the continent's top club competition to ensure teams with the greatest TV appeal have a guaranteed • Uefa ready to consider a third club competition

Kiwi · March 2, 2016

There'd be an uproar.

Alanbileysfeathercut · March 2, 2016

Someone tell em Liverpool's no longer a big club!

Jags..class · March 2, 2016

If this happens, we would lose the sky money and the rest of us might be in trouble regarding players wages. The premiership is booming, massive sky deals, top players, healthy competition. But greed is dirty and these clubs could make even more money but this move would kill the champion league or is this replacing the champion league or are they breaking away from the own national leagues?

Jags..class · March 2, 2016

By the way if the cl become a closed shop then I would turn my back on football.

jaycee · March 2, 2016

Let them go, ban them from the PL, FA Cup and league cup after a couple of years of no trophies and falling attendances they would soon come crawling back, acompetition with no pressure would become very boring very quickly

atrottel · March 2, 2016

Simple. Expel the clubs from the English FA and tell any player who contracts with them that they will be banned from playing in any FIFA league and for their country.

I can't believe that anyone - outside the officials from these five clubs and TV companies - in European football would be interested in this soccer version of the NFL (although I can see potential appeal for Americans and Asians). So everyone in Birmingham or Glasgow is suddenly going to start supporting Manchester City in the Global Football Conference?

Ashtonian · March 2, 2016

I think these stories are not worth the time reading them.

No one in their right mind as of this.moment would say super league, including Liverpool. That isn't even a dig at them, they have not been good enough to win their league for 26 years so how can you suddenly include them alongside teams that have? Is it the league cup wins? The European cup won once since the 80s? All those carling cups?

Never in w million years would they invite then along when currently west ham sand stoke are better than them.

summerisle · March 2, 2016

Ashtonian said:
I think these stories are not worth the time reading them.

No one in their right mind as of this.moment would say super league, including Liverpool. That isn't even a dig at them, they have not been good enough to win their league for 26 years so how can you suddenly include them alongside teams that have? Is it the league cup wins? The European cup won once since the 80s? All those carling cups?

Never in w million years would they invite then along when currently west ham sand stoke are better than them.

The original story was in the S**, obviously not posted, but they had photographs of the slimy money grabbing weasels entering and leaving the Dorchester hotel.

royalblue66 · March 2, 2016

Ashtonian said:
I think these stories are not worth the time reading them.

No one in their right mind as of this.moment would say super league, including Liverpool. That isn't even a dig at them, they have not been good enough to win their league for 26 years so how can you suddenly include them alongside teams that have? Is it the league cup wins? The European cup won once since the 80s? All those carling cups?

Never in w million years would they invite then along when currently west ham sand stoke are better than them.

Don't bet on it mate.

rascal · March 2, 2016

sageyefc · March 2, 2016

Can tell theres been a shake up at the top of the league. The days of the same top 4 season after season is over, the panics setting in

Khalekan · March 2, 2016

This is the Leicester and Spurs effect.

This self appointed "elite" are starting to panic now that the hegemony is well and truly shattered.

The days when they could perm four from this five to fill the CL places are gone now as Sky's money has changed the game.

There will be more Leicester Cities.

Everton will join Spurs as a sleeping giant awakening and joining the party at the top of the league.

Chelsea have been taught a salutary lesson both on and off the pitch this season....money couldn't buy them Stones and it cannot guarantee them a top four spot.

So the spiteful "elite" want to lift their ball and walk away.

Allied to that, there is panic among continental Europe's "elite" that even cannon fodder in the EPL is about to dwarf them in terms of TV income and one can see why they are anxiously trying to pull up the ladder.

One can imagine the ghost of football past, the RS and the fading light that is Manchester United salivating at the prospect of this.

It is nauseating that Manchester City, a team plying its trade in the Third Division at the turn of the century, feel able to include themselves in this exercise on the back of being gifted a ground and winning the lottery.

Screw them.

sageyefc · March 2, 2016

Plus the English clubs would lose every game if they had to play European teams every week

Khalekan · March 2, 2016

atrottel said:
Simple. Expel the clubs from the English FA and tell any player who contracts with them that they will be banned from playing in any FIFA league and for their country.

I can't believe that anyone - outside the officials from these five clubs and TV companies - in European football would be interested in this soccer version of the NFL (although I can see potential appeal for Americans and Asians). So everyone in Birmingham or Glasgow is suddenly going to start supporting Manchester City in the Global Football Conference?

I don't think these clubs would worry about the F.A. expelling them.

But the EPL should flex its muscle......they would implode at the thoughts if losing their income from that.