The teams involved (Spurs and Woolwich maybe not) + Bayern and Dortmund and PSG go out most weeks as an absolute formality playing teams like eibar, valenciennes and SPAL. Football is one of the most popular sport in the world, and the draw is for those big teams because that’s where the Brady’s, lebron’s and Jordan’s are. It is really cannibalising the potential interest of football that over three quarters of games are against rubbish. Other leagues, like NBA and NFL has way more potential for upset in an individual game, if it was Minnesota v Lakers every week would people watch?
The champions league always plugged this gap. It provided the big clubs the platform they needed to capitalise on their size. But the group stage games are now also dead - I am thinking about cancelling BT - I just don’t care about slavia Prague and midjtyllnd. The outer stages of the league, quarters onwards, are basically just a mini-league version of the ESL anyway. And the new proposal? It’s the ESL! 10 games per team of which over half will be powerhouse clashes with low probability of minnows progressing by beating so many big teams. So what’s o bad about the ESL? The ESL will have taken money away from uefa and, unless the clubs got kicked out the domestic leagues, they bring that money back. A team finishing 16th in the prem already I think gets more tv revenue than Barcelona - trickle down is a thing. Even the parachute money relegated clubs get is bonkers. This would have been an enriching exercise if it just replaced the champions league which I think was the actual intention.
I’m not sure how we are now better off than that with uefa’s proposal?
As for the non-relegation - well these have (us the exception) been the biggest European clubs for decades. This isn’t going to change overnight due to their financial or government clout. They will be the draw for sometime but in a highly competitive league probability of one finishing bottom (imagine us this year) consistently may be high and justify some financial protection for the pioneering clubs.
I think a lot of the reaction has been emotionally charged. I don’t think any of the clubs actually wanted to leave the premier league. The champions league is what’s dead on arrival. Cannibalising football’s draw. Perez’ comments sound whacky but he’s right - the younger generation around the world don’t want to sit down for 2 hours to see Madrid v Eibar. They’ll dip in and out of Lakers v Clippers tho, interest in football is waning relative to other sports, sorry to bring it up again but more people in asia do now watch the nba than premier league football - the model is not working because the interest in local derbies is no longer the USP. The biggest brands in the world like mbappe and Messi and walking over getafe and nantes every week and the champions league is failing to plug that hole until late April every year.
Those in this country emotionally invested in bovril, punch ups and pies and go on about grass roots but have never been to watch Bromley FC. I think the super league arguments are obvious to those not wrapped up in this country’s cultural insecurities and obsession with the past. Sky and BT (Gary, carra) twisted the reality and made it sound like the clubs wanted to leave the premier league to stir U.K. hatred against it and BOJO got on board for cynical political capital - they twisted the true intentions and killed it for selfish gain - who said they wanted to leave the league?)
ochhail: