New super league

Ravel49

Yeolde said:

I don't disagree but a lot of Zoomers these days follow players, you only have to go on the Facebook page for West Ham to see Algerians crying for Benrahma to see Mexicans crying for Hernandez. People are starting to follow "clubs" less and less and follow individual players more and more.

Rav says ( I messed up the quoting as there were lots of quotes on quotes 😂)

This is a very good point
I think that’s there so much football available to view now that a lot of people do follow certain Players so watch the team they play for and ‘support’ the player as well as the team all be it briefly (the time the player spends at that particular club).

OutcastLondoner

I meant the governments of the country’s involved in this. Yes in America it has no cultural significance but football is wrapped up with society in the England, Spain and Italy. People are also seeing in this deeper questions about sovereignty and greed. Many governments right now pursue quite populist policies where they may take actions they might not have before purely because of the sentiment. I think that’s what might drive action. But it will probably also depend on the other premier league teams coming out stronger than they have.

whupathman

I think the PL teams have been as strong as they can for now, offering an olive branch but made the rules clear and asked for an immediate stop to it. If they don't then they have laid the groundwork for escalation.

thornburyiron

Football financial analyst has said that the whole idea was down to the American owners wanting to make a profit. The franchises they run in the US do but over hear the bulk of their revenue goes in fees and staff costs. I think Arsenals owner is the lead protagonist especially as they may not get European football next year.
Rather casts a doubt over players doubling their money as that would defeat the objective of the money grabbing owners.

thornburyiron

Burnley chairman who is part of an American investment group statement

“I certainly understand the business model of a closed shop," said Pace.

"The understanding of not having promotion or relegation, but there is something that has drawn the rest of the world to this league and to this special nature of what happens that is different.

"All you need to do is look at the fan base, why is there not a fanbase for any American sport the size of the Premier League? It’s not just the way that it operates, there is something special.

"I can understand the operating side and the economics that are involved. But you have to look back and think why did you choose to get involved in this league? Why did you choose to get involved in this sport?

"Because there is something very, very special and it’s those fans, that passion the structure - there’s so many pieces of it. You can’t destroy that. You can’t rip the heart out of the body and expect the body to live on.”

OutcastLondoner

Diamantis_Are_Forever said:

Yeolde said:

I don't disagree but a lot of Zoomers these days follow players, you only have to go on the Facebook page for West Ham to see Algerians crying for Benrahma to see Mexicans crying for Hernandez. People are starting to follow "clubs" less and less and follow individual players more and more.

Rav says ( I messed up the quoting as there were lots of quotes on quotes 😂)

This is a very good point
I think that’s there so much football available to view now that a lot of people do follow certain Players so watch the team they play for and ‘support’ the player as well as the team all be it briefly (the time the player spends at that particular club).

I think this is natural though. The people following Benrahma are all Algerian. They have their own local teams but also support their national players abroad. I bet there are more English fans watching Bundesliga for Sancho and (less so) Bellingham now. They might not be flooding Facebook comments sections about it but this country isn’t as enthusiastic about its national team as other countries are. It’s a kind of national pride when it comes to Benrahma or Hernandez. (Imagine what the City pages are like when Mahrez doesn’t play?!)

I think it might be what these clubs have staked this league on. Even if they irritate domestic fans, they’ll have a global market that doesn’t have a natural connection to a particular club other than through its players or playing style. From my work I’ve seen how much escapism watching Messi and Ronaldo can offer for people in really dire circumstances. I think it’s kind of the same for Asian and American markets on a wider scale.

A lot of this feels like it’s aimed at the American market. Their style of league. Football interest has really grown. I think Spurs have been growing in popularity there for some time (I saw a thing where most states have more Spurs fans than Arsenal ones).

alderz

I think the Benrahma / Hernandez thing is no different to the English media’s obsession with Sancho and Bellingham, tbh

Slacker

thornburyiron

Outcast watching Messi and Ronald et al can and does offer escapism but would they have the same appeal in meaningless friendlies or the equivalent of testimonials.

IronHerb

Someone texted this in to the BBC -

If, as Perez suggests that this all about reducing boring matches, then I’m in. Who wouldn’t want endless repeats of some of this season’s classics? Chelsea 0 - Man U 0, Man U 0 - Chelsea 0, Man U 0 - Man City 0, Arsenal 0 - Man U 0, Liverpool 0 - Man U 0, Chelsea 0 - Spurs 0

😂

OutcastLondoner

thornburyiron said:

Outcast watching Messi and Ronald et al can and does offer escapism but would they have the same appeal in meaningless friendlies or the equivalent of testimonials.

I don’t agree with the league, I just think that’s the thinking. For a while people would watch anything they’re in but I think it will probably get boring after a while.

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

I personally think these owners have massively overestimated the appeal of this league.

I actually find the Champions League pretty boring. I barely watch the group stage and hardly watch any first-legs in the knockout stages.

I watch maybe 3 or 4 Champions League games a season in full, including the final.

Whereas I watch dozens of Premier League games.

alderz

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes said:

I personally think these owners have massively overestimated the appeal of this league.

I actually find the Champions League pretty boring. I barely watch the group stage and hardly watch any first-legs in the knockout stages.

I watch maybe 3 or 4 Champions League games a season in full, including the final.

Whereas I watch dozens of Premier League games.

Same. I personally don’t care about the Champions League at all. I used to occasionally go to the pub to watch, but I never watch it at home. Tbh, I only really watch West Ham and MOTD.

yoyo

Chelsea preparing documentation to withdraw from European super league...bbc

Slacker

Latest is that Chelsea are pulling out.
Too little, too late. Hefty fines and points deduction needed.

Cuz1

Saying Chelsea drawing up plans to pull out

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

Punish them all anyway. Chelsea will get plaudits when really they are just the first team to bottle it.

IronHerb

10 point deduction for just signing up to the ESL.

ASLEFshrugged

Chelsea are to withdraw

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/20/chelsea-to-withdraw-from-european-super-league-amid-fan-protests

Has anyone seen "Miller's Crossing" with Gabriel Byrne? At the beginning gangster boss Leo (Albert Finney) tells Johnny Caspar

"Johnny. You're exactly as big as I let you be and no bigger and don't forget it. Ever."

I think Real Madrid & Co just got told

IronHerb

It will be fun to now sit back and watch Real Madrid go bankrupt.

Jorderz_Moyes_will_be_Moyes

City quitting now. Spineless, greedy cowards for signing up, no less so for running back to save face.

Punish, punish, punish.

OldCastleSwift

So the two English Champions League semi-finalists are pulling out? For the fans or because they've been threatened with expulsion from the competition?

Either way, can only be good news. All eyes on the other four clubs now...

Lukerz

Wonder if West Ham United may now get an invite...

IRONS IRONS IRONS

Hamstew

Its weird as for some reason those clubs coming back feels worse.

IronHerb

City were struggling to sell the 2000 tickets for the Carabao Cup final. May have swayed their decision.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-carabao-cup-tickets-20418260

Yeoldhammer

Yeoldhammer said:

The only way i see this not happening is:-

1) UEFA give in and hand over the money
2) one of the founding members U-turns and just collapses the whole thing.

otherwise i think this plan has been in the works for a while and they already have the legal battle lines drawn for what is it come.

option 2 it is

baracks_a_hammer

So it’s all going away within 48 hours?

Perhaps it was all one big hoax designed to keep Ms Markle out of the headlines for a few days?

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

When I first heard it I did see reports saying Chelsea and City were already concerned

Glad they have though, even though they still need to be punished

So now only Liverpool Untied and the then teams that aren't even that good in Spurs and Arsenal

yoyo

If I decided to become a terrorist and overthrow a government ( anyone, keep it neutral) and then bottle it at the last minute, I would still be punished. The club's must face penalties for their actions.

chicagohammer

Cuz1 said:

Saying Chelsea drawing up plans to pull out

Good, but it will never change the way I feel about them #tillidie