What if they pay them 5 times what they earn now? In other words, the Saudi model. Turns out, 90% of people can be bought.
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The 2023-2024 Football Thread
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@Lord Blackadder congrats on the Crew's latest MLS title!! I think I saw on here somewhere you were a Crew fan too... right?
Sure am! I have been incredibly lucky to witness three titles in my time.
The Super League threat is very credible. EPL, FA, UEFA and FIFA know it. Hence why they're scrambling by rejigging the European competitions, installing regulators etc.
The current premise is that clubs can be held to ransom with local leagues and international competitions if they participate. But the legality of that approach is already looking shakey.
Things will get even more dicey once state funding gets involved.
It will take a while but i feel a super league on background of franchise/state ownership is likely to happen down the line. And a compromise deal will have to be struck to save face.
UEFA chief saying football is not for sale is one of the most laughable things i've read today. Reminds me of Infantino's I Feel speech.
(and no i'm not advocating for a Super League, but i know what contemporary football is like)
The current premise is that clubs can be held to ransom with local leagues and international competitions if they participate. But the legality of that approach is already looking shakey.
Things will get even more dicey once state funding gets involved.
It will take a while but i feel a super league on background of franchise/state ownership is likely to happen down the line. And a compromise deal will have to be struck to save face.
UEFA chief saying football is not for sale is one of the most laughable things i've read today. Reminds me of Infantino's I Feel speech.
(and no i'm not advocating for a Super League, but i know what contemporary football is like)
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I don't really care about the fates of the Super League, or UEFA and FIFA, but FIFA and UEFA acted like the mob, threatening clubs with sanctions, bans, with a "my way or the highway" kind of attitude, and got proven wrong, when UEFA and FIFA are in no position to be anyone's moral compass.
All their rambling about football being democratic and meritocratic is just that, ramblings; football hasn't been neither democratic nor meritocratic since at least the 90s, unless by "meritocratic" they mean "the richest clubs hoard all the best players and win". Giving a smaller club a, very theoretical, chance of winning the Champions League doesn't mean anything if that chance belongs more to mythology than reality.
And I wouldn't want to get too political here, but there's a passage in this article that I really find laughable.
European Super League back in spotlight after landmark ruling | Reuters
So, let me get this straight, this is the same political class who is ok with tens of billions of money "invested" in the UK by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and more or less shady Russian oligarchs, they're ok with their clubs being bought and used as a platform for sportswashing, but if their clubs were to decide to join a different transnational football league that's where they'd draw the line? Pathetic.
All their rambling about football being democratic and meritocratic is just that, ramblings; football hasn't been neither democratic nor meritocratic since at least the 90s, unless by "meritocratic" they mean "the richest clubs hoard all the best players and win". Giving a smaller club a, very theoretical, chance of winning the Champions League doesn't mean anything if that chance belongs more to mythology than reality.
And I wouldn't want to get too political here, but there's a passage in this article that I really find laughable.
European Super League back in spotlight after landmark ruling | Reuters
So, let me get this straight, this is the same political class who is ok with tens of billions of money "invested" in the UK by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and more or less shady Russian oligarchs, they're ok with their clubs being bought and used as a platform for sportswashing, but if their clubs were to decide to join a different transnational football league that's where they'd draw the line? Pathetic.
Hmmm...
onefootball.com
"Key elements of the new format include:
– 64 teams in three leagues: Star League and Gold League as the top two tiers consisting of 16 clubs each and Blue League comprised of 32 clubs.
– Participation based on sporting merit with no permanent members
– Annual promotion and relegation between leagues. Promotion into Blue League based on domestic league performance.
– Home and away games in groups eight, meaning a minimum of 14 matches per year.
– A knockout stage will determine champions of each league and promotion.
– Mid-week matches to compete with current UEFA competitions, not interfering with domestic league calendars.
– Clubs will be selected for the inaugural season based on an index of transparent performance-based criteria.
– Strong Financial Sustainability rules will be in pace to ensure a level playing field.
– The women’s competition will run alongside the men’s and will feature the Star and Gold League’s only.
– Games will be available to watch for free on a new streaming platform called Unify."
European Super League: Star, Gold and Blue tiers, free-to-air on ‘Unify’ and more A22 ideas…
Read this news on OneFootball.
"Key elements of the new format include:
– 64 teams in three leagues: Star League and Gold League as the top two tiers consisting of 16 clubs each and Blue League comprised of 32 clubs.
– Participation based on sporting merit with no permanent members
– Annual promotion and relegation between leagues. Promotion into Blue League based on domestic league performance.
– Home and away games in groups eight, meaning a minimum of 14 matches per year.
– A knockout stage will determine champions of each league and promotion.
– Mid-week matches to compete with current UEFA competitions, not interfering with domestic league calendars.
– Clubs will be selected for the inaugural season based on an index of transparent performance-based criteria.
– Strong Financial Sustainability rules will be in pace to ensure a level playing field.
– The women’s competition will run alongside the men’s and will feature the Star and Gold League’s only.
– Games will be available to watch for free on a new streaming platform called Unify."
It’s just another way to make more money. It won’t be more exciting football, it will hurt national leagues, power and wealth will be concentrated in an even smaller group of clubs.
But powerful, rich people really want this to happen, so it probably will.
Fans can stop it though, if they refuse to buy the product. I’m not paying for it.
But powerful, rich people really want this to happen, so it probably will.
Fans can stop it though, if they refuse to buy the product. I’m not paying for it.
Indeed. If fans don’t partake it will die on its feet.
No way in hell will games be shown for free, highlights yeah but full games!! nope. Look at the PL, one of the most profitable leagues in the world for viewing, it brings in billions of £££ every year. Broadcasters pay billions for the rights to show the games. There is no way the owners of the Super League are going to allow the elite of European football to be shown for free.Hmmm...
European Super League: Star, Gold and Blue tiers, free-to-air on ‘Unify’ and more A22 ideas…
Read this news on OneFootball.
"Key elements of the new format include:
– 64 teams in three leagues: Star League and Gold League as the top two tiers consisting of 16 clubs each and Blue League comprised of 32 clubs.
– Participation based on sporting merit with no permanent members
– Annual promotion and relegation between leagues. Promotion into Blue League based on domestic league performance.
– Home and away games in groups eight, meaning a minimum of 14 matches per year.
– A knockout stage will determine champions of each league and promotion.
– Mid-week matches to compete with current UEFA competitions, not interfering with domestic league calendars.
– Clubs will be selected for the inaugural season based on an index of transparent performance-based criteria.
– Strong Financial Sustainability rules will be in pace to ensure a level playing field.
– The women’s competition will run alongside the men’s and will feature the Star and Gold League’s only.
– Games will be available to watch for free on a new streaming platform called Unify."
As for the league itself, it would not surprise me if Saudi money is behind it because look at what they have done with golf and and I believe cricket and trying with Rugby. Making new tournaments to bring the elite together. Take golf especially. Saudi money created a new tournament where millions could be won and suddenly the elite players within the game started to join in their droves. Football within Europe needs to stand up and seriously take note of the EU courts ruling because European football is about to be shaken to it's core.
1 - 3 Häcken - Chelsea
Häcken made a goal in the later part that was very obviously not offcide, but the Referee judged it so from her position. NO VAR in Women's Champions Leaigue!
It could've given some extra energy for Häcken in the last minutes.
But most likely wouldn't taken the victory from Chelsea.
1 - 0 Ajax - Bayern
No Swedes in this game now, but we have one good in usually in Bayern - Magdalena Eriksson, but she did foot surgery recently. The chatting said she was missed hugely though. She’s missed in the National Team too. Great game.
7 - 0 Barcelona - Rosengård
Rosengård had some fire in the beginning, then collapsed to Barca's pressure.
Some nice goals though! Could've been more, and Rosengårds goalkeeper wasn't bad.
Häcken made a goal in the later part that was very obviously not offcide, but the Referee judged it so from her position. NO VAR in Women's Champions Leaigue!
It could've given some extra energy for Häcken in the last minutes.
But most likely wouldn't taken the victory from Chelsea.
1 - 0 Ajax - Bayern
No Swedes in this game now, but we have one good in usually in Bayern - Magdalena Eriksson, but she did foot surgery recently. The chatting said she was missed hugely though. She’s missed in the National Team too. Great game.
7 - 0 Barcelona - Rosengård
Rosengård had some fire in the beginning, then collapsed to Barca's pressure.
Some nice goals though! Could've been more, and Rosengårds goalkeeper wasn't bad.
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Regarding fans, you know what is disappointing from a fan perspective? going to away games in Europe will not be as bad as people will think because people in the UK can fly to many places in Europe cheaper than it is to go by train from A to B in the UK. I am sure it is the same for fans in other European countries if they were to fly into the UK.
Not eventually, no, but initially, (in order to create and generate consumer demand and an international market for the product), for a year, or three, or five, yes, I would be very much surprised if some version of this did not occur.
With state monies available, they won't need the obscene profits - or, will be able to shrug them off - initially. Without public interest and support - which will have to be generated - it won't work, not as a credible contest.
I still think that European football is not economically sustainable at the moment, because in order to be competitive clubs have to spend hundreds of millions of euros each year, and football clubs, and the system itself, doesn't generate enough money to cover for those expenses.
For decades the backbone of football were patrons, but nowadays, due to state money, patrons can't compete anymore.
So, what are the solutions?
Clubs will try to find ways to generate more money (Super League), because there's just so much money that can be asked for TV rights, or a system with salary caps and transfers based not on fees but on swaps will be necessary.
Why does an NFL franchise generate almost as much money as the Big Six EPL teams combined?
So, we, as Europeans, need to either find a way to make way more money, or spend less money or the system needs to be overhauled. However, EU laws won't allow a salary cap, I wonder, since I'm not a lawyer, if it would be possible for a different league, which acts as a cartel, to have agreements in place among its member regarding the maximum spending and concerning trading players.
For decades the backbone of football were patrons, but nowadays, due to state money, patrons can't compete anymore.
So, what are the solutions?
Clubs will try to find ways to generate more money (Super League), because there's just so much money that can be asked for TV rights, or a system with salary caps and transfers based not on fees but on swaps will be necessary.
Why does an NFL franchise generate almost as much money as the Big Six EPL teams combined?
So, we, as Europeans, need to either find a way to make way more money, or spend less money or the system needs to be overhauled. However, EU laws won't allow a salary cap, I wonder, since I'm not a lawyer, if it would be possible for a different league, which acts as a cartel, to have agreements in place among its member regarding the maximum spending and concerning trading players.
The tragedy is that fans (many - if not, most of them - of them, at least), will, more than likely, partake in such a competition, (perhaps, not immediately, but eventually), while shrugging off any ethical concerns they may have.
Fans will be initially outraged BUT they will come around because there is one thing the majority of football fans will not do and cannot do and that is boycott their club. We have seen it time and time again where fan's are outraged about something, people tell them to vote with their wallet and they just ignore it.
So of the PL clubs Arsenal finally responded this morning to say they will not be joining.
Only Liverpool have not released a statement saying the same. Not their finest hour….
Only Liverpool have not released a statement saying the same. Not their finest hour….
Yes, a little tardy, (which is not to their credit), but, better late than never.
They were a little late but did release a statement. FSG are privately OK with a super league but they have learned that they fans are strongly against it as a group.
I don’t trust them, but I don’t think they will try pushing the issue again in the current climate.
Man city proved they are the best club in the world by beating a J League team and then Fluminense. 👍👍
How serious (note, I didn't ask well funded and financed), but, how genuinely serious is this competition?
Do you think Chelsea will win the WSL. With Arsenal dropping points against Spurs last week.
Yes, Chelsea will win it for their long serving outgoing manager. Wanting to win it for their manager because she is leaving is giving the team the extra will and drive to win their games and sometimes that is what is needed to win games, to want it more than the other team and I feel Chelsea want it so much more than the other teams.
Regarding the posts on City win the Club World Cup and the comments about them supposedly being the best club in the world. Maybe that is one of the reasons why club owners and some fans want a Super league because how many times over a season would City beat Real Madrid or Barcelona? Beating such teams once or twice within a football season calendar year does not make a team the best in the world, regardless of what trophy they won.
If City was to play either of those teams now and were to lose, would people be saying that City is still the best team in the world? regardless of the recent trophy then have won. What happens if they lose in the league, is that team now the best in the world because they beat the best team in the world?
It's like a car MOT and passes, that MOT pass is only good on the day of the test because anything can happen to the car once it leave the MOT testing centre. It is the same for whoever win's the World Club cup in my opinion, that team is only the best in the world the day they win the trophy because after that day anything can happen.
I remember when Man United won the inaugural competition, every time that a team subsequently beat them, opposing fans would shout out if their team was now the best team in the world because they had beaten the best team in the world.
If City was to play either of those teams now and were to lose, would people be saying that City is still the best team in the world? regardless of the recent trophy then have won. What happens if they lose in the league, is that team now the best in the world because they beat the best team in the world?
It's like a car MOT and passes, that MOT pass is only good on the day of the test because anything can happen to the car once it leave the MOT testing centre. It is the same for whoever win's the World Club cup in my opinion, that team is only the best in the world the day they win the trophy because after that day anything can happen.
I remember when Man United won the inaugural competition, every time that a team subsequently beat them, opposing fans would shout out if their team was now the best team in the world because they had beaten the best team in the world.