European Super League: Premier League's 'big six' agree to join new league -

[Techpriest]

If the money being quoted is right, i feel that matchday income will become more minor based on tv and advertising deals they can get. This is all based on the idea is their target audience is the world and thats the lucrative market. A champions league without the rabble daring infringe on their stage, or beating them to entry. Interested to see what criteria the invites would be based on


It'd basically replace the european comps if the proposal continues. They described it as the Super League in the week, domestic at weekend, with the 20 teams mixed into 2 leagues, then the final stage taking the top placing sides and having a knockout stage like the CL.
With that as a direct competitor, the CL is dead. EL might survive but the money in those competitions will plummet and no longer truly be the EL. Also it'll basically be Bayern and PSG slugging it out every year

I want this to flame out and die because I view the shift to massive TV contracts as already having had a net negative in several sports, namely American Football and especially baseball. Baseball owners are fucking vampires, happy to watch interest in the sport die as long as they get delicious delicious TV contracts and scoop up profits from tickets on the side. I don't want to spend 50 bucks to attend a baseball game for 3 hours where it takes forever for anything interesting to happen.

 

[The Grognard]

Best case, UEFA and FIFA put down the boot on this shit with zero hesitation and kill this shit in it's crib. Worst case, this is the future of European sports leagues where everything's designed for maximal monetary extraction and tanking is the norm for teams who've made themselves into jobbers for the big boys.

 

[Chaos Theorist]

So it's a shittier champions league, with a shittier format, and an even more blatant attempt to make money. And yes, this is partly to be blamed on Americans. The thing that American sports owners have cashed in on over the last 30 years especially is that even a really shitty professional team makes you money as an owner - as long as relegation isn't a thing. It makes owning a franchise a no brainer, and something that you can expect a return on investment in no matter what the case. Currently the set up of the European Football leagues means that ownership has to actually give a shit to maintain top spot. They have to seek out good managers, and attract good players. They can't get talent forced contractually to play for them if they want to turn pro through a draft.

Meanwhile, teams and franchises like the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Baltimore Orioles, etc. can perform like absolute garbage for decades and only be competitive once in a blue moon and still have access to the biggest possible market and crazy large money. Ownership is also not incentivized to give a shit about the fans even more than usual. Dan Snyder of the Washington [NAME YET TO BE DETERMINED] is a wonderful example of this, having driven away around 50% of the fanbase and still making money off the franchise as he nickels and dimes them. The ESL has a twenty year period before any of the founders can be relegated, and is offering more money than the championship league to its members. None of that money is going to end up in lower level clubs further down the pyramid. It's all going to stay right there, a giant circle jerk for profit - despite what they claim, I see their chances of getting their estimated broadcasting rights money as rather overoptimistic - they'll be lucky to get 60% of that, IMO. Four of the founding 12 teams of the ESL haven't ever won a Championship League trophy.

Also when it comes to the owners of these clubs, several are also owners of American sports franchises. Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool all have owners who also own American sports franchises. This isn't too much of a surprise. They want to maximize their profits. Fuck these guys the hardest. Liverpool is owned by Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox. Arsenal is owned by Stan Kronke, a notorious piece of shit in the NFL world who moved the Rams from Saint Louis to LA, because St. Louis told him to stuff it when he demanded a multi-billion dollar new stadium at their expense, and got away with it due to contract language. He also owns several other american franchises (Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets being the biggest) through loopholes using a holding company and his wife. Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family primarily, and otherwise by an array of investors - for whom the idea of a closed shop league is very appealing.

Surprisingly, Shahid Khan isn't getting in on this, at least not yet. I'd have thought that he'd have jumped on this first, but guess not.

They are more interested in playing Total Extreme Wrestling IRL with All Elite Wrestling

 

[Jann_Hörn]

Best case, UEFA and FIFA put down the boot on this shit with zero hesitation and kill this shit in it's crib. Worst case, this is the future of European sports leagues where everything's designed for maximal monetary extraction and tanking is the norm for teams who've made themselves into jobbers for the big boys.

They have been talking about a super league for awhile. I do not think they would announce their intent if it did not mean that this was a realistic possibility.

Arsenal has the most to gain from a super league as they are faltering as a big club and Covid is not helping them at all. The only one I am surprised to have been thrown in was the Spanish teams. However, I have read that Real Madrid are really hurting financially by Covid too. They also have an old squad so the financial incentive might be too much to pass up.

 

[Reverend]

good. fuck soccer

 

[Les Morfalous]

Ah the Americanization of football is complete.We can't have teams likе Шахтьор, Ajax, Slavia Phraha and Dinamo Zagreb competing - chinkos and mutts don't know those teams. - we gotta keep M.Schity and prInter so we can sell T-shirts and subscriptions.We can't have a small team from nowhere dethrone Tottenham or Sevilla in the 8/1 finals - the asian market is not going to tune to watch Schalke v Olympiacos.Not that CL isn't an utterly diluted garbage where the team that qualified sixth get's to play in the LEAGUE FOR THE CHAMPIONS and get the draw rigged in their favour to guarantee promotion out of the group stage , while the actual champions get relegated to some second hand Intertoto rip-off.I'd rather watch Wolfsburg v Legia than a dozen Barcelona - Real matches.

 

[Kornheiser]

Ah the Americanization of football is complete.We can't have teams likе Шахтьор, Ajax, Slavia Phraha and Dinamo Zagreb competing - chinkos and mutts don't know those teams. - we gotta keep M.Schity and prInter so we can sell T-shirts and subscriptions.We can't have a small team from nowhere dethrone Tottenham or Sevilla in the 8/1 finals - the asian market is not going to tune to watch Schalke v Olympiacos.Not that CL isn't an utterly diluted garbage where the team that qualified sixth get's to play in the LEAGUE FOR THE CHAMPIONS and get the draw rigged in their favour to guarantee promotion out of the group stage , while the actual champions get relegated to some second hand Intertoto rip-off.I'd rather watch Wolfsburg v Legia than a dozen Barcelona - Real matches.

Oddly enough I can see Schalke and Olympiacos joining in the super league. For Schalke they are almost bankrupt and the payments would help them. Olympiacos would do it because the Greek league is so corrupt that they can do almost anything they want.

Last thing, this a business and its always been about making money. People forget this and I’m not saying I agree with this league but there is so much more income worldwide that this was going to happen eventually. Blame COVID for speeding it up.

 

[Kane Lives]

I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that UEFA and FIFA will do everything they can to smother this in the crib. If they allow this then their authority over the sports is done, and they'll lose control of how competitions are organized overall.

 

[breadandcircuses]

I don't really see the problem.

Isn't this like several teams from the NFL splitting off and forming their own league?

How is that bad in anyway? Competition is healthy for the sport.

 

[Kornheiser]

I still don’t get why entertainment like soccer is treated like a sacred thing. It’s not the end of the world and it will probably not happen in the end. Besides Uefa passed the expanded champions league plan today.

 

[breadandcircuses]

Relegation is stupid, if you ask me.

 

[Stoneheart]

I still don’t get why entertainment like soccer is treated like a sacred thing.

Because it is sacred...

For Schalke they are almost bankrupt and the payments would help them.

Yeah they cant do that, the members would never say yes to it.

 

[Kornheiser]

Because it is sacred...



Yeah they cant do that, the members would never say yes to it.

They would only need two percent to do it. The 49% that want it would find a way.

 

[breadandcircuses]

Only Euro soccer would have this gnashing of teeth. Any other sport would be cheering the teams on.

 

[The Grognard]

Relegation and promotion are the best things about European sports pyramids because they ensure everyone has to try every year to not be at the bottom.

 

[Techpriest]

Relegation and promotion are the best things about European sports pyramids because they ensure everyone has to try every year to not be at the bottom.

It prevents tanking, and it keeps teams from just coasting on past success every year. Every year matters, because if you have a really bad year, you're going to have to fight your way back up next year.

 

[breadandcircuses]

So like what? The Cubs do badly one year and they're kicked down to the minors? Is that how it works.

 

[Kornheiser]

It prevents tanking, and it keeps teams from just coasting on past success every year. Every year matters, because if you have a really bad year, you're going to have to fight your way back up next year.

Then explain Spain as the top teams can just coast along and still make the champions league.

 

[Techpriest]

So like what? The Cubs do badly one year and they're kicked down to the minors? Is that how it works.

Yes. Usually there's also a competition to make it up a league. Basically relegation works like this - your team did shit. They're going to have to play more games to prove that they deserve to be at the next level. Sometimes this involves matches against the team that wants in, other times it means you're immediately in the lower league. You can be back after a year - if you really just had a bad year, you're going to end up at the top of the lower league most likely, within a year or two, and getting promoted back into where you were before.

Then explain Spain as the top teams can just coast along and still make the champions league.

You're expecting the Spanish to put effort into something?

 

[breadandcircuses]

Then why do it at all?

In this instance, the Cubs will out do any AAA team in their region.