Lets Talk Football

It's sad, but I'm not surprised at all. I've been expecting this since the late 90's and, tbh, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. Covid made me sure about two things in football. One was that within a year or two we'd lose around 20 or more clubs and, in doing so, probably one of our professional leagues. Thankfully that one doesn't seem to be on the horizon atm, though there's still a long way to go. The second was that it'd be an ideal time for a Super League to be pushed as a real alternative, as it's virtually all TV/streaming revenue and no need for people in the stadium anyway. There does seem to be some division between thiose who say this is for real right now and those who expect it to happen eventually but think this current push is related to getting a better CL deal. I'm sure this will happen one day though. Football is no longer what it was, (the arguement for when it was can be had another day) the CL has deformed many of the European leagues, making them even less competitive.

I was fearing the Rollerball final and 'the death of football', but they're meeting in the semi's, so if you want 'football' to be the winner, you either have to hope for Real Madrid or Chelsea. Not exactly romantic options are they?

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Manchester City and Chelsea are withdrawing from the ESL.
It looks like it will fall flat on it's face.
Decent players won't want to play for any club in the ESL as not winning an FA Cup/Copa Del Rey etc is a dream they had as a kid along with playing for their national teams at wordl cups.
There is too much demand on teams what with the european competitions and their home grown ones especially in England.
The Champions Leuge should be that, the champions of their respective leagues.
English football needs to do away with the stupid play off system too, three down, three up, unfair on the team who finished third in a league to have to beat the sixth placed team especially when they finished miles ahead of them.

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The other 4 English clubs have followed suite, joining ManC & Chelski in backing out. No word on the 3 Italian & 3 Spanish clubs as yet.

Interestingly, only Arsenal actually apologized to their fans etc, in their statement. But think there will be more backlash to come for all of these clubs. There was already a lot of resentment toward a number of them already anyhow, so this is only going to magnify that, and it's not like they already get massive financial incentives anyhow, and it's not like Sky, FA, UEFA & government etc are the good guys in all of this (as it was very much in their own self interest to keep things as is), but the brass neck on these super rich clubs to repeatedly cite the covid pandemic as a reason for why this was a necessary step is really beyond the pall, when so many clubs with far less resources are struggling at the best of times, let alone through this.

Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are rumoured to be withdrawing and the whole thing is imploding.
The ESL hierachy underestimated the power of the players and the fans as club owners retreat from the whole idea, the dollar signs disappearing from their beady little eyes.
No one wants the American model of sport where no one gets relegated or promoted and plays the same old teams year in year out.
Now to sort out the farce that is VAR!

Glad that the project imploded so fast. UEFA had a good reaction for a change, and the fans were amazing.


I can't really understand owners and chairmen who make decisions without thinking about the fans. Every city, every fan base has a personality and a culture, how don't you want your club to represent that? If smaller clubs that do that have huge success, imagine clubs with virtually unlimited budgets.


As a result CL will become more elitist, more money to the same 5 or 6 teams, and it will be harder and harder for any team out of the big 5 to get past the quarter finals.
This edition in particular reunited the 4 more disgusting teams in the semis... Can't they all lose?

Only Barca, Real Madrid and Juve left in the ESL!

Geez even Kerry Packer's cricket venture lasted longer than that.

Yay, ESL collapsed and Mourinho mooched off. It’s turned into a good week

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The difference is, Kerry Packer won. WSC not only fundamentally changed cricket for fans, players and broadcasters alike, and it's effects are felt to this day. And the WSC war only ended when the establishment had to come cap in hand to him, so to speak as they had lost in court and by the end of the second WSC season, on TV and in the attendances also.

Geez Bruce calm dowm mate.
I was only using Packer as a reference of breakaways that ultimately ended with the establishment still in control.
I'm taking it your boomerang hasn't come back or is your didgerydoo bunged up with spittle?

The lack of organisation with this thing was/is incredible, the manner it which is fell apart and then watching it crumble was just funny. But it'll be back and, probably lesson learnt, better... Or more appeasing anyway. Barca, Real and Juve need this and Liverpool aren't far behind them either. United, City and Chelsea don't need it, but they're not going to turn down all that extra money. Arsenal and Spurs were just pleased to be asked. Atleti, Inter and AC Milan all want to make that jump and stop being seen as 'best of the rest' in their respective leagues (and Inter and AC's finances might not bear too close scrutiny) but will 'feel' as if they should be included. Especially given this season and their history. The financial model of ownership in Germany makes it more difficult for them, but don't think Bayern and Dortmund wouldn't jump at the chance if they thought they could get away with it.

Every other club who doesn't make the final cut (when it happens) has the same three options. How do we join it? How can we stop it? Can we adapt outside it?

Liverpool would struggle in any Super League, They can't even beat Newcastle.

Let's hope that continues this weekend. If we can play as we did in the second 45 minutes against Roma we should be able to put them away. If we play as we did in the first 45, we might need a 5 goal second 45 to win.

I think it might just end in a draw.

The Pochettino press was back at Spurs for an evening. I liked

(Look I know it was Sheffield but give me my little Bale glory nights alright? . Before everyone leaves in the Summer...)

I was expecting this thread to be about the american ****. I am pleasantly surprised.

Hot Take- The ESL is good actually and Papi Perez is a badass

I think the ESL was a disaster waiting to happen.
Debt riddled clubs trying to generate more money to try and dig themselves out of the hole they are in.
UEFA are just as bad as they are only interested in the money they can generate.

If they want to run a club like that then they should sell up and buy an American franchise like Beckham (another one who could have invested in an English club but saw the $ signs!)

What happened at Old Trafford yesterday says it all about what the most important people in football think...The fans.

The ESL is a disaster waiting to happen and, to repeat myself, it will unless things change radically as there's just too much money for it not to. DW is right, it's the fans which matter.... And there are plenty of them around to the world more than happy to make it work. Look at the fuss being kicked up by Real and Barca fans or the Italian clubs.... Oh, wait.

Also, Beckham hasn't got the money to buy into top flight English football. You need billionaires now and that's another reason why unless there's radical change, the ESL or whatever it ends up being called, must happen.

Second legs were a bit of a letdown, weren't they? Real managed to play even worse than the first leg, while the lack of Mbappe meant City never really looked threatened. Then the usual PSG babies threw their toys out of their collective prams and cried that they couldn't beat an actual team. Happy for Tuchel though. He gets fired for not being able to get a few prima donnas to buy into his team ethic, then in few months takes over a young talented team and gets them to buy into what he wants and do whats asked of them to the final PSG want so badly. Also, while I'm not really into international football, the confidence it should give the young English players in that squad will only help should they get to latter stages of international competition.

Depsite all that, I'll settle for a boring 0-0 tonight just to make sure.

Kane to City? Should we turn up next season?

No they deserve Galacticos. They can have Bale