European Super League plans announced

[JAS84]

Tottenham's manager Jose Mourinho has been sacked. There are rumours that he refused to take the players onto the training ground pitch this morning because he doesn't like the Super League proposals. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is on record as saying he hopes a super league never happens, and apparently Man Utd's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only found out about it when the general public did. It's obvious that players and coaches were not consulted. Somehow I don't think Jose will be only one out of the door because of this.

[Cando]

Expulsion is no threat when both sides know the threat is empty and hollow. The big 6 aren't stupid the premier league needs them as much as they need PL especially with new tv deals to be negotiated.

[Cando]

Tottenham's manager Jose Mourinho has been sacked. There are rumours that he refused to take the players onto the training ground pitch this morning because he doesn't like the Super League proposals. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is on record as saying he hopes a super league never happens, and apparently Man Utd's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only found out about it when the general public did. It's obvious that players and coaches were not consulted.

Is that you Jose? nobody believes that nonsense.


You would have to be pretty naive to think Managers or players would be consulted tbh. It's a business.

[Brekkie]

The big six would just set up their own Premier League and invite others to join them, and I suspect that might be the aim. Set up their own European Super League and then domestic leagues to feed into them.

What broadcasters like is certainty and whichever way you look at it this just creates massive uncertainty. I do think though it was a good call by Michael that they might set up their own streaming app and sell directly to fans, which makes it nice and easy for fans to boycott. Also possible they look at clubs selling their own matches.

[XIII]

Expulsion is no threat when both sides know the threat is empty and hollow. The big 6 aren't stupid the premier league needs them as much as they need PL especially with new tv deals to be negotiated.

I think people are getting a bit carried away with the ideas that the Super League destroy will football or Sky, BT and the BBC.

Sports setting up rival competition isn't even a new concept, it has happened many times in the past.

[Brekkie]

Expulsion is no threat when both sides know the threat is empty and hollow. The big 6 aren't stupid the premier league needs them as much as they need PL especially with new tv deals to be negotiated.

I think people are getting a bit carried away with the ideas that the Super League destroy will football or Sky, BT and the BBC.

Sports setting up rival competition isn't even a new concept, it has happened many times in the past.

It is always disruptive though but usually the disruptor wins through - or it ends in disaster.

This is more than that though and the news value today comes from the absolute lack of consultation with fans groups and other stakeholders.

[eyeTV]

Is there any timeline attached to this proposal? Or is it just that, a proposal.

I understand that UEFA are / were due to announce change proposals for the Champions League today, so feels like some kind of brinkmanship for this announcement to come the day before.

[Brekkie]

Nothing other than the possibility of it starting this year though suspect their view is next year after the current CL contract ends.

[Flux]

Genuine question here, but I'm seeing a lot of "this will ruin football!" style comments in various places online, including here. As a more casual viewer, how exactly will this new league ruin football? Are there no positives in having a new top tier tournament? From what I've read, nothing's being cancelled to make way for it, so is it just that it's breaking the traditional football year/schedule? Or is this taking teams out of the traditional tournaments? Please forgive my ignorance, I just haven't seen any real reasons why this is going to kill the game and most articles online - as with everything football based - assume a lot of knowledge.

From a broadcasting perspective, it's going to be competitive even if the publicity around it is negative, as I doubt many "boycotting" comments now would have any real effect - I suspect most avid fans of a team will continue to watch them play whatever the circumstance. The viewers will come, and the broadcasters or streamers will want them!

What is being proposed is that this will replace the Champions League, and the teams would stay in their domestic tournaments (though in all likelihood there would be no room for the EFL Cup for the English teams involved). However it can also been taken that the teams involved will likely be expelled from their domestic leagues if this goes ahead, though perhaps there’ll be no hasty moves on that front and time given to come to a peace deal (as I say, probably involving more spots for clubs based on “historical performance” to qualify - the problem being that may not guarantee all 12 rebel clubs a spot).

The “ruining”, I suppose, comes from the fact that the same teams would be guaranteed entry every year. No more race for top four. No possibility of a Leicester winning the league unexpectedly and qualifying at the expense of a “big club”. While there’s some talk of “solidarity payments” it’s unclear what sort of money will go back in the game and the lions share will go to the competing clubs. Which is kind of the whole point of it really.

If this goes ahead there will be huge broadcaster interest, though it will be interesting to see if Sky or BT were to bid, as that could damage their existing relationships with the current leagues.

Thank you for putting this in such straightforward terms. The BIB makes total sense in a way I've not seen expressed very well elsewhere!

[Rdd]

Expulsion is no threat when both sides know the threat is empty and hollow. The big 6 aren't stupid the premier league needs them as much as they need PL especially with new tv deals to be negotiated.

Do they need the Premier League?

I get the impression they’d like to stay in the Premier League at least - though I think one or both the domestic cups will have to take the fall for the tripling of the number of group stage games. Keep their fingers in both pies. But equally, a twenty team league is just the right number that if they had to, they could change from the mooted conference format to a straight double round robin format, giving a 38 game season. And the money will follow them if they’re not in the domestic league any more. A broadcaster will be able to say that they are the only place to see the likes of Man United and Barcelona and pay a premium for exclusivity.

I think having run this play (to unfortunately borrow a term from another sport!) they will know what the potential consequences are, and are ready for them.

[RhysJR]

Statement from BT Sport

https://twitter.com/btsport/status/1384119612753682441

[Rdd]

Meanwhile, completely overshadowed by this, UEFA’s new format for the Champions League. As previously mooted it sees an expansion to 36 teams with a single league table (which I suppose actually makes it a League for the first time in its history) and ten League phase games for everyone. With an extra knockout round for some teams that’s six extra match days that are required, so I suspect playing European football and the EFL Cup is probably not really going to be compatible going forward.

https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaser...introduce/

[RhysJR]

Seems Sky Sports are showing tonight's Monday Night Football build-up with Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher on their YouTube channel tonight. I'd suspect they expect quite a good audience, espcially with how well Gary's rant yesterday went down online (1.7 million YouTube and 6.6 milion Twitter views in less than 24 hours).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQIDff1G1JQ

[Brekkie]

Statement from BT Sport

https://twitter.com/btsport/status/1384119612753682441

Although of course BT Sport were involved in a similar grab for the equivalent European Rugby tournament where basically the English Premiership Clubs wanted changes to the tournament so simply sold the rights to BT despite not really having the rights to do so.

[eyeTV]

I have little sympathy for the pay-TV companies who didn't mind disrupting the model when it suited them. They don't care about the fans either.