Superleague Part III: Collapsed

[Chimaera]

It's getting into the weeds, but Spirit of Shankly, the main Liverpool supporters union is demanding elected representation for fans on the board of the club. They also want a 'golden share', which effectively means they can veto a lot of the major decisions. They also want the present board more or less thrown out.

I think there should be some accountability. But... the idea that the club owners would give up basically most of their power and allow a fan representative to hold them hostage, I don't know if that's where it's going.

It's going to be interesting, but I can't think an ownership group that is this foolish would be willing to entertain this.

 

[luiginb]

It's getting into the weeds, but Spirit of Shankly, the main Liverpool supporters union is demanding elected representation for fans on the board of the club. They also want a 'golden share', which effectively means they can veto a lot of the major decisions. They also want the present board more or less thrown out.

I think there should be some accountability. But... the idea that the club owners would give up basically most of their power and allow a fan representative to hold them hostage, I don't know if that's where it's going.

It's going to be interesting, but I can't think an ownership group that is this foolish would be willing to entertain this.

Then they're going home back over the pond. What do they think, they can hold the club hostage?

 

[Blender]

It's getting into the weeds, but Spirit of Shankly, the main Liverpool supporters union is demanding elected representation for fans on the board of the club. They also want a 'golden share', which effectively means they can veto a lot of the major decisions. They also want the present board more or less thrown out.

I think there should be some accountability. But... the idea that the club owners would give up basically most of their power and allow a fan representative to hold them hostage, I don't know if that's where it's going.

It's going to be interesting, but I can't think an ownership group that is this foolish would be willing to entertain this.

Only way fan control happens is if the government or regulator mandates it like in Germany.

 

[Chimaera]

Then they're going home back over the pond. What do they think, they can hold the club hostage?

I don’t know, I completely agree they should have a say, but the ability to override owners? I’m sure that won’t happen.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Who's going to make FSG give up any control in the club? Could only be the Premier League itself or the UK government. Given that neither the government nor the league are known to be particularly anti-business, I can't see it happen.

 

[markog]

Who's going to make FSG give up any control in the club? Could only be the Premier League itself or the UK government. Given that neither the government nor the league are known to be particularly anti-business, I can't see it happen.

Didn't NBA force Sterling to sell Clippers? Anyway the system that you have in North America won't be inforced in Europe because there are 50+ Football associations/country while in NA 2 countrys. Current system works competition wise because the best teams play in Champions league. Arsenal, Tottenham, Milan, Inter,... who were given free pass to SL are bunch of mediocre teams and not some super teams.

 

[Toro2017]

If Perez and Agnelli can't get big six from England onboard, should they just drop the idea for European superleague and instead reach for Global football league? Six teams from Europe, six teams from middle east, six teams from far east and six teams from america. Divide them into four regional division. So even when everyone plays agains each other (atleast once per season), playoffs will be played inside the divisions and the league would get four regional champions every year before the semi finals.

This league would not be the best football league in the world, when it starts but it would have potential to grow to be the best or atleast the richest (which tends to lead to be also the best).

I don't know so much about football culture outside of europe, but I would imagine that in countries like Egypt and Turkey the football culture would possibly be too strong for closed league, but what would be the situation in places like Saudi-Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emitares or Kuwait? Would football fans in those places say no to joint league with teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan?

I would assume that in America people/fans/consumers are used to closed leagues so could Perez and Agnelli still find six cities in far east that would welcome this kind of football league?

 

[Voight]

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

Is there a good explanation somewhere as to exactly why the fans are so mad & so fast. Fan protests started within hours so how could they possibly know all the facts to be outraged that fast & remain outraged?

How is this screwing the fans over? Unless of course they want to see some 3rd rate caliber club from Albania play at Old Trafford a few times every year instead of Champions League quarterfinal caliber opponents 4 to 6 times a year.

There's no way UEFA can possibly be the sympathetic figure in all of this. Has UEFA really convinced all the fans that they, the fans, are getting screwed & that the owners are just greedy & UEFA isn't corrupt?

The fans have just given any & all leverage to UEFA. I guess we're going to find out what a corrupt organization does with it.

 

[markog]

Is there a good explanation somewhere as to exactly why the fans are so mad & so fast. Fan protests started within hours so how could they possibly know all the facts to be outraged that fast & remain outraged?

How is this screwing the fans over? Unless of course they want to see some 3rd rate caliber club from Albania play at Old Trafford a few times every year instead of Champions League quarterfinal caliber opponents 4 to 6 times a year.

There's no way UEFA can possibly be the sympathetic figure in all of this. Has UEFA really convinced all the fans that they, the fans, are getting screwed & that the owners are just greedy & UEFA isn't corrupt?

The fans have just given any & all leverage to UEFA. I guess we're going to find out what a corrupt organization does with it.

Because in the case of Man Utd Glazers "bought" the club in a way that club it self paid for the takeover and all that money that should go in the team goes to the banks. Just one of many examples.

 

[Albatros]

If Perez and Agnelli can't get big six from England onboard, should they just drop the idea for European superleague and instead reach for Global football league? Six teams from Europe, six teams from middle east, six teams from far east and six teams from america. Divide them into four regional division. So even when everyone plays agains each other (atleast once per season), playoffs will be played inside the divisions and the league would get four regional champions every year before the semi finals.

This league would not be the best football league in the world, when it starts but it would have potential to grow to be the best or atleast the richest (which tends to lead to be also the best).

I don't know so much about football culture outside of europe, but I would imagine that in countries like Egypt and Turkey the football culture would possibly be too strong for closed league, but what would be the situation in places like Saudi-Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emitares or Kuwait? Would football fans in those places say no to joint league with teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan?

I would assume that in America people/fans/consumers are used to closed leagues so could Perez and Agnelli still find six cities in far east that would welcome this kind of football league?

Other than gaining an excuse to play around the world I'm not sure this would be any good for these brands, exclusivity is a big part of it and playing against Al-Hilal and Guangzhou in the same league it doesn't seem certain that standard could be maintained. It's better for them to play other glorified European teams in these places rather than face local competition.

 

[Albatros]

Is there a good explanation somewhere as to exactly why the fans are so mad & so fast. Fan protests started within hours so how could they possibly know all the facts to be outraged that fast & remain outraged?

Because they were and are against this sort of plans out of principle, it does not even matter what the exact details are. Imagine the dynamic of suggesting a third wheel to your significant other who is fundamentally against the idea, it doesn't need more than that one wrong word to start the outrage when you are as emotionally invested in your relationship as many football fans are with their clubs. Already the words European Super League are enough to trigger a lot of people off.

How is this screwing the fans over? Unless of course they want to see some 3rd rate caliber club from Albania play at Old Trafford a few times every year instead of Champions League quarterfinal caliber opponents 4 to 6 times a year.

Manchester United has never played an Albanian team in Europe, but of course supporters enjoy these nowadays unfortunately very rare fixtures against once in a lifetime opponents, away trips to places they would otherwise never go to and the camaraderie of it all. It's an important and integral part of European football culture.

There's no way UEFA can possibly be the sympathetic figure in all of this. Has UEFA really convinced all the fans that they, the fans, are getting screwed & that the owners are just greedy & UEFA isn't corrupt?

The fans have just given any & all leverage to UEFA. I guess we're going to find out what a corrupt organization does with it.

Corruption within UEFA is a separate issue, most fans want UEFA to operate more transparently and conscientiously rather than to blow up the organization altogether. UEFA is the framework of European football that is far from perfect but still better than any realistic alternative. Like is the case with domestic federations as well, the general attitudes towards the FA or the DFB are not much different.

 

[Pasha71]

Honestly, this idea was DOA when it became apparent no German or French clubs would take part. That means even the upside ("hey, look, we got all the best European clubs!") wasn't there.

And the downsides are plenty. Currently, any European team can reach the Champions League by winning its national league and then some qualifying matches. Granted, it's still an easier task for English, Spanish and Italian teams (who don't even need to win their leagues) than for, say, Albanian, Cypriot or Estonian teams -- but it's still possible. As a Belarusian-American, I did enjoy seeing BATE Borisov in the Champions League a couple of times, even though I'm a Chelsea fan.

The closed league would break all that. And don't give me analogies with NHL or other North American pro leagues. Think NCAA college basketball: conference = country, March Madness = Champions League, NIT = Europa League. Now imagine that 16 top colleges decided to form their own league instead of participating in March Madness...

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I think the idea died down with the no promotion/demotion thing for the founding clubs. If that was out and with more clubs aboard than the initial 12 (let's say 20) they would have got a decent chance to succeed or at least might have changed opinion a bit.

 

[Pasha71]

Also, if you really wanted to create a league with 20 best European clubs, the list would be something like (UEFA coefficient - Wikipedia):

1.Bayern Munich
2.Real Madrid
3.Manchester City
4.Barcelona
5.Juventus
6.Atletico Madrid
7.PSG
8.Manchester United
9.Liverpool
10.Arsenal
11.Sevilla
12.Chelsea
13.Roma
14.Borussia Dortmund
15.Tottenham Hotspur
16.Porto
17.Ajax
18.Shakhtar Donetsk
19.Lyon
20.Napoli

The 12 founders did include 10 of those 20 teams but also AC Milan and Inter, who are not in Top 20 at all.

 

[Power Man]

 

[koyvoo]

 

[HockeyGuy1964]

Is there a good explanation somewhere as to exactly why the fans are so mad & so fast. Fan protests started within hours so how could they possibly know all the facts to be outraged that fast & remain outraged?

How is this screwing the fans over? Unless of course they want to see some 3rd rate caliber club from Albania play at Old Trafford a few times every year instead of Champions League quarterfinal caliber opponents 4 to 6 times a year.

There's no way UEFA can possibly be the sympathetic figure in all of this. Has UEFA really convinced all the fans that they, the fans, are getting screwed & that the owners are just greedy & UEFA isn't corrupt?

The fans have just given any & all leverage to UEFA. I guess we're going to find out what a corrupt organization does with it.

I guess we just found out how this corrupt organization will wield their new found total authority.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

What a pathetic "penalty".

 

[Evilo]

Terrible.
Not surprised though.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Also, if you really wanted to create a league with 20 best European clubs, the list would be something like (UEFA coefficient - Wikipedia):

1.Bayern Munich
2.Real Madrid
3.Manchester City
4.Barcelona
5.Juventus
6.Atletico Madrid
7.PSG
8.Manchester United
9.Liverpool
10.Arsenal
11.Sevilla
12.Chelsea
13.Roma
14.Borussia Dortmund
15.Tottenham Hotspur
16.Porto
17.Ajax
18.Shakhtar Donetsk
19.Lyon
20.Napoli

The 12 founders did include 10 of those 20 teams but also AC Milan and Inter, who are not in Top 20 at all.

Inter just won the league. They’re absolutely a top 20 team.

 

[Evilo]

Inter just won the league. They’re absolutely a top 20 team.

They aren't per UEFA coefficients. Not even close in fact.

 

[Elvis P]

Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona slam UEFA 'threats' over Super League exit (espn.com)

 

[East Coast Bias]

They aren't per UEFA coefficients. Not even close in fact.

kind of puts Into perspective how bad of an alternative it is to a membership.

it might as well be a membership if an awful Juve team is 5th and Inter doesn’t rank top 20

 

[Scandale du Jour]

RCMF put out a press release saying they will pursue legal action against FIFA and UEFA if they continue to "threaten" them.

Official Announcement | Real Madrid CF