New European Super League

Discussion in 'General Football & Other Sport' started by The Voice of Reason, Apr 19, 2021.

  1. FromDiv4

    FromDiv4 Reservist

    You are correct it would be different, but not all bad. The attitude of some clubs of self importance and entitlement has annoyed me for several years. I agree that the memories of beating them is good, but would not playing them spoil my enjoyment of following WFC, no.
     
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  2. Cthulhu

    Cthulhu Keyboard Warrior Staff Member

    You are entitled to your view but I think you might be in the minority of Watford fans if you feel that the promotion under Taylor "didn't mean as much" as say the one under Boothroyd.
     
  3. dynamo380

    dynamo380 Reservist

    I work with a spurs season ticket holder and he's fuming about it. In fact I've yet to hear/read/see anyone who is in favour of this super league going ahead.
     
  4. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    But why are you saying that? You've made something up from thin air, inserted a part of a quote of mine in the middle, then tried to attribute it to something I said. A very strange tactic.
     
  5. AndrewH63

    AndrewH63 Reservist

    You would have to differentiate your premier club UEFA competition from the ESL. Maybe by returning to a pure knock out cup competition.

    After a while seeing the same teams thrash Arsenal (pick your ESL whipping boy) will pail. Plus of course the American owners will put in place salary caps to increase their take from the game, etc. Will that sort of competition sustain the “legacy fans” who attend in person probably not, but maybe the new supporters in the emerging markets of Africa and the Far East, watching on Amazon prime. And remember this is as much about getting rid of Sky as anything.

    whatever happens the status quo is now broken, ESL goes ahead and evolves into a different game, or the big six bully themselves into more money, removing promotion, etc, etc.
     
  6. V Crabro

    V Crabro Reservist

    I think European Super League or ESL bestows it with too much grandeur - can't we just call it the "Circus" from now on?
     
  7. AndrewH63

    AndrewH63 Reservist

    But thats because you are talking to supporters. The ESL club owners are looking at the income stream from a direct subscription model. Legacy fans are of little concern. Spurs will probably scrap season tickets anyway. Once the pandemic is over the crowd for ESL matches will be as transitory as for the American football matches at White Hart lane. The ESL may have half its games outside of Europe within a decade. It is a subscription via internet product they want, not making legacy season ticket holders happy.
     
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  8. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    Whilst such as Everton, Villa, Leicester, Leeds, who have all won the top division since Spuds did, are not involved. I saw Bernstein, Man City’s ex-chairman, himself mention in an interview that Citeh were only in the 3rd tier 20 years ago and he found the whole thing a disgrace.
     
    wfcmoog likes this.
  9. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    I fear the PL may try and compromise and offer themselves up as a closed shop and break away from the EFL perhaps - which will obviously come with its own challenges and legal battles. Will that be enough to sway the Top 6 from walking away? I've got my doubts as this is driven by greed and finances, not sporting merit.
     
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  10. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Surely HB1 is just giving his view on the wider implications for the national game, as opposed to what it might mean for Watford and their increased chances of success in a lessened competition?

    Fairly sure we all want Watford to win trophies a great deal.
     
  11. Cthulhu

    Cthulhu Keyboard Warrior Staff Member

    Here is what you have said:

    Well, it's a figure of speech. No one will be killed in reality.

    However, football in England will be the poorer without the big six. There's no getting away from it. The Premier League would look like the Championship with Go Faster stripes. It wouldn't really capture the global audience as it does now. The Sky revenue will be dramatically reduced when the next deal comes around.

    The biggest sides would be Everton, Leicester and West Ham. Who would really care about that. Without the "glamour clubs" football becomes a bit of a turnoff. Only fans of clubs would be interested in what their own club is doing. I doubt there would be much neutral interest in football outside of that.

    Getting promoted to the EPL wouldn't mean as much. There would be no big fixtures to look forward to. It would be a bit crap....let's be honest.

    So when we came second in 1982-83 only Spurs, Utd and Liverpool were in the top 6.
    City were relegated. arsenal 10th
    Chelsea ******* around in obscurity
    Those games we played against Notts Forest, Villa, West Ham and Everton that season meant just as much than against a petrochemical team now.
    The premier league created global glamour clubs as opposed to big clubs.
    Things change in football.
     
  12. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    Agreed. It is inconceivable to me that a group of clubs who have set themselves up as an exclusive club cartel could then successfully appeal in law a decision by FA/UEFA/FIFA to disallow members of that cartel playing in their own, merit-based, competitions. There would need to be full reciprocal access on both sides, which is exactly what the ESL is refusing to allow.
     
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  13. Happy bunny

    Happy bunny Cheered up a bit

    Assuming a cap on the number of players the superclubs could sign - that's important - I'd be happy for Watford to battle it out with Leicester, Southampton et al. If nobody in China wanted to watch, I couldn't care less. We'd go to matches not knowing who was going to win, like in the old days.
     
  14. a19tgg

    a19tgg First Team

    I was going to raise this point, surely this is a way for what would be a new premier league/the efl to plug the financial gap that the big 6 leaving/being chucked out?

    Technology has moved on significantly since the initial Sky/PL deal, there was no streaming back then so there was no choice but to find a TV network to pay you a load of money to screen the games. The current PL TV deal is pretty much 50/50 between what domestic networks pay for it and what the overseas rights are worth. Sky/Bt and all the overseas networks obviously then make a lot of money themselves, this is now quite inefficient as far as the PL or whoever are concerned, they no longer need a network to show the games, the technology is there for them to cut out the middle man.

    Sure, there would be a cluster **** initially as sky/bt and the rest try and claw money back, but when the respective deals end surely being able to sell a subscription service to anybody in the world for say, £10 per month would rake in plenty of cash and make up the difference?
     
  15. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    ...and you said "You are entitled to your view but I think you might be in the minority of Watford fans if you feel that the promotion under Taylor "didn't mean as much" as say the one under Boothroyd."

    Which is not what I said at all. Where did I mention Taylor or Boothroyd?........I think it's you that needs to wobble your head. But I can't be bothered with this...you said this blah ,blah. Everyone can read what was written. If you want to make things up, that's up to you. I'm not playing.
     
  16. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    Agreed again. FIFA’s rules would only be applicable to FIFA-sanctioned competitions, which the ESL will not be.
     
  17. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

    Yes....after some readjustment you'd get used to it, but it wouldn't feel like the Premier League. It would feel like a glorified Championship game. Some of the gloss would be gone for sure.
     
  18. Happy bunny

    Happy bunny Cheered up a bit

    I've been calling this concept the Showbiz League since the 90s. I wrote an article for When Saturday Comes 25 years ago about where the Americanisation of football could lead. They didn't publish it, saying it wasn't funny enough. They missed the point - it was angry satire, not meant to be funny.
     
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  19. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    But the fundamental argument against this proposal is the ossification into perpuity of a self-proclaimed elite. Liverpool were in the 2nd tier for 8 seasons before 1962; Citeh were tier 3 only 20 years ago; and how anyone can say Spurs and elite in the same sentence baffles me.
     
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  20. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    How about the ‘European Cowards’ Cartel’?
     
  21. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Yes - but back then, there wasn't an escape route for the best players to go elsewhere. Now there will be - and thats as big a fundamental change as you can get to the situation.

    Sure, 'new' top teams will emerge and it might be more competitive - but there will always be that better standard on offer elsewhere. There wasn't in 1982-1983.
     
  22. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

    Because they are financially elite. And thats what this is based upon.
     
  23. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    Fair enough, but still not convinced by Spurs’ inclusion even on that basis.
     
  24. Happy bunny

    Happy bunny Cheered up a bit

    When I went to university I swapped second-tier football at Norwich for Southern League Cambridge United. Went once in my first year - a 3-3 draw which people around me enjoyed but I thought was awful. Went again early the next season to see John Charles playing for Hereford, and was hooked. Didn't miss a match after that. The same later when I moved from London to Kent, and swapped Chelsea for Gillingham. You adjust, and get used to the standard of football you're seeing.

    * Just to clarify, my teams for many years have been 1 Watford, 2 Norwich, 3 Cambridge, the rest nowhere other than a mild dislike of Chelsea and a generic dislike of the Big 6.
     
  25. FromDiv4

    FromDiv4 Reservist

    Actually above Arsenal
    upload_2021-4-19_14-59-49.png
     
  26. hornetboy1

    hornetboy1 First Team Captain

  27. Since63

    Since63 Squad Player

    Ok, but I’d accept the Ar5e on a combination of revenue and competitive success as being more elite.
     
  28. UEA_Hornet

    UEA_Hornet First Team Captain

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  29. Burnsy

    Burnsy First Team

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  30. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    I can't recall but weren't our owners one of the few non-bestest 6 teams that backed them when they wanted an increase in the global rights money?
     
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  31. FromDiv4

    FromDiv4 Reservist

    I do not disagree with your sentiment, just adding a bit of data wrt your comment. I don't think either of them are "elite"
     
  32. Happy bunny

    Happy bunny Cheered up a bit

    If six drop out, Sheff may stay in. In any case, they're still members until the end of the season.
     
  33. GoingDown

    GoingDown "The Stability"

    Everyone moans about Spurs but AC Milan haven't even qualified for the CL since 2013.

    You have to admire the incredible steel balls of those owners to demand a seat.
     
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  34. dynamo380

    dynamo380 Reservist

    Even if that was their genuine intention, there would surely be no way of regulating it. It would just end up creating a far bigger gap than there already is.
     
  35. If it doesn’t work out they’ll just relocate the clubs to whichever US or Asian city bids the most for them, just as happens for American sports. Actually I hope this League does go ahead because that happening would be freaking hilarious to see Spuds relocate to China and Arsenal relocate to Florida.
     

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