Stuff Your Superleague.

[ursus arctos]

UEFA definitely have the right to ban individuals from their competitions and to lobby FIFA to extend those bans to competitions under FIIFA's jurisdiction.

If they aren't certain that they would in fact exercise those sanctions, I would advise them to use "could" when referring to them.

[Flynnie]

I wonder if this is kayfabe to get the 36 team CL, which seems like an ESL through the back door, over the line.

[Diable Rouge]

That was going ahead Monday anyway.

[Nefertiti2]

Here’s Gary Neville- compared on my timeline to
Adam Tooze analysis of Paul Krugman. Recognition that there is no fairness and no interest in fairness from the megarich making him move ever further to the left

https://twitter.com/ayocaesar/status/1383846107864735746?s=21

[Nefertiti2]

“Take their money away”

get him a pint from me EIM if he comes into your boozer

[Logan Mountstuart]

That's brilliant. I'll put my myopic 50 year animosity to the man and his mates aside and applaud him for that.

[Patrick Thistle]

My initial response to this is "alright, don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out". The big clubs are too powerful in the current system and UEFA don't seem to really give a fuck about fans or grassroots clubs so maybe if the bloated corporations that are the top clubs fucked off then some attention could be paid to other issues in the game.

Plus if they go that puts an end to them trying their parachute their reserve teams into League 2. So, silver linings.

[super furry dice]

Amen to Gary Neville.

And let the 6 / 12 go have their own league just don't let them play in any domestic competitions as well. Real Madrid win likely win it most years and the others will have little to no chance of winning a trophy ever again. They'll have to live with that as the rest of us do and it won't be fun for them despite the dosh.

[Satchmo Distel]

Arsenal voting for a league why they will be the bottom club?

FIFA and UEFA aren't going to ban 100+ of the world's best players from their showpiece international events.

Kudos to Gary Neville but he's speaking on, er, Sky Sports.

[ursus arctos]

Are you familiar with Kroenke's other "sporting properties"?

[Eggchaser]

Is this a slight on poor old Matt Stafford?

[Satchmo Distel]

Are you familiar with Kroenke's other "sporting properties"?

He's been deliberately keeping Arsenal shit until he gets the chance to move them to a bigger market area?

The point about the World Cup and Euros surely remains valid - there's just no way you could have second string international sides that would be marketable in major tournaments when the public would know the best players are absent. The legal issues would be secondary because all the sponsors would be gone or massively reducing their rates.

[caja-dglh]

He's been deliberately keeping Arsenal shit until he gets the chance to move them to a bigger market area?

Winning is expensive. Far more efficient to be the worst team in the guaranteed payday league.

[ursus arctos]

No, but his ownership record across football, gridiron, basketball, ice hockey and even e-sports makes very manifest that trophies are quite low down on his list of priorities

[Satchmo Distel]

OK, I didn't know that. It's a frightening thought indeed that rich people are deliberately buying also-rans in order to keep them also-rans because there's a business model where that's attractive.

[ursus arctos]

It's been an attractive business proposition in North American sports for over a century

Over dozens of opportunities, Kroenke clubs have won two titles: a Stanley Cup for the Avalanche in the year that he bought them and the Rapids' MLS Cup in 2010.

[DCI Harry Batt]

all the sponsors would be gone or massively reducing their rates.

Don't threaten me with a good time.

[San Bernardhinault]

I’m 100% on board with this finally happening and the blackmail ending at last and we can all finally ignore Giant Franchise Soccer.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Let's hope it's not a bluff and the stupid twats go ahead with it. Fan owned clubs of all those defecting will be created within weeks (if not created already) and it might finally dawn on megarich owners what they're investing in when they buy a club. I imagine a new, better normal would return within a decade and the super league will be a collosal failure.

[ale]

Arsenal voting for a league why they will be the bottom club?

FIFA and UEFA aren't going to ban 100+ of the world's best players from their showpiece international events.

Kudos to Gary Neville but he's speaking on, er, Sky Sports.

This is the salient point isnt it. Do fans of international football watch because of national identity or familiarity with big club names? My gut instinct is the former-indeed the presence of lower league flags at England games and the abuse aimed at big club name players in times of stress suggests the national football team support would hold up well in the absence of those from the 6 clubs looking to flee. How many of the national team play for them anyway? Harry Kane say would miss playing for England more than an international tournament would miss him is my hunch.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

My initial response to this is "alright, don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out". The big clubs are too powerful in the current system and UEFA don't seem to really give a fuck about fans or grassroots clubs so maybe if the bloated corporations that are the top clubs fucked off then some attention could be paid to other issues in the game.

Plus if they go that puts an end to them trying their parachute their reserve teams into League 2. So, silver linings.

Agree with all of this but there is the angle that the Super Five (or Six, or whatever) would still exist and would still affect how the domestic game worked. It would only be a matter of time until they started trying to buy existing League clubs to use as feeder clubs (being freed of the restriction that two clubs in the same league can't have common ownership). I'm not sure the EPL / EFL / FA could prevent them doing that?

[Patrick Thistle]

There's a "fit and proper persons test" and the FA/EFL could just add "no fucking traitors" to the current exhaustive* list of who would be allowed to own clubs.

* this is snark but it could be done

[Patrick Thistle]

There could be deviations in rules that eventually make Giant Franchise Soccer* a slightly different beast in a similar way to the league/union division in rugby.

* copyright San Bernardhinault

[Flynnie]

There's a "fit and proper persons test" and the FA/EFL could just add "no fucking traitors" to the current exhaustive* list of who would be allowed to own clubs.

* this is snark but it could be done

You could probably pass an Act of Parliament too, like Canada threatens to do every time the NFL plays footsie with expanding north of the border.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

There could be deviations in rules that eventually make Giant Franchise Soccer* a slightly different beast in a similar way to the league/union division in rugby.

* copyright San Bernardhinault

I was thinking that too, or more superficial variations like Packer Cricket.

Or like the NASL in the 70s, with the offside line and the 1 on 1s in place of penalty shoot outs.

Could easily see for example the super duper clubs wanting to reduce regulation playing time to 80 minutes so their players don't get too tired, what with all the flying to games in Qatar and China.