Football Season 2020 - 2021

Are you talking about League One or The Championship. :smiley_cat:

1 Like

The problem is that football in it’s present format just isn’t as attractive to a younger (-25) audience as it is to us old gits. Youngsters support multiple teams, watch multiple matches at once whilst playing
fantasy football, texting, tweeting and posting. Their attention span is short and they want all action, all star matches and they want to support the winning team otherwise they will switch off.

In the future when we are all gone competitive football will be radically different and this wether it be a break away Super League or a Fifa, Uefa backed revamped Champions League is just the start.

I think if enough fans protest and boycot the clubs in some way, which they will, this will fade away or at least delay it. I don’t see any details about this and the timing is terrible.

Perhaps it’s a tester at this point to gauge reaction.

I think you are over estimating both fan power and the amount of fans who are in favour. From what I understand these clubs still want to stay in the PL this Super League will be instead of the CL.

You may be right about it being a tester though.

The real local fans are a really small group for these teams. They’ll sell much more kit etc. to fans across the world than the “locals”. As long as they’re successful the stadium will be filled.

Us nutters are mostly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

1 Like

For sure, they’re testing the waters. Fans of the so-called big six (including you, my friend) need to make it clear to their clubs what they think about this.

@n-lot Maybe in the short term. But I hope that if the greed-mongers succeed in setting up a Stupor League, interest will fade quickly. It should become apparent that a closed competition, for the same few clubs forever, is the definition of dull.

1 Like

One more, then I’ll shut up (temporarily). Gary Neville’s furious and scarily smart reaction on Sky Sports says everything that needs to be said. [Click here: [Neville lets rip](

:rage: | "I’m a #MUFC fan and I’m absolutely disgusted."
:boom: | “They are an absolute joke.”@GNev2 gives a brutally honest reaction to reports that England’s biggest clubs are expected to be part of plans for a breakaway European Super League. pic.twitter.com/VfJccHgybc

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 18, 2021
)]

I’ve no idea if that worked. Anyway, you can find it easily enough, if you’re interested. Highly recommended.

2 Likes

What I don’t think is being made very clear is that this is not a plan to beak away from the domestic leagues the BREAK AWAY is from the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE not the Premier League, Seria A or La Liga.

Here is the actual Super League statement.

Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.

"AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as Founding Clubs. It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable.

"Going forward, the Founding Clubs look forward to holding discussions with UEFA and FIFA to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes for the new League and for football as a whole.

"The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.

“The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid. In recent months extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The Founding Clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher-quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid.”

Proposed competition format:

  • 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.
  • Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.
  • An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

The ESL statement continued: "As soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league will also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game.

"The new annual tournament will provide significantly greater economic growth and support for European football via a long-term commitment to uncapped solidarity payments which will grow in line with league revenues. These solidarity payments will be substantially higher than those generated by the current European competition and are expected to be in excess of €10 billion during the course of the initial commitment period of the Clubs.

“In addition, the competition will be built on a sustainable financial foundation with all Founding Clubs signing up to a spending framework. In exchange for their commitment, Founding Clubs will receive an amount of €3.5 billion solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID pandemic.”

1 Like

But the leagues, UEFA and FIFA all say that if they go ahead with the Stupor League, the clubs will be chucked out.

Anyway, at the moment it’s all posturing. It’s the first part of the negotiation that will end in a compromise, which is what the greedy bar stewards probably wanted in the first place. But they’ll be back for more sooner or later.

1 Like

Manchester United is trying to buy our local club, Central Coast Mariners. We’re currently sitting 2nd on the National League.

1 Like

Firstly, I can’t see it happening. The players won’t have it for one thing. Many might be obsessed with mega earnings but I think the majority still want to play in front of fans in the competitions they’ve known all their lives. Though if it does, it’s probably not a good thing!

Second, the PL, UEFA and FIFA all accusing the clubs of greed is hypocrisy of the highest order.

Third, since when have the aforesaid been considered the good guys? If they genuinely acted in the interests of ‘the game’ we wouldn’t be where we are now and the World Cup wouldn’t be hosted in Russia and Qatar.

2 Likes

Another sign of our civilisations steadily accelerating decline?

Yes that’s right , my home team does have a relationship with the mariners going back a few years and uk press reports that mariners need a cash injection

Yes but they’re talking about relocating which hasn’t made the bid popular.

ah yes relocating to Sydney- don’t really see the need for that

There’s also a US group looking but they want to relocate them to the Gold Coast (Qld).

1 Like

Greed is the only motive in this proposal, nothing about the good of the game. Given the rising opposition from every quarter I think the scheme is bound to fail. It might even prompt stronger regulation, which in England is sorely needed. I also think it’s hard to present this idea as a “Super League” when French and German clubs aren’t participating - no Bayern Munich?!

And, sorry Spurs fans, but what is the justification for Tottenham being involved beyond turnover? It certainly can’t be trophies. My lowly club has more recent silverware than Spurs!

4 Likes

And Mourinho just been sacked. A good start for one of the “super league” twelve!

3 Likes

Mourinho sacked

1 Like