European Super League

[Rich NATA]

25 minutes ago, Big Ramy 1314 said:

All six english clubs have pulled out and offering apologies to the supporters.. what a fuckin joke.. Aye, just move on now like nothin happened. Not that I give a flying fuck about England, but how can these supporters ever trust their owners now !!!!

Only Arsenal have actually apologised, apparently.

 

I just saw Spurs announcement on Twitter. It smacked of sour-grapes to me. Not even a hint of an apology.

[Rich NATA]

12 hours ago, Och Aye said:

Real Madrid president says something has to be done as young people are now not as interested in the game.

Shameless cant.

If he's so concerned about the bairns interest, slash their ticket prices to <5 Euros so they can actually attend matches regularly.

 

He also went on to say something about matches not being exciting enough...

... and the Super League is the answer?!?!

 

Earlier today, I heard people talking passionately on the radio about memorable days out at Barnet...

Then someone rolling off "Barnsley legends" they used to watch 30 years ago...

Then about someone who still knew the starting XI at their first ever Merthyr Tydfil match 40 years ago.

 

Big club v big club doesn't necessarily equal greatness.

[vanderark14]

Wow, those new CL proposals are wild.

A 36 team league where you play 10 games instead of 6 in the league structure........hmm I thought these clubs already played too many games per season.

There's protection for the majority of ESL gang. They've more or less got their super league but yeah this was a great victory for the fans and sport.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0268-12157d69ce2d-9f011c70f6fa-1000--new-champions-league-format-explained/

 

How will the 2024/25 competition change?

The pivotal change in the reforms announced by the UEFA Executive Committee after its meeting on 19 April 2021 is the departure from the current format’s opening 32-team group stage. The present Champions League season begins with participants divided into eight groups of four. From the 2024/25 season, there will be a single league made up of all 36 competing clubs. This will give four more sides the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe.

Under the new format, teams will play four matches more than is currently the case. They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away – but will instead face fixtures against 10 different teams, half of them at home and half of them away. This gives the opportunity for clubs to test themselves against a wider range of opponents – and also raises the prospect of fans seeing the top teams go head to head more often earlier in the competition. The new format should mean that there is more to play for right up until the final night of league action.

How will the four additional spots be allocated?

Qualification for the Champions League will continue to be open and depend on a club’s final position in the previous season’s domestic league competition. The additional four slots available in 2024/25 will be allocated according to three different criteria:

• Slot one: awarded to a club from the country placed fifth in UEFA’s national association coefficient rankings. Each association's coefficient is based on the results of its clubs’ performances in five previous Champions League and Europa League seasons.
• Slot two: awarded to the domestic league champion with the highest club coefficient among all other domestic champions that have not automatically qualified for the Champions League’s league stage.
• Slots three and four: awarded to the two clubs with the highest club coefficients that have not qualified automatically for the Champions League’s league stage, but have qualified either for the Champions League qualification phase or the Europa League/the Europa Conference League (due to start in the 2021/22 season).

Edited April 21, 2021 by vanderark14

[killiefaetheferry]

Eh? A single league of 36 but you only play 10 fixtures? 

[vanderark14]

44 minutes ago, killiefaetheferry said:

Eh? A single league of 36 but you only play 10 fixtures? 

I have seen it confirmed but those ten matches will be seeded against seeded too

[Big Ramy 1314]

9 hours ago, Rich NATA said:

Only Arsenal have actually apologised, apparently.

 

I just saw Spurs announcement on Twitter. It smacked of sour-grapes to me. Not even a hint of an apology.

Thought I read it in Skye mate. Still an absolute disgrace to all 6 of them...

[Toepoke]

2 hours ago, Big Ramy 1314 said:

Thought I read it in Skye mate. 

You not locked down in Ontario?

[Toepoke]

4 hours ago, vanderark14 said:

Wow, those new CL proposals are wild.

A 36 team league where you play 10 games instead of 6 in the league structure........hmm I thought these clubs already played too many games per season.

There's protection for the majority of ESL gang. They've more or less got their super league but yeah this was a great victory for the fans and sport.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0268-12157d69ce2d-9f011c70f6fa-1000--new-champions-league-format-explained/

 

How will the 2024/25 competition change?

The pivotal change in the reforms announced by the UEFA Executive Committee after its meeting on 19 April 2021 is the departure from the current format’s opening 32-team group stage. The present Champions League season begins with participants divided into eight groups of four. From the 2024/25 season, there will be a single league made up of all 36 competing clubs. This will give four more sides the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe.

Under the new format, teams will play four matches more than is currently the case. They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away – but will instead face fixtures against 10 different teams, half of them at home and half of them away. This gives the opportunity for clubs to test themselves against a wider range of opponents – and also raises the prospect of fans seeing the top teams go head to head more often earlier in the competition. The new format should mean that there is more to play for right up until the final night of league action.

How will the four additional spots be allocated?

Qualification for the Champions League will continue to be open and depend on a club’s final position in the previous season’s domestic league competition. The additional four slots available in 2024/25 will be allocated according to three different criteria:

• Slot one: awarded to a club from the country placed fifth in UEFA’s national association coefficient rankings. Each association's coefficient is based on the results of its clubs’ performances in five previous Champions League and Europa League seasons.
• Slot two: awarded to the domestic league champion with the highest club coefficient among all other domestic champions that have not automatically qualified for the Champions League’s league stage.
• Slots three and four: awarded to the two clubs with the highest club coefficients that have not qualified automatically for the Champions League’s league stage, but have qualified either for the Champions League qualification phase or the Europa League/the Europa Conference League (due to start in the 2021/22 season).

Going to be a lot of disagreements over the fixture lists!

Might have been neater if they'd extended it to 40 teams and each team plays one side from a subsection of 4 teams going by the club coefficient.

Bizarre format though, supposedly it will be emulated in the Europa League/ Conference League as well.

 

[Big Ramy 1314]

5 minutes ago, Toepoke said:

You not locked down in Ontario?

"On Skye"   🤣🤣

[Rich NATA]

2 hours ago, Big Ramy 1314 said:

Thought I read it in Skye mate. Still an absolute disgrace to all 6 of them...

Some proper apologies have followed, I see.

I heard the American owner of Liverpool make a full apology on the radio this morning. He apologised more than once. It actually sounded very sincere, TBH.

Levy @ Spurs has apparently apologised as well.

 

As someone else here indicated, the Super League may be dead, but that doesn't mean what's left with (what already existed) is suitable.

For a start, the Champions League should only be for champions.

As for UEFA; they ought to give more consideration to the fans... Ticket prices (look at the Euro 21 prices for a start ) and they can scrap their week of football shyte too.

[Rich NATA]

Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the only clubs, yet to jack it in?

What are the waiting for??

 

P.S. is there any truth there is going to be a Benelux league formed soon?

[stocky]

1 hour ago, Rich NATA said:

 

 

P.S. is there any truth there is going to be a Benelux league formed soon?

As far as i knew this was a done deal, happening next season or year after.  

read about it a few weeks ago now. 

 

But i could be wrong, i often am...

[Och Aye]

8 minutes ago, stocky said:

As far as i knew this was a done deal, happening next season or year after.  

read about it a few weeks ago now. 

 

But i could be wrong, i often am...

I read it a couple of decades ago. 

 

[vanderark14]

Milan ultras take on it. Hard to argue with it

Honestly, it makes us laugh to see all those people in the control room of football suddenly claim we fans are first and foremost.

“The Super League is just the latest in a long line of innumerable manoeuvres over decades that has made football into a business.

“The birth of this new competition would certainly be another shove to the football of old, which is by now a distant memory, and will inevitably obscure the tradition of the various national leagues, robbing football of the undeniable principle of sporting meritocracy.

“But the thing that most leaves us indignant is the hypocrisy of all those who contributed to making this sport nothing but a business, those who today stand up in name of the fans, but only because they saw their remunerative and seemingly untouchable project fall apart.

“Football did belong to the people until the 1990s, when the Champions League was born, destroying the old European Cup. From that moment, an unbreachable chasm has been created between the big and small clubs.

“Football did belong to the people even when nobody lifted a finger to stop the increase of ticket prices that was imposed by some Presidents.

“Football did belong to the people even when nobody stepped in to stop the rise of the super agents, who took player salaries to ever more astronomical figures, which could only be sustained with TV rights, the same TV companies that imposed increasingly chaotic fixture lists, with games on improbable days and kick-off times.

“Football did belong to the people even when rules were imposed to stop any rapport between the players and the fans.

“Football did belong to the people even when Supercoppa Finals were played on other continents or the dates of some games were changed a few days before kick-off, damaging those fans who had booked trains or planes to get to the stadium.

“Football did belong to the people even when some clubs were allowed to circumvent Financial Fair Play, while others with less influential Presidents were penalised.

“Football did belong to the people even when the World Cup was forced to Qatar in 2022, despite moving the entire calendar and disregarding human rights violations.

“We could list numerous other examples to show the absolute hypocrisy of the words we’re hearing from the football chiefs over the last 48 hours.

“The Super League is just the latest disgusting step, but those who took football to this point are no less grotesque, so save us these ludicrous performances of rhetoric and morality.

“Now that the money is running out, feel free to fight it out between yourselves, but don’t you dare name the fans. 

[Och Aye]

So with the Super League falling on its arse that probably leaves the SPL as still the most closed shop in football. 

[RDFH64]

19 hours ago, vanderark14 said:

Milan ultras take on it. Hard to argue with it

Honestly, it makes us laugh to see all those people in the control room of football suddenly claim we fans are first and foremost.

“The Super League is just the latest in a long line of innumerable manoeuvres over decades that has made football into a business.

“The birth of this new competition would certainly be another shove to the football of old, which is by now a distant memory, and will inevitably obscure the tradition of the various national leagues, robbing football of the undeniable principle of sporting meritocracy.

“But the thing that most leaves us indignant is the hypocrisy of all those who contributed to making this sport nothing but a business, those who today stand up in name of the fans, but only because they saw their remunerative and seemingly untouchable project fall apart.

“Football did belong to the people until the 1990s, when the Champions League was born, destroying the old European Cup. From that moment, an unbreachable chasm has been created between the big and small clubs.

“Football did belong to the people even when nobody lifted a finger to stop the increase of ticket prices that was imposed by some Presidents.

“Football did belong to the people even when nobody stepped in to stop the rise of the super agents, who took player salaries to ever more astronomical figures, which could only be sustained with TV rights, the same TV companies that imposed increasingly chaotic fixture lists, with games on improbable days and kick-off times.

“Football did belong to the people even when rules were imposed to stop any rapport between the players and the fans.

“Football did belong to the people even when Supercoppa Finals were played on other continents or the dates of some games were changed a few days before kick-off, damaging those fans who had booked trains or planes to get to the stadium.

“Football did belong to the people even when some clubs were allowed to circumvent Financial Fair Play, while others with less influential Presidents were penalised.

“Football did belong to the people even when the World Cup was forced to Qatar in 2022, despite moving the entire calendar and disregarding human rights violations.

“We could list numerous other examples to show the absolute hypocrisy of the words we’re hearing from the football chiefs over the last 48 hours.

“The Super League is just the latest disgusting step, but those who took football to this point are no less grotesque, so save us these ludicrous performances of rhetoric and morality.

“Now that the money is running out, feel free to fight it out between yourselves, but don’t you dare name the fans. 

Perfectly summed up, add in what the Bosman ruling has done by creating a platform for ever greedier players to hold clubs to ransom along with their agents who take millions out of the game with their astronomical fee's, football is well on it's way to self induced implosion.

[vanderark14]

Good to see a man City player speak out about the new CL format, Gundogan labelled the new CL as the lesser of two evils.

I'd love to see the same unity among fans and players against this new CL but I doubt it will happen.

Where I disagree with Gundogan is the current format isn't good either, it needs revamped to give teams below the super clubs the same sporting chance at success

 

[fringo]

On 4/21/2021 at 4:29 PM, vanderark14 said:

Milan ultras take on it. Hard to argue with it

Honestly, it makes us laugh to see all those people in the control room of football suddenly claim we fans are first and foremost.

“The Super League is just the latest in a long line of innumerable manoeuvres over decades that has made football into a business.

“The birth of this new competition would certainly be another shove to the football of old, which is by now a distant memory, and will inevitably obscure the tradition of the various national leagues, robbing football of the undeniable principle of sporting meritocracy.

“But the thing that most leaves us indignant is the hypocrisy of all those who contributed to making this sport nothing but a business, those who today stand up in name of the fans, but only because they saw their remunerative and seemingly untouchable project fall apart.

“Football did belong to the people until the 1990s, when the Champions League was born, destroying the old European Cup. From that moment, an unbreachable chasm has been created between the big and small clubs.

“Football did belong to the people even when nobody lifted a finger to stop the increase of ticket prices that was imposed by some Presidents.

“Football did belong to the people even when nobody stepped in to stop the rise of the super agents, who took player salaries to ever more astronomical figures, which could only be sustained with TV rights, the same TV companies that imposed increasingly chaotic fixture lists, with games on improbable days and kick-off times.

“Football did belong to the people even when rules were imposed to stop any rapport between the players and the fans.

“Football did belong to the people even when Supercoppa Finals were played on other continents or the dates of some games were changed a few days before kick-off, damaging those fans who had booked trains or planes to get to the stadium.

“Football did belong to the people even when some clubs were allowed to circumvent Financial Fair Play, while others with less influential Presidents were penalised.

“Football did belong to the people even when the World Cup was forced to Qatar in 2022, despite moving the entire calendar and disregarding human rights violations.

“We could list numerous other examples to show the absolute hypocrisy of the words we’re hearing from the football chiefs over the last 48 hours.

“The Super League is just the latest disgusting step, but those who took football to this point are no less grotesque, so save us these ludicrous performances of rhetoric and morality.

“Now that the money is running out, feel free to fight it out between yourselves, but don’t you dare name the fans. 

That's a very good statement.

[Fairbairn]

9 hours ago, fringo said:

That's a very good statement.

I don’t know. It lacks something without a WATP or UTLR at the end. 6/10. 

[vanderark14]

7 hours ago, Fairbairn said:

I don’t know. It lacks something without a WATP or UTLR at the end. 6/10. 

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Morrisandmoo]

Aye was pretty laughable to see Fifa, UEFA and the Premier League out going on about sporting integrity and impact on fans. Between financial fair play, VAR, increasingly discriminatory European competitions, TV deals at the heart of everything - what fucking balls it takes to climb on a high horse when you are literally ripping the heart out of the game. 

The whole dramatic response to the super-league was one big exercise just to reinforce the horrible system they are running. Pigs arguing with pigs. 

[vanderark14]

19 minutes ago, Morrisandmoo said:

Aye was pretty laughable to see Fifa, UEFA and the Premier League out going on about sporting integrity and impact on fans. Between financial fair play, VAR, increasingly discriminatory European competitions, TV deals at the heart of everything - what fucking balls it takes to climb on a high horse when you are literally ripping the heart out of the game. 

The whole dramatic response to the super-league was one big exercise just to reinforce the horrible system they are running. Pigs arguing with pigs. 

+1 👍🏻

[Rolling hIlls]

58 minutes ago, Morrisandmoo said:

Aye was pretty laughable to see Fifa, UEFA and the Premier League out going on about sporting integrity and impact on fans. Between financial fair play, VAR, increasingly discriminatory European competitions, TV deals at the heart of everything - what fucking balls it takes to climb on a high horse when you are literally ripping the heart out of the game. 

The whole dramatic response to the super-league was one big exercise just to reinforce the horrible system they are running. Pigs arguing with pigs. 

My view is that was a step too far.  I buy stuff from Amazon as it is half the price from the shops in Peebles.  Does that make me greedy?  Probably.  The whole game in Europe needs revamped but club executives and SFA and Uefa will always look after their own needs.  Nothing wrong with that.  Except that is the fans that pay the price.  The sooner the fans have a voice the better.

[Morrisandmoo]

1 hour ago, Rolling hIlls said:

My view is that was a step too far.  I buy stuff from Amazon as it is half the price from the shops in Peebles.  Does that make me greedy?  Probably.  The whole game in Europe needs revamped but club executives and SFA and Uefa will always look after their own needs.  Nothing wrong with that.  Except that is the fans that pay the price.  The sooner the fans have a voice the better.

The difference is the super league wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference to me. 

The fact that Rangers and Celtic can financially dope their way to domestic domination, the risk of VAR coming to the Scottish game, the fact that all the SPFL cares about is getting the next TV deal rather than promoting young scottish players or helping fans who actually go to the football (or want to go) does affect me. 

As you say, more power to the fans and less to centralised authorities or  privately run clubs is an important part of the solution. 

[Rolling hIlls]

1 hour ago, Morrisandmoo said:

The difference is the super league wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference to me. 

The fact that Rangers and Celtic can financially dope their way to domestic domination, the risk of VAR coming to the Scottish game, the fact that all the SPFL cares about is getting the next TV deal rather than promoting young scottish players or helping fans who actually go to the football (or want to go) does affect me. 

As you say, more power to the fans and less to centralised authorities or  privately run clubs is an important part of the solution. 

Disagree.  Rangers and Celtic don't financially dope their way to anything.  The fact is that they are the biggest two clubs in Scotland.  And have been for over 100 years. (religious based) That is what it is.  They will be until the next 100 years and we all know that.  Having more fan power won't help that.  I am for the two joining a British or other league where all the other clubs can flourish.