Football

You could say the same about Nottingham Forest. It has more to do with the power of the brand name than what's in the trophy cabinet.

The one thing these teams have in common is they are owned by people who are more interested in financial gain than on-field success. The real reason for this competition is it guarantees them access to the biggest club competition in the world every year no matter how bad a season they have domestically or how many times they change manager. There are huge financial consequences for these clubs if they don't qualify for the Champion's League, most people will remember what happened at Leeds 20 years ago, this new competition takes away that insecurity. It has a complete disregard for sporting merit, the more I think about it the worse it gets. They also have the Premier League and UEFA over a barrel as there's very little they can do to stop them. People are calling for them to be thrown out of the Premier League, they can't do that, the television rights would take a colossal hit without the star attractions. UEFA are talking about banning players from international competition, again they can't do that as the star players are the big merchandising cash cows and it will affect some international teams worse than others. The big question at the minute is who are the other 3 teams that have yet to be announced, Rangers and Celtic are suspiciously quiet.
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They are looking at the NFL model but ring fencing is fair in a small growing sport like say rugby, you need to invest and plan for years in advance and the likes of munster or leinster would struggle financially if they lost their place in pro14, so in rugby I think ring fencing is OK. But in football it's already so successful and even huge teams that get relegated don't entirely lose their fanbase over it, that type of restrictive market isn't necessary infact ring fencing team out of top competition indefinitely would lead to a decrease overall of football fans as those left out would have nothing to play for or support. Just doesn't make any sense with a sport that's that popular imo.
 
They are looking at the NFL model but ring fencing is fair in a small growing sport like say rugby, you need to invest and plan for years in advance and the likes of munster or leinster would struggle financially if they lost their place in pro14, so in rugby I think ring fencing is OK. But in football it's already so successful and even huge teams that get relegated don't entirely lose their fanbase over it, that type of restrictive market isn't necessary infact ring fencing team out of top competition indefinitely would lead to a decrease overall of football fans as those left out would have nothing to play for or support. Just doesn't make any sense with a sport that's that popular imo.

when is the last time that an English team, that’s not 1 of the 6, did anything whatsoever in Europe?

by my reckoning it was Leeds 2001 and that was a pure sham built on money they didn’t have

I have to say I am not against this super league - as long as the teams stay in their domestic league
 
when is the last time that an English team, that’s not 1 of the 6, did anything whatsoever in Europe?

by my reckoning it was Leeds 2001 and that was a pure sham built on money they didn’t have

I have to say I am not against this super league - as long as the teams stay in their domestic league
Then what's to play for in the domestic league outside of winning it? What happens if one of the 6 gets relegated from the domestic league? Its not about winning the competition it's that you have competition, and surely more than 6 teams in England have finished in the top 4 over the last 25 years.
 
It’s not that long ago that finishing fourth was the same as finishing 14th

we have somehow attached 4th as winning now

of course other teams have finished in top 4, not many but Leicester were of course champions. My point was they did absolutely nothing in Europe
 
It’s not that long ago that finishing fourth was the same as finishing 14th

we have somehow attached 4th as winning now

of course other teams have finished in top 4, not many but Leicester were of course champions. My point was they did absolutely nothing in Europe
What would you see as the plus points of the super league as opposed to the Champion's League?
 
It’s not that long ago that finishing fourth was the same as finishing 14th

we have somehow attached 4th as winning now

of course other teams have finished in top 4, not many but Leicester were of course champions. My point was they did absolutely nothing in Europe
Well they definitely won't do anything if they can't bloody well play in it. As I say it's not about winning it's about competition. Imagine if Liverpool or ManU were locked out of Europe indefinitely would you look at it the same way?
 
Chelsea and man city after leaving the super League. From the rumblings, they didn't want to join in the 1st place but felt pressured into it as their rivals were joining the league
 
Exclusivity. The whole thing is bollox though and by that I mean professional sport in general, not just this horlix of an idea.
Money is at the root of all evil
Go down to your local club and shout them on and forget all these chancers
Its times like this I think we need a double-like button
 
Looks like the whole idea is going to fall apart

I think there are going to be serious repurcusions from it, by that I mean 1 or more the 12 clubs going under financially. There are some massive problems in football now and I think this was a last gasp play to keep the money rolling in to keep the shows on the road.

I think this is just the beginning of the turmoil
 
Exclusivity. The whole thing is bollox though and by that I mean professional sport in general, not just this horlix of an idea.
Money is at the root of all evil
Go down to your local club and shout them on and forget all these chancers
It doesn't have to be one or the other y'know, it is possible to have an interest in sport at all levels
 
They all have up on it by the sounds of it. The Spaniards and Italians are still going ahead of it. I still can't get over the fact the yanks couldn't get the reason behind the promotion/relegation structure over here. Me thinks their football would improve if they had a promotion/relegation structure
 
It doesn't have to be one or the other y'know, it is possible to have an interest in sport at all levels
I've an interest in it myself but with professional sport it's entertainment the same as watching a film or whatever. Being a dedicated fan to these "clubs" is ridiculous in my view, they are franchises and nothing more. Big Derby games and all this are just media hype now, the players couldn't find their own club on a map never mind care if the fans have bragging rights over their neighbours. With VAR they've knocked even more of the sporting element out of soccer, can't shake hands now and leave it on the field. How are kids to learn that things don't always go your way when their learned reality is the decision will be reviewed, analysed etc. Thats not how real life works.

Anyway rant over, I'm not really militant about it but I do have a bit of an issue with lads I know spending entire Saturdays screaming at Premier league matches. They're placing half a dozen bets on whether a lad scores with his right or left boot and kissing the badge when he does and they could still be lining out with the local side themselves and contributing to a real club
 
I've an interest in it myself but with professional sport it's entertainment the same as watching a film or whatever. Being a dedicated fan to these "clubs" is ridiculous in my view, they are franchises and nothing more. Big Derby games and all this are just media hype now, the players couldn't find their own club on a map never mind care if the fans have bragging rights over their neighbours. With VAR they've knocked even more of the sporting element out of soccer, can't shake hands now and leave it on the field. How are kids to learn that things don't always go your way when their learned reality is the decision will be reviewed, analysed etc. Thats not how real life works.

Anyway rant over, I'm not really militant about it but I do have a bit of an issue with lads I know spending entire Saturdays screaming at Premier league matches. They're placing half a dozen bets on whether a lad scores with his right or left boot and kissing the badge when he does and they could still be lining out with the local side themselves and contributing to a real club
I get your point, I agree with some of it, I don't agree with more of it but I haven't time to get into it at the minute so maybe that will be next Saturday night's essay :drunk:
 
I get your point, I agree with some of it, I don't agree with more of it but I haven't time to get into it at the minute so maybe that will be next Saturday night's essay :drunk:
Itd be a boring world if we agreed on everything, give a bit of notice for the essay and I'll get a few bottles of ale in and have a proper rant back at you 😅
 
when is the last time that an English team, that’s not 1 of the 6, did anything whatsoever in Europe?

by my reckoning it was Leeds 2001 and that was a pure sham built on money they didn’t have

I have to say I am not against this super league - as long as the teams stay in their domestic league
Fulham qualified for the European cup in 2010 under fair play rules. Nearly went on to win it, beaten by Athletico in the final. Roy Hogson masterclass.
 
Fulham qualified for the European cup in 2010 under fair play rules. Nearly went on to win it, beaten by Athletico in the final. Roy Hogson masterclass.
08/09 season they qualified by being 7th in the prem. 09/10 season saw them going to the final. in that same season they came they didnt qualify for the next year. 10/11 season rolled around and they qualified for the 11/12 season due to fair play as you mentioned.
and just looking it up there. back in 2011, stoke lost to man city in the fa cup final but that allowed them to qualify for the europa qualifiers somehow even though they finished 13th that season
 
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