European Super League Mega Thread

[Frozen_Waffles]

People saying that this is a disgrace is a bit ott.

It was a disgrace when they started charging over 50 quid for a ticket.

It was a disgrace when the pl was not shown on terrestrial television anymore.

It was a disgrace when on top of a subscription based show they then added ppv

It was a disgrace when owners/criminals were allowed to buy football clubs.

It was a disgrace when Roman Abramovic was allowed to take control of a club.

What happened at Portsmouth and others with owners asset stripping was a disgrace.

Players recieving 2/3/4 hundred thousand a week is a disgrace.

Buying players for millions is a disgrace.

Countries buying football clubs and attempting to buy success was a disgrace.

A club being named after a fizzy drink was a disgrace.

A closed European super League is a bad but let's not get on a high horse now after we have accepted all sorts of shit in the past 20 years.

Uefa/FIFA/sky sports can all go fuck themselves as far as I'm concerned. We have been on this downward spiral for years and now they complain, why?

Because they stand to lose money, fucking hipocritical wankers.

 

[Misfit]

Jesus Christ, I’m dead against this in principle, but there are some very melodramatic scenarios being posted on here, the hyperbole is incredible.

I’m sure this is just opening posturing, there will be changes and compromises and whilst it might not be great, the world will still turn and the majority (admittedly not all) of us will still be here in a years time, complaining about shit full backs and net spend.

We’ve heard about “the death of football’ and “the final nail in the coffin” far too many times, Spurs will still be here regardless.

Guess what, money talks, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, it may be shit but it’s unfortunately the way things work, if people give up their ST’s or boycott the club, there are dozens who will take their places.

Footballs not what it was, it’s a soulless money making machine, and it’s only going to get worse and people will still lap it up and pay the money. Everyone is closing ranks to spin this as the death of football by greedy elite clubs, all they are actually doing is protecting their investments and cash cows so they can keep lining their own pockets.

Old gits like us who like to moan on forums and phone Talkshite and actually go to games, might make a lot of noise, but guess what, we aren’t the new target audience, we are not the future. Football teams are not the local club you used to go to with your dads and have a pie and pint at half time they are a worldwide brand it’s changed for the worse but it’s not changing back.

Personally I’ve drifted away from actually going to games and it being the centrepiece of the weekend over the last 3 years or so, so this has no real bearing on me not renewing my membership etc. I haven’t been a football supporter for years, just a Spurs supporter and I couldn’t see myself ever supporting anyone else, for me it’s Spurs or nothing. It may well end up being nothing, but it won’t be because of this.

Get out of my head! Exactly this, especially drifting away from the game the last few years. Without Spurs, I wouldn't even check the scores regularly.

It's softened the blow considerably.

 

[CantSmileWithoutYou]

As a business man he had to though - he would have been remiss if he hadnt. You dont give up £300m a year of guaranteed income. The last 10 years in hindsight has been building up to this point. I suspect thats why the naming rights hadnt been agreed - he knew.

Naming rights... Absolutely 100% spot on.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

I think it depends if we turn a blind eye to the behaviour "cuz spurs"

We all love the club but there has to be a line where we need to let the club in no uncertain terms we're not okay if they cross it, I understand your position of waiting for the dust to settle but for me that lands on when you want to cut out the rest of the footballing world for your own greed, I'm hoping they backtrack on that front because I'm fine with the rest in theory. I mean I'm pretty taken back that so many people can just let it go and say well we love spurs so we'll go along with whatever the club decides, if I was to take that logic if a family member was doing heinous acts then I'd be complicit.

I guess my viewpoint is that I’m so fed up with seeing us do things, in my view, the right way and be the plucky underdog that if this is a ‘well you can’t beat them’ moment then, odious though it is, I vote to join them. I don’t like it particularly, but I also don’t like the idea of UEFA‘a new plan which is also a ring fence, just one that they get to control instead of the clubs that make their competition possible. Basically, in a choice between shit and shit, I choose shit. If as a club we’re against the ESL then we should also withdraw from UEFA as that is just as weighted, just as unfair and just as far removed from what is good for the game in my opinion.

Yeah, no problem with you doing you, nor even with any Spurs fans who are actually happy with this ESL business. But even if there are still further details to come and ramifications to play out/not play out, from what we know so far about the ESL then if I hadn't given up football in May 2020, what I've learned in the last 24 hours would have made this my last day as a Spurs fan instead. If I was still a rabid Spurs fan last Sunday afternoon, the fact that Tottenham Hotspur agreed to be a part of a non-Friendly competition that they could never get relegated out of no matter how well they played or didn't play would have pushed me over the edge and made me give it all up anyway. I'm kinda grateful I already got the jump on this last year, and I'm sympathetic to all the other people who are suddenly having to consider whether they're still Spurs supporters or not for the first time this week.

For what it’s worth, I don’t like it, I really don’t, but I like the option of losing going to Spurs with my dad even less.

 

[C0YS]

Maybe yes, but simultaneously it went too far in the theory behind how to qualify, so that some clubs who *could* be a CL club presently *could not* under the new rules. Either way, UEFA peed their pants to stay warm a bit longer, that's really why the super league has enough momentum now. I'm not saying either is great. I'm saying UEFA fucked up. But hey, I'm a revolutionary at heart, so I don't really mind these changes, I don't like the closed competition part of it, I wish is was more of a merit based competition. But I don't mind a break away international league. I just wish the Germans for once would join with rest of Europe.

The problem is you are essentially criticising a terrible CL plan pushed by the exact same people who want the super league. That’s the fustration of this arguement. The CL proposals are shit because Angelli and his cronies pushed for it to be shit. The only thing that was given to clubs not of the elite level that’s shit is increasing the places. Basically the reason for a super league is that the super league clubs pushed for a shit champions league and therefore the super league isn’t so bad because their negotiated deal was shit because of their negotiation.

 

[mil1lion]

So to sum up the last 24 hours

Spurs accept an invite to join a European Super League
"this is a disgrace, I'm out if this goes ahead, I'll follow my local lower league club instead"

Spurs sack Jose Mourinho
"thank god for that, I can't watch that standard of football any longer"

 

[CantSmileWithoutYou]

Yep. I don't understand this stance of "he had to do it" or "its good business". If he was a good businessman then he would have anticipated the response to this. Nobody wants this shit and the arse could really fall out of it.

If Levy had of declined the club would be getting nothing but good pr now.

Agree, but, good PR doesn't pay for a £1bn stadium unfortunately.

 

[StephenM]

People saying that this is a disgrace is a bit ott.

It was a disgrace when they started charging over 50 quid for a ticket.

It was a disgrace when the pl was not shown on terrestrial television anymore.

It was a disgrace when on top of a subscription based show they then added ppv

It was a disgrace when owners/criminals were allowed to buy football clubs.

It was a disgrace when Roman Abramovic was allowed to take control of a club.

What happened at Portsmouth and others with owners asset stripping was a disgrace.

Players recieving 2/3/4 hundred thousand a week is a disgrace.

Buying players for millions is a disgrace.

Countries buying football clubs and attempting to buy success was a disgrace.

A club being named after a fizzy drink was a disgrace.

A closed European super League is a bad but let's not get on a high horse now after we have accepted all sorts of shit in the past 20 years.

Uefa/FIFA/sky sports can all go fuck themselves as far as I'm concerned. We have been on this downward spiral for years and now they complain, why?

Because they stand to lose money, fucking hipocritical wankers.

Close the thread, its over.

 

[C0YS]

As a business man he had to though - he would have been remiss if he hadnt. You dont give up £300m a year of guaranteed income. The last 10 years in hindsight has been building up to this point. I suspect thats why the naming rights hadnt been agreed - he knew.

It’s not guaranteed it has to be paid back , it’s just projections For now. There is no guarantee in it.

 

[slartibartfast]

If there's enough money behind this. It will happen. No matter what.

Exactly and no amount of whingeing, banners or Sky pundit meltdowns will make a monkey chuffs difference.
Its the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.

 

[Amo]

I actually wouldn't care about this if it was an open system like the Premier League was at inception. They could cancel all domestic leagues and put Fifa and Uefa out of business and I'd be game.

People saying that this is a disgrace is a bit ott.

It was a disgrace when they started charging over 50 quid for a ticket.

It was a disgrace when the pl was not shown on terrestrial television anymore.

It was a disgrace when on top of a subscription based show they then added ppv

It was a disgrace when owners/criminals were allowed to buy football clubs.

It was a disgrace when Roman Abramovic was allowed to take control of a club.

What happened at Portsmouth and others with owners asset stripping was a disgrace.

Players recieving 2/3/4 hundred thousand a week is a disgrace.

Buying players for millions is a disgrace.

Countries buying football clubs and attempting to buy success was a disgrace.

A club being named after a fizzy drink was a disgrace.

A closed European super League is a bad but let's not get on a high horse now after we have accepted all sorts of shit in the past 20 years.

Uefa/FIFA/sky sports can all go fuck themselves as far as I'm concerned. We have been on this downward spiral for years and now they complain, why?

Because they stand to lose money, fucking hipocritical wankers.

I was under the impression individuals chose what to care about/not care about and not you choosing for them. I don't think any of those incrementalist changes are even close to what was announced yesterday.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

The problem is you are essentially criticising a terrible CL plan pushed by the exact same people who want the super league. That’s the fustration of this arguement. The CL proposals are shit because Angelli and his cronies pushed for it to be shit. The only thing that was given to clubs not of the elite level that’s shit is increasing the places. Basically the reason for a super league is that the super league clubs pushed for a shit champions league and therefore the super league isn’t so bad because their negotiated deal was shit because of their negotiation.

Look, I’m not necessarily condemning one, or both formats. I’m just pointing out UEFA’s very clear, inadvertent role in why the Super League can happen. It’s a response to a shit response to a shit American style idea.

 

[wrd]

I guess my viewpoint is that I’m so fed up with seeing us do things, in my view, the right way and be the lucky underdog that if this is a ‘well you can’t beat them’ moment then, odious though it is, I vote to join them. I don’t like it particularly, but I also don’t like the idea of UEFA‘a new plan which is also a ring fence, just one that they get to control instead of the clubs that make their competition possible. Basically, in a choice between shit and shit, I choose shit. If as a club we’re against the ESL then we should also withdraw from UEFA as that is just as weighted, just as unfair and just as far removed from what is good for the game in my opinion.

Yeah I agree, I think this should kill Uefa and the way they're going about things. absolutely but my issue with this is that these teams are taking the poor handling of things by Uefa and Fifa to justify their own shitty behaviour, instead of taking their poor handling of things and using their clout to make it better for all, they're making it better for themselves and that is simply wrong. I certainly want this to be the moment Uefa dies but there's a better way of going about it.

I also think that we should never give up on trying to do things the right way, it's frustrating as fuck but we were and are so close to achieving things the right way it'll be so satisfying, if we cheat now right at the end, it will feel hollow in comparison to the elation we'd feel if we achieve it in the right way. Nobody could take that from us.

 

[Amo]

The saddest part for me is those admitting they'd be against it on principle if we weren't in it but are all for it because we are.

Not just hypocrites but proud hypocrites.

 

[C0YS]

People saying that this is a disgrace is a bit ott.

It was a disgrace when they started charging over 50 quid for a ticket.

It was a disgrace when the pl was not shown on terrestrial television anymore.

It was a disgrace when on top of a subscription based show they then added ppv

It was a disgrace when owners/criminals were allowed to buy football clubs.

It was a disgrace when Roman Abramovic was allowed to take control of a club.

What happened at Portsmouth and others with owners asset stripping was a disgrace.

Players recieving 2/3/4 hundred thousand a week is a disgrace.

Buying players for millions is a disgrace.

Countries buying football clubs and attempting to buy success was a disgrace.

A club being named after a fizzy drink was a disgrace.

A closed European super League is a bad but let's not get on a high horse now after we have accepted all sorts of shit in the past 20 years.

Uefa/FIFA/sky sports can all go fuck themselves as far as I'm concerned. We have been on this downward spiral for years and now they complain, why?

Because they stand to lose money, fucking hipocritical wankers.

I agree that there has been a lot of disgraceful things in football for sometime. But frankly I don’t give a shit about the hypocrisy or not of these institutions, I honestly couldn’t care less about them. This is something which kills the very basis of football for over 100 years and fucks over pretty much every club and their fans in Europe. Like who gives a fuck about sky or Uefa I care about a fan of a league 2 teams ability to dream and feel that they could theoretically push to the top of the game. This is really what the pulling factor is, the motivation even in smaller clubs. And to take that away is the most dramatic thing that’s happened in football probably since the establishment of the football league itself.

 

[RichieS]

If there's enough money behind this. It will happen. No matter what.

€3.5bn enough?

 

[C0YS]

Yeah I agree, I think this should kill Uefa and the way they're going about things. absolutely but my issue with this is that these teams are taking the poor handling of things by Uefa and Fifa to justify their own shitty behaviour, instead of taking their poor handling of things and using their clout to make it better for all, they're making it better for themselves and that is simply wrong. I certainly want this to be the moment Uefa dies but there's a better way of going about it.

I also think that we should never give up on trying to do things the right way, it's frustrating as fuck but we were and are so close to achieving things the right way it'll be so satisfying, if we cheat now right at the end, it will feel hollow in comparison to the elation we'd feel if we achieve it in the right way. Nobody could take that from us.

Their not even figures that clearly exist separately from these organisations. A lot of them have had some sort of internal involvement within uefa. It’s just some backstabbing game of thrones shit it’s not some revolution.

Similarly the dysfunction Of Uefa and fifa is simply reflecting the dysfunction of the member associations which make uefa and fifa. The fact that you are taking power away from shitty associations that technically represent lots of people and technicallly have some sort of accountability to national associations to the hands of a group of a few rich owners with no connection at all with the game at a broader level is not a positive development. Uefa’s shit but power to a few individuals in clubs over associations I think is even worse frankly.

 

[PCozzie]

I cant say I'm comfortable with an ESL, but from a practical point of view if it does go ahead* there are only two states Spurs can exist in.

1) Part of the 'breakaway group', with a huge tv deal, playing with and against the biggest and best players in the world.

2) Part of the rPL, with title deciding matches v Everton, Leicester and Aston Villa in a state of the art stadium for which we cannot keep up repayments as a third of our home matches will be against the likes of Birmingham City, Reading and Brentford, with highlights on Quest.

*Important. If it happens, it'll happen with or without us. If it doesn't happen, nothing changes. If it does happen, everything changes.

I really hope it doesn't happen, but if it does we have to be in it.

 

[EssexSH27]

Great post. Reminds me of this...

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Bit morbid to link a famous saying about ww2 to something as irrelavent in comparison like football...

 

[Pat Rice Spurs fan]

I really don't think it will happen.
I see it as a power play by the biggest clubs to get more control of the revamped Champions League.


Though I'm not sure why we're involved .