Topic: European Super League

[Avens]

I don’t think so Lobo, but it may ultimately be what it becomes in due course …

When, and if, that's what it becomes, we can discuss the merits of that system compared to the current one. Right now though, what is being proposed by the ESL is garbage, while maintaining the status quo is also garbage. Hopefully this ruling leads to further potential solutions.

[Mister Flip Flop]

All this earn it on the pitch shit is nauseating after what they've let City do to the league. Not to mention Chelsea before them (and their 1.5 billion spend in the last year or two) and the Saudis at Newcastle.

Real level playing field. It'll get to the point where the fans won't be arsed to protest it. All the outrage is media led now. The fans revolted over it last time.

The likes pf Sky use fans as useful idiots when stuff like the ESL comes up. They pretend they care about the integrity of the game and grassroots etc... but in reality Sky or any of the broadcaster or club owners haven't given a shit about fans for decades now. In reality we all know nothing is going to happen to the City's of this world besides a slap on the wrist as the regimes own the game now and control UEFA and FIFA.

[Egyptian36]

The likes pf Sky use fans as useful idiots when stuff like the ESL comes up. They pretend they care about the integrity of the game and grassroots etc... but in reality Sky or any of the broadcaster or club owners haven't given a shit about fans for decades now. In reality we all know nothing is going to happen to the City's of this world besides a slap on the wrist as the regimes own the game now and control UEFA and FIFA.

It's the UK government and football authorities who started all this. I bet they are trying with Qatar now to buy a club.

[PeterTheRed ...]

So your idea of panacea is a 32 team league in which teams take their turn to win. Whilst the rest of the sport is subservient feeder teams who are just there to provide a way of making the league artificially competitive. 

Nope, my idea is something different ...

I think that the original ESL idea was awful, and completely unprepared. Collecting the top clubs only from the top 5 leagues, including Man City and Chelsea, completely overlooking traditional big clubs from the smaller leagues who have even won the European Cup, was a complete bullshit.

Any professional continental league must include the clubs from all European countries (or at least the majority of them), even if that means 3 or 4 tiers with 72 to 96 clubs. Only that way the fans from all countries will consider the ESL something close to them.

There is no real chance of LFC playing the likes of Vardar Skopje or Slovan Bratislava in the ESL. These clubs will always be in the 3rd or 4th tier of the ESL, while LFC will always be in the 1st one, unless something terrible happens, and we are relegated to the lower tiers.

I know that for a football fan from England clubs even from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland don't mean much, but the reality is that the ESL would inject money into these countries' football, and will allow for them to keep their most talented young players at home for much longer. Instead of going to the academies of the English clubs at the age of 14-15, the young players from these countries will develop and play some respectable level club football in their home countries, until they are finally ready to join the very best European clubs as senior players.

This will be the same for all the countries around Europe outside the top 5. European powerhouses like Ajax or Benfica will once again compete at the top, and the likes of Red Star Belgrade or Steaua Bucharest will once again have strong teams.

To summarize, the idea about the ESL that I am pushing for is a pretty socialist idea of spreading the football wealth around entire Europe, instead of concentrating it in a few leagues, or even worse, in a few clubs.

Of course, this ESL model could only work if the state owned clubs are not allowed into the league system. Even more important, a 100% fair model of revenue sharing must be implemented, so the revenues from the ESL will be fairly distributed to all European countries, based on very strict criteria.

The salary cap is a must, with strict control of the spending, and severe punishments (including ejection from the ESL league system) for the cheating clubs.

A strong and professional refereeing organisation is also a must, with the best referees from around the World hired, as the pinnacle of the refereeing profession.

And last, but not least, the farming system. These ESL clubs, especially from the 3rd and 4th tier, will first look for talent close to their locations. It will be in their best financial interest to invest in academies in their own countries, with competent coaches and modern facilities, instead of paying big money for foreign players. Lets not forget, Red Star Belgrade were the European Cup winners with only Yugoslav players, apart from Belodedici who was a Serbian from Romania ...

[Ma Vie en Rouge]

Again, this is mostly nonsense, Peter. But you'll keep posting it. And even if it wasn't mostly nonsense, it has absolutely nothing to do with the ESL as it is proposed. Nothing whatsoever. So why support a version of the ESL that only exists in your mind? It's madness.

Even then, the idea that even your form of the ESL will make Benfica compete at the top again, or give Red Star or Steaua "strong teams" in Europe is totally unsupported by your proposal. Why will it? Because you like the notion? Or because there will be "fair revenue sharing"... but not to lower level clubs, it seems. Your idea just replaces one elitist distribution system with another. No thanks.

[In the Name of Klopp]

According to Laporta, these teams are joining the ESL:

Barca
Real

Inter
Milan
Napoli
Roma

Ajax
PSV
Feyenoord

FC Porto
Benfica
Sporting

FC Brügge
Anderlecht

Marseille

[Kopenhagen]

According to Laporta

 

After all these years of UEFA licking their arse, Real and Barca are gonna do UEFA like this.

[Simplexity]

According to Laporta, these teams are joining the ESL:

Barca
Real

Inter
Milan
Napoli
Roma

Ajax
PSV
Feyenoord

FC Porto
Benfica
Sporting

FC Brügge
Anderlecht

Marseille

What an incredibly random list.

[jillcwhomever]

After all these years of UEFA licking their arse, Real and Barca are gonna do UEFA like this.

Barca are a pathetic club run by idiots I wouldn't even miss them.

[Samie]

What an incredibly random list.

10 European Cup winners in that list, it's not random.

[jillcwhomever]

So, Feyenoord and Roma have already put out denials, how many others will do the same?

[Barneylfc∗]

That's basically the UEFA Cup with Real and Barca 

[jillcwhomever]

That's basically the UEFA Cup with Real and Barca 

Even Marseilles don't want to be in it with Barca. 

[Tokyoite]

So, Feyenoord and Roma have already put out denials, how many others will do the same?

Think Ajax did as well. What was Laporta thinking is beyond me
What a fucking joke Barcelona are.