I wrote this elsewhere, no point me reinventing the wheel... A lot of what I've seen and read is not a lot different from how I felt as a lower league supporter regarding the Premier League. I know the PL is not in it's own right a closed shop, because it allows promotion and relegation, but financially it is a closed shop, unless you can find a wealthy backer. Some of those backers have reaped rewards for clubs, others have turned to disaster. https://atthematch.com/article/how-the-oystons-destroyed-blackpool I felt so strongly about it in 1992, that I swore I would never watch the team I love if it ever reached the Premier League and I could bore you with many reasons for that. This scenario of the European Super League is even worse, but it's what comes of 30 years of what we have all bought into. If you paid to go to a Prem game, if you paid a subscription to SKY or BT, we have all bought into this.. Now the top six want an even bigger slice of the cake, so there can be no more Leicester's with their wealthy backers, so there can be no tinpot Gillingham's trying to hault the progress of Manchester City. So there can be no West Ham at the upper end of the market taking the European place of Arsenal or Spurs They will want B Teams next as part of their package, we may stand in solidatory together now, but I will always think what about the Bury's and Wimbledon's, Halifax, Hereford and Newport before them. It's like horse racing for the Kings, we have no control of the destiny, they will just water it down and as always, the paying tv viewer, will be all that matters. 80,000 at Spurs is nothing to them, compared to millions viewing on a world wide stage, spectators, why do THEY need them, covid has taught them to manage without us. The American dream.
brb - your last paragraph says it all... If the ''elite'' can thrive without THIER fans, why should it bother to accommodate even the other 14 EPL clubs - let alone the ''plebs'' in the football pyramid ? It does seem that, at the 'top', we have owners who are simply businessmen - rather than fans of football - and, as such will only be interested in profits........ and - without wishing to upset anyone, why shouldn't the owner of a business be allowed to negotiate the best trading options ?......... If you owned a business that could make an extra £ 300 million a year, would you seriously refuse ?? -- And, despite Fifa or the English FA threatening to ban the participants from domestic competitions, the reality is that without the Clubs who sign up to the ESL being allowed to remain in their respective country's leagues, these teams would put a squeeze on Sky and BT, by entering an ESL - to such a point, that these TV companies would decimate any money that will be left for domestic football.
I think the TV rights will change as we currently know it. If they are following the American model which they appear to be, it will go pay per view (PPV), so same as you do for a top boxing match. No way I'll be paying that sort of money to watch a glorified borefest.
Who DOESN'T shop in supermarkets ?............ ( just for the record - I am not in favour of a ESL. ) The World is constantly changing ! Things 'evolve', and people change - that's why we don't live in caves anymore. Even in the last year and a bit, many of us now work from home.......The World is constantly changing..... Not all changes are good - But, not all changes are bad ! The introduction of Sky TV, almost 30 year ago, changed Football - forever. It is now a Business ! Football is no different to any other business. It needs to evolve to survive and to make the most profit possible.... And as long as a business is able to satisfy the customer, that business will continue to make changes - to squeeze more money out of the consumer........ And whose fault is it ? --- I dare to say that a large part of blame lies with the consumer (( I didn't say football fan )) As The World has changed, so have the people watching football. The armchair customer, no longer attends (m)any live matches. A lot of people have become consumers - not customers....... I can sense that some of you will be annoyed by my statement - So.... I am not suggesting that ANY consumer is not a fan of football...... People's habits have changed. We have different priorities. We have different needs. We have different demands. Every aspect of modern living is constantly changing to accommodate our priorities, needs and demands - including some that we didn't know that were on the list ! We live in houses. We wear clothes. We drive cars. We go in aeroplanes..........Much of our lives are about making our existence more comfortable, more convenient and more economical..( and hopefully more pleasurable ).... and maybe out of necessity ! We shop in supermarkets for most of those reasons ( not the pleasurable bit ). We shop at a supermarket because it suits our needs. We don't really 'care' ( without being uncaring ), about what consequences it has for small independent traders (( OK, maybe a few of us do - you know - the sort of idiot who goes to watch a live game on a freezing cold Tuesday night - paying a lot for that 'privilege' - when there's very cheap Champions League on the telly .)) The situation with Sky, then BT, is because these companies saw a business opportunity - which they presented to the public. The product was brightly packaged - offering the freshest and 'best' available. It was all in one convenient place, and it was much cheaper, and a lot less hassle than going to a football ground.... It had become a product that we have helped to change the face of retail................ and I will not listen to any contrary argument - without calling 99% of you a hypocrite. ..... unless you are still a caveman - or don't shop in out of town hypermarkets, drive cars, have never used Amazon or Ebay etc etc. You might say that you are sad about the demise of small traders ( Bury FC etc ) - but will happily continue to go to Aldi, Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose ( in alphabetical order !! ) - because it suits all your requirements. ..... We haven't stopped going to these megastores because of the impact on small businesses - because our priorities, needs and demands have changed.... and Bury FC is a bit like the corner shop - and - not wishing to be unkind to all the hardworking corner shop traders, they don't have everything we need - and usually, the goods are ridiculous in price ( sorry ! ) They may serve a purpose in our communities - but - so did the horse and cart ! I am fully aware that, for the vast majority of football consumers, they consider themselves as 'fans of football' - BUT- the vast majority have stopped being 'football fans.' Football, itself, has stopped seeing people as fans. We are customers of the business of football - which now wishes to offer us a shiny new 'product.' The product will appeal to the vast majority of consumers of football. I will be surprised if the ESL doesn't 'take off.... and don't be worried that the FA & Uefa try to ban the Clubs in the ESL from competing in domestic football ---- whoever's heard of a corner shopkeeper banning anyone using their premises - just because they go to a Supermarket ? ........ and I nearly forgot to mention that - whilst I mentioned 'hypocrites' earlier..... wasn't our own Chairman happy enough when ITV Digital was going to give GFC £ 5Million ( or whatever the sum ) -- how well did that 'sit' with clubs in the National League ? Football has become a business that is dictated by the demands of the vast majority of television consumers - not football fans.
Shortly after the announcement was made on Sunday I posted the following on the BBC page that announced the news "So the PL, which was set up to generate as much income for its participants at the expense of English football in general, is upset because a European Super League is being set up to generate as much income as possible for its participants at the expense of the European top leagues. I support Gillingham. Am I bothered?" Since then a lot more information has emerged that hasn't really changed my views very much. I think the difference this time is that the fans of the proposed ESL clubs appear to be pretty unanimous in their approbation of the idea. I foresee some nice pay days for lawyers coming up.
There's a great picture of a banner which City fans (I presume) put up outside the main entrance to the Etihad, but I can't post a link as the picture breaks board language restrictions.... I've had a go to try and get the link on this post, but it shows a preview image. So, if you want to see you can go to https://twitter.com/ citehchants/status/1384201190527827977 but take the line breaks out. Even the comments are good! So, just a warning that the picture shows language that you probably wouldn't want a child under the age of about 7 to see (but if they've been to a football match they'd have heard it anyway) or might offend if you've never been near a football ground in your life or are Cliff Richard
