Not surprised to hear that (by their own definition) the supposed top five clubs in England are holding discussions at the Dorchester (where else?) to talk amongst themselves to confirm how great they are in their own money obsessed minds. This has been in the minds of many over the last few years because it has become clearly obvious that they feel that playing against mere mortals is not for them. I can understand the reasons, but will it mean the end of the Champions League or will it morph in to another form in order to exclude teams that don't fit their selfish needs. My biggest problem with the whole idea is not what they feel they need to achieve but rather the fact that some American has put his hand in to the biscuit barrel. The whole subject is up for debate and although I feel it will, and possibly should, happen at what cost to the rest of the English and possibly Scottish leagues as they stand? Will these elitist clubs feel they don't need to enter the F.A. Cup anymore, especially when you consider their somewhat ambivalent approach to some of the games over the last couple of years by fielding weak squads? Europe is clearly the focus of some of these teams so why wouldn't they put all their eggs in the single basket and ignore the role of the entire football system which spawned their climb to the top? Money is the driving factor, despite what we may wish for, and I'm sure the opinions will vary on this subject, so I wonder what will happen to the current unfair parachute payments if these clubs, and their over zealous television benefactors, decide to move their banking system elsewhere? You know what, perhaps it might allow the rest of the football clubs in England to reset the rules without constantly looking over their shoulders at the so called top clubs who are only interested in self gratification and wealth. How can we expect to ever compete with a monopoly, so maybe it would be better if they went off to their elite cloud in the sky and left the rest of the saner side of the sport to take back control of their destinies by using common sense and cooperation rather than money as the main focus. Any ideas lads?
Good riddance in one sense. But then some of their quality may be missed. Might not work in concept as the glory supporters would be too far spread
Apparently they have meetings approx every three years and it's not about a European league, as to the end of the champions league, I can't see it myself as the Premier would lose so much money in TV revenue.
Got al excited as I thought the meeting was in Dorchester - then read it properly and realised it's at THE Dorchester!!! I've heard they are flirting with a European League
They have been flirting with a super league since I was a boy. It is a pipe dream, along the lines of building a barrier across the Bristol Channel and a ladder to the Moon. Personally I think there will be a tournament between inhabited planets in the Solar System before our clubs leave the Premiership, and that will be 2 weeks after Hell freezes over
I know that I will not be alive to see it but if the five did break away and join a European Super league with no relegation, I really do wonder how long it will last. One of the best things about the current system is that there are local rivalries all over the country that stimulate both fans and players. Also what will happen if the scenario develops that the same three or four are at the top of this European super league every season and the same few at the bottom? Currently relegation and promotion from below has a continual regeneration effect so would a club's supporters continue to support a team stagnating at the bottom year after year. In that case, would they ultimately ask to be readmitted to the English league system? And what if the English clubs league then refused to accept them back in? If that is what they want, then let them go on the understanding that there is no return. The clubs remaining out of the 92, may then have a league system where any club in the top tier has a chance of becoming champions just like it used to be a long time ago when I was a little boy.
This is what I was told the other week The foreign owners want to eliminate relegation from the Prem league, with Everton now in foreign ownership could of tipped the balance. The one thing that could throw a spanner in their little dream would be SKY as they would know that the relegation fight draws the same viewers as title run in's. And therefore playing Aston Villa against Newcastle would then lose its appeal and people would soon not subscribe. Without Sky they would know that the money would dry up and prevent this from happening.
Totally agree Cidered - these clubs can pi$$ off and there will be no-reentry. The EPL has already killed off the English game - this takes it one step further. I could not give a toss if they left.
The British clubs don't want or need it. It's the foreign clubs thinking they'll get the money the premiership receives.
how will they determine top5 at the mo you could say Man utd - Man city - Arsenal - Liverpool - Spurs leaves WHU, CHELSEA , NEWCASTLE, EVERTON, countries needing representation would be ... at least Spain Italy France Germany Holland Belgium England all would need to have 5? .... or is it just 5 top teams in Europe who are meeting? ... who says who they are?
Let them go I say, between the Premier Keague and Sky they have ruined English football. Let them take their Euro brand overseas, but the football league that remains in England have to then be strong enough to resist their attempts to re-enter when it all goes wrong as it inevitably will. We can then reset the remaining league with a new set of rules in terms of foreign ownership, players and implement tougher FFP rules and salary caps to ensure we never end up in this boat again.
I said this a while ago, but thinking about it, it would be utterly pointless with no relegation. The top 6 or so now, with the possible exception of Leicester and the inclusion of Liverpool and Chelsea will still be the top 6 for the foreseeable future. The likes of Stoke, West Ham and Southampton will always be level 2 within the EPL, and teams such as Swansea, West Brom, Norwich Sunderland, Bournemouth and co will usually be fighting to avoid going down. That's a bit of a sweeping statement, but you get my drift. If you remove relegation then the top 6 may as well draw lots for who wins the league and the rest may as well draw lots for where they finish in the table. It really would kill the appeal of the league to a lot of people. With the exception of Bournemouth, the other relegation candidates this season have changed very little since my childhood. All have been yo-yo clubs between the top and second divisions on multiple occasions.
I don't think this will happen, but at the same time, the greed of the very largest clubs means that I wouldn't be surprised at all if they tried. I get that investors/owners don't like the uncertainty that comes with relegation or even not qualifying for the Champions League, but I'm sure that practically all actual fans agree that the sporting integrity of the existing system is an important part of football, i.e. rewarding success and punishing failure, regardless of the 'stature' of the teams involved. I may be being ignorant when I say that such a move would turn football into a pretty soulless money-making enterprise, akin to US sporting franchises (those with more extreme views would say this has already happened). Still, I'd like to think that UEFA and FIFA would have to stones to strongly appose such a move, as well as each nations' FAs and Leagues - I'm sure that a European Super League would inevitably draw interest, particularly to fans outside of Europe ironically, but if the relevant associations say 'if you join it, you're not allowed to play in the Premiership/FA Cup/Champions League', then they'd be putting a lot of faith in a brand new competition sustaining them.
I was informed that in the American **** rugby football league, to prevent one teams dominance throughout that all the good college players get picked in league ranking bottom up. This the ensures that the **** team that season gets the pick of the best players coming through. Good idea to stop teams like Man City / Utd Arsenal Chelski etc picking the best and never playing them apart from their three teams behind first team. But it's still a **** sport anyway.
When you get a select few teams believing that they, and only they, have the right to do certain things then you have arrived at anarchy. The big teams are garaging players for their benefit and certainly not for the player's futures and that is totally wrong, but the system in the NHL, NFL and other leagues means the teams pick from an age related pool of young players entering the full time professional ranks for the first time. These picks, as you rightly say ROD, are chosen based on your last season's position in the league but the process is often followed by some trading and dealing whereby clubs will trade their draft p[ick to another team in exchange for several players. When you run a system as in England the infrastructure just is not there to support such dealings because I can't see the Man Utd's of this world sitting back and accepting being told that the player they were after has joined Hartlepool or someone because that's just the way the system works.
