2020/21 International Club Football Thread

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

I am really interested to see how this all plays out.

The lure of the Champions League is those rare matchups between the best domestic clubs in the world, and obviously to see your team win the ultimate prize. With the Super League those once rare matchups will become common occurrences and may eventually lose that allure that made them so special.

The money will ultimately be coming from TV deals so I suppose the owners know that they will be able to make more money and distribute it however they want. There are however always going to be billionaires buying sports teams and eventually those 15 teams might not necessarily be the best teams in the world, kind of like how Arsenal is a middle of the pack team right now, and also might not be where the best players are, and where the owners are willing to pay the most money.

Or it's a complete success and changes the entire football sporting landscape forever.

Also let’s be serious.

For a lot of these teams fans like to cheer for them because they are the best and win titles.

If all of a sudden you no longer have a domestic league to play in, and you go from being a top team every year to a team that’s now middle to bottom of the table, you’ll start to see your fanbase dwindle.

Especially since the fans will already be annoyed you turned your back on them.

If Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham move to this league exclusively, and end up being cannon fodder for the real big teams, then you’ll just end up having another London based team fund a team to have success domestically and replace those teams in London.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Also let’s be serious.

For a lot of these teams fans like to cheer for them because they are the best and win titles.

If all of a sudden you no longer have a domestic league to play in, and you go from being a top team every year to a team that’s now middle to bottom of the table, you’ll start to see your fanbase dwindle.

Especially since the fans will already be annoyed you turned your back on them.

If Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham move to this league exclusively, and end up being cannon fodder for the real big teams, then you’ll just end up having another London based team fund a team to have success domestically and replace those teams in London.

That's a good point. And if the Super League still exists then there will just be an appetite to see the top teams in the Premier League go up against the Super League.

[Swift]

Originally Posted by troutman

If my math is correct, the English Title has been awarded 121 times. Three teams won 43% of the titles.

So? That stat doesn't tell a particularly relevant story. Of those three teams, 35 of their 52 wins came before the huge money invaded the game. Arsenal were dominant in the 30s, Liverpool in the 70s and 80s and Man Utd picked some up in the 50s and 60s. All based on merit. There weren't rich club owners then, and if teams were richer than others it was because they earned it through their success.

If you want to argue that 1992 was the start of the TV money rolling in (and that's arguable; it was more money but nothing like today's money) then only 17 of those 52 wins fall into that category. And again it's very arguable. Man Utd weren't some rich club powerhouse in their 90s run. They won because they had a combo of legendary manager and great youth players bursting through.

You won't find me arguing that money isn't a pox in the game now, but of the so called moneybags teams -

Liverpool just won their first title since 1990
Man Utd haven't won the league since 2013
Arsenal haven't won it since 2004
Tottenham haven't won it since 1961

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Meritocracy? How is it meritocracy when the richest teams buy all the best players then get more TV and merchandise money to keep buying all the best players? How is the premiership meritocratic when only a handful of teams can hope to win? How is it good for fans of teams not owned by mega-billionaires that all of their best players get scooped by the giants?

If the NHL was run like European football, Giordano, Monahan, and Guadreau would have left years ago, and Tkachuk would be signing with another club over the summer. We had a taste of that before the cap, and it ####ing sucked.

You know what’s good for fans? Parity.

Someone else already said it but it totally is a meritocracy, teams that succeed are rich because they have been well managed, draw more fans, make more money and develop more talent. It takes time but big teams that stop doing that drop down the leagues and wither.

They are rewarded for doing things better than their peers, not punished.

Parity for me is kind of pathetic... its participation medal territory. The owners all just want to mutually line their pockets, so they come up with as close to a system they can get where everyone gets a turn to be competitive without outright handing the trophy to each other. Keep the customers engaged and make sure they all keep the profits flowing.

I don't have any issue with making money but I do hate the idea of milking people to that extent and taking so much of the competition element out of it.

The money bag owners circumventing the system in Europe has been a flaw, and financial Fairplay hasn't fixed it completely, but still way better than any league ever with an entry draft. For me anyway.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Just reading the translations of this Florentino interview, this man is insane and I think I mostly mean in a good way. Clearly gives zero ####s.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Except the competition will be too strong.
If you think this Flames season has been hard, just wait for Arsenal vs Super League opponents.
I sense a 9-1 smashing from Real Madrid coming up

I’m still against this, but you make a good point here. There is a silver lining!

[d_phaneuf]

I mean, hes not wrong...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1384283221223895041

[Locke]

Its also a bit of a Catch-22.

UEFA and FIFA are corrupt as hell, so I can understand wanting to distance yourself from them, and then there is this.

Its like a Footballing 'Sophie's Choice.'

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by devo22

also, I find it interesting that some people think clubs like Bayern or even PSG are to be applauded here. They'll happily take part in this if it becomes a reality (Bayern's interest in a super league is well-documented), they were just smart enough to wait in the back while 12 idiots rush forward and fall on the sword if the project fails.

Hey now, let us enjoy our 5 minutes of being the good guys for once

[M*A*S*H 4077]

I find it interesting that they’ve managed to unite most of the sports’ fans overnight against the 12 and that UEFA and FIFA are now being looked at to help save the integrity of the sport.

What has the world come to!?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

I find it interesting that they’ve managed to unite most of the sports’ fans overnight against the 12 and that UEFA and FIFA are now being looked at to help save the integrity of the sport.

What has the world come to!?

"2020 was the worst year EVAR!!!"

*2021*

"Hold my Beer....."

[M*A*S*H 4077]

And it is incredibly cowardly of these owners to hide behind a press release and not say anything while their managers and players are the ones who have to face the media due to having to play a match.

Bamford’s interview above is fantastic. I thought Klopp was really poignant too, his emotion really came through as he kept catching himself mid sentence so he wouldn’t get in trouble with his ownership.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

And it is incredibly cowardly of these owners to hide behind a press release and not say anything while their managers and players are the ones who have to face the media due to having to play a match.

Bamford’s interview above is fantastic. I thought Klopp was really poignant too, his emotion really came through as he kept catching himself mid sentence so he wouldn’t get in trouble with his ownership.

I cannot stress how stupid an idea this is and how pissed off I am that my team is a part of it.

In the end, its because English Ownership and Sports Associations have lost their courage and Americans want to re-write the rules of European Sport to suit themselves.

I understand why. I just dont like it.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Someone else already said it but it totally is a meritocracy, teams that succeed are rich because they have been well managed, draw more fans, make more money and develop more talent. It takes time but big teams that stop doing that drop down the leagues and wither.

They are rewarded for doing things better than their peers, not punished.

Parity for me is kind of pathetic... its participation medal territory. The owners all just want to mutually line their pockets, so they come up with as close to a system they can get where everyone gets a turn to be competitive without outright handing the trophy to each other. Keep the customers engaged and make sure they all keep the profits flowing.

I don't have any issue with making money but I do hate the idea of milking people to that extent and taking so much of the competition element out of it.

The money bag owners circumventing the system in Europe has been a flaw, and financial Fairplay hasn't fixed it completely, but still way better than any league ever with an entry draft. For me anyway.

Not in the UK, big cities with big populations got the big teams for the most part for the last 100 years, historically London had 2 big teams, they would change over the decades, Spurs would come and go, they had purple periods in the 60's and 80's, Man Utd were always Manchester's one big club and Liverpool.

Birmingham and Aston Villa never quite matched the other cities but again for most of the 20th century had spells of being top four

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Swift

So? That stat doesn't tell a particularly relevant story. Of those three teams, 35 of their 52 wins came before the huge money invaded the game. Arsenal were dominant in the 30s, Liverpool in the 70s and 80s and Man Utd picked some up in the 50s and 60s. All based on merit. There weren't rich club owners then, and if teams were richer than others it was because they earned it through their success.

If you want to argue that 1992 was the start of the TV money rolling in (and that's arguable; it was more money but nothing like today's money) then only 17 of those 52 wins fall into that category. And again it's very arguable. Man Utd weren't some rich club powerhouse in their 90s run. They won because they had a combo of legendary manager and great youth players bursting through.

You won't find me arguing that money isn't a pox in the game now, but of the so called moneybags teams -

Liverpool just won their first title since 1990
Man Utd haven't won the league since 2013
Arsenal haven't won it since 2004
Tottenham haven't won it since 1961

hehe

[GirlySports]

Leeds’ late equalizer yesterday could have a huge effect on 2022 CL if things stay the same. It’s essentially meaningless in the new format.

[VladtheImpaler]

Chelsea out of the ESL.

[nixon45]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Chelsea out of the ESL.

[devo22]

pretty funny to me that they were willing to be one of the idiots to knock down the door, only to falter at the very first opportunity.

but that's a good sign obviously.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I imagine they've concluded UEFA is going to fold on most fronts (and it seems to be heading that way) and the ESL won't happen as a result, and are just trying to get out in front as the "saviors". But it really is hilarious this whole spectacle, in the end the sport is going to be in as bad or even worse shape then last week, but because "disaster" was averted it's a win. This is how the rich stay rich.