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Jan Aaage Fjortoft just tweeted this:

@JanAageFjortoft 6m6 minutes ago
Bayern 3-0 up in the cup at Wolfsburg.Haven't played an hour yet.Just give them both trophies and send them to Spain and let them play there

The Spanish League they bet 100% between Barca and Real.

France is a one team league.

Italy is a bit more open, but they aren't at the level of the big 4 from the above 3 countries.

England is most competitive, but still it's 50/1 bar four at the start of the season.

Surely it is inevitable the big clubs break away and set up their own league sometime soon?

I'd expect it within 10 years.

With the champions league run in the same format midweek as the super league's FA cup so to speak?  The breakaway teams in there alongside the winners only from every other national league?

I would say as soon as the majority of the bigger sides want to.

Not sure Bayern or the Spanish sides will be overly keen whilst getting to the champions league final every/majority of years.

Maybe let the Champions from the Euro leagues play in the Champions League.

Sort of like letting non league clubs play in the FA Cup.

Maybe if a non super league club win the Champions League they get the chance to playoff for the Super League?

Would all the big teams be willing to potentially become a small fish in a big pond instead of their current position. Their following is based on their success to a certain degree. All the fanboy glory supporters at Man U would disappear if they start being also rans at any level.

I disagree with the bold bit.

United went 25 odd years between Busby and Fergie without winning the league.

They were still the best supported club in the country.

But their international following and wider appeal has to be related to their results over the last 20 years plus.At least a % of them wouldnt support/ support with the same financial interest etc the super leagues aston villa.

Added to that why would PL teams even the playing field for TV money with teams from europe who can actually compete off uneven terms let alone level terms.

The TV money for a Euro League would be unheard of riches.

A smaller slice of a much, much, much bigger pie would mean more pie.

Just can't see it happening certainly not within 10 years.

These clubs are huge because they're successful- which wouldn't be the case if they're in one huge super league.

what about all the fans that enjoy travelling to follow their team to away matches week in week out? would they really stump up for plane tickets hotels etc every week?

would love to see a league format happen with all the big boys but cant see how it would work .

and when was the last time liverpool were 50-1 for the league?

Just think the money involved would astronomical.

And they wouldn't have to spread it around with the little clubs.

This year bar the shouting.

Fans don't matter any more. The stadiums will be filled by home crowds to provide atmosphere.

All that matters is TV audience.

while i agree that in general clubs do not give a monkeys about fans anymore,do you really believe that a stadium full of only home fans will provide a great atmosphere?

total and utter bollocks in my opinion. at any big game that has had a great buzz and atmosphere, the fans stoke each other up. i have been to lpool v united spurs v arsenal fluminense v flamengo and loads others.

to say that if it was home fans only would be the same is nonsense.

Nfl games. Mostly home fans only . Atmospheres at Seattle, Pittsburgh, green bay etcare red hot. Can't see absence of away fans being a barrier to this at all. It's more likely to get fans to sign up to whoever gets the rights

Return to £5k a week wages for the top league in England as well if it happened whilst the superstars of the game would be on £1m a week in the European super league.  Getting the money the real big names generate whilst hundreds of jobbing footballers don't earn the £40k. A week these superstars allow them to playing for Watford and Norwich because of the level playing field TV money.

surely that is comparing chalk and cheese.

either way, it would be a crying shame if away fans became non existent in the big footy games.

it would also be awful if the smaller teams only got to play the big boys once in a blue moon.

i like the concept from a selfish point of view, but i reckon it would be detrimental in too many ways to make it feasible.

look at scotland, wtf happens to 30 odd teams if rangers and celtic came to the prem?

would be a joke in my opinion.

Wonder what the difference in TV audience is between say, Man Utd v Arsenal and Watford v Aston Villa.

Big clubs will eventually get sick of giving away "their" income to the likes of Watford, Leicester and Bournemouth.

Correct and the big players getting sick of giving 'their' income away to carthorse squad players in the same manner.

"their" income is only sustainable with lots of smaller teams.

poker would never exist, thrive, whatever if it was just loads of shit hot players going up against each other, the players winning all the money could not do so without all of the fish,or shall we say less skillful players.you know that anyway. sport is no different.

rant over. good night.

Not comparable in the slightest imo.  Crazy example.  Min wage in the nba is $1m a year.  Drop down to their development league (effectively the 2nd division of the nba) where players are fighting it out for a place in the nba and the average player earns $30k a year because there is no demand for that league as a product.

Why?

Whatever the TV money is currently, you could multiply it by 5 or more for a Euro Super League.

All games live on TV, never clashing.

Every country in the world would show them.

how do you qualify?

Assume invite only no promotion/relegation. Man u man c arsenal chelsea only from here?

Spurs and lolapool evens each of two for the newly formed epl.

Be fun for a non super league winner of the Champions League to play off for a Super League bottom club.

The £1 billion match!

Maybe have two divisions of 10 or 12. Include clubs like Porto, Ajax, Celtic and Anderlecht in the second division. Keep interest up throughout Europe. Winners of L2 playoff with the bottom club of L1.

nah scottish football would be better for it as supporters of hearts hibs aberdeen dundee utd motherwell etc would turn up to support teams that are in with a shout of winning trophies
look at the crowds aberdeen/utd got when they were challenging for silverware and in europe in the mid 80s

also with the old firm playing in england it leaves supporters of teams in the EPL to have other teams in another league especially outside of glasgow where its still a case of the majority of fans support an old firm team

Tbh this would not dissapoint at all as a supporter of a premier league club that has no shot at ever winning the league (Norwich). Gap is too big and playing the big boys holds little interest to me on a regular basis, we simply can't win over the long term. My favourite seasons of the last 20 years have all been in the championship.

I agree, when I was a kid every club had a chance at winning a title.

Sure it was a long shot and would need the perfect storm of a great manager assembling a team of inexpensive veterans alongside some exciting young home grown talent.

QPR were 30 minutes away from winning the title in 1975. (In fact, Longy, your team cost us the title in by beating us in the penultimate weekend of the season).

Teams like QPR, Norwich, Ipswich, West Ham etc etc will never win the title in the current format. And Engish football is poorer for it.

Sunderland kick off every season hoping to come 4th bottom. That is the sum total of their ambitions.

What a ridiculous sport football has become.

Let the big clubs go and get football competitive and entertaining again.

For the sake of argument let's say Rooney is on 300k a week and Ighalo/Vardy are on 30k a week.  Do you really think it would be more reflective and better for the game long term for megastar Rooney to go to 350k a week and these cart horses Ighalo/Vardy to get 5? I think you and Camel vastly undervalue the concept of the competitive league product as a whole.  Do you think the same about the NFL?

the NFL (in salary cap, free agency, draft etc) gets competitive balance very right. its at the core of the product they put out. that a team can go from the bottom to the top in 2-3 years if they draft well, construct a roster well, get the right free agents etc

they reinforce this in scheduling such that the weaker teams in year one play weaker teams in year two while stronger teams in year one play similarly stronger teams in year two

clearly english football doesn't have the ability to construct salary caps, drafts etc etc

but competitive balance is a big issue for the premier league, imo, albeit one that is not reflected in tv deals or attendances yet

Well the whole premise of the TV deal is to allow teams to be competitive with one another.  Appreciate Man Utd's large stadium and global branding give them a massive advantage but I still think they are mindful that having a reasonably competitive league is better for their own long term profitability. 

Haven't Spanish clubs just concluded the same thing after many years?  As far as I know the TV split is far more even from next season.

What I don't really buy is that a Man Utd/Arsenal/Chelsea senior squad member like Carrick/Oxlade Chamberlain/Cahill is somehow worth a million per week while other teams' first team players are being vastly overpaid and holding them back. 

Also seems funny how the overpaid carthorse thieves are at Norwich/Watford and not Stoke ;)

Leicester are absolutely flying at the moment.

But as soon as they have a player who looks genuine international quality, the question isn't "Have Leicester got a genuine chance of making the Champions League?" it is "Who will Jamie Vardy join in the transfer window?"

I think it's very sad.

If QPR unearthed Gerry Francis, Dave Thomas, Stan Bowles, Don Givens, Ian Gillard and Phil Parkes today, they would never have had the opportunity to play togther. They would have all been sold before they had the chance.

The last three promising youth team players we've cultivated, Liam O'Brien, Dean Parrett and Raheem Sterling, never even played for the first team before they were sold!

Indeed - the biggest outrage is the way the youth team stealing works.  Sterling being the best example of course, but Watford supposedly had an absolute superstar in Javon Sanchez aged 14.  He went off to Man City for £500k compensation or whatever.  Pointless.

The other 2 bring things were promptly transferred to Udinese to keep them out of the clutches of the vultures.

wouldn't be so fussed if vardy, at 28 years old, gets a big move. bit disappointed if it was liverpool or spurs but if its higher than that, fair dos

good luck to him if a big club come in. he's under contract to 2018 so we'll get a good lump.

I would be far more upset if our England U19 left back Ben Chilwell who looks like he could be the dogs nuts on the evidence of a few friendlies and U21 games goes to arsenal or man u as is rumoured before i see him play a couple of seasons for the first team

Just look at saints every window is a grit teeth time can only go to the cupboard so many times before it needs refilling

At least Saints get top dollar though and get a chance to see their guys in action.  The thing that really winds me up is youngsters being poached before they are even 16.  It happens to Premier League teams as well - didn't Chelsea nick West Brom's big starlet Izzy Brown?  No idea why these youngsters want to leave reasonably high flying teams where they have a chance of getting a run in the first team.

Obviously Raheem Sterling has had a stellar start to his career and won't regret leaving QPR.

But have a look at the other two.

Dean Parrett was England U16 capatin when he joined Totteham for £1.5 million aged 15. He played a couple of meaningless Europa Cup dead rubbers before being farmed out on loan and eventually released. Now playing for Stevenage.

Liam O'Brien's fall was even worse. A keeper who was in the England U16s squad, he joined Portsmouth when they were flying under Redknapp for two million. Never ever featured in a first team at Pompey before being released aged 19.

Floated around at a few clubs making a couple of appearences for Barnet. Joined Dagenham last season and seems to share first team duties there.

Spanish league going the other way. I agree with Camel that unless a new competitive league forms football will never be as popular as it could be. I would love to see a transfer limit in the prem, a salary cap would be even better.