European Super League

[tikay]

Carra and Neville tearing up trees.

Calling for player strikes, calling out sky for instigating the prem breakaway and pay-walling football after sky's well crafted PR puff piece was read out, saying they will not talk about football until the project ends and will never analyse a ESL game

I caught some of this and they didn’t hold back did they. Love or loathe Neville he is certainly passionate about football. The problem is Sky were responsible for creating a breakaway league themselves which changed football for the worse. It created more money, more TV exposure and less competition with a bigger worldwide audience but it also took all the big clubs out of the football league and devalued that. The ESL is basically the next step and Sky are now on the shitty end instead this time.

There was more than a hint of protectionism in  the coverage I saw.

This sums it up.   One way or another (ESL has just sped this process up) Skysports won't exist in 10 years time.   Their sole selling point is EPL football.   They have sacked off quietly so many sports in sole pursuit of the ever increasing EPL price tag.   Once the real shit hits the fan when Amazon and similar types properly get involved and bid with fortunes Sky can't possibly compete with their business model will be uneconomical.   They bullied football 30 years ago with much bigger cash than it had ever seen before now the ball is on the other foot.  I haven't paid for Sky sports for several years now because i can easily watch the majority of the stuff (outside of EPL football) on bookmakers streams for free or elsewhere online.   I thought i would miss watching live football but tbh i really haven't to the level it costs to purchase it on tv.   I think there will be many more 'marginal' football fans discover this indirectly because of the ESL.  

The owners are making a big gamble on their product being very inelastic price wise and they can continue to squeeze fans harder and harder.   They may be right and not care with COVID showing the owners what i have told football fans who are season ticket holders for years.  EPL clubs can easily run financially with zero fans in grounds.  All the money now is in global TV deals not even the domestic sky deal.  Put 6 powerful US sports owning owners into this greedy pot and this was always going to happen and be their bigger picture.  It also means that games under this model can be held anywhere in the world at any time zone to suit the real customer which is global TV and not the fans who actually attend.  4 games Saturday/Sunday all spaced out because of COVID has appealed masssively to different time zones esp the USA.   I doubt we will see a return to mass 3pm Saturday kick offs in the immediate post COVID future and the weekends 'worst' game will be the 3pm kick off as legally its the only game that can't be shown live on tv in the UK under current rules.

Don't disagree with too much of that, but worth noting that Sky TV - as we know them - now have seriously deep pockets, as they are owned by Comcast. For context as to size., Sky have 30,000 employees, Comcast have 190,000 employees. So while nobody can really compete with Bezos & Co, Sky/Comcast  are anything but small fry & still have plenty of muscle. 

[Ironside]

BREAKING: Arsenal have decided to not participate in the European Super League. They are starting their own breakaway league with just themselves. The bookies currently have them as second favourites to win it.

[Archer]

Disgusted with the City owners about this as are almost City fans on teddy's favourite City forum. Surprised as well - just didn't expect them to join-in with the same group who have worked against us for so long..

Immediate expulsion from the Champions League/Euro League is of course appropriate. Very disappointed about that and particularly being denied seeing a young Foden (has the highest ceiling of any footballer I've seen at City) on the biggest stage.

I have a ticket for the LC final on Sunday but binning that now. It just seems irrelevant. And I won't have to go through the OTT COVID protocols

For the first time ever I feel like sacking off football completely at a time I was so looking forward to getting back to live football. We'll see. No doubt I'll change my mind because it is so ingrained in what I've done for the last 50 years.

Excuse my French but fuck Manchester United.

Let’s not make this tribal. It’s way too important for that. Don’t that you’ll find any United, LFC, Spurs, Arsenal** or Chelsea fans in favour of this greed-driven abomination.

I feel great sympathy for the players and coaching staff of both my team and yours. They have had this situation foisted upon them. Your title, our valiant second place (with much reduced gap), the European runs could all just be taken away from them.

Excuse my French, but Fuck Woodward, Glaer, Henry, Kroenke, Sheikh Mansour, Abramovich, Levy and all the fucking bankers and chancers that are involved.



**Some Arsenal fans may appreciate the chance of European involvement given their current plight.

I'm not making it tribal and I agree with everything you say.

But fuck United. Whenever the shit goes down there they are at the front of the queue.
Everyone is culpable but this doesn't happen without United getting into bed with Perez and Agnelli.

[Pokerpops]

Disgusted with the City owners about this as are almost City fans on teddy's favourite City forum. Surprised as well - just didn't expect them to join-in with the same group who have worked against us for so long..

Immediate expulsion from the Champions League/Euro League is of course appropriate. Very disappointed about that and particularly being denied seeing a young Foden (has the highest ceiling of any footballer I've seen at City) on the biggest stage.

I have a ticket for the LC final on Sunday but binning that now. It just seems irrelevant. And I won't have to go through the OTT COVID protocols

For the first time ever I feel like sacking off football completely at a time I was so looking forward to getting back to live football. We'll see. No doubt I'll change my mind because it is so ingrained in what I've done for the last 50 years.

Excuse my French but fuck Manchester United.

Let’s not make this tribal. It’s way too important for that. Don’t that you’ll find any United, LFC, Spurs, Arsenal** or Chelsea fans in favour of this greed-driven abomination.

I feel great sympathy for the players and coaching staff of both my team and yours. They have had this situation foisted upon them. Your title, our valiant second place (with much reduced gap), the European runs could all just be taken away from them.

Excuse my French, but Fuck Woodward, Glaer, Henry, Kroenke, Sheikh Mansour, Abramovich, Levy and all the fucking bankers and chancers that are involved.



**Some Arsenal fans may appreciate the chance of European involvement given their current plight.

I'm not making it tribal and I agree with everything you say.

But fuck United. Whenever the shit goes down there they are at the front of the queue.
Everyone is culpable but this doesn't happen without United getting into bed with Perez and Agnelli.

I hear you, and yeah, the Glazers obviously see this as a way to increase the return on their investment. Although investment isn’t really the right word for what they did. I see the motivation for Fenway too, and for Kroenke and Lewis. But why are City  involved? Sheikh Mansour doesn’t need the money.

It’s all just too depressing to argue with people who have the same overall view of it as I do.

[arbboy]

I think the biggest driver for all the yank owners is they don't 'get' the idea their clubs aren't certain to be in the champions league.   You don't 'miss out' in the nba or NFL like Man U and Arsenal have in recent years whilst the owners still pay huge wage bills.   US sports owners also find the English football culture of clubs not turning huge profits annually without fail irrespective of results alien to their mindset.   Every NFL team makes an absolute fortune every team without fail.   You are in every year no matter how bad you were the season before.  I think they are trying to control that side of the game as much as the cash.   There is definitely a sports culture clash between the two styles of sports ownership.

[bergeroo]

surely the whole thing is just to get leverage over UEFA and more money from the Champions League and it isn't actually going to happen right?

[tikay]

The curious thing so far (as far as I can see) is there's been no mention of who will get the TV Rights in Europe. Sky must already know it's not them, otherwise they would not be so openly hysterical about it.

[nirvana]

Football and the whole experience of attending a game (other than the price of course) may be a lot better since Sky /premier league and then the substantial shift into global ownership.

This move does feel like a pretty natural extension of that. Its not something I'm likely to watch, let alone pay to watch but does feel ridiculous to see so many people bleating about greed when they are the same people who have participated in making the game beyond the reach of lower paid, family people over the last 20 years.

[nirvana]

surely the whole thing is just to get leverage over UEFA and more money from the Champions League and it isn't actually going to happen right?

I reckon it might not happen this year but football hasn't reached peak farce yet, I think there's an inevitability about it.

[nirvana]

Carra and Neville tearing up trees.

Calling for player strikes, calling out sky for instigating the prem breakaway and pay-walling football after sky's well crafted PR puff piece was read out, saying they will not talk about football until the project ends and will never analyse a ESL game

I caught some of this and they didn’t hold back did they. Love or loathe Neville he is certainly passionate about football. The problem is Sky were responsible for creating a breakaway league themselves which changed football for the worse. It created more money, more TV exposure and less competition with a bigger worldwide audience but it also took all the big clubs out of the football league and devalued that. The ESL is basically the next step and Sky are now on the shitty end instead this time.

There was more than a hint of protectionism in  the coverage I saw.

This sums it up.   One way or another (ESL has just sped this process up) Skysports won't exist in 10 years time.   Their sole selling point is EPL football.   They have sacked off quietly so many sports in sole pursuit of the ever increasing EPL price tag.   Once the real shit hits the fan when Amazon and similar types properly get involved and bid with fortunes Sky can't possibly compete with their business model will be uneconomical.   They bullied football 30 years ago with much bigger cash than it had ever seen before now the ball is on the other foot.  I haven't paid for Sky sports for several years now because i can easily watch the majority of the stuff (outside of EPL football) on bookmakers streams for free or elsewhere online.   I thought i would miss watching live football but tbh i really haven't to the level it costs to purchase it on tv.   I think there will be many more 'marginal' football fans discover this indirectly because of the ESL.  

The owners are making a big gamble on their product being very inelastic price wise and they can continue to squeeze fans harder and harder.   They may be right and not care with COVID showing the owners what i have told football fans who are season ticket holders for years.  EPL clubs can easily run financially with zero fans in grounds.  All the money now is in global TV deals not even the domestic sky deal.  Put 6 powerful US sports owning owners into this greedy pot and this was always going to happen and be their bigger picture.  It also means that games under this model can be held anywhere in the world at any time zone to suit the real customer which is global TV and not the fans who actually attend.  4 games Saturday/Sunday all spaced out because of COVID has appealed masssively to different time zones esp the USA.   I doubt we will see a return to mass 3pm Saturday kick offs in the immediate post COVID future and the weekends 'worst' game will be the 3pm kick off as legally its the only game that can't be shown live on tv in the UK under current rules.

Make you right on all of this

[Chompy]

Chelsea have pulled out apparently. That'll be that then.

[Karabiner]

Why is Boris threatening to get involved?

I don't remember any high-level posturing when the "breakaway" premier league was mooted.

[tikay]

Chelsea have pulled out apparently. That'll be that then.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56823501

[Archer]

City out as well. Announced broadly the same time so a co-ordinated effort.

[tikay]

Are they suddenly realising that their CL aspirations for this Season were toast?