Men's Soccer (Football) Thread [ARCHIVED] Soccer • Page 784

I think the casual fan will always tune in when two giant clubs like that are playing because usually when these type of teams play there are big stakes. But those fans don't really give a shit about the teams. And they don't watch anywhere near a regular basis. They are just tuning in for the spectacle. They aren't what brings in the reliable revenue stream and TV ratings. And if the teams are playing on a regular basis, it is not longer a spectacle and those casuals will fade out.

These owners thought if they made an ESL that these casuals would become more regulars and it'd add to the already established base audience. But what these owners are missing is what I said before....the casuals don't actually care about the teams. The whole thing is just catering to an audience that isn't even guaranteed to exist while simultaneously giving a giant middle finger to the fans who have been loyal for so many years.

 

If we’re being honest, I tune into big Champions League games more than games between smaller teams. But the big issue there is big Champions League games are regularly on free tv here in Ireland. All PL (insert whatever other leagues) games, are locked behind Sky and BT charging extortionate prices for sub par products.

by sub par I don’t means the games, usually they’re good but the pundits, the commentary are usually awful and the games are filled with awful advertisements I hate. Betting companies have been banned from showing TV ads for like 15 minutes before till 15 minutes after but every second of the game you’re bombarded by touch line and jersey adverts of them.

the game, at the highest levels, is so inaccessible to most, it’s farcical that they think selling a super league to the highest bidder won’t make that even worse.

 

Lots of places reporting this...

Ring leaders of the ESL, Real Madrid & Juventus, may be banned from European competition next year.

 

Why just them? Are we getting off free because Ed walked early?

 

Curious how they'd fill those 2 spots.

 

I can't wait until next season tbh

I feel like everything under Jose has just been a giant waste. Talented players like Lo Celso, Ndombele, Dele, Bergwijn were all wasted. We've been lacking creativity and when I look at the squad it doesn't make sense why that's the case. We have so much attacking talent. Our obvious weakness is quality defensive players and yet Jose insisted on being a defensive team.

 

469th*

 

I believe because they were the ones most heavily pushing it. Although since it was those two and United that apparently formed this idea, it feels weird you guys would get off too if that is their criteria.

 

I know you guys have been talking about it nonstop since it was announced but what do soccer fans think of the super league? It sounds greedy and stupid, but sometimes change is good...but I also know nothing about how soccer fans view the structure that was. Like if something similar happened in college football, id probably hate it, but I'm not sure. I also know FIFA is evil?

Quick overview how you guys feel.

 

This about sums up my feelings. It would probably be the worst thing I can think of to happen to football right now.

 

Without treading over old ground, the pyramid structure of football is what makes the sport truly brilliant and is why it is the most popular sport in the world by some margin.

in England particularly, there is a strong culture surrounding football, and local teams. We have 72 professional teams and thousands of amateur teams. And all of these could slowly rise up the pyramid over years and reach the premier league.

Look at AFC Wimbledon. A former PL team & FA Cup winner Wimbledon was taken over and moved hundreds of miles NFL style to become MK Dons. They are now the most hated team in the country and the fans started a new club right at the bottom of the pyramid. They have rose up and up and are now back to fully professional status in the same league as MK Dons. Anything is possible.

The Super League was bad because it effectively ensures that 15 teams would forever remain the best and the wealthiest, whilst everyone else would have their best players picked apart. Teams not in the Super League would be at a huge disadvantage in the national leagues and would be priced out of having the best players.

The Super League was the result of a group of owners who were a combination of desperate for money (Real Madrid, Barcelona), worried about relevancy (Juventus), American owners who failed to understand the very fabric of the sport (Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool), and those who agreed to avoid missing the boat (Atletico, Chelsea, Man City).

Ultimately they failed to realise how football clubs in Europe, and Particularly the U.K., are not just these big super clubs, but source of pride in the local community and a genuinely huge part of our culture. I have seen my home town club be on the brink of going fully professional before slipping into financial trouble, having their stadium knocked down, and being weeks from being dissolved. Now they are financially secure even during the pandemic, have a new stadium planned, and are rising back up the leagues.

To have decided to do this Super League plan without consulting the managers, staff, players or fans shows a huge misunderstanding of not just the sport but also the countries they were operating within.

 

There are many reasons why it's a terrible idea. Even from a principle of it being led entirely by owners and chairman, with no discussion within clubs, nor with fans; you could argue the strength of the response it received may still have been proportionate even if it was a sensible idea, simply on the basis that the 'process' of setting it up was incredibly disrespectful to the entire football community.

Structurally the removal of jeopardy from the whole business, rendering any failure almost irrelevant, inherently makes any success far less satisfying. The financial gain would exacerbate an already seismic gap between the very top clubs and others, a point very relevant in relation to your mention of college football, and one crippling to the ambitions of even historically successful clubs.

Most importantly, as @SamLevi11 has summarised, the cultural aspect is vital and one the instigators, especially the American owners seeking to impose this American style format, just do not understand. There is almost a century and a half of cultural bind with football. It works, especially in the UK but also in Europe, South America and across the world in parts, as an escape, as a source of pride, as a way of a community, local or mixed, coming together to push towards something bigger than the individual, especially significant in poor, working class towns and cities. And that makes sense because it is theoretically possible for your team to climb the leagues and get to the very top.

 

The pyramid structure/actual consequences for running your team poorly is why I enjoy soccer where the pyramid structure is employed more than any other sport in the world. Run your team poorly in any American sports and you get the reward of the first draft pick in the following year's draft. It does not incentive an owner/team to run their team correctly and in fact does the opposite. Owners in American sports have created a system that the only goal is to increase the value of your team and that does not matter whether you win or lose.

 

I gotta say, Ryan Mason gives a good presser. He sounds like he's been doing this for years lol

Harry spoke highly of him today as well. I wonder what type of finish it'd take for him to stay on as manager.

 

Giggs has been charged

If you win every game for the rest of the season he still won't get the permanent job.

 

Don't get wrong, I prefer one of the big names we've been linked to....but winning out would mean top 4 and a trophy. Two things that clearly weren't going to happen before Jose was sacked. There would be so much love from the fans for him tempting Levy haha

(I highly doubt we win out though)

 

Let us know if you ended up going to the protest. Seeing a few reports saying it's gathering in size. Hope it goes well!

 

Ibrahima Konate to Liverpool seems to be a done deal.