Pressing news

[Concrete John]

If they didn't earn more money from it then it wouldn't happen!

[darren woolley]

Good article Dave.

[simman]

Good article.

Me, I can see the top 4 breaking away to join an exclusive Euro League.

And it pains me to say this - the sooner the better.

Long time reader, vary rarely post but this is just what I have thought for a long time.

Manure, Citeh, Arse, redscouse can all shuffle away to their Euro league. They can take spuds with them as well seeing as they seem to have ideas above their station.
Leave the rest of us to get back to a fairer system where we all have a chance.
I would also add a caveat that those who leave are not allowed back into their domestic leagues or competitions for at least 15 years.
They'll soon get bored and realise what they are missing and we can all flick the v's whilst telling them, politely of course, to piss off.
Uefa should then take the Europa League back to the old UEFA cup knockout format for domestic teams to compete in. They could even rename it the European Cup, if they want to be really radical!!
I love my Villa and will never turn my back on them but I also love the thought that AFC Wimbledon or Crawley Town could make it to the top league and give us all a good game. That's how it should be and I imagine that this is what William McGregor had in mind right at the start.

[Legion]

Good article.

Me, I can see the top 4 breaking away to join an exclusive Euro League.

And it pains me to say this - the sooner the better.

Long time reader, vary rarely post but this is just what I have thought for a long time.

Manure, Citeh, Arse, redscouse can all shuffle away to their Euro league. They can take spuds with them as well seeing as they seem to have ideas above their station.
Leave the rest of us to get back to a fairer system where we all have a chance.
I would also add a caveat that those who leave are not allowed back into their domestic leagues or competitions for at least 15 years.
They'll soon get bored and realise what they are missing and we can all flick the v's whilst telling them, politely of course, to piss off.
Uefa should then take the Europa League back to the old UEFA cup knockout format for domestic teams to compete in. They could even rename it the European Cup, if they want to be really radical!!
I love my Villa and will never turn my back on them but I also love the thought that AFC Wimbledon or Crawley Town could make it to the top league and give us all a good game. That's how it should be and I imagine that this is what William McGregor had in mind right at the start.

Please post more often.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Good article.

Me, I can see the top 4 breaking away to join an exclusive Euro League.

And it pains me to say this - the sooner the better.

Long time reader, vary rarely post but this is just what I have thought for a long time.

Manure, Citeh, Arse, redscouse can all shuffle away to their Euro league. They can take spuds with them as well seeing as they seem to have ideas above their station.
Leave the rest of us to get back to a fairer system where we all have a chance.
I would also add a caveat that those who leave are not allowed back into their domestic leagues or competitions for at least 15 years.
They'll soon get bored and realise what they are missing and we can all flick the v's whilst telling them, politely of course, to piss off.
Uefa should then take the Europa League back to the old UEFA cup knockout format for domestic teams to compete in. They could even rename it the European Cup, if they want to be really radical!!
I love my Villa and will never turn my back on them but I also love the thought that AFC Wimbledon or Crawley Town could make it to the top league and give us all a good game. That's how it should be and I imagine that this is what William McGregor had in mind right at the start.

I often think this. But would it be presumptious for me to say that we would then become what the top teams now have become? We'd probably spend more than anyone else, giving us a great helping hand to win the league. Whilst I want this to happen, it just seems we'd then be doing what we're complaining others are doing.

If there was some sort of wage and transfer fee cap as well as having to have x amount of English players also, maybe that would help? Also, not that I usually care much for the England football team, but how about it was then introduced that you had to play in this new league to play for England? We may end up with a team who want to play for England, which may result in me (and others) wanting to watch (and care about) England.

Dreams...

[Clampy]

Turning the Europa back into a knockout competition and re-naming it the European Cup is a fantastic idea. Teams who finish 4th, 5th and 6th qualify for it.

It'll never happen.

[simman]

Good article.

Me, I can see the top 4 breaking away to join an exclusive Euro League.

And it pains me to say this - the sooner the better.

Long time reader, vary rarely post but this is just what I have thought for a long time.

Manure, Citeh, Arse, redscouse can all shuffle away to their Euro league. They can take spuds with them as well seeing as they seem to have ideas above their station.
Leave the rest of us to get back to a fairer system where we all have a chance.
I would also add a caveat that those who leave are not allowed back into their domestic leagues or competitions for at least 15 years.
They'll soon get bored and realise what they are missing and we can all flick the v's whilst telling them, politely of course, to piss off.
Uefa should then take the Europa League back to the old UEFA cup knockout format for domestic teams to compete in. They could even rename it the European Cup, if they want to be really radical!!
I love my Villa and will never turn my back on them but I also love the thought that AFC Wimbledon or Crawley Town could make it to the top league and give us all a good game. That's how it should be and I imagine that this is what William McGregor had in mind right at the start.

I often think this. But would it be presumptious for me to say that we would then become what the top teams now have become? We'd probably spend more than anyone else, giving us a great helping hand to win the league. Whilst I want this to happen, it just seems we'd then be doing what we're complaining others are doing.

If there was some sort of wage and transfer fee cap as well as having to have x amount of English players also, maybe that would help? Also, not that I usually care much for the England football team, but how about it was then introduced that you had to play in this new league to play for England? We may end up with a team who want to play for England, which may result in me (and others) wanting to watch (and care about) England.

Dreams...

Yep, couldn't agree more.
There would have to be a wages cap etc, I don't want us to become one of them.
I would love for Villa to lead on something like this keeping up our proud tradition of innovators.
Don't wake me up yet, I'm enjoying this dream too much!!

[frank]

Good article, Dave, and depressingly true. I don't miss many games, one or two a season, but I really don't want many more experiences like last Saturday, when, as you say, Villa just turned up to make up the numbers. Our gates this season have been well down on previous years, mainly as a result of the recession but to no small extent due to the SPL-like nature of the league. This situation can only get worse in the short term: support will drop off as results become more predictable. And in the longer term - who knows? Perhaps the whole edifice will collapse. I wouldn't really mind if it did. Villa will still be there in some form or other.

[cheltenhamlion]

Haven't read Dave's article but I have had a depressingly similar moan in the forthcoming H+V.

[Apyadg]

If they didn't earn more money from it then it wouldn't happen!

That was meant to be my point. I'd love for the lot of them to fuck off and let us try to have at least a somewhat competitive league, I just can't see what's in it for the top 4 teams. they'd win fewer trophies and I don't think that the TV money would increase.

[cheltenhamlion]

The fuckers would be round it like a fly round shite to start with though. Then it would fall apart and they would want back in to our league. And bollocks to them.

And on the point of international football, if we had a breakaway Euro League, and you banned English players who played in it playing internationals, how many would play in it anyway? Most?

Football is fucked.

[damon loves JT]

Strange, in my football supporting lifetime the game has gone from being f***ed by lack of money, to being f***ed by a surfeit of it.

[ROBBO]

It would never happen, as it is The Man U's of this world are happily building their supporter base on the back of walloping nearly every other prem side. It would not be the same in an elite league, as we saw last year the Barca's of the football world will be too good for them and they will get beaten fairly regularly.

[ez]

Let them go and then take the opportunity to introduce a salary cap. Any of the big clubs wanting to return must fall in line with it.

[Dave Cooper please]

Strange, in my football supporting lifetime the game has gone from being f***ed by lack of money, to being f***ed by a surfeit of it.

Both are currently true.
Football at the highest level is being fucked by a very few teams having too much money whilst below them teams with over 100 years of history are being fucked because they haven't got any.
When a team can go under for less than a day's pay for Carlos Tevez then the game truly is fucked.