Champions League restructuring

[Bobby Boy]

Just reading that the club owners behind the ESL want to focus on 'Fans of the Future' rather than 'legacy fans'.

'Legacy Fans' are those who pre-dated their involvement in these clubs.

Wow. The contempt is mind blowing. Is it really a good idea to write off the very people who made your club what it is?

[Risso]

if Lerner and co were still at the helm it would have been a very different approach. 

American owners...most of them it seems really want to NFLallise football. With all their wealth and you'd think brains they'd grasp that there is more to it than money. Culture, Community, history and love are all what make football what it is.  That doesn't exist in mercenary players playing the game in Kuala Lumpur in air-conditioned stadiums in front of a crowds that  have very little understanding about the spectacle they have attended.  I suppose you could say the owners wont care about that as long as the money keeps rolling in. People will tire of it.  Not much demand for the Harlem Globetrotters these days is there?

Have you seen the demand for tickets for NFL games in London though, and that's a relatively parochial sport with limited world wide appeal compared to football.

[Hairbandinho]

So what exactly was the criteria for inclusion in this fabulous league? Could it be levels of debt they are all in?

[TonyD]

The Premier League are in a bit of a bind. They have signed TV deals a commercial arrangements with sponsors that assumes a 20-team
stable league and - implicit - the presence of the so-called Giants. It will find the money drops off quickly, so its ability to wave a big stick at the scabs is somewhat limited.,

Sky would probably sue the PL if they kicked them out.

I think the only way this can be stopped for English teams is if their fans - the likes of Liverpool and ManU throw a total wobbler and protest and boycott etc. 

[Risso]

So what exactly was the criteria for inclusion in this fabulous league? Could it be levels of debt they are all in?

Big city
Big stadium
Owners of dubious morality who would agree to be part of it

[Monty]

The Premier League are in a bit of a bind. They have signed TV deals a commercial arrangements with sponsors that assumes a 20-team
stable league and - implicit - the presence of the so-called Giants. It will find the money drops off quickly, so its ability to wave a big stick at the scabs is somewhat limited.,

Sky would probably sue the PL if they kicked them out.

I think the only way this can be stopped for English teams is if their fans - the likes of Liverpool and ManU throw a total wobbler and protest and boycott etc. 

The Legacy Fans? It couldn't be clearer how little the owners give a fuck about them.

[andyh]

Just reading that the club owners behind the ESL want to focus on 'Fans of the Future' rather than 'legacy fans'.

'Legacy Fans' are those who pre-dated their involvement in these clubs.

Wow. The contempt is mind blowing. Is it really a good idea to write off the very people who made your club what it is?

Fans of the future are people sitting in an apartment block in Shanghai or Oman or Seoul or suchlike who have never stepped foot into a football stadium, but will sit there in their football shirt  watching a live stream of The Manchester Devils vs The Milan Pizzaboys after paying $25 for the stream.

[Brend'Watkins]

if Lerner and co were still at the helm it would have been a very different approach. 

American owners...most of them it seems really want to NFLallise football. With all their wealth and you'd think brains they'd grasp that there is more to it than money. Culture, Community, history and love are all what make football what it is.  That doesn't exist in mercenary players playing the game in Kuala Lumpur in air-conditioned stadiums in front of a crowds that  have very little understanding about the spectacle they have attended.  I suppose you could say the owners wont care about that as long as the money keeps rolling in. People will tire of it.  Not much demand for the Harlem Globetrotters these days is there?

Have you seen the demand for tickets for NFL games in London though, and that's a relatively parochial sport with limited world wide appeal compared to football.

Sure there will be some demand for it.  In NFL's case there would be enough Americans in the UK who'd want to see the odd game in London. Football is bigger world wide than NFL, there is no international NFL. ESL Players not being involved in the International scene... will they be the stars that people want to see?  NFL isn't football and thank God it isn't football. 

[taylorsworkrate]

The threat of stopping players from playing in the World Cup for their countries would be legally challenged, as the players will argue that they are being forced into this Super league by their clubs.

True. It would then be the responsibility of the individual nations to merely refuse to select them.

[Jon Crofts]

Money laundering scheme no more, no less.

Fans of the future, I can imagine them now in their half & half scarves and half & half shirts sat in a mega sports bar in Dubai, 300 screens showing football, IPL cricket, baseball, ice hockey, sipping sub zero American tasteless piss beer and eating nachos. Grotesque indeed. 

[Drummond]

Just reading that the club owners behind the ESL want to focus on 'Fans of the Future' rather than 'legacy fans'.

'Legacy Fans' are those who pre-dated their involvement in these clubs.

Wow. The contempt is mind blowing. Is it really a good idea to write off the very people who made your club what it is?

Fans of the future are people sitting in an apartment block in Shanghai or Oman or Seoul or suchlike who have never stepped foot into a football stadium, but will sit there in their football shirt  watching a live stream of The Manchester Devils vs The Milan Pizzaboys after paying $25 for the stream.

The 39th game will become every game when the crowds won't turn up in numbers any more.

[andyh]

I would have thought preventing players playing for their national teams is the easiest thing to implement.

[Drummond]

I'm glad ESL.com is already taken anyway.

[sickbeggar]

Depends on the finances of these breakaway clubs. I imagine the likes of Chelsea and City are okay, but Arsenal, Man U, Tottenham etc.. Over in Spain, rumours Barca are not in good shape... Probably Italy as well. Can they afford to lose their place at the trough while they set this league up? The PL will take a big financial hit if they left straight away, but they'd survive.

The whole point is yes they can, JP Morgan have pledged £3.5bn for the clubs. That's £300m each before they've kicked a ball. I imagine that with the potential world wide income they're eyeing up, they'd double or triple that if they had to.

It's not much though is it in the scale of things. Man U spent 522 million in expenditure in 2020, they owe about 400m I think, they lost 70m from no crowds etc... Then you take out 131m from the premier league money. And no CL money.....108m.  Not saying they're likely to go under but if they're going to take big hit leaving now and the 300m will keep them as is as the premier massive money making operation, then other clubs are going to be in a worse situation.  Of course its possible that the likes of Barca were already in bad shape due to covid and this announcement is basically because they couldn't survive much longer.

[Flamingo Lane]

I would have thought preventing players playing for their national teams is the easiest thing to implement.

I suspect that such a prospect wouldn't unduly disturb these players.