Champions League restructuring

[ROBBO]

Apoints reduction would penalise the fans who were innocent in all of this, i prefer a three year ban from playing in Europe this would acheive many aims. They would lose the ability to attract top players , they would be faced with transfer requests from their best players, they would lose all the revenue that Europe brings and lastly there would be an adventage for a lot of clubs to play in Europe who wouldn't normally get the opportunity, they would automatically become more attractive to better players.

[Rory]

I think we need to be careful where we attribute punishment here. I think a lot of credit must go to the real fans of the clubs in question to come out so passionately over this.

The people responsible should be punished for this and their greed not the inocent. I could say there but for the grace of God go I/we. It could have been our club if our owners were the same. Hopefully they are not. The fans of these clubs have stood shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the football family to kill this abomination. I salute them.

Let's just target the blame on the guilty.

I see your point but the fans of these clubs have been happy enough to enjoy the success brought about by the largesse of their wealthy owners for the best part of 2 decades. Now that those same wealthy owners have screwed up they can suffer the consequences of that for a couple of seasons (at least).

I feel like I should rise above it, and it was nice to see the reaction from fans of all clubs. But fuck 'em.

As has been pointed out elsewhere, clubs and by extension their fanbases have been punished before for the mismanagement of their owners. We were nearly one of them.

If these loathsome bastards can't keep a business healthy with the ridiculous sums of money already in the game - the vast majority of which flows through this handful of clubs in the first place - the only conclusion is that they're spending beyond their means to inflate their own continued success, and are perhaps not as 'big' as they think they are.

[Axl Rose]

I'd still kick them all out of English football. Wankers.

[Ad@m]

All six are now out. Arsenal are the only ones to issue an apology so far.

And Spurs' statement is precisely the sort of bullshit you'd expect from Levy - "we're leaving the group developing the plans for the ESL" as if they hadn't really committed to anything in the first place.

Absolute shitehawks!

[Rory]

I think we need to be careful where we attribute punishment here. I think a lot of credit must go to the real fans of the clubs in question to come out so passionately over this.

The people responsible should be punished for this and their greed not the inocent. I could say there but for the grace of God go I/we. It could have been our club if our owners were the same. Hopefully they are not. The fans of these clubs have stood shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the football family to kill this abomination. I salute them.

Let's just target the blame on the guilty.

I see your point but the fans of these clubs have been happy enough to enjoy the success brought about the largesse of their wealthy owners for the best part of 2 decades. Now that those same wealthy owners have screwed up they can suffer the consequences of that for a couple of seasons (at least).

Exactly. As football fans we all live and die by the decisions the owners of our clubs make. That's not just the managers they choose or the players they buy, it's everything. If you break the rules, you get punished.

Agreed, both.

[cdbearsfan]

So getting the thread back on track.

The CL was restructured on Friday I believe.

Yep. I don't actually mind them increasing the number of group games. Completely ignoring ten group games compared to completely ignoring six group games makes no difference to me.

My only problem with that is the persistence of the myth that domestic games have to be reduced to accommodate the extra group matches. It is total bollocks. They were playing twelve group games (plus far more "big" teams had to take part in qualifiers) at the start of the century. They also used to play far more games in the form of domestic replays than they do currently Leave the League Cup and the size of the leagues along, you twats.

I don't mind them increasing the number of teams to 36. Giving extra teams from the less-financially doped leagues a place doesn't seem a bad idea.

The format seems confusing but I don't like the idea, if I have read it right, that you wouldn't know who you were playing until a week or two in advance. That would make attendance at away games an absolute nightmare for all but the wealthiest fans with the most time on their hands.

Allowing places based on performance in previous seasons is a total disgrace. It is basically the same protectionism and greed that everyone hated about the ESL but on a smaller scale.

While we are railing against greed, I'd like to see far more tickets to major finals allocated to actual fans, too, please.

[Somniloquism]

Reactions from the supposed key four.

Liverpool said their involvement in the proposed breakaway league "has been discontinued".

Manchester United said they had "listened carefully to the reaction from our fans, the UK government and other key stakeholders" in making their decision to not take part.

Arsenal apologised and said they had "made a mistake", adding they were withdrawing after listening to their fans and the "wider football community".

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said the club regretted the "anxiety and upset" caused by the proposal.

So only one of them hasn't mentioned apologise or regrets or the listening to the fans even though it is all said via gritted teeth. I still want to find out which of the four had the board member who rubbished the fans anonymously yesterday as I believe it was one of the clubs listed above.

[sickbeggar]

Meh. Personally i'm looking forward to the excitement of the Madrid-Milan Super League

[TonyD]

Do you think they will want their legacy fans back now.    The owners should all fuck off just for that. 

[boutrosboutrosgnarly]

Anyone else been amused by the faux outrage shown by Sky over 'greed' and 'self interest'.Pot kettle black.Wankers.
Anyway they can go back to wanking off their favourite teams in red now it's gone up shit creek.

[Monty]

League's been 'suspended' (hopefully over an active volcano). Milan hilariously withdrew literally one minute before it was suspended. Wankers.

[BC Villain]

They might have all come crawling back with their tails between their legs, but this should never be forgotten. 

All six were willing to sacrifice the game at the altar to line their grubby pockets. 

Liverpool and Man United's statements are a disgrace.  They read more like spoilt brats having a strop because they can't get what they wanted, not a shred of remorse.

Don't you dare try and sweep this under the carpet.

[Clive W]

At the very least the “fit and proper owner” test should be brought into play

As these are all limited companies it would be appropriate if the directors were disqualified for a number of years

[Hockley Lion]

I think we need to be careful where we attribute punishment here. I think a lot of credit must go to the real fans of the clubs in question to come out so passionately over this.

The people responsible should be punished for this and their greed not the inocent. I could say there but for the grace of God go I/we. It could have been our club if our owners were the same. Hopefully they are not. The fans of these clubs have stood shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the football family to kill this abomination. I salute them.

Let's just target the blame on the guilty.

I see your point but the fans of these clubs have been happy enough to enjoy the success brought about by the largesse of their wealthy owners for the best part of 2 decades. Now that those same wealthy owners have screwed up they can suffer the consequences of that for a couple of seasons (at least).

Agreed. Just like we would have done if Randy onwards had had enough cash etc. Do you really think we're different?

[sickbeggar]

At the very least the “fit and proper owner” test should be brought into play

As these are all limited companies it would be appropriate if the directors were disqualified for a number of years

steady on. You'll have about 60 clubs looking for new owners.