Champions League restructuring

[nick harper]

This needs to be the start and not the end. Uefa and Fifa should be next up, they're shown themselves as completely useless and corrupt time and time again  and have allowed those few clubs to dictate for decades. All it's took is for one government to suggest intervening and the cartel has completely shit itself, showing that they can be held to account if the will is there.

Actions should have consequences. There must be a penalty for what would have been a heinous act, not only destroying the whole football pyramid structure but also putting livelihoods at risk.

There is a big responsibility for the governing bodies to step up and take punitive action be it points deduction or banning them from European competition for a fixed period. If they are simply welcomed back in, I think it would be a longer term disaster.

The one glimmer of hope that has come out of this is that the wheels are now in motion to overhaul the governance in this country alongside an independent regulator. Can’t see anything changing with UEFA, however.

[ChicagoLion]

Sky also had a vested interest in it not going ahead.

[Drummond]

Fans up and down the country, but particularly those groups of the six have been the main driver for this turnaround. It's not about Sky, or any other media.

The government and governing bodies throwing their rebukes in have all helped too.

[Hookeysmith]

If they are allowed to just carry on as normal then that is more of a travesty of justice as them trying to fuck off in the first place.
I am actually not happy it has collapsed - as i would have enjoyed the slow death as games kicked off and no one was watching. To see United, Liverpool and the wannabees Spurs self destruct would have been worth it all

[LeeB]

If they are allowed to just carry on as normal then that is more of a travesty of justice as them trying to fuck off in the first place.
I am actually not happy it has collapsed - as i would have enjoyed the slow death as games kicked off and no one was watching. To see United, Liverpool and the wannabees Spurs self destruct would have been worth it all

I know what you mean, I feel a bit let down, though it was quite heartwarming to see the level of vitriol it created along the way, and as  PR exercise it's sensationally bad, Gerald Ratner x 12

[Jon Crofts]

If they are allowed to just carry on as normal then that is more of a travesty of justice as them trying to fuck off in the first place.
I am actually not happy it has collapsed - as i would have enjoyed the slow death as games kicked off and no one was watching. To see United, Liverpool and the wannabees Spurs self destruct would have been worth it all

Who's to say they still won't self destruct, Spuds are in debt to the tune of £900 million, United are in big debt and FSG want to sell Liverpool, sponsors are already pulling out, this is going to run a while longer & isn't going to just go away.

[ChicagoLion]

If they are allowed to just carry on as normal then that is more of a travesty of justice as them trying to fuck off in the first place.
I am actually not happy it has collapsed - as i would have enjoyed the slow death as games kicked off and no one was watching. To see United, Liverpool and the wannabees Spurs self destruct would have been worth it all

Who's to say they still won't self destruct, Spuds are in debt to the tune of £900 million, United are in big debt and FSG want to sell Liverpool, sponsors are already pulling out, this is going to run a while longer & isn't going to just go away.

agree, there are significant problems and this was  a desperate to shore up the Balance sheets of some of these clubs.

[LeeB]

If they are allowed to just carry on as normal then that is more of a travesty of justice as them trying to fuck off in the first place.
I am actually not happy it has collapsed - as i would have enjoyed the slow death as games kicked off and no one was watching. To see United, Liverpool and the wannabees Spurs self destruct would have been worth it all

Who's to say they still won't self destruct, Spuds are in debt to the tune of £900 million, United are in big debt and FSG want to sell Liverpool, sponsors are already pulling out, this is going to run a while longer & isn't going to just go away.

We should offer to help Daniel in their hour of need, like he did for us. £5m plus El Ghazi for Kane.

[Drummond]

If they are allowed to just carry on as normal then that is more of a travesty of justice as them trying to fuck off in the first place.
I am actually not happy it has collapsed - as i would have enjoyed the slow death as games kicked off and no one was watching. To see United, Liverpool and the wannabees Spurs self destruct would have been worth it all

Who's to say they still won't self destruct, Spuds are in debt to the tune of £900 million, United are in big debt and FSG want to sell Liverpool, sponsors are already pulling out, this is going to run a while longer & isn't going to just go away.

We should offer to help Daniel in their hour of need, like he did for us. £5m plus El Ghazi for Kane.

Fuck that. let them have Elmo and £4m

[boozey182]

This needs to be the start and not the end. Uefa and Fifa should be next up, they're shown themselves as completely useless and corrupt time and time again  and have allowed those few clubs to dictate for decades. All it's took is for one government to suggest intervening and the cartel has completely shit itself, showing that they can be held to account if the will is there.

Actions should have consequences. There must be a penalty for what would have been a heinous act, not only destroying the whole football pyramid structure but also putting livelihoods at risk.

There is a big responsibility for the governing bodies to step up and take punitive action be it points deduction or banning them from European competition for a fixed period. If they are simply welcomed back in, I think it would be a longer term disaster.

The one glimmer of hope that has come out of this is that the wheels are now in motion to overhaul the governance in this country alongside an independent regulator. Can’t see anything changing with UEFA, however.

I couldn't agree more.

I've seen a lot of talk on social media, making the distinction between the owners of the clubs and the staff/fans, which I suppose is fair enough. However, that is no reason not to punish these clubs.

I haven't been able to keep up with the talk on here, so this may have been covered, but I have been wondering about what our owners would have done, if we'd been invited. Call me naive, but I'm pretty confident that they would have rejected the proposal. They have built a close relationship with the fans already, what with the consultation groups etc (not sure if the 'big 6' do this as well, though), so I would really like to think that no decision would have been made without gauging fan reaction first. We're a long way off finding this out for sure though.

Assuming we did say 'no', though, which is admittedly a bit of a stretch, does that mean we're a better club than these other six clubs? Not really*. It just means we might have owners that care more about the fans than their owners, so we're lucky. Just like we were unlucky that we had an owner with shit shoes that took us to the brink of extinction a few years ago. Man City and Chelsea, in particular, have only enjoyed any success at all in the last 10/20 years because of their owners - they got lucky. But now their fans aren't happy - well, tough. Go ask a Newcastle fan, for example, what it's like having a shitty owner - there will be a lot less Nou Camp and a lot more Rotherham in their stories.

It's a lottery. Does this system need fixing? Absolutely. But there's no way these clubs should escape punishment just because they are at behest of their owners. We all are. It's utter horseshit, but if fans of the most successful** teams in the country are looking for sympathy or leniency from the rest of us, I'm afraid there's more chance of Spurs actually winning something.

There was no real outcry when Wednesday, or even Blues, were having points deducted. Let alone what's become of Bury, Portsmouth, Blackpool, Bolton etc etc. The 'big six' are no different and it's about time they were reminded of that.

Maybe, once this lot have felt some of the real implications of having a terrible owner, change is more likely to occur. I just hope the authorities have the balls to do it - the future of the sport genuinely depends on it.

*We are, obviously
**They're not, obviously

[Drummond]

The fans have had to put up with success on the back of their owners getting them into debt, so now they can put up without it to pay it back.

No club has any God-given right to be at the top of the game in perpetuity; if that were the case we'd still be there.

[LeeB]

Anyway, relegate the 6 to the Championship forthwith. Then they'll know competition, starting the season knowing half of them at least will still be stuck in  it the next year. And tell them they're not getting a penny of parachute money as well.

Promote the top 9 in the Championship, and let's go. It would sort back out over time but they'd lose the unfair advantage they've been building up at everyone else's expense.

[Rory]

The fans have had to put up with success on the back of their owners getting them into debt, so now they can put up without it to pay it back.

No club has any God-given right to be at the top of the game in perpetuity; if that were the case we'd still be there.

Well said.

[Mister E]

The fans have had to put up with success on the back of their owners getting them into debt, so now they can put up without it to pay it back.
No club has any God-given right to be at the top of the game in perpetuity; if that were the case we'd still be there.

Well said.

It is well said, but - as others have highlighted - EUFA may well reward the 'more established European clubs' with easy entry to Euro competitions.
It's the fundamental principle of meritocracy that is at risk in all of this.

As a footnote, our owners need to spend big and wisely this summer, before any further restrictive governance is put in place.

[TonyD]

If they are allowed to just carry on as normal then that is more of a travesty of justice as them trying to fuck off in the first place.
I am actually not happy it has collapsed - as i would have enjoyed the slow death as games kicked off and no one was watching. To see United, Liverpool and the wannabees Spurs self destruct would have been worth it all

Who's to say they still won't self destruct, Spuds are in debt to the tune of £900 million, United are in big debt and FSG want to sell Liverpool, sponsors are already pulling out, this is going to run a while longer & isn't going to just go away.

We should offer to help Daniel in their hour of need, like he did for us. £5m plus El Ghazi for Kane.

Fuck that. let them have Elmo and £4m

That is some serious debt Spurs are in for a small club.