The Super League

[KFS]

If this goes ahead and they get to stay in the PL, I'd want to see their fans kicked all over the place every weekend as a deterrent

[reporterpenguin]

27 minutes ago, RoboFox said:

Oliver Dowden is about to make his statement to the commons. 

 

Several sources on Twitter saying he's not going to be pulling any punches.

 

 

He’s speaking now, and name checked us as what football is all about. League 1 champions to Premier League champions in a decade 

[UniFox21]

Dowden activating the fan led review. 

 

They'll look at financial stability, merit of an independent governing body and the government regulation

 

 

 

Edited 19 April 2021 by UniFox21

[urban.spaceman]

1 minute ago, UniFox21 said:

Dowden activating the fan led review. 

 

They'll look at financial stability, merit of an independent governing body and the government regulation

He mentioned us!

[North Leeds Fox]

8 minutes ago, davieG said:

Because the PL is still very lucrative and satisfies the home market as well as spreading their name world wide. It's all about marketing their names.

 

You have to view this SL as a direct replacement for the CL. 

Very true, but why would the broadcasters want to buy the rights of a league where the big 6 will treat their games as warm ups for the main event? They could theoretically play kids teams when they don't have a chance of winning the title which then makes the games against the other 14 completely dependant upon whether the ESL team wanted to play their best team as they have no jeopardy when the title is not at stake. If I was sky and bt, I wouldn't want to spend the same money on a diminished product. 

[LCFCCHRIS]

I've said it in another thread but guys, the long standing FA cup final now is bigger if this SL stuff continues. I think we'll have even more neutrals rooting for us than ever to beat one of the clubs involved. 

Edited 19 April 2021 by LCFCCHRIS

[Glorious Leicester Fan]

The argument I find most bizarre is the assumption that an increase in global revenue can compensate for any decrease in local/national revenue.  

 

Football fans across the world are very similar. Fans want to watch a match that has consequences if their team wins, loses or draws. Get rid of footballing consequences and it becomes pointless. 
 

Edited 19 April 2021 by Glorious Leicester Fan

[trabuch]

3 minutes ago, LCFCCHRIS said:

I've said it in another thread but guys, the long standing FA cup final now is bigger if this SL stuff continues. I think we'll have even more neutrals rooting for us than ever to beat one of the clubs involved. 

And we might be the last ever winners. We'll complete our set and we'll get to keep the cup. Must win.

[UniFox21]

7 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Dowden activating the fan led review. 

 

They'll look at financial stability, merit of an independent governing body and the government regulation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[davieG]

5 minutes ago, North Leeds Fox said:

Very true, but why would the broadcasters want to buy the rights of a league where the big 6 will treat their games as warm ups for the main event? They could theoretically play kids teams when they don't have a chance of winning the title which then makes the games against the other 14 completely dependant upon whether the ESL team wanted to play their best team as they have no jeopardy when the title is not at stake. If I was sky and bt, I wouldn't want to spend the same money on a diminished product. 

Because the likes of Sky and BT rely on the money from football only one of them would be signed up to show the SL plus part of the SL deal is that clubs will be able to stream 2 of their own games though their websites. 

 

Sky even started showing Championship games when they lost the CL games to BT.

[davieG]

http://sportwitness.co.uk/not-understood-anything-leicester-used-example-scathing-attack-disturbing-super-league/

 

 

 

“You have not understood anything” – Italian politician uses Leicester exclusion to blast Super League
By Tom Coast - 19th April 2021
 

Following the announcement that 12 clubs were breaking away from European competitions, all hell has broken loose.

It didn’t take long for politicians to get involved, with the likes of Boris Johnson explaining he was going to do everything he could to put a stop to this.

Despite Leicester City currently being in the Premier League top four, the English side haven’t been chosen to partake in this lucrative endeavour, and nor have many other clubs whom some feel deserve to be in the mix.

Among those is Nicola Fratoianni, the National Secretary of Sinistra Italiana, a left-wing political part in Italy, who released a statement following the announcement, condemning the idea, as well as the omission of certain sides.

He said, relayed by Napoli Today: “This story of the Super League is disturbing and is a reflection of the world we live in, and it shows exactly what we mean when we talk about inequality. Companies that (also) deal with football, with their bellies swollen with debts, who in a normal situation would have gone bankrupt, have independently decided to change the rules of the game and destroy the sporting spirit that has fascinated millions of people, just to pursue easy earnings.

 

“They don’t accept competition with smaller teams, they don’t tolerate sharing the earnings with the so-called ‘provincial’ sides, but the math is bad. Football, like any other passion, is based on the feelings of those who follow it, and on the willingness to pay to attend an event, at the stadium or on TV. Therefore, it’s not certain that the operation will be successful, not even from the point of view that interests them the most. 

“If you decide that Napoli, Atalanta, Sassuolo or Leicester, for example, cannot participate in the event, it means that you have not understood anything about what has been driving a movement for many years.”

He then concludes that he ‘really hopes this story ends up in the cellar’, meaning it gets dismissed, and emphasises that ‘football must go back to being fans and supporters, not presidents of teams on the brink of bankruptcy’.

As he points out, ‘football is above all a sport, not a market’.

For teams like Leicester City, who, thanks to good management and a bit of money, have managed to break into the so-called top six in England, the whole situation is simply a kick in the teeth.

We’ll have to wait and see what comes of this, but with the Foxes now in the FA Cup final, they have far more important things to focus on, and so do their fans.

[Alf Bentley]

2 minutes ago, cityfanlee23 said:

Important point, but that's just on current numbers. If this is commercially successful, I would not be surprised to see clubs begging to join. Might aswell throw Celtic and Rangers in there, massive fanbases and they both dominate their league. Celtic especially would be financially strong.

 

If the project was a commercial success, I suppose they could seek to extend it - establish a Super League 2nd Division or whatever - but would these "big clubs" want that and would it be financially viable?

 

These dirty dozen (or fifteen) are looking to cash in on their global fame via TV megabucks.

 

The likes of Celtic & Rangers have massive fanbases in Scotland, but are they that big in China, India, SE Asia, Africa or the Americas - or even in the rest of Europe?

Would TV companies want to offer megabucks for the right to broadcast a Super League Div 2 with, say, Celtic, Rangers, Leicester, West Ham, Zenit, Lazio, Villareal, Lille, Galatasaray, Ajax, Bruges etc.?

 

Surely the point is that these dirty dozen feel that they have much bigger name recognition and big-name star players to cash in on via global TV audiences - and they feel that wasting their time playing smaller clubs merely restricts the amount of money they can make. 

[Qwerty]

I wouldn't want the SL to invite Leicester to join!

[davieG]

https://foxesofleicester.com/2021/04/19/leicester-city-player-stand-usl/

 

 Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana seemingly took an averse stance in opposition to the apparent league. Fofana retweeted quite a few anti-ESL posts on Twitter; and he also appeared to cryptically condemn it when an announcement was made Sunday night. You can see that tweet below.

 

Prior to the scheme being signalled, Leicester goalkeeper and on-field captain, Kasper Schmeichel, also made his feelings clear on the matter:

“A club like Leicester, being able to do what we’ve done over the 10 years I’ve been here, it’s something unique and I’d hate to see a system put in place where the smaller clubs or the underdogs may not be able to get the limelight.”

– Kasper Schmeichel

[moore_94]

 

[StanSP]

How does their 2 divisions work with no relegations anyway?

 

If you're selected to be in the 2nd division of the ESL, can you never make it to the 1st division, no matter how well you do? Is it a closed shop within a closed shop? 

[trabuch]

Just now, Qwerty said:

I wouldn't want the SL to invite Leicester to join!

I wouldn't mind them inviting us, but I would take great pleasure in Top telling them to **** off (although I'm not 100% sure he would). 

[Finnaldo]

31 minutes ago, trabuch said:

It's going to be such a shoddy product, but the idiots paying for it (who don't understand football) won't even know that. They will just see the big names, not the bland football in a meaningless competition. 

Part of what makes this so frightening in my opinion. These clubs won’t give a fvck what the Scousers, Mancunians or Cockneys think, their target market is thousands of miles away in Africa, India, China and the States, where a plurality won’t care what changes are made as long as the big name clubs and players are there. They’ll be free to make the game as sanitised and globalised as they can. I doubt it’ll be just the supporter culture that will be the only victim either. Any rule changes they fancy they’d face no resistance, then with the brute force of their market share and influence try and make it mainstream and force its adoption in the wider game, lest ‘lesser’ leagues and competitions be ‘othered’ as the inferior version of the sport creating a Rugby League/Union schism should they resist. 
 

This needs to be crushed and killed in the cot by all who still can. Traditional football will live on but the more severity put on measures now the better it will come out in the long run.

[TeaMen Tom]

Leicester may well emerge from this with even more widespread fan support. 

[davieG]

Just now, StanSP said:

How does their 2 divisions work with no relegations anyway?

 

If you're selected to be in the 2nd division of the ESL, can you never make it to the 1st division, no matter how well you do? Is it a closed shop within a closed shop? 

I think they would be set up to be equal so splitting the top 12 into two groups of 6 for each league because they need to enhance the chances of the playing each other in the later stages by finishing in top positions.

[StanSP]

1 minute ago, davieG said:

I think they would be set up to be equal so splitting the top 12 into two groups of 6 for each league because they need to enhance the chances of the playing each other in the later stages by finishing in top positions.

They've already said it'll be two divisions of 10 teams though?

[ARTY_FOX]

No peace deal is a good sign. 

 

That's it for the players then aswell no international football for them now? 

[FoxesWalk]

 

[Unabomber]

[cityfanlee23]

http://sportwitness.co.uk/not-understood-anything-leicester-used-example-scathing-attack-disturbing-super-league/
 

Following the announcement that 12 clubs were breaking away from European competitions, all hell has broken loose.

 

It didn’t take long for politicians to get involved, with the likes of Boris Johnson explaining he was going to do everything he could to put a stop to this.

Despite Leicester City currently being in the Premier League top four, the English side haven’t been chosen to partake in this lucrative endeavour, and nor have many other clubs whom some feel deserve to be in the mix.

Among those is Nicola Fratoianni, the National Secretary of Sinistra Italiana, a left-wing political part in Italy, who released a statement following the announcement, condemning the idea, as well as the omission of certain sides.

He said, relayed by Napoli Today: “This story of the Super League is disturbing and is a reflection of the world we live in, and it shows exactly what we mean when we talk about inequality. Companies that (also) deal with football, with their bellies swollen with debts, who in a normal situation would have gone bankrupt, have independently decided to change the rules of the game and destroy the sporting spirit that has fascinated millions of people, just to pursue easy earnings.

 

“They don’t accept competition with smaller teams, they don’t tolerate sharing the earnings with the so-called ‘provincial’ sides, but the math is bad. Football, like any other passion, is based on the feelings of those who follow it, and on the willingness to pay to attend an event, at the stadium or on TV. Therefore, it’s not certain that the operation will be successful, not even from the point of view that interests them the most. 

“If you decide that Napoli, Atalanta, Sassuolo or Leicester, for example, cannot participate in the event, it means that you have not understood anything about what has been driving a movement for many years.”

He then concludes that he ‘really hopes this story ends up in the cellar’, meaning it gets dismissed, and emphasises that ‘football must go back to being fans and supporters, not presidents of teams on the brink of bankruptcy’.

As he points out, ‘football is above all a sport, not a market’.

For teams like Leicester City, who, thanks to good management and a bit of money, have managed to break into the so-called top six in England, the whole situation is simply a kick in the teeth.

We’ll have to wait and see what comes of this, but with the Foxes now in the FA Cup final, they have far more important things to focus on, and so do their fans.