I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
That’s ironic, because the JP Morgan investment is a classic example of bankers being fuckwits. So very close to your day job!
The fuckwittery, greed and corruption I can understand.
It's this "football" you keep mentioning ..... I suppose I should think of it as some sort of CDO. Started as a good idea. Spiralled out of control because of the greed of everyone involved. About to destroy the reputation of all involved and splatter shite all over the ordinary people involved.
Would that more or less sum it up?
I wouldn’t know. Soccer’s just a lot of balls to me.
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
That’s ironic, because the JP Morgan investment is a classic example of bankers being fuckwits. So very close to your day job!
The fuckwittery, greed and corruption I can understand.
It's this "football" you keep mentioning ..... I suppose I should think of it as some sort of CDO. Started as a good idea. Spiralled out of control because of the greed of everyone involved. About to destroy the reputation of all involved and splatter shite all over the ordinary people involved.
Would that more or less sum it up?
That's a fairly good summary of most human endeavour, I'd have said.
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
It's a controversy about football. As you are doubtless aware, this is an obsession for a great many men, often to the exclusion of all else, yet which doesn't really matter at all in the great scheme of things.
Therefore, if you know nothing about it and can't follow any of this then I wouldn't be unduly concerned. I only know as much as I do because (a) I'm a kind of sponge for useless and irrelevant information and (b) I spent some years working with some other men who were obsessed and talked about it endlessly.
I'd screen it out and move on. It's been a lovely day here. Has it been likewise around your way?
Simply gorgeous! As was yesterday. We went for a walk to the top of Gummer How with magnificent views in all directions but especially over Windermere where the sun glinted on the water. Then down to a nearby local pub for a delicious meal outside. All in all a lovely few hours of normal sociable activity, all the more precious for having been so rare in the last year or more.
Didn't the Olympics lose their legal battles against life time bans for drug cheats on basis of restraint of trade, but English rugby can openly discriminate, scratches head....how does that work?
As @Leon says, you can't make a national association select someone.
Dwain Chambers, 100m sprinter.....he took British Athletics to court when they said they don't ever select somebody who has failed a drug test and they were forced to change their policy.
All the England coach has to do is say "My team is better if the players know each other blah blah" - then he can exclude Superleague players on the ground they undermine his team and make it worse
I don't see how you can litigate against that
My argument was England rugby don't do that, they have an explicit overt policy of no selection. BOC had a similar one and it was ruled illegal.
The difference is that in many cases, selection criteria are mandatory. Individuals meet the standard, they are selected. I imagine that in the areas where BOC retain discretion over selection then it's more of a grey area.
Greedy greedy football. Out of touch. A giant bubble ripe to be pricked. My idea of the way forward? Nationalize without compensation then sell each club for a peppercorn price into local communal ownership. A new 'return to roots and sanity' model with a 'jumpers for goalposts' ethic. Bring back the romance with a £10 entrance fee and subsidized meat pies. One live match per week on TV. Match of the Day at the weekend. Sportsnight with Coleman for big midweek games under the lights. Top players wages capped at 25 x the highest paid member of the groundstaff. Tea lady to work from home if she wants to. I want to hear something like this from Starmer tomorrow. It's time to be bold. The Red Wall will lap this up and so will the Modern Metro Left. It's just what Labour needs.
If you want Starmer to be bold maybe he should oppose the road map in the direction of restoring liberties?
Why not ask questions such as: why can't care home residents see family in a normal pre-pandemic way when the resident and the visitor has been vaccinated? How can it be right that vaccinated family members cannot see their loved ones when unvaccinated care home staff can? Why are many pubs and other businesses being allowed to bring in rules which are not required by government regulations, thus prolonging restrictions unnecessarily and inequitably? How can it be right that our government is giving non-UK citizens more freedom to travel than UK citizens? Etc, etc .....
Could shoot LibDem fox as well.
Impossible to police some people able to see their nans and others not without passports.
Didn't the Olympics lose their legal battles against life time bans for drug cheats on basis of restraint of trade, but English rugby can openly discriminate, scratches head....how does that work?
As @Leon says, you can't make a national association select someone.
Dwain Chambers, 100m sprinter.....he took British Athletics to court when they said they don't ever select somebody who has failed a drug test and they were forced to change their policy.
All the England coach has to do is say "My team is better if the players know each other blah blah" - then he can exclude Superleague players on the ground they undermine his team and make it worse
I don't see how you can litigate against that
My argument was England rugby don't do that, they have an explicit overt policy of no selection. BOC had a similar one and it was ruled illegal.
In rugby situation it is easy, basically no players who would be selected for England play in France. Now the footy, be a brave coach not to select all the best English players from the best 6 teams, that is literally the current England starting 11.
Don't be daft. The FA - who run England football - loathe this idea.
Remember when World Series Cricket started in the 1970s the English cricket authorities banned anyone who played World Series Cricket from test cricket.
It was deemed by the courts as a restraint of trade.
Didn’t do English or, for that matter, Australian cricket much good either.
The ICL is another example, I suppose, although that was ultimately crushed by the IPL.
But WSC had a point. Top cricketers were underpaid. You can't say that about top footballers today.
Test cricket was THE money earner for cricketers in the 70s. No footballer plays international football for the money. And is suspect that no footballer taking legal action would have the support of their employers, who would see them not playing international football as a benefit. Clubs don't like the idea of their expensive assets putting themselves at risk in international football, and often playing against the medical advice of their clubs.
Yes, elite club football is the apex of the game both for quality and emotion.
The best club in the world would beat the best country.
A club fan would rather their club win something than their country win something.
Didn't the Olympics lose their legal battles against life time bans for drug cheats on basis of restraint of trade, but English rugby can openly discriminate, scratches head....how does that work?
As @Leon says, you can't make a national association select someone.
Dwain Chambers, 100m sprinter.....he took British Athletics to court when they said they don't ever select somebody who has failed a drug test and they were forced to change their policy.
All the England coach has to do is say "My team is better if the players know each other blah blah" - then he can exclude Superleague players on the ground they undermine his team and make it worse
I don't see how you can litigate against that
My argument was England rugby don't do that, they have an explicit overt policy of no selection. BOC had a similar one and it was ruled illegal.
In rugby situation it is easy, basically no players who would be selected for England play in France. Now the footy, be a brave coach not to select all the best English players from the best 6 teams, that is literally the current England starting 11.
Don't be daft. The FA - who run England football - loathe this idea.
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
It's a controversy about football. As you are doubtless aware, this is an obsession for a great many men, often to the exclusion of all else, yet which doesn't really matter at all in the great scheme of things.
Therefore, if you know nothing about it and can't follow any of this then I wouldn't be unduly concerned. I only know as much as I do because (a) I'm a kind of sponge for useless and irrelevant information and (b) I spent some years working with some other men who were obsessed and talked about it endlessly.
I'd screen it out and move on. It's been a lovely day here. Has it been likewise around your way?
Simply gorgeous! As was yesterday. We went for a walk to the top of Gummer How with magnificent views in all directions but especially over Windermere where the sun glinted on the water. Then down to a nearby local pub for a delicious meal outside. All in all a lovely few hours of normal sociable activity, all the more precious for having been so rare in the last year or more.
Here too. Warm sun, clear skies, perfect visibility, and little wind. The beach was crowded like it was summer already, all the self catering accommodation is open and we are already awash with visitors, including the occasional foreigner. If it builds from here, the summer is going to be mayhem.
Rather than having red and green list countries, why not restrict travel to the fully vaccinated?
Or just have no travel. By which I mean nearly none - not for business-types especially. Merely delivery and supply.
One thing's for damn sure, and that's that we got CV19 here in the UK from others travelling to us. (That sounds very xenophobic, but its not what I mean at all - its just travel that's caused this)
Actually I'll go a little further. There are some people in the UK who are responsible for mass manslaughter. They knew they shouldn't have travelled and yet they did. They probably self-excuse themselves, but they're completely guilty.
But that's as true for going to the shops, or to a park, as it is to international travel.
Rather than having red and green list countries, why not restrict travel to the fully vaccinated?
Or just have no travel. By which I mean nearly none - not for business-types especially. Merely delivery and supply.
One thing's for damn sure, and that's that we got CV19 here in the UK from others travelling to us. (That sounds very xenophobic, but its not what I mean at all - its just travel that's caused this)
Actually I'll go a little further. There are some people in the UK who are responsible for mass manslaughter. They knew they shouldn't have travelled and yet they did. They probably self-excuse themselves, but they're completely guilty.
But that's as true for going to the shops, or to a park, as it is to international travel.
And don’t get me started on the DfE’s edict that schools should ignore quarantine rules.
I missed this from December, I'm actually surprised by this, I'd have thought opposition would be much higher.
In a Savanta ComRes poll of 2,100 football fans, almost half of younger fans (48%) said they would be happy about the prospect of a European Super League, while 18% said they would be unhappy.
In contrast, just 10% of fans aged 55 and over were happy about the idea, with close to two-thirds (63%) unhappy.
The poll also shows:
Across all ages, 30% of fans were happy about the idea of a European Super League, with 40% unhappy.
More than a third (35%) of fans aged 55 and over said they felt a breakaway league would be 'very bad' for football overall.
Among fans aged 18-34 that figure was just 10%.
A fifth (20%) of younger fans thought the European Super League would be a 'very good' idea for football overall, compared to just 6% of older fans.
Close to half of male fans (48%) are unhappy at the idea of a European Super League, as opposed to just under a quarter (23%) of female football fans. More than a third (35%) of female football fans are happy about the idea.
What were the numbers in favour of the Premier League, back in 1990?
As always with these things, the devil is in the detail. If the breakaway league means that players can’t wear national shirts, then they’d better have some serious money backing them to the point that they can’t be ignored.
Except the premiership was little different too the previous top flight, so not so much of a change.
I missed this from December, I'm actually surprised by this, I'd have thought opposition would be much higher.
In a Savanta ComRes poll of 2,100 football fans, almost half of younger fans (48%) said they would be happy about the prospect of a European Super League, while 18% said they would be unhappy.
In contrast, just 10% of fans aged 55 and over were happy about the idea, with close to two-thirds (63%) unhappy.
The poll also shows:
Across all ages, 30% of fans were happy about the idea of a European Super League, with 40% unhappy.
More than a third (35%) of fans aged 55 and over said they felt a breakaway league would be 'very bad' for football overall.
Among fans aged 18-34 that figure was just 10%.
A fifth (20%) of younger fans thought the European Super League would be a 'very good' idea for football overall, compared to just 6% of older fans.
Close to half of male fans (48%) are unhappy at the idea of a European Super League, as opposed to just under a quarter (23%) of female football fans. More than a third (35%) of female football fans are happy about the idea.
What were the numbers in favour of the Premier League, back in 1990?
As always with these things, the devil is in the detail. If the breakaway league means that players can’t wear national shirts, then they’d better have some serious money backing them to the point that they can’t be ignored.
Except the premiership was little different too the previous top flight, so not so much of a change.
The big change was in the distribution of TV money.
Fun quiz question: which two teams have been members of the Premier League without ever playing in it?
Trevor Azul @thechicoazul BREAKING: Newcastle United to become seventh EPL team to join breakaway for new European Super League. The North East outfit were coveted for by the other six clubs and have signalled they’re willing to jump. Positive implications for their prolonged takeover. Story to follow. TA
If this continues they might as well call the Superleague "the top half of the Premier League plus a a few Spanish and Italian teams"
I saw my first anti-lockdown protest today. I was at Petersfield Heath Pond with my family- beautiful day - and I couldn't work out why there were 30-40 people grouped together standing around. I thought, hmm.. rambler's meet? Big birthday party? Sports?
Anyway, there were still there after 90 minutes (seemingly not doing much) and my curiosity got the better of me. So, I ambled by and saw they were all congregated around a sign saying "Stand In The Park - Petersfield".
I had to look it up on my phone. Turns out this is a worldwide anti-lockdown movement, started in Australia, that encourages people to congregate in their local park every Sunday morning between 10am and 11am on the basis that people power is the only thing that will make governments stop their bullsh*t. It's spread here in recent weeks.
This was easily the most middle-class and gentile protest I'd ever seen. They could have been having cheese and wine or a picnic, for all I knew. They were doing nothing other than chatting or laughing. But, after about a few hours the rozzers turned up (whereupon half of them swiftly strolled away) and had a long word with them. Then, they left after 10 minutes - no arrests - and the rest of them simply carried on.
Whilst I had sympathy with their aims, I can't see that many other parents and families did from my eavesdropping in the kids playground. "They'll put us all in lockdown again" or "I hope they stay over there and give it to each other, but no-one else" was a typical reaction.
Conclusion: most people don't like the restrictions much, but they hate flagrant rulebreakers even more.
I went airsofting, ~ 50 of us running round shooting each other with BBs. Someone reported them but they'd already self reported to the police and enviro health who said it was fine.
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
That’s ironic, because the JP Morgan investment is a classic example of bankers being fuckwits. So very close to your day job!
The fuckwittery, greed and corruption I can understand.
It's this "football" you keep mentioning ..... I suppose I should think of it as some sort of CDO. Started as a good idea. Spiralled out of control because of the greed of everyone involved. About to destroy the reputation of all involved and splatter shite all over the ordinary people involved.
Would that more or less sum it up?
Football - it's a term for violence, cheating, theft, drunken idiocy, drugs, tribalism, problem gambling, tax cheating, war crimes and in general every kind of scumbaggery you can imagine.
Trevor Azul @thechicoazul BREAKING: Newcastle United to become seventh EPL team to join breakaway for new European Super League. The North East outfit were coveted for by the other six clubs and have signalled they’re willing to jump. Positive implications for their prolonged takeover. Story to follow. TA
If this continues they might as well call the Superleague "the top half of the Premier League plus a a few Spanish and Italian teams"
Son of 'Junius' (not Son of Tottenham Hotspur !)is the Head of Academy of a Premier League club - so I may have a contribution to make about European Super League in due course. Watch this space.
I'd imagine that the international teams that could be put together by the club teams of a breakaway European Super League would be pretty decent. If they decided to stage their own world cup tournament would you be able to argue that the winners of it wouldn't beat the FIFA winners?
Anyway, in proper sport, some exciting finishes to the county championship matches today. The Hampshire v Gloucestershire match next week should be interesting.
I saw my first anti-lockdown protest today. I was at Petersfield Heath Pond with my family- beautiful day - and I couldn't work out why there were 30-40 people grouped together standing around. I thought, hmm.. rambler's meet? Big birthday party? Sports?
Anyway, there were still there after 90 minutes (seemingly not doing much) and my curiosity got the better of me. So, I ambled by and saw they were all congregated around a sign saying "Stand In The Park - Petersfield".
I had to look it up on my phone. Turns out this is a worldwide anti-lockdown movement, started in Australia, that encourages people to congregate in their local park every Sunday morning between 10am and 11am on the basis that people power is the only thing that will make governments stop their bullsh*t. It's spread here in recent weeks.
This was easily the most middle-class and gentile protest I'd ever seen. They could have been having cheese and wine or a picnic, for all I knew. They were doing nothing other than chatting or laughing. But, after about a few hours the rozzers turned up (whereupon half of them swiftly strolled away) and had a long word with them. Then, they left after 10 minutes - no arrests - and the rest of them simply carried on.
Whilst I had sympathy with their aims, I can't see that many other parents and families did from my eavesdropping in the kids playground. "They'll put us all in lockdown again" or "I hope they stay over there and give it to each other, but no-one else" was a typical reaction.
Conclusion: most people don't like the restrictions much, but they hate flagrant rulebreakers even more.
I went airsofting, ~ 50 of us running round shooting each other with BBs. Someone reported them but they'd already self reported to the police and enviro health who said it was fine.
It looked to me like the police were just going through the motions.
They either couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it.
A “huge” backlog of patients in hospitals caused by the coronavirus pandemic could take up to five years to clear, NHS Providers has said. Around 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February - the highest figure since records began in August 2007 - according to data from NHS England.
I'd imagine that the international teams that could be put together by the club teams of a breakaway European Super League would be pretty decent. If they decided to stage their own world cup tournament would you be able to argue that the winners of it wouldn't beat the FIFA winners?
Anyway, in proper sport, some exciting finishes to the county championship matches today. The Hampshire v Gloucestershire match next week should be interesting.
Hampshire are already looking a very dangerous side. I think we should be looking at them as serious contenders for the title.
But I’m still hoping Gloucestershire beat them With Worrall in and possibly Cockbain for Hankins they will be at or very near full strength.
The winner, if there is one, will already have one foot in the top division at the end of the season given other results.
Trevor Azul @thechicoazul BREAKING: Newcastle United to become seventh EPL team to join breakaway for new European Super League. The North East outfit were coveted for by the other six clubs and have signalled they’re willing to jump. Positive implications for their prolonged takeover. Story to follow. TA
If this continues they might as well call the Superleague "the top half of the Premier League plus a a few Spanish and Italian teams"
Three London teams. London has to be part of the appeal.
Oh. All about money rather than ability I see.
Yes. The point of the closed shop is to avoid all the financial risks that follow from a format with promotion/relegation or having to qualify each year. Otherwise they might have proposed a European Super League that had promotion/relegation to the national leagues.
A “huge” backlog of patients in hospitals caused by the coronavirus pandemic could take up to five years to clear, NHS Providers has said. Around 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February - the highest figure since records began in August 2007 - according to data from NHS England.
Kinda shows that the NHS was, in the end, despite everything, overwhelmed by COVID.
I'm on the waiting list for surgery at the mo. Will be interesting to see how long I have to wait.
A “huge” backlog of patients in hospitals caused by the coronavirus pandemic could take up to five years to clear, NHS Providers has said. Around 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February - the highest figure since records began in August 2007 - according to data from NHS England.
Kinda shows that the NHS was, in the end, despite everything, overwhelmed by COVID.
I'm on the waiting list for surgery at the mo. Will be interesting to see how long I have to wait.
Does it? Surely it's more a case of not being able to do elective surgery for fear of spreading COVID.
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
It's a controversy about football. As you are doubtless aware, this is an obsession for a great many men, often to the exclusion of all else, yet which doesn't really matter at all in the great scheme of things.
Therefore, if you know nothing about it and can't follow any of this then I wouldn't be unduly concerned. I only know as much as I do because (a) I'm a kind of sponge for useless and irrelevant information and (b) I spent some years working with some other men who were obsessed and talked about it endlessly.
I'd screen it out and move on. It's been a lovely day here. Has it been likewise around your way?
Simply gorgeous! As was yesterday. We went for a walk to the top of Gummer How with magnificent views in all directions but especially over Windermere where the sun glinted on the water. Then down to a nearby local pub for a delicious meal outside. All in all a lovely few hours of normal sociable activity, all the more precious for having been so rare in the last year or more.
In Seattle yesterday (Saturday) was hottest day of the year so far, got up to 80F.
Past few days have been outstanding - warm & sunny not a cloud in the sky. A bit of summer come early.
Man Utd will be annoyed that this has come out whilst they were playing. Neville laying into his own club is not good.
LOL: He's now saying strip them of their titles. I support that.
Just heard this nonsense reportedly backed with 6 billion funding
This is wrong on so many levels
It is £5bn borrowed against future cashflow from the Superleague
But what if it flops? Will people really want to watch Juventus v Arsenal five times a year, year in year out, with no threat of relegation? None of the buzz of fast English football with home and away fans in loud voice?
Half the games will be meaningless. It is possible Barca or Real will win it every year
Total turn off. Then the money falls away as the TV rights dwindle
Could easily happen. Even on a basic financial level it seems insanely risky and foolish. So maybe it is just a bluff to bully UEFA
To be honest it would be a disaster for everyone who loves football and I am not paying any more for football tv
On 6th March 1971 aged 9, I saw West Brom beat Manchester United 4-3 at the Hawthorns. Stepney in goal, Best, Charlton and Kidd up front for United. Kidd, Best and John Aston goals for United and a 3-3 draw nailed on. The deadlock was broken by a late winner for the Baggies by John Wile, his first goal for the club.
Memories to cherish, but not for future generations. TV money was not the Holy Grail it was the poison chalice.
A “huge” backlog of patients in hospitals caused by the coronavirus pandemic could take up to five years to clear, NHS Providers has said. Around 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February - the highest figure since records began in August 2007 - according to data from NHS England.
Kinda shows that the NHS was, in the end, despite everything, overwhelmed by COVID.
I'm on the waiting list for surgery at the mo. Will be interesting to see how long I have to wait.
Does it? Surely it's more a case of not being able to do elective surgery for fear of spreading COVID.
Well yeah, but elective surgery is a big part of the NHS.
The NHS exists to do things like elective surgery. It doesn't exist simply to sustain itself.
"It is also why — turning to the primate known as Homo sapiens — an absence of shame is a leading indicator of a culture heading for disaster, a point noted by, among others, the historian AJP Taylor.
And this brings me to what I think is a fundamental misinterpretation of today’s lobbying scandals. Many have analysed these through a legalistic prism. Did anyone break the rules? Can we bring formal proceedings? This misses a deeper point. This isn’t about the nuances of law but the brazenness that has infiltrated elites. A critical mass of politicians have become, well, shameless."
And - "We also have to repair the moral fracture that extends across the West. Integrity was once a precious strength of our societies in relation to other parts of the world held back by nepotism and kleptocracy."
Man Utd will be annoyed that this has come out whilst they were playing. Neville laying into his own club is not good.
LOL: He's now saying strip them of their titles. I support that.
Just heard this nonsense reportedly backed with 6 billion funding
This is wrong on so many levels
It is £5bn borrowed against future cashflow from the Superleague
But what if it flops? Will people really want to watch Juventus v Arsenal five times a year, year in year out, with no threat of relegation? None of the buzz of fast English football with home and away fans in loud voice?
Half the games will be meaningless. It is possible Barca or Real will win it every year
Total turn off. Then the money falls away as the TV rights dwindle
Could easily happen. Even on a basic financial level it seems insanely risky and foolish. So maybe it is just a bluff to bully UEFA
To be honest it would be a disaster for everyone who loves football and I am not paying any more for football tv
On 6th March 1971 aged 9, I saw West Brom beat Manchester United 4-3 at the Hawthorns. Stepney in goal, Best, Charlton and Kidd up front for United. Kidd, Best and John Aston goals for United and a 3-3 draw nailed on. The deadlock was broken by a late winner for the Baggies by John Wile, his first goal for the club.
Memories to cherish, but not for future generations. TV money was not the Holy Grail it was the poison chalice.
The last Vicar of Cannock, Peter Hart, was a professional footballer for I think Walsall in the 1980s. He retired just before the big money salaries came in - I think his last year’s pay was about £25,000 (which was a very good salary for the 1980s, of course, but not comparable to what a even a Division Two player would get now).
He once told me he was very glad he retired when he did, because he thought the money had done a lot more harm than good.
A “huge” backlog of patients in hospitals caused by the coronavirus pandemic could take up to five years to clear, NHS Providers has said. Around 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February - the highest figure since records began in August 2007 - according to data from NHS England.
Kinda shows that the NHS was, in the end, despite everything, overwhelmed by COVID.
I'm on the waiting list for surgery at the mo. Will be interesting to see how long I have to wait.
Does it? Surely it's more a case of not being able to do elective surgery for fear of spreading COVID.
Well yeah, but elective surgery is a big part of the NHS.
The NHS exists to do things like elective surgery. It doesn't exist simply to sustain itself.
I know, but there's a difference between not doing stuff as a precautionary measure and not doing stuff because the hospitals are overflowing with COVID patients.
Plenty of overtime for NHS staff in the years to come, for sure.
A “huge” backlog of patients in hospitals caused by the coronavirus pandemic could take up to five years to clear, NHS Providers has said. Around 4.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of February - the highest figure since records began in August 2007 - according to data from NHS England.
Kinda shows that the NHS was, in the end, despite everything, overwhelmed by COVID.
I'm on the waiting list for surgery at the mo. Will be interesting to see how long I have to wait.
Does it? Surely it's more a case of not being able to do elective surgery for fear of spreading COVID.
Well yeah, but elective surgery is a big part of the NHS.
The NHS exists to do things like elective surgery. It doesn't exist simply to sustain itself.
I know, but there's a difference between not doing stuff as a precautionary measure and not doing stuff because the hospitals are overflowing with COVID patients.
Plenty of overtime for NHS staff in the years to come, for sure.
The objective measure would be compare waiting times with other countries before and after the pandemic.
Man Utd will be annoyed that this has come out whilst they were playing. Neville laying into his own club is not good.
LOL: He's now saying strip them of their titles. I support that.
Just heard this nonsense reportedly backed with 6 billion funding
This is wrong on so many levels
It is £5bn borrowed against future cashflow from the Superleague
But what if it flops? Will people really want to watch Juventus v Arsenal five times a year, year in year out, with no threat of relegation? None of the buzz of fast English football with home and away fans in loud voice?
Half the games will be meaningless. It is possible Barca or Real will win it every year
Total turn off. Then the money falls away as the TV rights dwindle
Could easily happen. Even on a basic financial level it seems insanely risky and foolish. So maybe it is just a bluff to bully UEFA
To be honest it would be a disaster for everyone who loves football and I am not paying any more for football tv
On 6th March 1971 aged 9, I saw West Brom beat Manchester United 4-3 at the Hawthorns. Stepney in goal, Best, Charlton and Kidd up front for United. Kidd, Best and John Aston goals for United and a 3-3 draw nailed on. The deadlock was broken by a late winner for the Baggies by John Wile, his first goal for the club.
Memories to cherish, but not for future generations. TV money was not the Holy Grail it was the poison chalice.
The last Vicar of Cannock, Peter Hart, was a professional footballer for I think Walsall in the 1980s. He retired just before the big money salaries came in - I think his last year’s pay was about £25,000 (which was a very good salary for the 1980s, of course, but not comparable to what a even a Division Two player would get now).
He once told me he was very glad he retired when he did, because he thought the money had done a lot more harm than good.
My football coach as a youngster was a recently retired what now is EPL and international footballer for over 5 years of his career. Very steady family guy, but no vast wealth, lived in a bog standard house and had a regular job, as did his wife.
These days somebody like that would be worth many many millions.
Rather than having red and green list countries, why not restrict travel to the fully vaccinated?
Or just have no travel. By which I mean nearly none - not for business-types especially. Merely delivery and supply.
One thing's for damn sure, and that's that we got CV19 here in the UK from others travelling to us. (That sounds very xenophobic, but its not what I mean at all - its just travel that's caused this)
Actually I'll go a little further. There are some people in the UK who are responsible for mass manslaughter. They knew they shouldn't have travelled and yet they did. They probably self-excuse themselves, but they're completely guilty.
But that's as true for going to the shops, or to a park, as it is to international travel.
I'd guess as follows;
A flight - very likely you'll give whatever you have to others. The longer the flight the more likely.
A shopping trip - slightly likely
A walk in a park - quite unlikely
International travel has in my view been akin to drink-driving for the last year or so.
Man Utd will be annoyed that this has come out whilst they were playing. Neville laying into his own club is not good.
LOL: He's now saying strip them of their titles. I support that.
Just heard this nonsense reportedly backed with 6 billion funding
This is wrong on so many levels
It is £5bn borrowed against future cashflow from the Superleague
But what if it flops? Will people really want to watch Juventus v Arsenal five times a year, year in year out, with no threat of relegation? None of the buzz of fast English football with home and away fans in loud voice?
Half the games will be meaningless. It is possible Barca or Real will win it every year
Total turn off. Then the money falls away as the TV rights dwindle
Could easily happen. Even on a basic financial level it seems insanely risky and foolish. So maybe it is just a bluff to bully UEFA
To be honest it would be a disaster for everyone who loves football and I am not paying any more for football tv
On 6th March 1971 aged 9, I saw West Brom beat Manchester United 4-3 at the Hawthorns. Stepney in goal, Best, Charlton and Kidd up front for United. Kidd, Best and John Aston goals for United and a 3-3 draw nailed on. The deadlock was broken by a late winner for the Baggies by John Wile, his first goal for the club.
Memories to cherish, but not for future generations. TV money was not the Holy Grail it was the poison chalice.
The last Vicar of Cannock, Peter Hart, was a professional footballer for I think Walsall in the 1980s. He retired just before the big money salaries came in - I think his last year’s pay was about £25,000 (which was a very good salary for the 1980s, of course, but not comparable to what a even a Division Two player would get now).
He once told me he was very glad he retired when he did, because he thought the money had done a lot more harm than good.
My football coach as a youngster was a recently retired what now is EPL and international footballer for over 5 years of his career. Very steady family guy, but no vast wealth, lived in a bog standard house and had a regular job, as did his wife.
These days somebody like that would be worth many millions.
One of the biggest downsides to the top players earning big money is that they don't need to extend their careers in the lower league.
The very first goal I saw in the flesh was scored by Clive Walker in a 1-0 win for Woking at home to Southport in the GM Vauxhall Conference. Sure, he probably wasn't what he was, but he was still a fantastic footballer.
Today's top flight footballers don't really need to do it.
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
You'd get about 590 votes in Parliament for a legislative tool to block this.
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
It can be both. A tentative and desirable idea (but fraught with downsides), and heck, if the reaction is too negative, then it can act as a bluffing move against UEFA, anyway
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
It's a controversy about football. As you are doubtless aware, this is an obsession for a great many men, often to the exclusion of all else, yet which doesn't really matter at all in the great scheme of things.
Therefore, if you know nothing about it and can't follow any of this then I wouldn't be unduly concerned. I only know as much as I do because (a) I'm a kind of sponge for useless and irrelevant information and (b) I spent some years working with some other men who were obsessed and talked about it endlessly.
I'd screen it out and move on. It's been a lovely day here. Has it been likewise around your way?
Simply gorgeous! As was yesterday. We went for a walk to the top of Gummer How with magnificent views in all directions but especially over Windermere where the sun glinted on the water. Then down to a nearby local pub for a delicious meal outside. All in all a lovely few hours of normal sociable activity, all the more precious for having been so rare in the last year or more.
Here too. Warm sun, clear skies, perfect visibility, and little wind. The beach was crowded like it was summer already, all the self catering accommodation is open and we are already awash with visitors, including the occasional foreigner. If it builds from here, the summer is going to be mayhem.
I delivered 1000 or so leaflets (sad, I know). Extremely quiet everywhere, a few people pottering in gardens and enjoying the weather, walkers still taking wide circles around each other. Perhaps the more adventurous types were all visiting IanB2?
Unlike everyone here (and my revered leader), I think the Superleague sounds quite interesting, though it would need mechanisms for joining and relegation.. But I'll say no more as it's not really my scene.
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
It's a controversy about football. As you are doubtless aware, this is an obsession for a great many men, often to the exclusion of all else, yet which doesn't really matter at all in the great scheme of things.
Therefore, if you know nothing about it and can't follow any of this then I wouldn't be unduly concerned. I only know as much as I do because (a) I'm a kind of sponge for useless and irrelevant information and (b) I spent some years working with some other men who were obsessed and talked about it endlessly.
I'd screen it out and move on. It's been a lovely day here. Has it been likewise around your way?
Simply gorgeous! As was yesterday. We went for a walk to the top of Gummer How with magnificent views in all directions but especially over Windermere where the sun glinted on the water. Then down to a nearby local pub for a delicious meal outside. All in all a lovely few hours of normal sociable activity, all the more precious for having been so rare in the last year or more.
Here too. Warm sun, clear skies, perfect visibility, and little wind. The beach was crowded like it was summer already, all the self catering accommodation is open and we are already awash with visitors, including the occasional foreigner. If it builds from here, the summer is going to be mayhem.
I delivered 1000 or so leaflets (sad, I know). Extremely quiet everywhere, a few people pottering in gardens and enjoying the weather, walkers still taking wide circles around each other. Perhaps the more adventurous types were all visiting IanB2?
Unlike everyone here (and my revered leader), I think the Superleague sounds quite interesting, though it would need mechanisms for joining and relegation.. But I'll say no more as it's not really my scene.
The whole point of the super league is that it is a closed shop without promotion / relegation.
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
It can be both. A tentative and desirable idea (but fraught with downsides), and heck, if the reaction is too negative, then it can act as a bluffing move against UEFA, anyway
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
I'm an Arsenal fan but I'd be happy to see them docked 50 points just for signing the letter of intent. Even when it inevitably fails, the whole episode makes it less likely I'll be giving money to this industry again in the future.
Nige against the banks.....the ones that he used to work for? I thought he was a big fan of the city.
"Globalist banks" is a dog whistle so loud it can be heard in space.
Yes - why not "cartel capitalist" banks?
The far right always miss the mark. Even when they attack the right things it's for the wrong reasons. It's always but always driven by nasty, pea brained prejudice.
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
It can be both. A tentative and desirable idea (but fraught with downsides), and heck, if the reaction is too negative, then it can act as a bluffing move against UEFA, anyway
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
I'm an Arsenal fan but I'd be happy to see them docked 50 points just for signing the letter of intent. Even when it inevitably fails, the whole episode makes it less likely I'll be giving money to this industry again in the future.
If they go ahead with this the clubs are going to be tainted like the MK Dons. People will never let it lie.
I bet the Tories are secretly quite pleased this has come out, all that stuff about lobbying, nobody will be talking about that compared to the 100s of hours of coverage of a footy super league...
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
You'd get about 590 votes in Parliament for a legislative tool to block this.
If teams want to split off in to their own league why the hell shouldnt they.....what are you all become socialists demanding and coercing they stay in the collective now?
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
It can be both. A tentative and desirable idea (but fraught with downsides), and heck, if the reaction is too negative, then it can act as a bluffing move against UEFA, anyway
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
I'm an Arsenal fan but I'd be happy to see them docked 50 points just for signing the letter of intent. Even when it inevitably fails, the whole episode makes it less likely I'll be giving money to this industry again in the future.
If they go ahead with this the clubs are going to be tainted like the MK Dons. People will never let it lie.
Aren't the MK Dons a commercial success these days?
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
It can be both. A tentative and desirable idea (but fraught with downsides), and heck, if the reaction is too negative, then it can act as a bluffing move against UEFA, anyway
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
I'm an Arsenal fan but I'd be happy to see them docked 50 points just for signing the letter of intent. Even when it inevitably fails, the whole episode makes it less likely I'll be giving money to this industry again in the future.
Yes, these clubs are lucky there are no fans in the stadiums. Imagine the incredible booing, perhaps from their own supporters
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
It's a controversy about football. As you are doubtless aware, this is an obsession for a great many men, often to the exclusion of all else, yet which doesn't really matter at all in the great scheme of things.
Therefore, if you know nothing about it and can't follow any of this then I wouldn't be unduly concerned. I only know as much as I do because (a) I'm a kind of sponge for useless and irrelevant information and (b) I spent some years working with some other men who were obsessed and talked about it endlessly.
I'd screen it out and move on. It's been a lovely day here. Has it been likewise around your way?
Simply gorgeous! As was yesterday. We went for a walk to the top of Gummer How with magnificent views in all directions but especially over Windermere where the sun glinted on the water. Then down to a nearby local pub for a delicious meal outside. All in all a lovely few hours of normal sociable activity, all the more precious for having been so rare in the last year or more.
Here too. Warm sun, clear skies, perfect visibility, and little wind. The beach was crowded like it was summer already, all the self catering accommodation is open and we are already awash with visitors, including the occasional foreigner. If it builds from here, the summer is going to be mayhem.
I delivered 1000 or so leaflets (sad, I know). Extremely quiet everywhere, a few people pottering in gardens and enjoying the weather, walkers still taking wide circles around each other. Perhaps the more adventurous types were all visiting IanB2?
Unlike everyone here (and my revered leader), I think the Superleague sounds quite interesting, though it would need mechanisms for joining and relegation.. But I'll say no more as it's not really my scene.
The whole point of the super league is that it is a closed shop without promotion / relegation.
Yes this is the biggest part of the objection Nick. If the proposal was for the football pyramid to effectively have a new pan-European summit which the Premier Leagues of each country fed into, I actually think they'd have a product which would be marketable and with a possibility of actually happening. But it isn't.
It's for a closed shop US franchise model, with membership by business negotiation rather than sporting merit. Running parallel and separate to the existing football structures, with the pretty naked intention of bankrupting the existing structure and clubs there within to allow the "big" group to soak up their existing revenue streams.
I find it a hilarious story because it so clearly can't succeed that I can't believe anyone's taking it seriously.
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
It can be both. A tentative and desirable idea (but fraught with downsides), and heck, if the reaction is too negative, then it can act as a bluffing move against UEFA, anyway
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
I'm an Arsenal fan but I'd be happy to see them docked 50 points just for signing the letter of intent. Even when it inevitably fails, the whole episode makes it less likely I'll be giving money to this industry again in the future.
If they go ahead with this the clubs are going to be tainted like the MK Dons. People will never let it lie.
Aren't the MK Dons a commercial success these days?
Define commercial success?
They play in the same league as AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club.
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
You'd get about 590 votes in Parliament for a legislative tool to block this.
If teams want to split off in to their own league why the hell shouldnt they.....what are you all become socialists demanding and coercing they stay in the collective now?
Because short-sighted greed sometimes does terrible things. That's why capitalism, for all its wonders, must be regulated.
It may be legal for the teams to do this, but they will have to face the many awful consequences, which could easily ruin them, but also ruin a sport beloved by a billion people
Better to try and stop them doing it in the first place?
"It is also why — turning to the primate known as Homo sapiens — an absence of shame is a leading indicator of a culture heading for disaster, a point noted by, among others, the historian AJP Taylor.
And this brings me to what I think is a fundamental misinterpretation of today’s lobbying scandals. Many have analysed these through a legalistic prism. Did anyone break the rules? Can we bring formal proceedings? This misses a deeper point. This isn’t about the nuances of law but the brazenness that has infiltrated elites. A critical mass of politicians have become, well, shameless."
And - "We also have to repair the moral fracture that extends across the West. Integrity was once a precious strength of our societies in relation to other parts of the world held back by nepotism and kleptocracy."
This.
Totally.
I've just watched ep 4 of Line of Duty and Hastings asked his boss a deadly serious existential question.
In a very grave and angry but dignified manner -
"What's happened to us? When did we cease to give a monkey's about honesty and integrity?"
At which point I spoke loudly to the telly, obliterating whatever the dissembling reply was -
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
You'd get about 590 votes in Parliament for a legislative tool to block this.
If teams want to split off in to their own league why the hell shouldnt they.....what are you all become socialists demanding and coercing they stay in the collective now?
I have always found it odd that the major sports organisations do not have the government as a golden shareholder. Maybe that's what coming.
I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.
It's a controversy about football. As you are doubtless aware, this is an obsession for a great many men, often to the exclusion of all else, yet which doesn't really matter at all in the great scheme of things.
Therefore, if you know nothing about it and can't follow any of this then I wouldn't be unduly concerned. I only know as much as I do because (a) I'm a kind of sponge for useless and irrelevant information and (b) I spent some years working with some other men who were obsessed and talked about it endlessly.
I'd screen it out and move on. It's been a lovely day here. Has it been likewise around your way?
Simply gorgeous! As was yesterday. We went for a walk to the top of Gummer How with magnificent views in all directions but especially over Windermere where the sun glinted on the water. Then down to a nearby local pub for a delicious meal outside. All in all a lovely few hours of normal sociable activity, all the more precious for having been so rare in the last year or more.
One is glad to hear it. We've been out to lunch Saturday and Sunday this weekend, and will be doing the same the next (and, hallelujah, we have friends who we've not see since what feels like about the Bronze Age coming over to join us on Saturday as well.) We can't quite challenge you for spectacular upland scenery in this part of the world, but the walk over the heath was very enjoyable - skylarks, butterflies, even a little bit of heat haze shimmering away in the distance, if you looked in just the right direction and squinted hard enough! Sadly the long range weather forecast has now turned cold, grey and miserable (yet again) towards the end of the month, but we're making the most of it whilst we can.
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
You'd get about 590 votes in Parliament for a legislative tool to block this.
If teams want to split off in to their own league why the hell shouldnt they.....what are you all become socialists demanding and coercing they stay in the collective now?
Well, they don't want to split from the PL, do they? They want to have their own closed shop league on the side.
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
You'd get about 590 votes in Parliament for a legislative tool to block this.
If teams want to split off in to their own league why the hell shouldnt they.....what are you all become socialists demanding and coercing they stay in the collective now?
Because short-sighted greed sometimes does terrible things. That's why capitalism, for all its wonders, must be regulated.
It may be legal for the teams to do this, but they will have to face the many awful consequences, which could easily ruin them, but also ruin a sport beloved by a billion people
Better to try and stop them doing it in the first place?
If it ruins them the club goes out of business that is the free market. Other clubs will be formed to fill the gaps. Stop being hysterical it wouldn't be the end of football and many more billions probably dont give a shit than do
Super league news is hilarious. "A game of high stakes poker" where it's quite clear the clubs are bluffing.
I'm not sure they are bluffing, but the leagues really ought to call them to see what they're holding.
Of course they're bluffing. Most of the owners are successful businessmen and also benefit from excellent advice. They will know this idea is impossible to implement and if it is, it is fraught with an existential risk for their business models if it doesn't end up working the way they hope.
It can be both. A tentative and desirable idea (but fraught with downsides), and heck, if the reaction is too negative, then it can act as a bluffing move against UEFA, anyway
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
I'm an Arsenal fan but I'd be happy to see them docked 50 points just for signing the letter of intent. Even when it inevitably fails, the whole episode makes it less likely I'll be giving money to this industry again in the future.
If they go ahead with this the clubs are going to be tainted like the MK Dons. People will never let it lie.
Aren't the MK Dons a commercial success these days?
Define commercial success?
They play in the same league as AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club.
Commercial success in terms of having a club that isn't a total money pit.
They have more season ticket holders than Wimbledon at their peak, a modern stadium with diversified incomes streams from events, a hotel, etc.
I might be wrong, but before the pandemic, but I believe they were financially very steady position, partly from never going crazy in the transfer market and because they moved they have been able to exploit a range of commercial opportunities.
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan · 2m Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
I bet the Tories are secretly quite pleased this has come out, all that stuff about lobbying, nobody will be talking about that compared to the 100s of hours of coverage of a footy super league...
"It is also why — turning to the primate known as Homo sapiens — an absence of shame is a leading indicator of a culture heading for disaster, a point noted by, among others, the historian AJP Taylor.
And this brings me to what I think is a fundamental misinterpretation of today’s lobbying scandals. Many have analysed these through a legalistic prism. Did anyone break the rules? Can we bring formal proceedings? This misses a deeper point. This isn’t about the nuances of law but the brazenness that has infiltrated elites. A critical mass of politicians have become, well, shameless."
And - "We also have to repair the moral fracture that extends across the West. Integrity was once a precious strength of our societies in relation to other parts of the world held back by nepotism and kleptocracy."
This.
Totally.
I've just watched ep 4 of Line of Duty and Hastings asked his boss a deadly serious existential question.
In a very grave and angry but dignified manner -
"What's happened to us? When did we cease to give a monkey's about honesty and integrity?"
At which point I spoke loudly to the telly, obliterating whatever the dissembling reply was -
"When we made Boris Johnson PM in a landslide."
I mean it.
Before condemning the electorate entirely, we must always remember the nature of the alternative that it was offered.
If these clubs want to go their own way, let them. Let them go off and olay in their artificial league with no promotion or relegation. We'll keep the actual league as a competitive tournament open to all. My guess is that they have massively overestimated the strength of their own branding and that their daft little pretend league will wither away. European football isn't even the cherry on a cake. It's a few sprinkles. This is also the approach we should have taken to the premier league in 1992.
The superleague story is fascinating in a socio-economic sense, as well as being explosive for football fans
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer · 4m The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
You'd get about 590 votes in Parliament for a legislative tool to block this.
If teams want to split off in to their own league why the hell shouldnt they.....what are you all become socialists demanding and coercing they stay in the collective now?
Well, they don't want to split from the PL, do they? They want to have their own closed shop league on the side.
As far as I can see they want to break away from the existing international organisations. Given Fifa definitely and probably uefa as well are reknowned for corruption then I can see their point
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan · 2m Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
Can't be kong until Jezza calls for the government to nationize these clubs in the public interest?
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan · 2m Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
FTMNTF!!
Has Sadiq hired Jezza's Twitter gopher?
Anyhoo, this whole proposal feels like the Spanish clubs trying to stave off covid inspired financial default but grabbing a slice of Premier League income streams. And the more gullible owners in the Premier League falling for it. A few Italian clubs not wanting to miss the party. And the French and Germans watching from the side quite confused as their stupidity.
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan · 2m Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
So what they propose is basically the old unionised closed shop? If you want to play you have to be a member.....fuck that I am disgusted that their are conservatives and right wingers advocating this.
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan · 2m Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
"Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few."
That ship sailed, was wrecked, pirated, sold for scrap and forgotten about long ago.
Off topic, anyone know what the laws/rules for drones are?
I heard an angry buzzing sound in my garden today - like a soprano motorcycle revving, or a very angry bee or wasp about 3ft away - and it didn't seem to move, go anywhere or stop. It took me about a minute to click: I looked up 100ft to see a tiny irritating drone f**king about over people's gardens. It then slowly went over mine, and then disappeared.
My first reaction was to flip it the bird - although I didn't, in case it was a neighbour or their kid - and I also felt an overwhelmingly desire to bring it down/shoot it down. I can only imagine this sort of intrusion will become an ever-increasing problem.
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan · 2m Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
FTMNTF!!
Has Sadiq hired Jezza's Twitter gopher?
Anyhoo, this whole proposal feels like the Spanish clubs trying to stave off covid inspired financial default but grabbing a slice of Premier League income streams. And the more gullible owners in the Premier League falling for it. A few Italian clubs not wanting to miss the party. And the French and Germans watching from the side quite confused as their stupidity.
Yes, your diagnosis is spot on. Which is why I reckon this is more than a bluff - the Spanish are desperate
However the opposition is now so massive - up to the Prime Minister of the UK and the President of France, I just don't see how it flies
And they may already have incurred reputational damage of some significance. Tho I suppose they won't care if UEFA cuts them a larger slice of the UCL pie
Farkin Ell. Everyone now wants to regulate football. It's up to the clubs. They have obviously assessed the cost benefit of the move so will do well if it comes off and have leverage while it's happening.
For all you socialist soccer fans, a small step from here to the DCMS telling Arteta who to play up front.
Although obvs could not do any worse than Arteta himself. I was just thrilled to see Arsenal counted as one of the UK's "Big, Six".
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan · 2m Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
"Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few."
That ship sailed, was wrecked, pirated, sold for scrap and forgotten about long ago.
Are you telling me JezFest had been cancelled again this year?
Comments
The next Maradona or BECKHAM - Why must you relentlessly troll?
“License to see your nan”? No thanks
@footballdaily
·
FA have released a statement on the 'European Super League'
"We would not provide permission to any competition that would be damaging to English football"
https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1383841716046757889?s=20
The best club in the world would beat the best country.
A club fan would rather their club win something than their country win something.
@Nigel_Farage
A breakaway European Union of Football backed by globalist banks and the so-called “Big Six” must fail. #FootballAgainstSuperLeague
https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1383848294917427201?s=20
However he is a gifted populist, never forget. He can see a deeply unpopular idea
https://withafunfilter.com/the-top-15-biggest-and-most-supported-football-teams-in-the-world/
Three London teams. London has to be part of the appeal.
Fun quiz question: which two teams have been members of the Premier League without ever playing in it?
Trevor Azul
@thechicoazul
BREAKING: Newcastle United to become seventh EPL team to join breakaway for new European Super League. The North East outfit were coveted for by the other six clubs and have signalled they’re willing to jump. Positive implications for their prolonged takeover. Story to follow. TA
If this continues they might as well call the Superleague "the top half of the Premier League plus a a few Spanish and Italian teams"
And that is just the owners.
Anyway, in proper sport, some exciting finishes to the county championship matches today. The Hampshire v Gloucestershire match next week should be interesting.
They either couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it.
But I’m still hoping Gloucestershire beat them
The winner, if there is one, will already have one foot in the top division at the end of the season given other results.
I'm on the waiting list for surgery at the mo. Will be interesting to see how long I have to wait.
BBC Sport
@BBCSport
The UK government has condemned the reported proposals for a breakaway European Super League in football.
"We are concerned this plan could create a closed shop at the very top of our national game," said Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.
https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1383855700225400832?s=20
Labour already fluffed their chance. The Tories, the Lib Dems and Farage got there first. They really are crap at politics
Past few days have been outstanding - warm & sunny not a cloud in the sky. A bit of summer come early.
Memories to cherish, but not for future generations. TV money was not the Holy Grail it was the poison chalice.
The NHS exists to do things like elective surgery. It doesn't exist simply to sustain itself.
"It is also why — turning to the primate known as Homo sapiens — an absence of shame is a leading indicator of a culture heading for disaster, a point noted by, among others, the historian AJP Taylor.
And this brings me to what I think is a fundamental misinterpretation of today’s lobbying scandals. Many have analysed these through a legalistic prism. Did anyone break the rules? Can we bring formal proceedings? This misses a deeper point. This isn’t about the nuances of law but the brazenness that has infiltrated elites. A critical mass of politicians have become, well, shameless."
And - "We also have to repair the moral fracture that extends across the West. Integrity was once a precious strength of our societies in relation to other parts of the world held back by nepotism and kleptocracy."
This.
He once told me he was very glad he retired when he did, because he thought the money had done a lot more harm than good.
Plenty of overtime for NHS staff in the years to come, for sure.
These days somebody like that would be worth many many millions.
A flight - very likely you'll give whatever you have to others. The longer the flight the more likely.
A shopping trip - slightly likely
A walk in a park - quite unlikely
International travel has in my view been akin to drink-driving for the last year or so.
The very first goal I saw in the flesh was scored by Clive Walker in a 1-0 win for Woking at home to Southport in the GM Vauxhall Conference. Sure, he probably wasn't what he was, but he was still a fantastic footballer.
Today's top flight footballers don't really need to do it.
It poses this question: can capital override politics?
I've never seen an idea which so unites its opponents, from Farage to Lineker, Tories to Lib Dems, Emmanuel Macron to Gabby Logan. Every tweet is either critical, skeptical or furious. UEFA hate it, the FA hates it, the Bundeslige hates it, EPL hate it, Seria A hates it, supporters hate it, the PFA hate it, the Guardian hates it, on and on
Can it possibly go ahead in the face of such enormous, universal hostility? And if it does, what damage will it do to the clubs?
Quite a battle
Edit: Add Skyr
Keir Starmer
@Keir_Starmer
·
4m
The clubs involved in this proposal should rethink immediately.
And if they don’t, they should face the consequences of their actions.
Because football without fans is nothing. 5/5
In that light, it makes total sense. Tho I wonder if they expected it to be THIS unpopular
Unlike everyone here (and my revered leader), I think the Superleague sounds quite interesting, though it would need mechanisms for joining and relegation.. But I'll say no more as it's not really my scene.
The far right always miss the mark. Even when they attack the right things it's for the wrong reasons. It's always but always driven by nasty, pea brained prejudice.
Boris Johnson
@BorisJohnson
·
13m
Plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football and we support football authorities in taking action.
They would strike at the heart of the domestic game, and will concern fans across the country. (1/2)
It's for a closed shop US franchise model, with membership by business negotiation rather than sporting merit. Running parallel and separate to the existing football structures, with the pretty naked intention of bankrupting the existing structure and clubs there within to allow the "big" group to soak up their existing revenue streams.
I find it a hilarious story because it so clearly can't succeed that I can't believe anyone's taking it seriously.
They play in the same league as AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club.
It may be legal for the teams to do this, but they will have to face the many awful consequences, which could easily ruin them, but also ruin a sport beloved by a billion people
Better to try and stop them doing it in the first place?
I've just watched ep 4 of Line of Duty and Hastings asked his boss a deadly serious existential question.
In a very grave and angry but dignified manner -
"What's happened to us? When did we cease to give a monkey's about honesty and integrity?"
At which point I spoke loudly to the telly, obliterating whatever the dissembling reply was -
"When we made Boris Johnson PM in a landslide."
I mean it.
They have more season ticket holders than Wimbledon at their peak, a modern stadium with diversified incomes streams from events, a hotel, etc.
I might be wrong, but before the pandemic, but I believe they were financially very steady position, partly from never going crazy in the transfer market and because they moved they have been able to exploit a range of commercial opportunities.
Sadiq Khan
@SadiqKhan
·
2m
Football should be for the fans, not the elite, for the many, not the few. I urge the clubs involved with the misguided proposal of the European Super League to think again. If the clubs do press ahead they must know they could face intervention to protect the game we all love.
And it wasn't Celtic who smashed up Manchester.
European football isn't even the cherry on a cake. It's a few sprinkles.
This is also the approach we should have taken to the premier league in 1992.
Has Sadiq hired Jezza's Twitter gopher?
Anyhoo, this whole proposal feels like the Spanish clubs trying to stave off covid inspired financial default but grabbing a slice of Premier League income streams. And the more gullible owners in the Premier League falling for it. A few Italian clubs not wanting to miss the party. And the French and Germans watching from the side quite confused as their stupidity.
https://twitter.com/simon_cereda/status/1334428926530220032?s=19
That ship sailed, was wrecked, pirated, sold for scrap and forgotten about long ago.
I heard an angry buzzing sound in my garden today - like a soprano motorcycle revving, or a very angry bee or wasp about 3ft away - and it didn't seem to move, go anywhere or stop. It took me about a minute to click: I looked up 100ft to see a tiny irritating drone f**king about over people's gardens. It then slowly went over mine, and then disappeared.
My first reaction was to flip it the bird - although I didn't, in case it was a neighbour or their kid - and I also felt an overwhelmingly desire to bring it down/shoot it down. I can only imagine this sort of intrusion will become an ever-increasing problem.
Any tips?
However the opposition is now so massive - up to the Prime Minister of the UK and the President of France, I just don't see how it flies
And they may already have incurred reputational damage of some significance. Tho I suppose they won't care if UEFA cuts them a larger slice of the UCL pie
For all you socialist soccer fans, a small step from here to the DCMS telling Arteta who to play up front.
Although obvs could not do any worse than Arteta himself. I was just thrilled to see Arsenal counted as one of the UK's "Big, Six".