European Super League plan

[Anonymous]

Good, bad, indifferent? Do you think it will come to fruition? What does it mean for U.S. soccer plays cracking into the European leagues? What might it mean for the chance of the U.S. winning a World Cup?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/04/19/european-super-league-analysis/

[Anonymous]

Horrible. European soccer has always maintained the fiction that any club can play its way to the top or bottom. This ensures the founding clubs will stay at the top. It seems like UEFA, FIFA and national leagues, and national governments are racing to see who can most effectively kill the league. I doubt it ever launches

[Anonymous]

Won't watch it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good, bad, indifferent? Do you think it will come to fruition? What does it mean for U.S. soccer plays cracking into the European leagues? What might it mean for the chance of the U.S. winning a World Cup?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/04/19/european-super-league-analysis/

I don't see that it changes anything for US soccer players - except perhaps their chance of winning a world cup if the super league goes ahead and none of those players are allowed to play in the world cup.

[Anonymous]

Won’t watch and won’t talk about it. Don’t give them what they want: your money and attention

[Anonymous]

Amen. Awful. The rarity of champions league is what makes the better fixtures attractive.

[Anonymous]

Terrible idea.
A few rich teams owned by oligarchs taking all the money. Bad for football, terrible for smaller teams and the awful for fans. So much greed and power from a very small group of people.
Very sad.

[Anonymous]

Ever notice the ratio of dislikes to likes? Don’t give these clubs your money. They walked away from you.

[Anonymous]

Not happening, it is all just about leverage with UEFA.

[Anonymous]

I'm excited. So a few US players will be affected. Yet other nation's super stars will not compete in the World Cup. I like US chances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not happening, it is all just about leverage with UEFA.

Tend to agree with this line of thinking.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]I'm excited. So a few US players will be affected. Yet other nation's super stars will not compete in the World Cup. I like US chances. [/quote]

Lol, US “superstars” mostly play in MLS- until ESL starts stocking up on league one teams, our “superstars” will still be worse than the teams that almost every other country fields. Worry less about man city costing sterling eligibility and more about Trinidad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Terrible idea.
A few rich teams owned by oligarchs taking all the money. Bad for football, terrible for smaller teams and the awful for fans. So much greed and power from a very small group of people.
Very sad.

When someone invests billions of dollars in their franchise, they want to protect their investment. Super League is how they do that. Long gone are the times where local supporters are the ones who keep the clubs afloat. TV and merchandising are their primary revenue streams, not ticket sales. You also have many foreign owners with no allegiance to the old system that has been in place for decades. The American owners of clubs are probably the biggest supporters of a Super League being that is how American sports have operated, since their inception. There are more Manchester United fans outside of England than in it. They would rather see them play Real Madrid and PSG than watch them play Burnley twice a year. These big clubs have to make Champions League and do fairly well in it in order to pay these ridiculous prices for players. They are taking that gamble out of play to ensure they always get to that level. I actually don't blame them. They are a business and can do what they want. I don't really like it personally, but youth soccer here does the same thing just on a much smaller level. It all comes down to money in the end.

[Anonymous]

AWFUL!!

I’m so upset by this.

The century long tradition of leagues like the Premier league this screws with. It’s a way of life for fans.

Also no relegation so no incentive. Just hang in there and collect the multimillion contract $.

I swear—have they started following the US Youth Soccer method of creating new useless leagues???

This is a $ move that will kill the sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Terrible idea.
A few rich teams owned by oligarchs taking all the money. Bad for football, terrible for smaller teams and the awful for fans. So much greed and power from a very small group of people.
Very sad.

When someone invests billions of dollars in their franchise, they want to protect their investment. Super League is how they do that. Long gone are the times where local supporters are the ones who keep the clubs afloat. TV and merchandising are their primary revenue streams, not ticket sales. You also have many foreign owners with no allegiance to the old system that has been in place for decades. The American owners of clubs are probably the biggest supporters of a Super League being that is how American sports have operated, since their inception. There are more Manchester United fans outside of England than in it. They would rather see them play Real Madrid and PSG than watch them play Burnley twice a year. These big clubs have to make Champions League and do fairly well in it in order to pay these ridiculous prices for players. They are taking that gamble out of play to ensure they always get to that level. I actually don't blame them. They are a business and can do what they want. I don't really like it personally, but youth soccer here does the same thing just on a much smaller level. It all comes down to money in the end.

Soccer should not be following the US model.