Obviously we’ve all been reading about this news about a European Super League, which will include us Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur in it, I wanted to give myself the night to mull it over, think of the possible consequences for the future of football and what happens next.
Before I start, I don’t ask you to agree with me or disagree with me, just ask that you read through every point I have before jumping to conclusions, every fan has the right to their voice and this is purely me speaking mine, here we go.
Firstly, I actually am excited about playing in a new European competition where you are only playing against the best of the best every week which is originally what the Champions League was created for, the idea of only the best going against each other is an exciting prospect.
The biggest problem with the way that it has been structured is the fact none of the 12 founders can be relegated from this new League which in effect means there are no worries or incentives about performing well because their money generated is guaranteed no matter what
They should’ve included some type of qualifying play-off system where the worst-performing teams of an ESL season have to fight to keep their place in the League which might have provided a healthier appeal to this new format they’ll be joining and make it exciting.
Is money a factor? Of course, big clubs have always been bargaining for more prizes from UEFA for European games, in fact, given everything that’s happened around the world during the pandemic over the last year, I think it’s accelerated the creation of the European Super League.
All of these clubs feel they want financial security in uncertain times because we’ve no idea what could lie ahead in the future, and we know from Man Utd, Arsenal & Spurs needing huge loans over the past year, it essentially secures their financial standing for decades to come.
I also find it highly interesting that the Premier League are threatening to ban the ‘Top 6’ if they go through with this which as a threat goes, is frankly laughable, especially given the fact that it was the Premier League that started all of this in the first place in 1992.
The Premier League was created in essentially the same way back in 1992, a breakaway league by big clubs who wanted more money for TV rights and exclusivity as they believed they were the best, who were some of the founders of that breakaway, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Spurs.
That Premier League breakaway broke the Football League of 104 years and created the pyramid system that exists now and realistically what can the Premier League do, they’re not going to ban them, that’s laughable, would people really watch the top English league without those 6 clubs in it?
The clubs have so much power that they hold all the cards and drawing power not just in England but around the world, also worth remembering SKY are equally responsible for this happening, who was trying to charge fans for Pay-Per-View games, this season, in this global pandemic?
SKY & BT are equally responsible for this happening as it’s their greed for exorbitant TV rights over the years which has driven the money out of control and has now put those 6 clubs in this position of absolute power that they now control everything that happens.
The same story with UEFA & FIFA with their alleged threats to all the breakaway teams, do you really think they’d ban England, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, etc from playing at the World Cup in the future, or stop them from playing in the Champions League forever, no they’re not.
Because they know if they did that football’s global audience, casual fans, who watch no matter what, no one would watch the Champions League, they’d all flock to watch the new European Super League, because it has the best teams involved which is what drives up TV ratings, money and creates what we have now.
I’m not saying they’re right to do this or even that I agree with this new concept but PL/UEFA/FIFA aren’t exactly saints themselves as they’re trying to make themselves out to be, they’ve essentially allowed Frankenstein’s monster to be created with this new ESL
How will it affect us as fans, we’re in a new League and the thought of going to home games every midweek to play the best in the world is what we all want and desire but if you don’t support it, that’s fine, every fan has an opinion and should be allowed to say what they feel.
Lastly to anyone saying Football is ruined, no it’s not ruined, and it never will be, it’s evolving, what we’re in is an evolution of Football, just like the creations of both the Premier League and the Champions League made football evolve and change this is doing the same thing.
Who knows if this actually happens and is successful for clubs and fans, maybe 10 years from now, this could be looked back on as a historic change that made football better, or maybe it won’t time, only will tell, but one thing’s for sure, things will never be the same again.