2012/13 UEFA Champions League thread

[MDK]

Its a long way from jumpers for goalposts.

[stokeriño]

I think Michel Platini's head just imploded.

[supergrass]

Oliver Kay, who broke the story, is currently doing a webchat on the Times website. Apparently the story and his source are very real (the French questioned that), but the English clubs he spoke to seem very resistant to the idea and the implications it would have on the national league.

Good news on the part of the English clubs that they're not looking to actively break away at the moment, but with enough time and enough money thrown their way the whole thing feels very inevitable. Perhaps not a Qatar-y super-league, but surely a super-league of some description will one day be in effect.

[Colly]

I'm never quite sure what to think of the idea. Clearly loads of money these days come from abroad, but are local fans going to want to see their club playing against big European powers every week or do they want to be playing local rivals etc? I just can't see crowd sizes matching those for Premier League games, and once local crowd interest dries up so will foreign when they're watching empty stadiums on tv.

It almost feels like two codes, since we'd be going from a point where a non league team can theoritically eventually make the Champions League, to now requiring an invitation to the Super League. Do I now support two teams?

[supergrass]

Maybe games between other teams of your nation become derbies, or it establishes new rivalries. Travelling to the other side of Europe every other week would be a big ask though, can't see that ever working out.

[stokeriño]

As I read it in the quote above, the proposal is for a new summer tournament rather than the classic 'European Super League' idea, proposals for which generally involved permanently removing top teams from their domestic leagues. The clubs' main concern would probably be having their players being shattered from not having a proper holiday EVERY summer rather than just every other one.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[supergrass]

That's the current proposal on offer, but I'm sure if it went ahead it would be used as a stepping stone for either a much bigger tournament or to bridge the gap into a league.

[Colly]

Which is the comment I was riffing upon.

The current proposal is just another bit of footie for managers to moan about too many games, until their owners pull them aside to point out how much money they're making.

[Matt]

You know what football really needs? A way for the big rich teams to earn more money that the smaller teams don't. Awful idea, UEFA should ban anyone who participates from Europe.

[Thrilla]

Which would just force the bigger teams towards the money marks and leave the national FAs in a massive mess.

[supergrass]

That's the problem. UEFA are pretty much powerless now, as soon as the big clubs decide they don't like being under UEFA's rule - and I believe they will sooner or later - they'll make their own rules.

All you can do is hope the bigger clubs making the decisions remain considerate of what the national league and it's teams need. Relying on that in football isn't very comforting.

[Colly]

See, is it a big issue though? Take the top four clubs out of England, would you still go and watch your team?

The money from Sky might reduce, a few players may flee to teams in this magic league, but I'm not convinced that's wholely a bad thing from a fans perspective. Meanwhile Man Utd fans will get sick of not playing Liverpool etc, and there really aren't enough corporates to keep the superleague sustainable without mad billionaire investment as a plaything.

[Matt]

Which would just force the bigger teams towards the money marks and leave the national FAs in a massive mess.

Would it, though? I've said before, the idea of a super league doesn't work because how long are Arsenal/Chelsea fans going to be interested in watching their side get spanked week in and week out by Borussia Dortmund and Juventus?

[MDK]

I'd be worried that even less money will filter down the leagues to the smaller, unfashionable clubs.

Like Newcastle

[Colly]

In a league with less tv money I'd say the 50,000 people coming through the gates would probably leave us in a decent position.

[Thrilla]

Which would just force the bigger teams towards the money marks and leave the national FAs in a massive mess.

Would it, though? I've said before, the idea of a super league doesn't work because how long are Arsenal/Chelsea fans going to be interested in watching their side get spanked week in and week out by Borussia Dortmund and Juventus?

Ah but a super league like this, which would undoubtedly get huge financial backing from advertisers, SKY, etc, plus teams choosing to leave UEFA and most likely FIFA regulation (Or being forced out as you suggested) would change the landscape entirely. Big players from teams not selected to play in the super league may choose to follow the money and leave their FA club to join one of the non-FA clubs, the quality of the teams that join in wouldn't be the same as the quality that the teams are at now. A good argument could be made for a lot of modern fans only being interested in big games anyway, regardless of the result, so a league full of big games would get continued viewership, media coverage would easily see to that.

[Matt]

Which would just force the bigger teams towards the money marks and leave the national FAs in a massive mess.

Would it, though? I've said before, the idea of a super league doesn't work because how long are Arsenal/Chelsea fans going to be interested in watching their side get spanked week in and week out by Borussia Dortmund and Juventus?

Ah but a super league like this, which would undoubtedly get huge financial backing from advertisers, SKY, etc, plus teams choosing to leave UEFA and most likely FIFA regulation (Or being forced out as you suggested) would change the landscape entirely. Big players from teams not selected to play in the super league may choose to follow the money and leave their FA club to join one of the non-FA clubs, the quality of the teams that join in wouldn't be the same as the quality that the teams are at now. A good argument could be made for a lot of modern fans only being interested in big games anyway, regardless of the result, so a league full of big games would get continued viewership, media coverage would easily see to that.

Regardless, you're still going to end up with some sides significantly weaker than others. Football fans are incredibly fickle, as soon as their team that they've been used to watching dominate start getting beat every week and finishing bottom of the super league, they're going to stop being interested.

[Colly]

But are those modern fans the ones putting money in? They'll maybe have a Sky subscription and a Man City shirt at best, they aren't the ones packing out grounds and buying season tickets, and while I agree that isn't the biggest income stream these days it is a sustainable one. I just think its really tricky to work out the demand for this within the nations involved, if you're talking Spain it'll hardly make a difference given the advantage Barca and Madrid already have.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Colly

[Thrilla]

If they're that fickle they'll just find someone else to support.

[Matt]

If they're that fickle they'll just find someone else to support.

Exactly, but then they'll lose all their revenue streams that aren't TV rights, which is still a fair amount.