I could not give a damn about the commercial opportunities for this new “European Super League.” I don’t care at all. Because this cabal of club owners conspiring in a corner behind closed doors have sold the last of the integrity left in the sport I love down the damn river. And my club has signed on to it. I am fuming. There was nothing said to fans, nothing said at all. They announced it at close to midnight, like the pack of cowards they are.
I can only hope that these plans get stopped in their tracks. But something needs to be done now to protect fans from having wealthy owners simply make decisions and expect them to follow. You may own the facilities and the names. You do not own the spirit of them. These clubs that were in many instances, created by lowly workers in Victorian times looking for something to do in their time away from the factory they worked in. There is a reason why West Ham United’s original name was Thames Ironworks F.C. Because they worked there! Really, this is a problem stemmed from the original breakaway of the Premier League, with a wealthy broadcaster’s backing, from the Football League. But that breakaway integrated itself fairly well into the existing pyramid. This takes a giant shit over it.
And what is motivating this new idea? Greed. Greed for money. Greed for ease of competition. All of the Spanish and Italian sides involved in this farce are facing serious financial difficulty, Barcelona are billions in debt. Juventus have slumped this season, both in quality on the field and their financial state. Real Madrid are not doing well moneywise and are backed by the state. The only ones who are in a decent or good financial position currently, are the English clubs. All of whom are owned by American, Russian and UAE billionaires. They don’t need anymore money. If reports are to be believed, Chelsea and Manchester City representatives were not convinced at all. However, they felt they didn’t have a choice because they would be left behind. Wealth fuels a desire for more wealth. Those clubs could have taken a stand, though. And simply said “No, this is not in the best interests of the sport as a whole and for our supporters.”
I’m not against money being invested into football. It’s a by-product of living in a capitalist society. But the very idea of fair and open competition is being snubbed with these twelve clubs deciding to create a new league where they make the rules and hover up most of the money. What’s laughable is that none of these sides are actually that elite in the grand scheme of things. Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham are all currently outside the top four, behind sides with much smaller budgets who have got there by hard work and merit. Chelsea have reached a Champions League semi-final and an F.A. Cup final on merit. City are about win their third title in four years, on merit. Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham aren’t even in the Champions League right now. Super League?! Give me a break.
Chelsea recently lost 5-2 at home to West Brom. It was a game they should have won with ease. But they didn’t. And I love that!! I didn’t love the result, obviously. I always want my team to win. But what they see as the great downside to football, I see as its greatest upside. The unpredictability of it all. I love it when a minnow side bands together and puts in a performance worthy of beating these so-called elite teams. Within a decade, Leicester City had gone from League One to Premier League champions, playing in Europe’s elite competition, against some of the best sides in the world. A league without the possibility of relegation and promotion is no league at all. Football can take you to a place that nothing else can. To soaring highs and staggering lows. And we like it that way.
Something else these idiots have not taken into consideration is the fact that not playing the top sides in Europe regularly makes the event special. Chelsea have never played Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge, or in the Champions League at all. This was going to be the first time. That’s history. And it’s being sacrificed for some money-grabbing attempt to force some franchise American-style bull on football that will turn it into a hollow circus. Because that will make money. Which completely misses the point. A football organisation run by the clubs themselves, with figures of those clubs in the driving seat, trying to ram an American style sporting competition down our throats is a disgusting concept. Why do you think they are called football clubs? Because they are of the people, by the people and for the people. And now the people need to make their voices heard and not let a few greedy individuals ruin the game we love.
#notoeuropeansuperleague
#notosuperleague
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