Years in the making, accelerated by a global pandemic. The announcement of a European Super League (ESL) – The Super League – has arrived. With twelve founding members and three more clubs set to join, the ESL is set to bring about the greatest clubs and greatest players to play each other throughout the season. Throughout every season. At least that’s what their press release says.
Because that’s what football’s about, isn’t it? Isn’t it about seeing the same teams win week in, week out, followed by their annual trophy lift and parade? No. Not really. There’s something we can all agree on, including Florentino Pérez.- the first Chairman of the ESL and one of the main driving forces behind the creation of the league.
For Pérez, and his band of merry men, football is a vehicle for financial benefit. A quick buck. Or, as it turns out, a quick 3.5 billion bucks. Worth selling the soul of the beautiful game for, right? That’s what this comes down to, really. Money versus the soul of football.
What is the soul of football, though? This is a question many football fans have pondered over the last twelve months, 3-At-The-Back included. With football behind closed doors, the answer became obvious – fans.
Not just the backbone and lifeblood of a club, but the soul of the club, too. When Bobby Robson asked the question about what makes a club, he came to a similar conclusion.
“It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city. It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.”
Tottenham Hotspur legend Bill Nicholson also had a similar sentiment.
“We must always consider our supporters. For without them, there would be no professional football.”
It seems the traditional supporters of these twelve clubs – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Arsenal, Spurs, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool – have been abandoned in favour of lucrative markets in Asia and North America.
Because that’s what football’s about, isn’t it? Isn’t it about seeing the same teams win week in, week out, followed by their annual trophy lift and parade? No. Not really. There’s something we can all agree on, including Florentino Pérez.- the first Chairman of the ESL and one of the main driving forces behind the creation of the league.
For Pérez, and his band of merry men, football is a vehicle for financial benefit. A quick buck. Or, as it turns out, a quick 3.5 billion bucks. Worth selling the soul of the beautiful game for, right? That’s what this comes down to, really. Money versus the soul of football.
What is the soul of football, though? This is a question many football fans have pondered over the last twelve months, 3-At-The-Back included. With football behind closed doors, the answer became obvious – fans.
Not just the backbone and lifeblood of a club, but the soul of the club, too. When Bobby Robson asked the question about what makes a club, he came to a similar conclusion.
“It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city. It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.”
Tottenham Hotspur legend Bill Nicholson also had a similar sentiment.
“We must always consider our supporters. For without them, there would be no professional football.”
It seems the traditional supporters of these twelve clubs – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Arsenal, Spurs, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool – have been abandoned in favour of lucrative markets in Asia and North America.
Was last weeks' Clásico the final match between Real Madrid and Barcelona that La Liga will see?
On a day where Juventus sit behind Atalanta in Serie A – and lost to them 1-0, and Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are all behind West Ham and Leicester City in the Premier League, it is remarkable that they consider a closed shop competition the best way to accelerate the quality of the sport.
Well, actually, they don’t believe it will improve the sport. A closed shop competition means they can never lose out financially. It means they will always be able to recruit the best players and will always dominate their domestic division – if allowed to continue to compete in it. A closed shop competition will not make leagues more competitive, just the opposite.
No more semblance of competition. The idea of sport and sporting integrity will simply evaporate. An old wives’ tale, they’ll say, when we recount to our grandchildren how Leicester were able to win the Premier League. Imagine their reaction to Blackburn!
The dream of our club – for fans of teams outside the “Big Six” – winning the most prestigious league in English football will dissipate for the greed of a select few.
The solution, it seems, is the new, so-called “Swiss Format” of the Champions League. More games, more revenue, less chance of the elite being knocked out. In fact, even if the elite fail to qualify domestically they’ll still be awarded entry. As that’s what matters, apparently.
Again, greed dressed up as for the betterment of the sport. Because Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool side would have made European football better. As Mikel Arteta’s current Arsenal side, who rescued a draw against 18th placed Fulham on Sunday, deserve to be playing Champions League football whilst being a mid-table Premier League side. AC Milan’s decade in midtable would have improved the Champions League, at the expense of incredible sides such as Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli.
Well, actually, they don’t believe it will improve the sport. A closed shop competition means they can never lose out financially. It means they will always be able to recruit the best players and will always dominate their domestic division – if allowed to continue to compete in it. A closed shop competition will not make leagues more competitive, just the opposite.
No more semblance of competition. The idea of sport and sporting integrity will simply evaporate. An old wives’ tale, they’ll say, when we recount to our grandchildren how Leicester were able to win the Premier League. Imagine their reaction to Blackburn!
The dream of our club – for fans of teams outside the “Big Six” – winning the most prestigious league in English football will dissipate for the greed of a select few.
The solution, it seems, is the new, so-called “Swiss Format” of the Champions League. More games, more revenue, less chance of the elite being knocked out. In fact, even if the elite fail to qualify domestically they’ll still be awarded entry. As that’s what matters, apparently.
Again, greed dressed up as for the betterment of the sport. Because Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool side would have made European football better. As Mikel Arteta’s current Arsenal side, who rescued a draw against 18th placed Fulham on Sunday, deserve to be playing Champions League football whilst being a mid-table Premier League side. AC Milan’s decade in midtable would have improved the Champions League, at the expense of incredible sides such as Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli.
Many fans, supporters' groups, pundits and ex-players have expressed vocal discontent towards the ESL proposal
Invigorating teams such as Atalanta who have captivated Europe in their recent Champions League campaigns would be overlooked, in favour of traditional elite clubs. I suppose that means Nottingham Forest, of the Championship, will have already booked their place?
Surely, this will devalue competition even further. When we have to pretend that a league finish is important to these clubs, knowing they will get a seat at the top table. I’d rather they, and we, don’t have to pretend.
If it were not for fans, I would say let them go. Fans who have followed their clubs for years, for whom it means everything. Fans who are now tasked with weekly excursions across Europe if they want to support their club.
These clubs do not care and, finally, have showed their true colours. As painful as it is, let them go.
Initially, there will be a hit financially. It could be everything football needs though. Finances in football are a reckless mess and now could be the opportunity to hit the reset button. To cheapen ticket prices. With less money in the game, perhaps further down the pyramid the stories of Bury and Macclesfield and others will be no more.
Competition, too, would improve. The top leagues would not be dominated by a few but would be much more open. Success could actually mean winning a league, rather than just surviving. The future of football could be much brighter without the rotten greed that currently engulfs it.
If they go and the ESL does come to fruition, they will hopefully come back, with their tail between their legs. All it takes is for the top six to realise the bottom six are holding them back. Greed, after all, feeds greed.
Surely, this will devalue competition even further. When we have to pretend that a league finish is important to these clubs, knowing they will get a seat at the top table. I’d rather they, and we, don’t have to pretend.
If it were not for fans, I would say let them go. Fans who have followed their clubs for years, for whom it means everything. Fans who are now tasked with weekly excursions across Europe if they want to support their club.
These clubs do not care and, finally, have showed their true colours. As painful as it is, let them go.
Initially, there will be a hit financially. It could be everything football needs though. Finances in football are a reckless mess and now could be the opportunity to hit the reset button. To cheapen ticket prices. With less money in the game, perhaps further down the pyramid the stories of Bury and Macclesfield and others will be no more.
Competition, too, would improve. The top leagues would not be dominated by a few but would be much more open. Success could actually mean winning a league, rather than just surviving. The future of football could be much brighter without the rotten greed that currently engulfs it.
If they go and the ESL does come to fruition, they will hopefully come back, with their tail between their legs. All it takes is for the top six to realise the bottom six are holding them back. Greed, after all, feeds greed.
Written by - James McEvoy
Edited by - 3-At-The-Back
Edited by - 3-At-The-Back