The European Super League comes back with a new plan

They can dilute the original plan as much as they want, but it will always end with their 'dream matches' between the Madrids and The Milans, PSG' and Chelsea, all played out in Qatar or Saudi.

As for the ordinary fans, well they can watch it all unfold on a giant screen at their local stadium or via a club subscription on the internet or smart TV.

It has nothing to do with increasing the standards or helping fans to have an enjoyable experience, it's all to do with making lots of cash.

Unless this is to be solely for clubs within the EU, they also need to have respect for the Laws & Values of non-EU European countries.

I'll give my opinion on some of those points:

1. So they are now proposing reinventing the Champion's League, which itself was originally invented to make the club be included even if they didn't win their leagues. it is hypocrytical of the term 'Champions' League.

2. Okay, they support the development of domestic and competitive leagues, but what does that mean?

3. FFP / Sustainability rules. Here we go again. So we protect the elite and don't allow upstarts to challenge them.

4. Why does the EU come into it? Uefa is based in Switzerland. Off the top of my head, aside from Switzerland, I can think of Ukraine, Israel, Turkey, Azerbaijan and obviously now the UK nations who are members but are not in the EU for starters yet eligible to compete. Russia until recently.

Sorry, very sceptical about this, but it at least it appears to get rid of the previous NFL model and seems to be a redesign of the European Competitions at face value.

I'll have to look into more.

Barry,

The biggest joke in this is Section 3: "strictly enforced Financial Sustainability rules." Given that only three teams are still in this, and two of them are Juventus and Barcelona whose finances are a joke.

Sounds like a wish list thought up by a group of idealists without considering reality. Hard not to be cynical as just how a 60- to 80-team structure could be worked into any domestic structure and keep the integrity of such, is ludicrous.

Culling the Premier league literally but still allowing them to compete domestically in all competitions? I suppose we would then have their reserve teams playing domestically whilst the stars play in the Super League!

This doesn't work on so many levels, never mind the political perspective, beholding and respecting the laws of the EU... really? They cannot even do that now: Poland, Hungary to name a couple... besides which, isn't that why the UK left?

Sorry but this idealistic wish list will, in itself, be gutted and watered down to the point it's barely recognized in the future.

Yeah these suits seem determined to test the contracts between the leagues, clubs and associations. I thought Uefa took Round 1 convincingly so how they're already back speaks of financial desperation or psychopathy.

This is like the coked-up prima donna lead singer who thinks they are the whole act.

Christine, I think 'idealists' is the last word I'd use to describe these Mammon-worshippers!

Maybe I'm stupid and gullible... [stop laughing at the back!] but don't these 10 principles directly address the great majority – if not all of the huge criticisms levelled against the original scheme?

But yea, let's just ask what Everton would do? Well, according to the Echo, they will simply refer back to the April 2021 Club Statement condemning the original proposals out of hand, saying their position has not changed.

As our Yankee friends (or was it Bob Cratshit?) would say: "Go Figure!"

It has been bad enough seeing how the FA have managed to decimate the FA Cup to the detriment of the lower and non-league clubs that gained financially from those games against the "giant" clubs. I can see this crippling the seasons even more!

So, so sad that football has become with those people believing they need more and more "European" boring games! Should take it back in time to the original concepts of League winners only in European Cup, and Cup-Winners Cup, etc.

I can't be bothered reading it if I'm being honest, especially after seeing some of the shite in bold lettering.

It's mostly the same for a reason, Michael, because my guess is that these people don't really want to change anything, but they have got to appear to be trying because they fucked it up that badly the first time around?

It will come eventually, but this was something I predicted around 20 years ago and I thought would have definitely been upon us by now… so maybe there is also a chance it might never happen!

Maybe it will begin without the English, who already benefit the most financially because of the success of the Premier League?

Good to see everyone talking about this and giving it their honest assessment unsullied by any need to actually consider what it says…

But you're not alone. The Athletic reports that both Uefa and Fifa, as well as the Premier League, declined to comment on the proposal.

A source close to one Premier League club said on Thursday that they were unaware of any English club having any involvement in A22’s latest statement. None of the clubs wished to provide a comment.

But some were prepared to pipe up:

Javier Tebas, president of La Liga in Spain, has been a vocal critic of the Super League and wasted little time in denouncing the new proposal.

“The Super League is the wolf, who today disguises himself as a granny to try to fool European football,” he wrote on Twitter, along with a hastily-edited cartoon.

“But his nose and his teeth are very big, four divisions in Europe? Of course the first for them, as in the 2019 reform. Governed by the clubs? Of course, only the big ones.”

The European Club Association, a body representing the interests of the professional clubs under the Uefa umbrella, launched a stinging rebuke of A22 on Thursday:

“This is just another deliberately distorted and misleading attempt to de-stabilise the constructive work currently taking place between football’s real stakeholders to move things forward in the overall best interests of the European club game,” the ECA said.

“From 2024, more clubs from more countries will participate in European men’s club competitions every season, growing the passion of European football and greatly increasing the amount of revenue being shared. Significant progress can be seen across other aspects of the game from women’s football, youth and academy development, finance and regulation to sustainability and social impact.

“This is what real change looks like. We have moved on, when will A22?”

FIFPro, the global players’ union, has in the past expressed concern about the increasing number of games and competitions being forced into the football calendar, at the expense of players' well-being. But FIFPro did not reply to a request from The Athletic for comment on Thursday.

The Athetic were able to get a quote from Kieran Maguire, a football finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool:

“The proposals would lock in existing financial differences between clubs by preventing owner capital investment. This means that an owner could not fund a new stadium, for example — as we have seen with Tony Bloom at Brighton.

“By having the Super League playing an extra 14 games-plus per season, they would have a huge financial advantage over other clubs and so disruption — as seen by the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and others (in recent decades) — would be eliminated and the status quo preserved.”

The Football Supporters’ Association, the representative body for football supporters in England and Wales, was quick to distance itself from the plans. “The walking corpse that is the European Super League twitches again with all the self-awareness one associates with a zombie,” its chief executive, Kevin Miles, said.

“Their newest idea is to have an ‘open competition’ rather than the closed-shop they originally proposed that led to huge fan protests. Of course, an open competition for Europe’s top clubs already exists — it’s called the Champions League.

“They say ‘dialogue with fans and independent groups is essential’ yet the European Zombie League marches on — wilfully ignorant to the contempt supporters across the continent have for it.”

A very distorted Churchillian quote comes to mind at this point: "Uefa and the Champions League provide a very bad structure for European Football… but all the other alternatives are far, far worse."

Chris Beesley gives his views on the possibility of a Super League and how it might impact on Everton FC.

Everton's new stadium should be a venue to take them through to the 22nd century but while football has enjoyed a great run since the Blues were one of the League's founder members back in 1888 – before any of the current ‘Big Six' were taking part remember – we cannot take the game's long-term future for granted as it faces the prospect of ultimately being devoured by its own greed.

European Super League plans answer question nobody asked as Everton face awkward stadium issue

The sooner this Super League happens, the better. Let the so-called bigger clubs go and play in their own league. I guarantee after a few seasons, it will become boring and they will want to go back to their domestic leagues.

Thanks, Barry, I'd missed that.

A pretty typical Echo article, though. 80% retrospective stuff that is all known or should be common knowledge to most readers, and nothing really about the proposals themselves. But with the new stadium rather awkwardly thrown in, made the photo-feature, and added to the tag-line. And the seemingly compulsory sop to the Red Shite in case they might be reading.

I'm beginning to really hate the Echo. I always regret wasting my time reading their stuff. I feel I should in order to stay informed but there is just so little that is original or new or worthwhile in that rag.

Michael, I stopped reading, or at least taking any notice of, the Echo a few years ago after they reported that Melling Road in Aintree would be closed due to the Grand National meeting.

Niel,

As a kid, I remember having a Grand National board game that included Melling Road crossing the course, which intrigued me for some reason, and listening to the iconic Peter O'Sullivan doing his running commentary on the 'wireless' before we even had a telly.

Don't start me on the Echo.

I don't give it the time of day and haven't done for years.

Operation “lock out competition and maximise revenues” is rearing its ugly head again.

The outed Super League clubs don't want to live with any risk of competition. Their insatiable greed has already been fully exposed. FFP rules have served them well to this end and the Super League is the final act.

These clubs want a glittering parade of pseudo-sport show football to sell to the TV audiences of the Far East and world wide. And they want their share in it in perpetuity.

No amount of expensive PR can whitewash over the truth.

Danny, you're a stronger man than me (must be with them two big Ridgebacks to my little Doberman 'puppy') – the bastards got me again this morning:

Inside story of £6M Liverpool transfer that 'hurt' Everton and left Bill Kenwright at 'lowest low'

"Inside story"... utter bollocks. All old rehashed stuff, the most recent from 4 years ago, Barmby himself saying how proud he was to have played for Everton. Blah, blah, blah.

They even spin the bloody story against Everton. Barmby got back in the England squad before his Liverpool move, and only on the strength of what would be his last of 4 seasons at Everton – that would be his best: 10 goals in 42 appearances. He would get 5 England caps while with Everton — all in that last season – after a 4-year absence from the national side.

But they make a big deal about him having to go to Liverpool to get picked for England. So yea, he goes on to get 8 more England caps (how many as unsed sub? – same number he got while at Middlesbrough) over the next 2 seasons with them bastards, until his England career comes to an abrupt end, age 27 while he was still at Liverpool, then missing out completely on the 2002 World Cup.

That does it!

Michael, the boy and girl were out with their gang this morning. Those two and and a Great Dane ironically named Blue alongside a Jack Russel. It's some sight!

The Barmby situation was another Kenwright blubber moment if I think back in hindsight. I will admit to being childish and get reminded often, but I made my son throw an effigy of him onto a fire. He was his idol but I told him he had committed the worst sin. I guess I'm no better than those who apparently threw blue paint on Steve McMahon's car when there was suggestion he would cross the park. He went to Villa first before eventually going to the dark side.

Michael, I'm already running on adrenalin this weekend. God knows what I will be like on Monday.

On a serious note, I restrict my exposure from a lot of media outlets. I shout at BBC Breakfast most mornings until I get told off, but outside of that programme I do actually like the BBC.

I love the varied views and opinions on this website. My son and youngest brother keep me abreast with their very well informed Social Media links, which is telling given that even though I'm the elder, I'm the Everton fool in the family. They try to educate me and they do, but they often fail to understand me. Generational thing I guess.

Other than that, I just rely on watching and attending football matches and talking to supporters from many different clubs. I had a great conversation with a Brentford supporter yesterday.

Keep it going Michael. Genuinely appreciate the work that goes into making this website available. Even if we fight like cats in a bag sometimes. It's informative, educational, entertaining and we make friends through it.

And let's go fighting on Monday. Not physically obviously.