European Super League

[Liverbirdie]

I’d love it to go back to being a sport, but tell me, how do we make the “playing field” level so that in the short term 18 Clubs have a chance of winning the PL.

This week and project big picture shows the lengths the big clubs will go to to protect themselves and until they are brought in to line then, imo, the gloves should be off.

Ive gone into a lot of detail before, but the CL money should be spread around the other 17 teams in the prem (not the 3 that go down that season) amongst other things. Also massively increase the Europa league purse.

4 English teams generate 200 mill - best performer out the 4 gets 40 mill, 2nd best 30 mill, 18 mill, 12 mill for example.

2-4 other in the Europa earn their money, similar to above.

The rest share a fund of what is left, BUT Europe has to do the same, in the same vein.

What's yours?

 

[BiMGuy]

Go for it, if you're that bitter.

I didnt make the decision, neither did my club.

I bet you enjoyed the run to the semis of the CL at the time, with one of the best Leeds side ever. Again, not the Leeds fans fault but your run would be every fans European tour dream - didnt you play at the Bernabeu, San Siro and possibly a few more of the European cathedrals? Every away fans bucket list. You could only dream of seeing your team at them stadiums in a lifetime, never mind one season.

Hows the Koi carp doing?

I'm not bitter. There have been highs and lows in the last 16/17 years, and that is part of the fabric of football. The situation is entirely different to what the ESL clubs attempted and comparing the 2 is just deflection. We overspent chasing glory,and suffered.

If Liverpool weren't involved in the ESL, their fans would be screaming for punishment. But as they were, we should just sweep it under the carpet and let it go.

They were tropical fish by the way.

 

[Hobbit]

The Owner and Board of Chelsea Football Club would like to address Chelsea supporters about the events which have taken place over the past few days. We have taken time since withdrawing from the ESL to speak directly to various supporter groups and listen to their views and concerns.

Our ambition with Chelsea Football Club has always been to make it the best club in the world, both on the pitch and in how we work with, and give back to the community off it.

The joint decision to join the ESL was driven by this same ambition. When it became clear that a new league might be formed, we did not want Chelsea FC to miss out on the opportunity to play in such a potentially prominent league, nor did we want to risk the Club falling behind our closest English and European rivals in competitive terms.

As a Club, we are committed to an open and regular dialogue with our fans and other stakeholders, but, on this occasion, regrettably, due to time constraints and confidentiality restraints, this was not achieved.

As concerns were raised following the announcement, the Club took a step back to listen and speak to supporters. Following those conversations and taking into account the extremely strong views against the proposal, we reassessed our initial decision and decided we did not want to be part of this league.

We also recognise the sentiment that had been expressed about whether the ESL relied strongly enough on sporting merit. This is something we had strong concerns about from the start and were confident would have been addressed during a further consultation process with various stakeholders, along with other concepts in the proposal about which we had reservations. We firmly believe that we must protect a structure which allows all clubs, players and supporters to dream of, and achieve, success.

We recognise we should have addressed these issues in advance of joining the group. The Owner and Board understand that involving the Club in such a proposal was a decision we should not have taken. It is a decision we deeply regret.

Another important factor in the decision to withdraw was the potential damage to the Club’s reputation and work on good causes. So much effort has gone into community work off the pitch over the last 17 years, and there was a risk that all of the Club’s efforts directed by the Owner on fighting racism, antisemitism, homophobia and other discriminatory behaviours would be lost. We could not afford to jeopardise the significant advances we have made in these areas, nor the vital and ongoing work of the Chelsea Foundation in other areas of our communities.

Chelsea Football Club is first and foremost a club rooted in tradition and community. We are also an ambitious club, and we have always strived to be the very best. In order to do that, we must constantly strive to improve and sometimes take risks.

We always welcome a debate about how we as a club develop and take on these new challenges. There needs to be room for disagreements, debates as well as mistakes, and we need to give each other the benefit of the doubt, and understand that we all have the best interest of the Club at heart. Mistakes are unavoidable, but it’s the ability to address those mistakes and jointly move forward which makes us strong as a club and community.

The Club always tries to be open and transparent with its supporters, and we remain committed to this in the future and will take actions to rebuild the trust of the supporters that we have enjoyed to this point. As such, the Club renews its commitment to listen to and engage with its supporters far better in future. The Board will lead consultations with supporter groups and other stakeholders on new mechanisms or structures that develop and safeguard fan representation in the Club’s work.

The Club does ask, however, that this dialogue is conducted in a respectful way. The abuse which some club representatives have been the target of over the past few days is not acceptable. Antisemitism, sexism, racism and threats of violence have no place in our community nor in this discussion. We hope that you will help us make sure that a respectful tone remains, even when we disagree.

Chelsea has a very rich history, and we know we are very fortunate to play a part in that. The Club was here before us, and will be here long after us. Our job is to ensure we are as successful as we can be today, as well as build for the future.

The Owner and Board thank you for your continued support for the Club.

A very decent apology but as part of the dialogue they speak of I would ask them a few questions. Why did it take the supporters, i.e. the non-expert business owners to recognise how bad the ESL was for football as a whole in hours, whereas the club has had a lot longer to analyse the impact? Who decided that the ESL was the way forward for the club, bearing in mind the club's current commitments to the CL, Prem League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup? Who didn't recognise that the club would have been held as a paragon of virtue rather than a greedy, uncaring business if it had openly decried the ESL project?

No doubt there's a whole host of far better, intelligent, questions that need answering. I just hope the club also recognises that and doesn't assume that the (fancy) apology isn't the end of the matter.

 

[Liverbirdie]

I'm not bitter. There have been highs and lows in the last 16/17 years, and that is part of the fabric of football. The situation is entirely different to what the ESL clubs attempted and comparing the 2 is just deflection. We overspent chasing glory,and suffered.

If Liverpool weren't involved in the ESL, their fans would be screaming for punishment. But as they were, we should just sweep it under the carpet and let it go.

They were tropical fish by the way.

I havent said sweep it under the carpet and let it go. Ive said something should be done. Where do you get this from. All we have said is punish the right people, or, mainly, re-organise or restructure, so think you are making stuff up there.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Ive gone into a lot of detail before, but the CL money should be spread around the other 17 teams in the prem (not the 3 that go down that season) amongst other things. Also massively increase the Europa league purse.

4 English teams generate 200 mill - best performer out the 4 gets 40 mill, 2nd best 30 mill, 18 mill, 12 mill for example.

2-4 other in the Europa earn their money, similar to above.

The rest share a fund of what is left, BUT Europe has to do the same, in the same vein.

What's yours?

Like I previously stated we need to reset the whole league but we can’t, I genuinely feel for Norwich and Watford who coming up and know that with a few more Clubs they are in a relegation battle next season before this one has ended, Yes, one may have an oustanding season and challenge top 8, but that’s the limit.

How long until we get back to a competitive league or as an example, without a sugar daddy what would be the chances of, say, Sunderland getting from Div 1 to the PL and challenge for top 4?

Sadly, until a few billionaires walk away nothing will change and we face the scenario of the richest dominating for years to come

 

[Liverbirdie]

Like I previously stated we need to reset the whole league but we can’t, I genuinely feel for Norwich and Watford who coming up and know that with a few more Clubs they are in a relegation battle next season before this one has ended, Yes, one may have an oustanding season and challenge top 8, but that’s the limit.

How long until we get back to a competitive league or as an example, without a sugar daddy what would be the chances of, say, Sunderland getting from Div 1 to the PL and challenge for top 4?

Sadly, until a few billionaires walk away nothing will change and we face the scenario of the richest dominating for years to come

So what does re-setting the league involve, be more specific, or it looks like hoping for the best or it being biggest owner wins.

 

[clubchamp98]

4th paragraph; As a Club, we are committed to an open and regular dialogue with our fans and other stakeholders, but, on this occasion, regrettably, due to time constraints and confidentiality restraints, this was not achieved.

Would you discuss this with fans representatives if there's a confidentiality clause? I wouldn't.

No but who put the clause in ?
I thought the clubs themselves were in charge.
There must be a mister big.

 

[clubchamp98]

Perez from Real Madrid saying that all the club's have legally binding contracts and can't just leave the ESL. I don't think this is going away any time soon and can see some court cases in the offing.

I wonder if the reason that Madrid and Barca haven't said they're leaving is because any compensation gets paid to the teams remaining in the competition. I've seen figures up to €100 million in compensation being mentioned if a team leaves. That would sort out a lot of the Spanish clubs debts if the others all had to pay them that sort of money.

Jeez what were the lawyers in these six clubs doing?

 

[Blue in Munich]

No but who put the clause in ?
I thought the clubs themselves were in charge.
There must be a mister big.

JP Morgan I'd imagine; given that Real, Barca and Juve can't find a pot to pee in between them, and the sums supposedly involved, it had to be the money man.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Jeez what were the lawyers in these six clubs doing?

I suspect Perez is doing what Perez does - ranting and finger pointing to save face. They were desperate for this because it gave them much needed funds

It’s is noticeable that the three clubs still in have over the past 5 years or more had to pay a lot of wages and bonuses to two certain players

Both commanded huge wages that most clubs would find unsustainable

 

[clubchamp98]

I suspect Perez is doing what Perez does - ranting and finger pointing to save face. They were desperate for this because it gave them much needed funds

Yes I do see that .
But the clause should have rung alarm bells to ,let’s face it the very top businessmen in the clubs.
Or have the lawyers been out of the loop as well.
They must have scrutinised the PL rules as well.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Jeez what were the lawyers in these six clubs doing?

Interestingly, Sky kept using a comment along the lines of 'City are putting into motion the process of withdrawing from the ESL' which suggests that the possibility of clubs leaving had been foreseen, although possibly not this early.

 

[clubchamp98]

Interestingly, Sky kept using a comment along the lines of 'City are putting into motion the process of withdrawing from the ESL' which suggests that the possibility of clubs leaving had been foreseen, although possibly not this early.

Something changed imo.
These hard nosed money men owners would not give in so easy to the fans making some noise.
There must be another reason they gave in so quickly imo.

 

[Hobbit]

Something changed imo.
These hard nosed money men owners would not give in so easy to the fans making some noise.
There must be another reason they gave in so quickly imo.

Maybe they were hoping not to lose access to the CL and Europa League. Maybe the clubs didn't believe ESL had the potential for a long life... who knows...

 

[Blue in Munich]

Maybe they were hoping not to lose access to the CL and Europa League. Maybe the clubs didn't believe ESL had the potential for a long life... who knows...

I think they viewed the ESL as the alternative to the CL, not in addition to.

 

[clubchamp98]

Maybe they were hoping not to lose access to the CL and Europa League. Maybe the clubs didn't believe ESL had the potential for a long life... who knows...

They were right about the latter.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

So what does re-setting the league involve, be more specific, or it looks like hoping for the best or it being biggest owner wins.

Resetting to me would be limit transfer spend to a level all Clubs could afford, ie, you get £75 million for the season, so a Club could by one player for £75mil or 3 at £25mil etc, wages limit, ie max £25K a week, but players can get bonus’s for being an international or finishing position in League, but again limited.

PL Clubs to “adopt” a lower league club, providing support with facilities or coaching etc

TV contracts to be combined then spread equally by League.

All above is pie in the sky and will never happen, but in all honesty is that any different to your idea.

At the moment we have the big owners win anyway. I mentioned Newcastle the other night, it has been winding some of their fans up here since last summer when Amanda Staveley said the take over had been blocked by the big 6, why would they? What did they inparticular have to fear? Now we know they were plotting the ESL, the question has to be asked if their objection was more about the risk to them.

 

[Old Skier]

Resetting to me would be limit transfer spend to a level all Clubs could afford, ie, you get £75 million for the season, so a Club could by one player for £75mil or 3 at £25mil etc, wages limit, ie max £25K a week, but players can get bonus’s for being an international or finishing position in League, but again limited.

PL Clubs to “adopt” a lower league club, providing support with facilities or coaching etc

TV contracts to be combined then spread equally by League.

All above is pie in the sky and will never happen, but in all honesty is that any different to your idea.

At the moment we have the big owners win anyway. I mentioned Newcastle the other night, it has been winding some of their fans up here since last summer when Amanda Staveley said the take over had been blocked by the big 6, why would they? What did they inparticular have to fear? Now we know they were plotting the ESL, the question has to be asked if their objection was more about the risk to them.

Your right, none of this can happen unless the world of football adopt the same pricing structure because whatever the players say about the PL they will go where the money is.

 

[Liverbirdie]

Resetting to me would be limit transfer spend to a level all Clubs could afford, ie, you get £75 million for the season, so a Club could by one player for £75mil or 3 at £25mil etc, wages limit, ie max £25K a week, but players can get bonus’s for being an international or finishing position in League, but again limited.

PL Clubs to “adopt” a lower league club, providing support with facilities or coaching etc

TV contracts to be combined then spread equally by League.

All above is pie in the sky and will never happen, but in all honesty is that any different to your idea.

At the moment we have the big owners win anyway. I mentioned Newcastle the other night, it has been winding some of their fans up here since last summer when Amanda Staveley said the take over had been blocked by the big 6, why would they? What did they inparticular have to fear? Now we know they were plotting the ESL, the question has to be asked if their objection was more about the risk to them.

I do think that individual clubs should be able to have some financial advantage, if you have a bigger support or a higher profile, but it should be limited more than it is now. I think a salary cap will benefit all throughout football (except the players as much, but even if we limited it to £100,000 a week, thats more than enough for someone to survive, as well as still having a hefty pension). What the player earns outside of his club wages is up to him.

I think a new owner should be able to invest in the infrastructure of his club - stadium, training ground and other facilities, but excessive team investment should be limited a lot more than what it is now. Maybe you can invest above a certain amount, but limited to 2 or 3 years and linked to club turnover - not the backhanded way city acquired excessive sponsorship by owner's brothers etc

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I do think that individual clubs should be able to have some financial advantage, if you have a bigger support or a higher profile, but it should be limited more than it is now. I think a salary cap will benefit all throughout football (except the players as much, but even if we limited it to £100,000 a week, thats more than enough for someone to survive, as well as still having a hefty pension). What the player earns outside of his club wages is up to him.

I think a new owner should be able to invest in the infrastructure of his club - stadium, training ground and other facilities, but excessive team investment should be limited a lot more than what it is now. Maybe you can invest above a certain amount, but limited to 2 or 3 years and linked to club turnover - not the backhanded way city acquired excessive sponsorship by owner's brothers etc

I can see the point about support, but I do have a minor issue with profile, ie, how long should a Club “live” of its profile? Look at Utd in the 70’s & 80’s by their standard a rough period and included a relegation, they would probably of still had a large profile worldwide, would it of been fair for them to benefit from having that.

How many years have we gone without a trophy but still have a higher profile than some Clubs who have been succesful during the same period.