European Premier League from 2022

[FactualFrank]

What about Leeds?

Too big a club for something like that. They're waiting for the Mars and Jupiter Leagues to open.

[Erasmus]

Perhaps they could run two teams, one for the Europa Super-Bore League and the other for domestic competitions. The money generated from each would allow them to have twice as many players.

[TVC15]

Said on the big picture thread last week that I would not care one jot if we never play the likes of United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea etc ever again.
Those clubs are now so far removed from ours in every respect - money, culture, ground, sponsorship etc

The sad (or funny !) thing about this is that a lot of the traditional fans of these teams will not be happy about this move.
Sad because its those traditional fans many who have been priced out of buying season tickets etc who do have things in common with Burnley fans and they will be the ones that lose out.
Funny because lots of these fans are so arrogant and treat clubs like Burnley with disdain.

The likes of Everton, Leicester and those other big clubs who are likely to miss out will I guess not be happy about this unless there is some way of them joining the others in the future....though I cannot see this being a promotion / relegation scenario as no way these so called elite clubs are going to go through the whole of this only to be relegated after one season !!

Personally still think there is little chance of this happening. Sounds more like United and Liverpool starting to threaten the Premier League and other clubs to change the way that TV money is distributed and move to a system more like Spain where Real and Barca get most of the money.

[BurnleyFC]

What an absolute bore fest this would be.

[NottsClaret]

These stories are as tedious as those '£50m town centre revamp' features you used to get back in the LET every other week.

Loads of chat, 'breaking news' headlines, grand plans and nothing ever happens. I'd be glad to see the back of the 'Big 6' but nowt will come of it, it's just a bargaining chip in their search for more control over domestic and Champions League comps.

[TheFamilyCat]

This sounds great, so were do Burnley come in and how do we join?

We're in talks with clubs from Malta, Luxembourg and Latvia about a European Conference.

[Chester Perry]

a few observations

The teams being mentioned have a very similar feel to the original G-14 group that disbanded in 2008 to form the bigger European Clubs Association

Of course the European clubs association voted against the preferred structure of the UEFA Club competitions that these clubs wanted last year - Andrea Agnelli's face that day was an absolute picture

If FIFA are backing this (very possible given the relationship with the likes of Real Madrid) then they are going up against their richest (though not necessarily most powerful confederation in UEFA, which is just fundamentally wrong.

The backing of FIFA is important because it means that players of these teams can still play in the World Cup (which is still the primary source of income for most of FIFA's 208 members

I still cannot believe that the Premier League clubs in particular would walk away from the English game at this stage, far too much revenue to be lost

[GodIsADeeJay81]

"Liverpool and Manchester United are in talks to quit the Premier League and join the biggest clubs in Europe in a new competition starting from 2022.
Financiers are putting together a £4.6bn package to fund it and the league would feature 18 teams, with fixtures being played in midweek during the regular season."

sports bible saying the above

So they'd have to exit all domestic cups and the champions/Europa leagues in their current formats, which would mean if those competitions were still going their spots would be awarded to.....

It's going to cause a mess.

[Chester Perry]

a few observations

The teams being mentioned have a very similar feel to the original G-14 group that disbanded in 2008 to form the bigger European Clubs Association

Of course the European clubs association voted against the preferred structure of the UEFA Club competitions that these clubs wanted last year - Andrea Agnelli's face that day was an absolute picture

If FIFA are backing this (very possible given the relationship with the likes of Real Madrid) then they are going up against their richest (though not necessarily most powerful confederation in UEFA, which is just fundamentally wrong.

The backing of FIFA is important because it means that players of these teams can still play in the World Cup (which is still the primary source of income for most of FIFA's 208 members

I still cannot believe that the Premier League clubs in particular would walk away from the English game at this stage, far too much revenue to be lost

I will add that many of those European clubs posted losses in excess of Euro 100m, a number closer to Euro 200m, last season and are facing even greater losses this season. Tomorrow sees the first significant and clear assessment of what has happened in the Premier League as Manchester United post their 2019/20 financial results and brief analysts as to their thoughts on the current season - it is the one benefit for ordinary fans of their Stock Market Listing.

It is also significant the the rebates paid by UEFA last season were substantially greater than those paid by any league at around Euro 575m

[TheFamilyCat]

Cant see them playing an additional 34 games on top of a usual domestic season
They already complain of too many games

The PL will be reduced to six teams do they can manage both

[randomclaret2]

Too big a club for something like that. They're waiting for the Mars and Jupiter Leagues to open.

Uranus League for them...

[AndrewJB]

So I'm assuming this will be a "closed league" with no promotion or relegation?

Sounds exciting

I'm quite sure EU law insists on promotion and relegation in football.

[RingoMcCartney]

all very NFL

NFL describes Burnley's chances of getting an invite to join. - Not F****** Likely.

[TheFamilyCat]

NFL describes Burnley's chances of getting an invite to join. - Not F****** Likely.

Where has this Ringo been for the last five years?

[Woodleyclaret]

Wolves should be in they are mainly a Portuguese side anyway

[mikeS]

I thought we'd left Europe

[Boss Hogg]

Personally find all the Not Champions League European Group games boring and don’t watch any of them. Knockout was better. Talk about stretching a competition.

[Woonderbah]

I don't care one jot if these clubs want to go form a new circus. It will level the field and make the PL more competitive. Yes I appreciate there won't be the same level of money sloshing about but the PL as a competion will thrive. Fans of clubs in the new European league can enjoy sterile atmospheres whilst seeing ticket prices treble and the novelty will wear thin. Shame we have to wait til 2022.

[Zlatan]

I'm quite sure EU law insists on promotion and relegation in football.

Yeah but brexit, the EU can do one....!!!

[FactualFrank]

Uranus League for them...

I shouldn't be liking that, but we'll pretend it's somebody else's.

[Colburn_Claret]

I think most fans couldn't care less.
It would make the league they leave far more interesting, incorporating all the things we miss from the championship.

The biggest losers would be the fans of these 5 clubs if they left. In their shoes I would be fuming. Who wants the team playing away in Europe every other week. Midweek matches more than likely, to accommodate blanket coverage for TV. Leaving a league they could compete for, to one where they are fighting to avoid finishing bottom.
I wouldn't dream of paying to watch it.
The people pushing for this know all about money, but **** all about football, or its fans.
I do t even bother watching the Champions League, it was better before all these groups, when only the champions qualified, and it was a straight knock out. It might make money, but dilutes the competition.

[Stayingup]

I wonder what Manchester City think about this.

Maybe the "residue' should invite a couple or more of the Scottish clubs into our leagues. That could be very interesting.

I just wonder if this American initiative would result in Liverpool and Man U etc being ejected from our our league if they join this league. That would be fun.

[DCWat]

The only downside would be if they continued to play in their respective leagues as well. All they’ll end up doing is devaluing competitions.

It’s just a shame that there are a billion Chinese and Americans with **** all understanding of football who will happily pay for such nonsense.

It’ll be a barrage of foam hands, shouty announcers and razzmatazz! Makes me poorly.

[elwaclaret]

Sounds like Salford and United of Manchester may need to expand they’re grounds. Cannot see how it would remotely appeal to their traditional fan bases.

[DCWat]

Sounds like Salford and United of Manchester may need to expand they’re grounds. Cannot see how it would remotely appeal to their traditional fan bases.

Take the top tier off and underneath you’ll find some Man United fans.

[AndrewJB]

Yeah but brexit, the EU can do one....!!!

Having left, we have far less influence over their rules.

[Wile E Coyote]

still unclear on this, are they still playing prem games as well as joining a european league?

[Woonderbah]

I've always quite fancied seeing an annual tournament of teams representative of their leagues. For example, a team from EPL v Ligue 1 v La Liga v Serie A v Bundesliga etc. Not the league winners but a team of players selected from the whole league (maybe limit of 3 per club). It would be interesting to see who really has the best league.

[Chester Perry]

still unclear on this, are they still playing prem games as well as joining a european league?

That is their plan - though it would likely mean no cups too - which is not allowed under the Premier Leagues founding constitution and would require both the FA and EFL to agree to it. That is why they wanted all the power in Project Big Profit

[tiger76]

No return if/when their rich owners lose interest!

Exactly make it a one-way ticket should they choose to go, I can see fans and more importantly broadcasters losing interest very quickly especially if there's no relegation in the mix, who's going to get excited at the prospect of watching say Arsenal vs Marseille if both are firmly mid-table in a meaningless league, the novelty will soon wear off.

[Spiral]

That is their plan - though it would likely mean no cups too - which is not allowed under the Premier Leagues founding constitution and would require both the FA and EFL to agree to it. That is why they wanted all the power in Project Big Profit

Honestly if they steal from us our beloved league cup third round exit then football is dead to me.

But seriously, this is a scary direction of travel for football. Not that it hasn't been going this way for a long while, but the pandemic has given a pretext for these clubs to accelerate these aims. I'd rather the so-called big teams go away and do their own thing than see clubs like ours be yoked into their idealised structure for football, because it isn't anything like the football I recognise.

[elwaclaret]

Honestly if they steal from us our beloved league cup third round exit then football is dead to me.

But seriously, this is a scary direction of travel for football. Not that it hasn't been going this way for a long while, but the pandemic has given a pretext for these clubs to accelerate these aims. I'd rather the so-called big teams go away and do their own thing than see clubs like ours be yoked into their idealised structure for football, because it isn't anything like the football I recognise.

I think they are very much in danger of having egg all over their faces over this. Football is in survival mode, and they are pulling tricks like this.... certainly hope it backfires on them big time. I’d be looking for strict disciplinary measures after this latest destabilisation of our national structure. Fans are sticking with clubs, but spending their time and money elsewhere now... finding other interests and obligations. Football is a long way from safe, rocking the boat further.... I’d be furious if I was a chairman, league chief or FA Exec... I’d want them punishing.

[bodge]

United should be expelled from the game for the sake of everyone's mental health.

[bfcmik]

Exactly make it a one-way ticket should they choose to go, I can see fans and more importantly broadcasters losing interest very quickly especially if there's no relegation in the mix, who's going to get excited at the prospect of watching say Arsenal vs Marseille if both are firmly mid-table in a meaningless league, the novelty will soon wear off.

Americans like their no relegation leagues - NFL; NBA; NHL etc. They aren't bothered about what happens to the losers just what the winning sides do.

[DCWat]

United should be expelled from the game for the sake of everyone's mental health.

Not a dig at you Bodge, but it annoys me that they’re referred to as United when there are umpteen clubs with United in their name.

[jtv]

Not a dig at you Bodge, but it annoys me that they’re referred to as United when there are umpteen clubs with United in their name.

He was referring to Leeds United

[taffy]

If they resign from the league to play in this euro super league these clubs would surely just buy smaller lower league clubs so they could carry on playing in the English league, Liverpool could buy tranmere, man utd buy Salford, arsenal buy Orient etc etc etc, they would only have to play their under 23s and still do well in their respective league and obviously they can change the name like mk dons did and ground share with the team playing in the euro league because they only play mid week and before too long they would be back in the Premier league and also playing euro super league, they will corner the market at every level