The Super League | FA + PL: New Charter & Fines | UEFA: Settlement

[Centurions]

Wasn’t we the last ones to sign up to this, which suggests City were conflicted about it from the start and felt pressured to sign. I don’t think this is sitting well with our owners at the moment according to a few articles I have read.

Supposedly both us and Chelsea were the last to get an invite and were reluctant but of course we still signed up.

 

[Chippy_boy]

This is why the first thing the breakaway 5 did in 1991 was line up ITV and then Sky to broadcast.

I think its incredibly unlikely they have gotten this far in the breakaway without several broadcasters backing them and they're probably waiting for the worst of the backlash to subside before finalising and having am auction.

I'm absolutely sure that's true. I am just wondering whether there's an opportunity perhaps to scupper it. I dunno, TV companies like everyone else are greedy and self-centred.

 

[bluesteel]

No. For starters you are only looking at half the picture. You’ve ignored the effect on the Premier League if/when the so-called Big 6 pull out.

I ignored it because that isn’t what’s being proposed.

 

[waspish]

Lots of misinformation floating about, there's a few things to consider.

1. City are not leaving the Premierleague (unless thrown out which is highly unlikely).
2. The UEFA CL will still exist.
3. We're quitting the UEFA competition and swapping to ESL (don't recall United being persecuted for trying the European cup).
4. The ESL clubs have already submitted court orders against the "blockers" of this idea, like FIFA & UEFA.

All this City must turn back will not happen. I don't like the closed shop idea either, but one by one the big clubs will arrive in the ESL (Bayern/PSG etc) and the CL will wither on the vine.

agree lot of emotions understandable but you look at it coldly where it will go and what the uefa new revamped shite champ league looks like something needs changing! The closed shop though is the only disgrace..

 

[half & half derby scarf]

This is why the first thing the breakaway 5 did in 1991 was line up ITV and then Sky to broadcast.

I think its incredibly unlikely they have gotten this far in the breakaway without several broadcasters backing them and they're probably waiting for the worst of the backlash to subside before finalising and having am auction.

This is a bit more than a backlash. More like a flat out rejection. In addition the damage is already done. Hands in the fire and all that.

 

[Marvin]

I wouldn't be shocked to see a walk back from City next couple days, much as I thought it impossible.

Uefa were speaking to us yesterday and it sounds like we may have been offered something to break away from the breakaway.

Football politics, eh?

Also, keep an eye on Infantino. We are much more closely aligned to him and even discussed a Super League of sorts with him which would have seen Soft Bank put up the funds, a firm Abu Dhabi has a big stake in.

That all seems reasonable. We've heard the rumours for years that a ESL was in the offing and we know who have been planning it. UEFA and the Premier League will know too. They have rushed for the cudgels but I bet at the same time they are trying to split the 12. There's a core group: MUFC, LFC, Arsenal, Juve and Real Madrid? And then there are the clubs like City who you would want in such a league. Split them up. That's what I would do if I was UEFA. I'd also be in dialogue with them all once I had moved by big guns to the front line. No one wants war.

 

[Proy]

I'd almost be more annoyed if they did a U turn.

The one thing I expect is that Khaldoon, Soriano and co. Wouldn't make this decision lightly. They'd do their research, know how unpopular it was (everyone should have known this after the reaction to project restart), try to avoid it if possible, but ultimately come to the conclusion its happening and in the best interests of the club to be on the inside of the breakaway and pull the trigger.

For them to back out 2 days later and say "whoopsie daisy! Maybe we didn't think this through" Would make me question their ability to run the club long term.

Very much this

 

[Cobwebcat]

Oh god, another 70 pages to catch up on since last night.

https://twitter.com/theMadridZone

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I've never been sure what our relationship with UEFA has been if we're looking for a simplistic narrative. I think it's complicated and tempestuous. From the outside I would say that City have a fairly cordial relationship with Aleks Ceferin. The difficulties with the organisation appear to have been motivated by pressure being applied by the people with whom we now find ourselves in alliance.

There's multiple parts to UEFA. There's the Secretariat - Ceferin and the employees - the national leagues and the clubs. Within the latter two, there's the powerful national leagues and others and likewise for the clubs, with the old G14 lording it over the other European clubs. So a lot of vested interests vying against each other.

I don't envy anyone in Ceferin's position, who has to try to keep all those competing forces in balance. The big clubs bring him his revenue so tend to have the loudest voices but inevitably and eventually, appeasing them season after season will just lead to them demanding more. Then, as we're seeing now, they'll ditch you when they think it's in their interests to do so.

I've said it before that Ceferin is probably our friend, in as much as he wants to keep everyone happy as far as possible. I believe he tried to stop the FFP shit but (again) a breakaway was threatened by our enemies. Maybe the CAS case was actually the catalyst for this ESL. The timing certainly fits.

I'm now even wondering if we're playing a long game in this, possibly working with Ceferin.

Maybe hopelessly optimistic but I wonder if we've fluttered our eyelashes at the breakaway group, understood their plans, suckered them in, then betrayed them by leaking the Super League plans and then we'll pull out, leaving them isolated, maybe even out of their national leagues and international outcasts. The PL needs 15 clubs to agree something as major as expulsion so 6 clubs in the ESL renders that path impossible. But if we were to withdraw, maybe Chelsea too, then a majority vote that sees the US-owned clubs outside the PL is obviously achievable. It would be stunning revenge.

But, as I say, maybe I'm just being hopelessly optimistic.

But then we could have done that without signing up. We could have got this to a point where we verbally committed but then walked away. That would have been a PR master stroke.

 

[wolviedinho]

Our old friends der spiegel have gotten their hands on more leaked documents

Haha I wondered when the German rags mouthpiece would lift its head above the parapet.

 

[SPIDERBOY]

To my eye it’s too convenient.

- only a short part of the document shown (why not publish the lot)
- PSG more unfavourable terms on the deadline (Why would this be the case)
- conveniently names the three clubs people speculated about
- Perez said PSG weren’t invited, contrary to this document


just first impressions but doesn’t look right to me.

Would the PSG deadline be anything to do with the CL semi v us?
Forcing a decision before both legs are/supposed to be held?

 

[MarsLlama]

This happens anyway ? Pep just made wholesale changes against Leeds and same again in an fa cup semi final ? All because the champions league is around the corner . This happens every year was it fergie who made 11 changes one time against a fat same team ( could be wrong there ) ? Klopp has thrown both domestic cups at the earliest stage the last few seasons , and one time didn’t even bother turning up to manage them

That's not remotely comparable to six teams doing it for every single game.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

Surely this will be dead by the end of the week. Part of me can't see how these people didn't foresee this backlash, and have planned for it/expect to ride it out - but then I look at the naff branding and rash speeches and think actually they are just amateurs with no idea.

I'd be surprised if City didn't pull out of this within the next few days, which asks a lot of questions about why they allowed themselves to be pulled into this charade - they don't need the money anywhere near as much as many of the other teams involved.

They will have expected a fans backlash and negative media. I don't think they will have expected governments getting involved (its a very unusual move for a government to get involved in sporting matters like this) and being told that it isn't going to happen. I think bums will be twitching at the English clubs involved. Barca and Real, probably not so much - they might feel that they are in so much debt, they have little choice but to let it play out.

 

[Burtonblue]

Cefrin always gives me the feeling of a man that likes our club and the way in which it's run, The UEFA elite, the ones we have now colluded with were and still are our enemies.

Ceferin is Russian. Never forget that.
He heads up a corrupt organisation who did their level best to kick us out.

As far as the other clubs are concerned keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.....

 

[Centurions]

No its not, the door IS closing, no dispute with that, but you yourselves show it is not closed.

We got in by the skin of our teeth by spending a shit load of money, the drawbridge was well and truly pulled up behind us. Even without the ESL nobody else would have been able to follow us as it is now. The whole bloody thing needs sorting and I really couldn't care if it makes us also rans again.

 

[OB1]

Having slept on it, again, I am still very much against the ESL.

I'm not on board with slating the club's directors or carp about walking away from the club as I am sure they a trying to do what they think is best for the club, which is their legal duty. They are in a difficult position.

The whole thing is now a test of nerve.

 

[BobKowalski]

This is just about pure greed, I am pretty sure that all the owners of these six clubs are billionaires, so how much money do they actually need and how low they are prepared to stoop to get it is utterly staggering. .

It‘s as much about business stability than ‘greed’. A franchise model guarantees income streams. No more uncertainty over qualifying or not qualifying for CL. It’s also about control over the product and the clubs that generate the most cash, receiving that cash.

The aim is to shift from a competition with jeopardy to an entertainment model with only mild or manufactured jeopardy. Football as content on Netflix.

The other factor is these clubs are in financial trouble, Madrid made no signings and are looking to finally build a new stadium, Barca are a billion in debt, same with Spurs and no one is making money. There is a €350m sign on bonus just for turning up. UEFA aren’t promising any real new cash until 2024.

There will be a European Super League, the only debate is will it be under the umbrella of UEFA or outside it.

 

[Steve68]

Surely this will be dead by the end of the week. Part of me can't see how these people didn't foresee this backlash, and have planned for it/expect to ride it out - but then I look at the naff branding and rash speeches and think actually they are just amateurs with no idea.

I'd be surprised if City didn't pull out of this within the next few days, which asks a lot of questions about why they allowed themselves to be pulled into this charade - they don't need the money anywhere near as much as many of the other teams involved.

They don’t care about us ‘legacy’ fans. They calculate there are hundreds of millions of potential subscribers out there and believe most of us will come around anyway.

 

[Bill]

Yep, we have no chance as cartel clubs get more revenue

exactly . why we are anywhere near the is beyond me. i know our owners don't see what we see .

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

We could be the last team to win the Champs league and the the last nail in UEFA's coffin , oh the irony.

I thought that, too. Except this: UEFA is mainly (but not entirely) constituted by the powerful clubs that stand behind it. We had been audited for several years by UEFA and our books had been found to be in order. It was only when those powerful clubs came back at UEFA to get them to go after us again that we had to stand up with our legal team to see them off.
We have just agreed to join a replacement cartel made up of many of those very clubs.