Football Season 2020-21

[Nicktendo]

It's time for a long hard look at how football is run. This is what I would do, I'm sure many won't agree, but whatever. 

- Deduct 15 points from Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal and Tottenham for the next 3 seasons plus this one.

- Deduct 10 points from Man City and Chelsea for the next 3 seasons (for at least pulling out before the rest) plus this one.

- Spend the next 5 years funding and transitioning the Premier League to a German ownership model where the fans own 51% of each club. 

- Blanket ban on all non-UK citizens owning or investing in British football clubs. 

- Premier League clubs get 60%, not 90% of TV revenue. Other 40% doled out between the Football League clubs. 

- Wage cap across the entirety of Europe, if players want the money, go to Asia or South America. 

- Low maximum ticket price installed on Premier League football for 2 sectors of each stadium for home and away fans. Safe Standing installed in every ground at the goal-end stands of each stadium.  

- From 2024, the Champions League will be exclusive to the winners of each European League. One qualifying round for the smaller countries and then a 32 team play-off home and away. over 5 rounds to decide the Champions of Europe.

- UEFA cup / Europe League takes on the current 32-team Champion's League model (as biased as it is towards Western Europe). England, Spain, Italy, Germany etc. get more berths. Qualifying rounds. Cup winners of each country also included by coefficient, via qually for smaller countries. Winner gets an automatic place in the following season's CL. 

Probably won't make as much money and would be nigh on impossible, but it would make English and European football a much purer competition on all fronts. 

[Eddage]

7 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

It's time for a long hard look at how football is run. This is what I would do, I'm sure many won't agree, but whatever. 

- Deduct 15 points from Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal and Tottenham for the next 3 seasons plus this one.

- Deduct 10 points from Man City and Chelsea for the next 3 seasons (for at least pulling out before the rest) plus this one.

- Spend the next 5 years funding and transitioning the Premier League to a German ownership model where the fans own 51% of each club. 

- Blanket ban on all non-UK citizens owning or investing in British football clubs. 

- Premier League clubs get 60%, not 90% of TV revenue. Other 40% doled out between the Football League clubs. 

- Wage cap across the entirety of Europe, if players want the money, go to Asia or South America. 

- Low maximum ticket price installed on Premier League football for 2 sectors of each stadium for home and away fans. Safe Standing installed in every ground at the goal-end stands of each stadium.  

- From 2024, the Champions League will be exclusive to the winners of each European League. One qualifying round for the smaller countries and then a 32 team play-off home and away. over 5 rounds to decide the Champions of Europe.

- UEFA cup / Europe League takes on the current 32-team Champion's League model (as biased as it is towards Western Europe). England, Spain, Italy, Germany etc. get more berths. Qualifying rounds. Cup winners of each country also included by coefficient, via qually for smaller countries. Winner gets an automatic place in the following season's CL. 

Probably won't make as much money and would be nigh on impossible, but it would make English and European football a much purer competition on all fronts. 

I agree with most of what you've said here.

All 6 teams signed up for the ESL so they punished equally, it doesn't matter that City and Chelsea pulled out first.

I'm not quite sure how the TV revenue works now, are you just referring to the Premier League TV revenue? So at the moment PL teams get 90% of that? How does the revenue from Championship TV rights work? I think I heard recently that the Championship was the 5th most watched European league.

[Nicktendo]

2 minutes ago, Eddage said:

I agree with most of what you've said here.

All 6 teams signed up for the ESL so they punished equally, it doesn't matter that City and Chelsea pulled out first.

I'm not quite sure how the TV revenue works now, are you just referring to the Premier League TV revenue? So at the moment PL teams get 90% of that? How does the revenue from Championship TV rights work? I think I heard recently that the Championship was the 5th most watched European league.

I think they deserve a bit of crust for actually listening to what the fans want, as obscene as the whole thing is, they've at least made a bit of a stand. 

I was listening to TalkSport this morning and Jim and Simon were saying something about the Prem teams taking 91 or 92% of the domestic and global TV revenue from the PL money. I haven't fact checked it, but I'll go with what I heard. I've also heard that about the Championship but find it hard to believe considering most clubs can barely fill half a stadium on a good day. I know Leeds were getting 20-25 thousand when they were in the Championship until they were in sight of promotion. But at 40 quid a pop, that's not surprising. Not sure how the revenue form the EPL or Championship works. Would imagine viewer numbers are higher in the U.K. than anywhere else but still abysmally low. They're also allowed to sell their own streaming rights in the EPL so I can imagine that also eats into it. I had LUTV for a few seasons and was able to watch games live (from abroad). Definitely seen EPL on TV in Poland, Russia and Latvia but it's never on one of the main sports channels.  

[Glen-i]

I'm watching Newsnight and it opened with saying that Chelsea and Man City were out.

20 minutes later, the host had to update that news, saying that all 6 of UK's teams are out. The following video explaining it is kinda out of date now.

That pyramid @Nicktendo mentioned is falling apart crazy fast now!

[Eddage]

Having been watching everything on different Sky Sports channels over the last couple of days another thing has occurred to me that I would like to be addressed by any reform... the removal of sponsorship/involvement of any betting companies.

The amount of adverts during matches and the number of teams sponsored by betting companies is ridiculous. Personally I think gambling is as dangerous as alcohol and should be treated as such. Half of the adverts I am seeing now from these companies are just talking about how you need to be responsible, etc. I just saw a Paddy Power advert which says the following...

"Betting can add a little excitement to any sporting event, but only if it's done safely, responsibly and within our means / Never gamble when angry or feeling low / Set yourself a limit for time, money, or both / No matter what the problem is, gambling is never the answer".

If you have to have adverts like this for your product then it is not safe and should have no place on TV during football when children can be watching. Especially when that advert is nestled in between all the other betting ads that make it seem like gambling is great fun and the perfect thing to do down the pub with the lads.

[Rummy]

6 hours ago, killthenet said:

Regardless of whether or not the other clubs pull out all of them should still face some sort of sanctions for supporting it in the first place. 

Admittedly I, too, am mostly coming from a position similar to @Glen-i generally but specifically do agree this won't occur - and maybe rightly so. The threat of sanction was enough to kill this league; and imo rightfully so. You fans need to learn and be weary though, and maybe let me say something controversial;

 

Abandon your financial support for your glory. Follow your big clubs if you like but remember the roots of football. Cut all your money to big clubs and literally find your local fuck whatever the hell league they are in buy tickets and go and see them every few weeks. Support them. Build the game from the ground back up again like it original came about. Money makes the world go round.

 

As for me and supporting 'big' football - who would I? Why are all you Arsenal fans arsenal fans? In my mind in theory that should/would be the team I support but how the fuck can I? Who or what even were they by the 90s? How is it teams get to build their backs off of local support get a name get a brand and then fuck off for pastures new and leave all the community behind? Football has always been a corporate bastard - I think its amusing how quickly capitalism bothered people this time round.

[Rummy]

2 hours ago, Eddage said:

Personally I think gambling is as dangerous as alcohol and should be treated as such.

I drink far more than I gamble. Gambling is far more dangerous and destructive. I'll argue this with any man - and I will win.

[Glen-i]

3 hours ago, Eddage said:

The amount of adverts during matches and the number of teams sponsored by betting companies is ridiculous. Personally I think gambling is as dangerous as alcohol and should be treated as such. Half of the adverts I am seeing now from these companies are just talking about how you need to be responsible, etc. I just saw a Paddy Power advert which says the following...

"Betting can add a little excitement to any sporting event, but only if it's done safely, responsibly and within our means / Never gamble when angry or feeling low / Set yourself a limit for time, money, or both / No matter what the problem is, gambling is never the answer".

If you have to have adverts like this for your product then it is not safe and should have no place on TV during football when children can be watching. Especially when that advert is nestled in between all the other betting ads that make it seem like gambling is great fun and the perfect thing to do down the pub with the lads.

Gambling adverts seem to be following the path of cigarette adverts. What with them being forced to have that disclaimer on them.

Ideally, it'll follow that same path all the way to being banned outright, but I'm not 100% certain that will be the case.

[Aperson]

FIFA's lootboxes being in game gambling is bad enough but it seems to be more systematic of the whole sport's obsession and acceptance of gambling.

 

Perhaps this should be football's equivalent to the Star Wars Battlefront II fiasco and a springboard for a platform for change in the sport. Because it seems like the rot runs deep within all parties of the sport, not just the big clubs if this Guardiola interview is anything to go by...

 

 

[Happenstance]

Crazy scenes at Old Trafford today. Can’t blame the fans for protesting (although I’d prefer they didn’t during a pandemic) but storming the pitch, flipping cars, throwing bottles/flares and injuring staff undermines everything they are trying to do.

[WackerJr]

8 hours ago, Happenstance said:

Crazy scenes at Old Trafford today. Can’t blame the fans for protesting (although I’d prefer they didn’t during a pandemic) but storming the pitch, flipping cars, throwing bottles/flares and injuring staff undermines everything they are trying to do.

Absolutely agree.  The message is dampened and suddenly the story of the protest becomes about the scenes of chaos shown, of the idiots causing harm, vandalism, breaking laws, and potentially infecting 100s of people with a disease millions are fighting hard to get safe from.  Idiotic!

[LazyBoy]

@Happenstance @WackerJr sorry gents I have to disagree with the sentiment of your posts. This is the happiest I have felt about football for a while, but in a bittersweet way that acknowledges that this probably still is not enough.

I guess I should take a moment to condemn any violence that occurred, but I actually resent having to do so. You as the reader should have enough respect for your fellow poster to presume that they condemn violence, as you should think of the vast, vast majority of the protestors who attended. 

More importantly it further distracts from the point. You are always going to get a tiny minority taking it too far, but focusing on that is like rallying against a kids birthday party because Tommy got manic on undiluted squash and broke a vase. All you're doing is following a narrative capitalized on by those who are against the protests. Pick any popular protest in history that you broadly agree with the aims of and I guarantee you'll find counter-pieces in the press of the time highlighting and discrediting it based on minority actions. Your responsibility as a critical thinker is to not be distracted by the actions of the 0.01%.

---

The question I have is how many protests in popular history have had any kind of tangible, tactical success as this one had? The protestors set out with the goal of delaying the game, and succeeded. They had a message - we decide when you play - and they showed that they have the power to enforce that. It probably won't result in long-term victory - the billionaires have too much power and the government lacks the political backbone - but the tactical win is significant. Largest game in the world, bank holiday Sunday, world is watching, social media blackhole (due to the boycott), and sure enough its all over the news. 

Sad thing is I cannot remember any protests in the UK in my lifetime that have had any kind of success, no matter how small. Please remind me if I have forgotten something, but its kind of sad to think, and certainly works to show the value of direct action like this.

[Julius]

What timeline is this again?

What a strange one. Conte going to Inter after his success there was one thing, but Mourinho going to Roma when he's an Inter legend and was adored by the fans, having won the treble with them? What a strange, strange world we live in. What's next for him after this, Sporting? 

Wish him all the best, I really want to see Mourinho get back up there amongst the best in the game, it's been over a decade since he last won the Champions League (that's nearly the case for Pep too, which is pretty insane!). Honestly, I'm more surprised that he wants to return to countries where he's already won, he "only" needs to win the league in France and Germany to become the first manager to win it in all of the five major European leagues (I think Ancelotti is on four after missing out on La Liga at Madrid). 

[Julius]

We made it through to the final of the UCL tonight and I seriously can't believe it, it feels very weird. I don't know if it's just because 2012 was such a special run with such an old spine to our team and this feels like it came out of pretty much nowhere, with a mostly young and inexperienced squad, but we've been solid when it's counted and I guess that's all that matters. 

Real Madrid might still have some of their star names from their successes in the last decade still around, but they looked tired tonight. It's almost the sort of performance which might make you expect some big signings in the next few transfer windows, they've been very slow to transition this old guard out at this point. 

Crazy to think this will be Thiago Silva's first UCL final if memory serves, and pretty sure that Tuchel might be the first manager in the modern era to make it to consecutive finals with different clubs, but might need to fact check that. 

Either way, very, very nervous about the final. A team managed by Guardiola hasn't lost a final for a decade, City are in imperious form, and it feels like there's an energy to them that I can't see in us that I just can't place, it's weird. If we can give as spirited and energetic a performance as we did tonight, though, anything's possible. Great performances tonight by Kante, Havertz, and Mount in particular - super weird (but absolutely awesome) having someone a couple of weeks younger than you who is also a massive fan of a club score to put us through to the final  I say that not to compare myself to where he's at, but more that I can't imagine the pressure he's under, and he's thriving in it.

Mbappé being a few days older than me and winning the World Cup? Now that does feel a little weird 

[LazyBoy]

Please beat City. 

[drahkon]

That FA Cup second half was amazing

It was great to finally see fans at a game again. Goosebumps all the way through 'til the end.

[killthenet]

The most enjoyable FA Cup final for a while, cagey first half but thoroughly entertaining in the second. Tielemans goal was phenomenal, the reaction of the crowd genuinely spring tingling. There are so many great stories to tell across the whole Leicester team, I'm delighted for Schmeichel, Morgan, Vardy, Albrighton - club legends who have written themselves into history again. 

Can't imagine there are many people upset by the result, bar the Chelsea fans of course, Leicester became everyone's second team 5 years ago and are an example of how to run a club in the modern era - fully deserved to finally get over the line and win an FA Cup

[Kav]

Werner and Ziyech weren’t on it yesterday. Both were awful.

Azpi RWB and James at RCB was the wrong decision, as much as it nullified Vardy, it stifled us going forward. Azpi is good enough defensively to play RCB against Vardy and James is much more of a threat going forward.

I know Kepa has been the FA Cup keeper but this is the final, Mendy should’ve started and would’ve saved the goal.

We had both Chilwell & Emerson on the subs bench yesterday, 2 LBs, but not Tammy who’s our top-scorer in the competition… when our forwards are struggling for goals.

Substitutions were made far too late in the game. The loss is on Tuchel.

[Happenstance]

Crazy end to the Liverpool match. What a header from Allison!

[drahkon]

Robert Lewandowski has scored 41 goals in one Bundesliga season. He broke Gerd Müller's legendary 40 goal record that stood for almost 50 years.

And of course, Lewy did it seconds before the final whistle

[Happenstance]

Given how poorly Liverpool played for so much of this season I’m amazed we finished as high as we did. Great final day for us!

[Julius]

Lost the FA Cup final and the last game of the season against Villa, yet because Leicester lost we luckily scraped into 4th place. Seriously unfortunate for Leicester, they deserved it more than us for most of the season, but dropped off towards the end. 

Safe to say I have very little confidence going into the Champions League final next week. To be fair, it feels weird that we're even going to be there, I know you can only beat what's in front of you, but I think we're the least deserving team to make it to the final in a long time. Our 2011/12 win felt romantic and like recompense for our woes in the years prior, but this just feels off to me. I don't know what it is. 

Yeah, it's a one-off game, but that and the fact that Pep hasn't beaten a Tuchel-managed Chelsea yet is pretty much all that we have going in our favour (and the latter point doesn't bode well for us, because everyone gets toppled by Pep eventually, especially in finals). 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Happenstance said:

Given how poorly Liverpool played for so much of this season I’m amazed we finished as high as we did. Great final day for us!

Yup. We managed to scrape through in the end, which is crazy when just a few weeks ago we were looking at just inching into the Europa League. We owe a lot to teams around us completely falling apart, with Leicester completely imploding again.

Chuffed for West Ham. Moyes has done a fantastic job with the team and their arrival into the Europa League is well deserved.

[Mandalore]

A bit gutted for Leicester falling at the final hurdle again, glad they managed to get the FA Cup though.

With a full strength Liverpool, Tuchel in his first full season, and City being City, am I being too optimistic thinking there could be a 3 horse race all the way to the final day of the season?

[LazyBoy]

14 hours ago, Mandalore said:

A bit gutted for Leicester falling at the final hurdle again, glad they managed to get the FA Cup though.

With a full strength Liverpool, Tuchel in his first full season, and City being City, am I being too optimistic thinking there could be a 3 horse race all the way to the final day of the season?

*coughs in United*