O/T - Worst thing ever in football?

[SithHappens]

Not been discussed but is this potentially the worst thing ever if it goes ahead?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/a...s/cqxggp2ppngo

I know a 39th game was mooted years ago in the PL but never happened.

I think it stinks personally, fans clearly down their list in priority order. If they want to play there do a pre season friendly, but to play a competitive league game is just wrong.

If it goes ahead it will be a slippery slope, it won't end there.

[Trickytreesreds]

Not been discussed but is this potentially the worst thing ever if it goes ahead?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/a...s/cqxggp2ppngo

I know a 39th game was mooted years ago in the PL but never happened.

I think it stinks personally, fans clearly down their list in priority order. If they want to play there do a pre season friendly, but to play a competitive league game is just wrong.

If it goes ahead it will be a slippery slope, it won't end there.

Not a chance should this be allowed
Domestic football is exactly that.
If you cannot fulfill a fixture then you cannot compete

[Andy_Faber]

Not a chance should this be allowed
Domestic football is exactly that.
If you cannot fulfill a fixture then you cannot compete

Bound to happen sooner or later, it’s the NFL blueprint which met resistance at the start, but it will soon get to the stage where every NFL team plays one game (of 8!) abroad. NFL team owners see it as a way of marketing their ‘product’, why would top football teams see different?

Not saying I like it by the way

[Geoff Parkstone]

I disagree. Pre season friendlies don't really have lasting impact. You can't make inroads into globalising the fan base with backup squads and big name players sitting out.

Look at NFL started with the odd pre season friendly at Wembley. Mostly 2nd and 3rd string players many of whom didn't make final cut. Crowds dropped off. Now we see games on UK Ireland Germany Mexico Canada all that matter. And in the NFL each team only has 8 or 9 home games a season compared to maybe 20+ for premier league teams (including cups & Europe)

If you want to scale the sport - a sport that is now all about money - then this is the way to go. Football hat the highest level has always moved on and will continue to. In the 70s football was a live sport with some TV coverage. Now it's a tv sport with some largely (financially) irrelevant in stadium support. That's the way it's going folks

[SithHappens]

I get money is the main driver these days. Just seems wrong. If they do it the PL will follow suit, look how much money was thrown at the club world cup. Are they going to pay millions for Liverpool vs Manchester United? Will it create an even bigger divide because while they might want to see a glamour match like that are they going to want to watch Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace?

Then you know exactly what will happen, Liverpool (or other big club) will then complain about fixture congestion or not want to play in England X amount of days before or after and it will be the smaller clubs wh are pissed about.

For me, if they want to play a big truly competitive game then play the champions league final over there, yes it still impacts fans but not as much.

[MadAmster]

So far, it's only playing a League game there INSTEAD of at their home ground rather than an extra round of matches.
AC Milan looking to play a game in Australia as their ground is scheduled to have the Winter Olympics opening ceremony the same day, have a valid reason for a change of venue but isn't the other side of the world going a bit too far?

Other than AC Milan type reasons, I wouldn't want to see League or Cup matches played abroad.

[Andy_Faber]

I disagree. Pre season friendlies don't really have lasting impact. You can't make inroads into globalising the fan base with backup squads and big name players sitting out.

Look at NFL started with the odd pre season friendly at Wembley. Mostly 2nd and 3rd string players many of whom didn't make final cut. Crowds dropped off. Now we see games on UK Ireland Germany Mexico Canada all that matter. And in the NFL each team only has 8 or 9 home games a season compared to maybe 20+ for premier league teams (including cups & Europe)

If you want to scale the sport - a sport that is now all about money - then this is the way to go. Football hat the highest level has always moved on and will continue to. In the 70s football was a live sport with some TV coverage. Now it's a tv sport with some largely (financially) irrelevant in stadium support. That's the way it's going folks

Agreeing with this and differentiating between what I/we the traditional fans want and what the owners want (and therefore what we will get). Clubs are businesses, we are merely a (decreasingly important in the upper echelons) revenue stream

[swaledale]

I disagree. Pre season friendlies don't really have lasting impact. You can't make inroads into globalising the fan base with backup squads and big name players sitting out.

Look at NFL started with the odd pre season friendly at Wembley. Mostly 2nd and 3rd string players many of whom didn't make final cut. Crowds dropped off. Now we see games on UK Ireland Germany Mexico Canada all that matter. And in the NFL each team only has 8 or 9 home games a season compared to maybe 20+ for premier league teams (including cups & Europe)

If you want to scale the sport - a sport that is now all about money - then this is the way to go. Football hat the highest level has always moved on and will continue to. In the 70s football was a live sport with some TV coverage. Now it's a tv sport with some largely (financially) irrelevant in stadium support. That's the way it's going folks

Its changed, whether that's for the better is questionable of course. Also when clubs play those pre-season games overseas, they tend to play their first teams not reserves which the NFL did.

I guess in the end, if certain clubs become so detached from their fan base, that they rely upon global fans, then there may well be a backlash which sees fans turn to other clubs?

I can certainly forsee a situation whereby the so called "top clubs" under foreign ownership break away from the premier league, IMO that would be a good thing, we could see a return to a more equable football league whilst those "top" teams became irrelevant to the domestic audience.

[Andy_Faber]

Seeing as this has popped up again, and seeing as I watched my first fif**** minutes of Match Of The Day for years last week, I'd argue that the worst thing is actually VAR. That was the dominant and almost sole subject of discussion, Jesus how boring.

[Ramshank72]

We have to play in Wales now and again, can't be much worse?
VAR is the single worst thing to happen to football, ever. But there's too much money behind it and tied into it, so it won't go anywhere. It'd be nice if highlights programmes simply didn't show the VAR process, as it's not a "highlight", but I know I'm asking too much.
Every now and again there's talk of integrating the Scottish leagues, but we don't travel well in the UK do we?