European Super league

[Notts78]

I think there is a place for a European Super League, just not the closed shop that was proposed.
Hear me out. There will be 10 teams. The champions of the top 6 leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Holland) - plus the winners of each of the current 3 European competitions. The final place would go to the current Super League champion meaning that if it’s a winner of one of the above leagues, the runner up of that league would be invited.
A proper champions of champions competition. The integrity of all the competitions remain, and actually there is real incentive to get in to the various European competitions and attempting to win it.

[Elite_Pie]

I think there is a place for a European Super League, just not the closed shop that was proposed.
Hear me out. There will be 10 teams. The champions of the top 6 leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Holland) - plus the winners of each of the current 3 European competitions. The final place would go to the current Super League champion meaning that if it’s a winner of one of the above leagues, the runner up of that league would be invited.
A proper champions of champions competition. The integrity of all the competitions remain, and actually there is real incentive to get in to the various European competitions and attempting to win it.

So how does the integrity of the Premiership, La Liga, Bundesliga etc remain if your plan goes ahead?

Think of the fixture list, do the qualifying teams drop out of their national league, play with a second XI, or miraculously fit in an extra 18 games?

[legs77]

My understanding of the ESL is its basically a new name for the CL.

Cut out the middle man aka UEFA and go it alone.

Dazn were getting the rights to show it thats why Sky were having hissy fits about it.

[Notts78]

So how does the integrity of the Premiership, La Liga, Bundesliga etc remain if your plan goes ahead?

Think of the fixture list, do the qualifying teams drop out of their national league, play with a second XI, or miraculously fit in an extra 18 games?

How is the integrity of those leagues at the moment? Some teams do miraculously fit in a huge number of European games.
I never said the league would be an 18 game slog fest. If it was, these teams could play weakened sides in the League cups or FA cups, and the equivalents in other countries, just as they do now. See no change to integrity.
You could do a T20 super 6 style format. 5 teams in each section. 2 home and 2 away. Top 2 from each of the 2 leagues qualify for a semi final (over 2 legs) - 1 game final. So 9 games in total. Less than any team playing in Europe’s knock out stages, let alone winners.
I don’t have all the answers. I just feel there is something that could work. It wasn’t that long ago people were sceptical about the Champions League.

[Elite_Pie]

How is the integrity of those leagues at the moment?

Not good, and made worse by the Champions League. So you seem to think we are maintaining very little integrity!

Maybe it's an age thing. Your username suggests you were possibly too young to witness the events of 8th October 1975. On that day we beat Leeds United away in the League Cup. It sounds like nothing much now, but it was massive back then. Leeds were the undisputed top club in the land, and the League Cup was seen as important. No resting of players, none of this "they can't play two games in a week" bollox, the Leeds United team was their first XI (thanks UTM):

1. David Harvey
2. Paul Reaney
3. Trevor Cherry
4. Billy Bremner
5. Paul Madeley
6. Norman Hunter
7. Peter Lorimer
8. David McNiven
9. Duncan McKenzie
10. Frankie Gray
11. Eddie Gray

Almost every Leeds player was an international, and the very best they could pick from. When Ian Scanlon's header hit the back of the net it's probably the highest I've ever jumped in my life. Nowadays the League Cup is an annoyance to Premier League clubs, but it wasn't in 1975.

[SwalePie]

Not good, and made worse by the Champions League. So you seem to think we are maintaining very little integrity!

Maybe it's an age thing. Your username suggests you were possibly too young to witness the events of 8th October 1975. On that day we beat Leeds United away in the League Cup. It sounds like nothing much now, but it was massive back then. Leeds were the undisputed top club in the land, and the League Cup was seen as important. No resting of players, none of this "they can't play two games in a week" bollox, the Leeds United team was their first XI (thanks UTM):

1. David Harvey
2. Paul Reaney
3. Trevor Cherry
4. Billy Bremner
5. Paul Madeley
6. Norman Hunter
7. Peter Lorimer
8. David McNiven
9. Duncan McKenzie
10. Frankie Gray
11. Eddie Gray

Almost every Leeds player was an international, and the very best they could pick from. When Ian Scanlon's header hit the back of the net it's probably the highest I've ever jumped in my life. Nowadays the League Cup is an annoyance to Premier League clubs, but it wasn't in 1975.

Have to agree. I'm always a little saddened to see the disrespect shown by the PL teams for our once great cup competitions, especially the FA Cup. FA Cup Final day was one of the biggest events in football's calendar and still should be as it really is a great 'open' competition that always brings surprises. The League Cup perhaps not the same type of appeal but still one of the big 3 contests in (our) footie.

[Notts78]

Have to agree. I'm always a little saddened to see the disrespect shown by the PL teams for our once great cup competitions, especially the FA Cup. FA Cup Final day was one of the biggest events in football's calendar and still should be as it really is a great 'open' competition that always brings surprises. The League Cup perhaps not the same type of appeal but still one of the big 3 contests in (our) footie.

I don’t disagree with you or EP. For the record EP, you are correct, I wasn’t about in 1975.
However, when you look at the Leeds side that you mentioned and football in general, I wonder a/ how big the squads were? b/ how far did those players run compared to the modern day players? And c/ the value of winning competitions, whether monetary or prestige?
I would also counter argue both in respect that clubs don’t take cup competitions seriously. Look at the FA Cup finalists as far back as you like and you will see that at least one of the so called big 4 are in the final (of not both) and only Swansea on the last decade have won the League cup, other than the big 4.
How these teams get to the final is irrelevant and actually, it gives the so called smaller clubs a chance. Look at our outing at Anfield a few years back, we’d have got slaughtered if it wasn’t for changes. Whenever there is a cupset, do fans of clubs say it doesn’t count if a team is much changed?
We as a club do the same, and as fans we demand it. Look at the FA Trophy for example, we seldom play a strong side, and many fans are happy with that as we have more important objectives.

[SwalePie]

I don’t disagree with you or EP. For the record EP, you are correct, I wasn’t about in 1975.
However, when you look at the Leeds side that you mentioned and football in general, I wonder a/ how big the squads were? b/ how far did those players run compared to the modern day players? And c/ the value of winning competitions, whether monetary or prestige?
I would also counter argue both in respect that clubs don’t take cup competitions seriously. Look at the FA Cup finalists as far back as you like and you will see that at least one of the so called big 4 are in the final (of not both) and only Swansea on the last decade have won the League cup, other than the big 4.
How these teams get to the final is irrelevant and actually, it gives the so called smaller clubs a chance. Look at our outing at Anfield a few years back, we’d have got slaughtered if it wasn’t for changes. Whenever there is a cupset, do fans of clubs say it doesn’t count if a team is much changed?
We as a club do the same, and as fans we demand it. Look at the FA Trophy for example, we seldom play a strong side, and many fans are happy with that as we have more important objectives.

Fair points to be honest. Take Coalville for example.

[legs77]

Have to agree. I'm always a little saddened to see the disrespect shown by the PL teams for our once great cup competitions, especially the FA Cup. FA Cup Final day was one of the biggest events in football's calendar and still should be as it really is a great 'open' competition that always brings surprises. The League Cup perhaps not the same type of appeal but still one of the big 3 contests in (our) footie.

I think the calandar is so stacked for big clubs players that they are forced into making changes.

Also the big clubs still 90% of the time win the cups !

FA Cup winner could offer CL place for winners as a carrot ?

Clubs fighting relegation from PL will not go for it the money is too big to stay in the league.

[upthemaggies]

FA Cup winner could offer CL place for winners as a carrot ?

Platini backed that idea and I 100% agreed with it. Had the ECWC got the chop a couple of seasons earlier, it would have surely been suggested that the cup winners should go into the ECL the season they first allowed more than 1 club per nation (1997 I think) which would have saved the FA Cup's reputation.

The only way I see the FA Cup being taken seriously again is if they take the QFs and SFs abroad with the massive cash incentives that would presumably go with such a move, but we'll probably see that happen in the ECL before the FA Cup decide to do it, by which time the novelty of playing in New York, Tokyo etc, will have worn off.