European Super League.

[nw6pie]

Does anyone remember Notts stance on the PL at the time?

I do remember the PFA threatening strike action, until they had a big piece of the pie as well.

Notts voted for the PL during the 1991/1992 season - a move akin to cows backing plans for a state-of-the-art abbatoir.

[upthemaggies]

Notts voted for the PL during the 1991/1992 season - a move akin to cows backing plans for a state-of-the-art abbatoir.

We weren't really in a position to say no. We were in the top flight and the lines had clearly been drawn. I'm sure Pavis and Neal Hook had conversations with clubs like Oldham, Wimbledon, QPR and Luton as to whether it would be worth voting against and.or to try and keep the league together, but they were obviously convinced that it would be good for football as a whole in the long term. I'm sure Hook said as much in one of the programme editorials that season.

Just had a look back at my notes made at the time, initially 8 top flight clubs (during the season we got to the play off final v Brighton) were not on board with it but in a matter of 4 months the top flight was unanimously for it.....

April 1991 - It is announced that the FA had approved plans for an 18 team 'Super League', said to have the backing of 12 top-flight clubs (This despite the league only having agreed to increase the top flight back up to 22 clubs from the start of next season!). Both the Football League and the PFA are opposed to the 'Super League' proposal.

End of August 1991 - The FA announce that it will take the current 22 top flight clubs (including Notts) into the new Premier League regardless of who finishes in the bottom three if the League continue to insist upon on a 3-year leaving notice. 'It will make a mockery of the league in the next few seasons' said an FA Spokesman.

September 1991 - The FA continue to make threats to League clubs trying to prevent the Premier League from going ahead next season, vowing to ban clubs from taking part in the FA Cup and even bringing the current season to a halt.

23rd September 1991 - The Football League backs down, voting not to impose a three year leaving notice on the clubs forming the inaugural Premier League for season 1992/93.

March 1992 - The PFA are now threatening a strike next season if they are not given a say in the running of the Premier League due to start next August - The PFA said that live games on Sky TV would be the first to be effected.

Coincidentally, I've been looking through some BBC files recently from 1946/47 which show the Football League were dead against televised football whilst the FA were very much in favour of "the new science". The pressure from the FL was such that clubs were having to say no to FA Cup ties being shown even though they had nothing to do with the FL, It's clear from correspondence that the top clubs were fearful of upsetting the FL back then. How times changed!

[TheBlackHorse]

... spot of fun ... this Super League has all the markings of a future collapse, at hypersonic speed, of the EU. ie., arrogant, weak control freaks in severe debt try to organise a cartel for the protection of the minority. The People rise up and tell them to go multiply elsewhere ... sweet ...

[jackal2]

They not be banned from the CL as the UEFA bloke said the other day there is time to change your mind.

If UEFA ban them it will cost them millions as well in lost revenue dont forget they signed overseas tv contracts.

BT Bein DAZN Optus arent going to say yeah we will carry on paying you billions if most of the biggest clubs and players arent in it.

Sky have gone way over the top with this and all the socialist rubbish they are spouting they along with UEFA arent the good guys they are the same.

There are no good guys in this. Football's administrators are a bunch of shysters up to the highest levels of FIFA and current events have not changed that. The simple question here was "pick your poison" and football fans have wisely picked the poison they already knew in the face of something far worse.

It remains the case, however, that having benefitted from the satellite TV boom for the first few years when clubs used the new money to build modern, safe stadia and promote a family atmosphere, football fans in recent years have been treated with more and more contempt, asked to pay ridiculous prices to watch football live or see it on the box, all of which allows foreign "investors" and arrogant, spoilt footballers to draw obscene wages and dividends.

But let's be clear, football fans are not powerless. In many ways we created and fed this monster by being willing to pay these prices. All of us have the the power to cancel our TV subscriptions and/or stop attending games if we feel the product on offer is not worth the money, and perhaps that is still what needs to happen in order to truly discipline the football industry and snap it to heel.

Fans have proved through their response to the ESL that collective action and protest on a national and international level can halt the worst excesses of the football business in its tracks, and as customers we should perhaps continue to exercise that newly appreciated power by confronting football clubs and TV companies with the reality that if they don't treat us fairly and charge more reasonable prices for their product, we can withdraw our money en masse and bankrupt them all. If football fans switch off, bang goes the matchday income, the TV subscription fees, and all the advertising revenue, and this seemingly uncontrollable commercial beast would collapse and die as fast as ITV Digital did. Or more likely, it would quickly change its attitude and its pricing in order to survive.

Ironically, whilst one of the most hated aspects of the ESL proposal was the American concept of abolishing promotion and relegation, I think there are other aspects of American sport that could be adopted to make football far better. Wage caps would help prevent the ever more ridiculous salaries paid to some footballers, and create a more even competition as can be seen in the MLS and in the Australian A-League. The MLS in particular has a clever approach, setting an overall maximum wage budget for all participating teams, but allowing for a small number of "Designated Players" to be paid outside that structure, so you still have the excitement of making marquee signings but no one club can sign too many and become too dominant. It becomes a real test of football coaching and business acumen to see who can make the most effective use of the same level of resources. I suppose FIFA's 'Financial Fair Play' is a version of this, but as with anything done by that farcical organisation, it has been badly thought through and poorly implemented.

The other thing I've long liked, particularly in the other form of American football, namely the NFL, is the fact that recruitment opportunities are controlled to prevent any team becoming too uncompetitive. Whenever the NFL draft comes around, the teams that have been the weakest in the previous season have the first choice of the best young talent coming from college football, or they can trade those 'picks' to sign more established players from other teams. Either way, it means a team like the Cleveland Browns who struggled for several seasons have been able to rebuild and reached the NFL play-offs last year, so however bad the fortunes of your team are, you always know as a fan that there is hope for the future. Obviously a great deal of thought would need to be given to how such a system could be applied to our version of football, because we don't have an equivalent college system, but the principle of the league actively supporting the regeneration of struggling clubs, rather than watching them wither on the vine, is a good one.

[ForeignLegion]

The Aussie A league is similar in concept to the ESL, as in there is no relegation/promotion. Not sure how many times the 12 or so teams play each other, but barring the odd match, it is garbage. Adam Le Fondue Set was the League's top scorer for the past couple of seasons and the likes of him, at the end of their careers, are considered marquee players.

There is a new team this season, MacArthur FC, from out woop woop west of Sydney. They have a cow head for a badge and the supporters bang cow bells ffs. As a footy fan, I have zippo interest in it; not sure how my feral, hemp growing, green friend QP, from the Sunshine Coast feels about it.

Bumped into another Notts fan in the gym the other day, says his brother in law is Jon Stead.

Foreign Legion reporting from Down Under...back to you at the desk.

[queenslandpie]

The Aussie A league is similar in concept to the ESL, as in there is no relegation/promotion. Not sure how many times the 12 or so teams play each other, but barring the odd match, it is garbage. Adam Le Fondue Set was the League's top scorer for the past couple of seasons and the likes of him, at the end of their careers, are considered marquee players.

There is a new team this season, MacArthur FC, from out woop woop west of Sydney. They have a cow head for a badge and the supporters bang cow bells ffs. As a footy fan, I have zippo interest in it; not sure how my feral, hemp growing, green friend QP, from the Sunshine Coast feels about it.

Bumped into another Notts fan in the gym the other day, says his brother in law is Jon Stead.

Foreign Legion reporting from Down Under...back to you at the desk.

Hi FL how are you?

Thanks for the complements!

I feel the same as you as I was brought up on better like you. I have been to one A-League game and that was only because I got box tickets when I lived in Brisbane and it was free booze etc. Isn't it complete dirge! I much prefer AFL here as its got some history and tradition ( even if the Brisbane team is a Melbourne franchise) and obviously I go for the Collingwood Magpies ( poor season so far) . Whilst you can take the man out of England you can never take England out of the man so it will always be UK footie and cricket for me. I haven't seen any Notts shirts around for a while but I did see a Bury one the other week!

[queenslandpie]

Hi FL how are you?

Thanks for the complements!

I feel the same as you as I was brought up on better like you. I have been to one A-League game and that was only because I got box tickets when I lived in Brisbane and it was free booze etc. Isn't it complete dirge! I much prefer AFL here as its got some history and tradition ( even if the Brisbane team is a Melbourne franchise) and obviously I go for the Collingwood Magpies ( poor season so far) . Whilst you can take the man out of England you can never take England out of the man so it will always be UK footie and cricket for me. I haven't seen any Notts shirts around for a while but I did see a Bury one the other week!

Forgot to add that my youngest daughter is now centre half for the Eumundi Magpies. I am going to be sponsoring the shirts as well this season. Its considerably cheaper than Notts shirts at $600 ( 300 quid) a season but I had to do it so I could say that I had sponsored the magpies football team. Once its all on the front I will post a pic!

[laddo]

Unsurprisingly I'm also a Collingwood fan and have been since I went to see them at The MCG Vs Hawthorn with Nathan Buckley staring in the win back in 1999.

Since that day I keep up-to-date with scorers and the AFL ladder and luckily watch them quite regularly on BT sport.

Obviously years of promise, heartbreak and disappointment but they are my team

Classic magpies

[ForeignLegion]

Forgot to add that my youngest daughter is now centre half for the Eumundi Magpies. I am going to be sponsoring the shirts as well this season. Its considerably cheaper than Notts shirts at $600 ( 300 quid) a season but I had to do it so I could say that I had sponsored the magpies football team. Once its all on the front I will post a pic!

Never really been into Kick and Giggle, but I sort of follow the Swans as I lived in Sydney many years ago. Don’t like Collingwood and all their 3 toothed supporters; there is only ONE Magpies. I’ve followed rugby league for years now, although losing interest in that too. I’ve followed the Chooks since 1988.

Compliments are free flowing from up here, just ask and you shall receive.

[ForeignLegion]

You’ll be aware Brizzy team initially stood alone as The Bears, one of two non Victorian teams back in 86. They merged with Fitzroy Lions some time later, can’t be ar5sed to look it up. I’m sure you knew that.