****OFFICIAL SOCCER THREAD****

[TEW]

3 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

That's very true. It's a difficult one. Perhaps these owners should just be forced to sell. 

Can't force them to sell. They're publicly traded companies.

Fine them too much and they're just going to join the ESL. You'll essentially push them out of the EPL because they already have financial problems.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 minutes ago, TEW said:

Can't force them to sell. They're publicly traded companies.

Fine them too much and they're just going to join the ESL. You'll essentially push them out of the EPL because they already have financial problems.

Yeah I know bud. Like I said there's no right answer to this mess. 

[TEW]

7 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Yeah I know bud. Like I said there's no right answer to this mess. 

Maybe time to realize that the ESL isn't the boogieman it's made out to be?

It will fix far more problems than it creates. Fixes the finances of the top clubs in the world, fixes FFP, fixes corruption. Biggest problem is fixed membership for founding clubs. That's an easy tradeoff IMO.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

10 hours ago, TEW said:

Maybe time to realize that the ESL isn't the boogieman it's made out to be?

It will fix far more problems than it creates. Fixes the finances of the top clubs in the world, fixes FFP, fixes corruption. Biggest problem is fixed membership for founding clubs. That's an easy tradeoff IMO.

I don't think it fixes more problems than it solves. It'll take money away from the grass roots. It'll take fans away from more games because they won't be able to afford to travel every other week for ESL games. And EPL games for those teams will mean less when they field weaker teams. 

[TEW]

6 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don't think it fixes more problems than it solves. It'll take money away from the grass roots. It'll take fans away from more games because they won't be able to afford to travel every other week for ESL games. And EPL games for those teams will mean less when they field weaker teams. 

1) How?

2) Fans already have to travel for ECL.

3) Why would they field weaker teams?

[DaEagles4Life]

La Liga is sooooo deep with teams that the gap between 4th and 5th place is 20 points. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

6 hours ago, TEW said:

1) How?

2) Fans already have to travel for ECL.

3) Why would they field weaker teams?

Because it would be more games in Europe? 

They'd field weaker teams potentially because the ESL could take priority for clubs. 

[TEW]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Because it would be more games in Europe? 

They'd field weaker teams potentially because the ESL could take priority for clubs. 

Wouldn’t more money equate to deeper teams? And wouldn’t that mean more money for grassroots and small clubs?

[Green_Guinness]

Supporters would be traveling more often in a Super League than for the CL.  What's the CL on average, like 1 away match/month?  Sometimes there's a gap of a couple months in between rounds.  In an ESL it would be 2x or more per month since they'd consistently be playing each other.  The traveling money adds up.

Sure, deeper squads so you'd have a league of All-Star teams while all the other leagues get watered down and now aren't making as much money so would need bigger payouts from the ESL to help keep them afloat and keep the pipeline of players flowing up the food chain.

Just sort out the CL and figure out a fair system where everyone gets paid.  Of course, that's load easier said than done when the reality is that most of the people in positions of power/authority in any of these acronym organizations are greedy and corrupt and siphon too much off the pot for themselves.  That is the real problem and one that is unlikely to get fixed since people who have money/power never want to give even the littlest bit of it up and usually want more.  It's a vicious circle that seems to repeat itself.  I don't think an ESL would fix that and as I stated previously that eventually it wouldn't be the new shiny toy anymore and would mirror the other leagues with the same 4-6 clubs consistently at the top and the rest either languishing in mid table or falling to the bottom. 

[TEW]

17 minutes ago, Green_Guinness said:

Supporters would be traveling more often in a Super League than for the CL.  What's the CL on average, like 1 away match/month?  Sometimes there's a gap of a couple months in between rounds.  In an ESL it would be 2x or more per month since they'd consistently be playing each other.  The traveling money adds up.

Sure, deeper squads so you'd have a league of All-Star teams while all the other leagues get watered down and now aren't making as much money so would need bigger payouts from the ESL to help keep them afloat and keep the pipeline of players flowing up the food chain.

Just sort out the CL and figure out a fair system where everyone gets paid.  Of course, that's load easier said than done when the reality is that most of the people in positions of power/authority in any of these acronym organizations are greedy and corrupt and siphon too much off the pot for themselves.  That is the real problem and one that is unlikely to get fixed since people who have money/power never want to give even the littlest bit of it up and usually want more.  It's a vicious circle that seems to repeat itself.  I don't think an ESL would fix that and as I stated previously that eventually it wouldn't be the new shiny toy anymore and would mirror the other leagues with the same 4-6 clubs consistently at the top and the rest either languishing in mid table or falling to the bottom. 

ECL is expanding to 36 teams. It’s going to be about the same number of games. And actual travel distance will be less because it will be made up of so many Western European teams.

You already have teams of all stars. FFS, Madrid has loaned out guys like Bale, James, Hakimi, Odegaard, and on and on. Man City brings in like 3 70M players per year. The difference is that big clubs would actually have enough matches to play everyone a reasonable number of minutes.

All the other leagues get watered down? This is a market. Prices will adjust. More money means higher transfer fees, that in turn means more financial stability for everyone as smaller clubs charge more for their academy players who outgrow the club. 

UEFA will never be fair. It’s a corrupt, self interested institution made up of grifters trying to line their own pockets. You want to end that? That’s what the ESL does! There is a reason the franchise system in the US is so stable and corruption free. It’s because the league itself represents the teams instead of being an organization that must be negotiated against. They don’t need the bureaucratic overhead and grifters.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

9 hours ago, TEW said:

Wouldn’t more money equate to deeper teams? And wouldn’t that mean more money for grassroots and small clubs?

The money would go to the ESL teams though. 

[TEW]

7 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

The money would go to the ESL teams though. 

And then they’d spend it buying from smaller teams.

[DrPhilly]

@TEW On paper goals look hard to come by tonight.  While I'd love a 1-1 away result I'm thinking Real wins 1-0

[TEW]

5 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

@TEW On paper goals look hard to come by tonight.  While I'd love a 1-1 away result I'm thinking Real wins 1-0

Good result for you guys. Didn’t watch that match but going by the box score I’d say you guys might have even deserved a win.

[DrPhilly]

7 hours ago, TEW said:

Good result for you guys. Didn’t watch that match but going by the box score I’d say you guys might have even deserved a win.

First 30 were all Chelsea. Full domination with wide open runs. Could have been 3-0. Then the rain started and Benzena had two great flashes. From there Real recovered and it was an even and largely uneventful affair. Wide open now heading into the match next week. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Chelsea have to be happy with that result even though in that first half they could have been out of sight. 

[DrPhilly]

52 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Chelsea have to be happy with that result even though in that first half they could have been out of sight. 

Yeah, it was disappointing to see Real level after all the domination the first 25 to 30. I can’t decide whether Chelsea was just that good early or if Real was in a SL sleep. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

1 minute ago, DrPhilly said:

Yeah, it was disappointing to see Real level after all the domination the first 25 to 30. I can’t decide whether Chelsea was just that good early or if Real was in a SL sleep. 

I don't think Real are the force they were a couple of years ago. Of course they are still a very good team but they aren't what they were. I think Chelsea go through. 

[DrPhilly]

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don't think Real are the force they were a couple of years ago. Of course they are still a very good team but they aren't what they were. I think Chelsea go through. 

Chelsea has a good shot but Real is Real 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

47 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

Chelsea has a good shot but Real is Real 

No doubt and we know Zidane is a little bit special in the Champions League. 

[TEW]

On 4/26/2021 at 6:51 PM, Green_Guinness said:

Supporters would be traveling more often in a Super League than for the CL.  What's the CL on average, like 1 away match/month?  Sometimes there's a gap of a couple months in between rounds.  In an ESL it would be 2x or more per month since they'd consistently be playing each other.  The traveling money adds up.

Sure, deeper squads so you'd have a league of All-Star teams while all the other leagues get watered down and now aren't making as much money so would need bigger payouts from the ESL to help keep them afloat and keep the pipeline of players flowing up the food chain.

Just sort out the CL and figure out a fair system where everyone gets paid.  Of course, that's load easier said than done when the reality is that most of the people in positions of power/authority in any of these acronym organizations are greedy and corrupt and siphon too much off the pot for themselves.  That is the real problem and one that is unlikely to get fixed since people who have money/power never want to give even the littlest bit of it up and usually want more.  It's a vicious circle that seems to repeat itself.  I don't think an ESL would fix that and as I stated previously that eventually it wouldn't be the new shiny toy anymore and would mirror the other leagues with the same 4-6 clubs consistently at the top and the rest either languishing in mid table or falling to the bottom. 

UCL is expanding to 36 teams and more games. Literally the winner of the ESL vs UCL would only play 4 extra matches.

The problem with UCL paying everyone is that the UCL wants to pay themselves. They keep hundreds of millions for their own bureaucracy. That would change with ESL.

[TEW]

8 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don't think Real are the force they were a couple of years ago. Of course they are still a very good team but they aren't what they were. I think Chelsea go through. 

Problem is age and depth.

A few years ago we had Morata, prime James, prime Isco, Varane, etc coming off the bench. Our second string could have challenged for the EPL title.

But now our key players are all 30+. They’re still world class, but they can’t play 45 games a year at 100%. Our depth isn’t where it was back then so the older players are getting run into the ground.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

1 hour ago, TEW said:

Problem is age and depth.

A few years ago we had Morata, prime James, prime Isco, Varane, etc coming off the bench. Our second string could have challenged for the EPL title.

But now our key players are all 30+. They’re still world class, but they can’t play 45 games a year at 100%. Our depth isn’t where it was back then so the older players are getting run into the ground.

I thought they were building a good core of young players though?

[TEW]

21 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I thought they were building a good core of young players though?

Yeah, but most are on loan, sold with a buy back, or are super young. Vini and Rodrygo, for example, are 20. Good young players with a bright future, but not quite ready for prime time. Injuries have basically forced them into service. 

[DaEagles4Life]

PSG is soft