Rolling international club football 18/19 thread

(Long post, but i’ve been thinking about how this could work for a while. I’d be against it, but bear with me…)

League Cups should be discontinued, or at least made into an U23 tournaments for Super League clubs. This might actually be a good thing, as much as it’s driven by the wont of the elite clubs. It would mean, in England for example, they could stop fucking about with the JPT, and it should mean a wider variation of winners.

Premier domestic cups, like the FA Cup, i expect, might involve fewer replays. What they should do is offer any club from a lower level the choice of a home or an away draw, so those in financial need can choose to travel and forefeit home advantage for gate receipts. No extra time, straight to pens. Again, as much as i’m against it we could end up with a more competitive competition here.

All international friendlies to be scrapped, except perhaps for a six-week window before major finals. The Nations League has been a rare positive so far.

Do think we’ll quickly see the move towards 18-team top flights and 20-team divisions from level two downwards. Clubs do play too many games, especially beyond the Premier League, but of course many rely on the income those extra games generate.

A 16-team Super League, assuming it would have a four-team group stage then knockouts would be eleven games for finalists. It would more than likely eventually become a 30-game league, but probably down the line. Those games are going to take place on weekends, not weekdays, you imagine.

So hypothetically, Chelsea, for example, would have 34 Premier League games, up to 11 Super League games, up to 6 FA Cup games, then their U23 could have up to six League Cup ties, so 46-51 senior games in total, less than now.

A non-Super League club, say Watford, would have 34 League games, up to 6 FA Cup games, and up to 6 (senior) League Cup games, so 36-46 games in total, less than now.

We’d almost certainly have to have more midweek league cards. Course, the broadcasters are unlikely to use much common sense, but what if they did? What if we could have more local fixtures midweek, and long-trip domestic games and Super League games on weekends? Say, for example, bar huge derbies where policing might be an issue, regional games were played on Wednesdays, say, Everton v United, or Palace v Arsenal.

Don’t get me wrong, i think the greed of the big clubs here and abroad is abhorrent. I’d fire the lot of them into the fucking moon, and FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League are all rotten are are unlikely to ever get much right and don’t really care for the wider game, but at the same time football fans generally are being short-sighted, they always are. Festive scheduling’s a great example. The arguments for a winter break are conclusive, but curmudgeony simpletons smugly dismiss it with their arms folded every year.

Don’t think people are seeing the bigger picture. Yes, a small cartel of clubs are barging everyone else out of the way, but the positives of that might outweigh the negatives if by allowing it we can improve the competitiveness or life of several other competitions, and perhaps most importantly, secure improved funding for clubs at and below Football League level. Big ifs, admittedly.

I raised these ideas with a couple of mates recently and they dismissed them out of hand, but one supports a club whose league parachute payments have completely borked, and the other whinges about his Premier League club getting 3-0’d by the squids every other week. Football’s broke. Rather than just “Not for me, Clive”-ing everything away we should at least consider the possible disadvantages and benefits properly and whether the greed of the suits and big clubs might give everyone else leverage to address issues. They’re going to do it anyway.

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Said it a few times, and I still like the Champions League, but big clubs greed have gotten us to a point where a Super League starts to looking like a solution. Current state of affairs with Juve, Bayern, PSG winning everything domestic by default is crap, but also unsustainable.

They’ve already ruined things, to be honest.

Good thread from Rory Smith on the subject.

https://twitter.com/RorySmith/status/1058428264681824257

Think a bipartisan movement needs to start if there’s to be any meaningful change.

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This is the key to any meaningful progress in football for fans, it’s also one of the main blockages to anything happening.

Saw Napoli - Empoli last night. (3-1)

Entertaining game, Empoli were gallant but aren’t really picking up points to look like surviving. They were given lots of chances though…Napoli had virtually no midfield control…even after Allan came on. They have next to no chance of mounting a title challenge, unfortunately.

Re: the super league thing, this is a simplistic take but I haven’t really looked into the details.

I also have a “knee-jerk” opposition to it…based upon what the champions League (and the major domestic leagues) should be, i.e a naturally competitive system that sticks to some kind of meritocracy. Of course…in reality it is far, far from that…meaning the proposed SL would actually be similar in format. In which case I agree with most of the above; either fans accept it is coming, or set about trying to change the whole system (we all know which is much more likely). Current set up is unsustainable.

In which case I think I’ll buy FM19 (the latest addition of the football management sim which allows you to take charge of the club you love and create your own footballing story) and pretend this is what football will be like forever.

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A Super League would be a huge cash cow in the short term, but the problem with any kind of League is that only one team can win it and often that winner is determined way before the final game.

Most league games are simple contractual obligation, with nothing particular riding
on them. Take the Premier League this weekend - only one fixture, Arsenal v Liverpool, is remotely sexy to an non-affiliated casual supporter. The nine other games will just pass by largely unwatched and unloved. And even if Arsenal or Liverpool win, the loser isn’t particularly disadvantaged, they just move on to the next game.

There will be an awful lot of dead rubbers, and if there is no relegation for certain favoured teams there will be no peril either. There is talk of locking teams into the League for 20 years. That’s a long time. Even great teams can go massively tits up in that time. The last time there was serious talk of a break away, Leverkusen were involved. Not this time.

Don’t think Bayern are winning anything this year tbf

They’ll win the Bundesliga by ten points.

Oh they’re second again cuz everyone steps aside and let’s them by default, cool.

Still Dortmund look very good indeed this year, think they’ll have their number when it comes

Think I might switch over to the Juve game now…just praying that they’ll somehow slip up.

Also, anyone seen these best goals of Serie A (per season) videos? They’re all nicely made…and it has to be the best league for beautiful/unique goals.

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Seems a bit coincidental to me that lots of muck about the big clubs appears at the same time as they’re threatening to walk away from the Champions League.

I’d still consider it a positive thing when those stories emerge, but they emerge because of politics between the governing bodies and not because anyone anywhere cares about the game.

Particularly enjoyed the bit in a piece i read recently that the source was “a guy called John, who isn’t a hacker”.

Eredivisie week 11

It’s a dark day in Rotterdam as Feyenoord’s home match against VVV is halted after only two minutes due to the floodlights failing. Stadium technicians worked relentlessly to find the cause of the failure, but with everyone in the dark abut this too, the match was ultimately abandoned.

Elsewhere it’s business as usual with Ajax winning against Willlem II (2 - 0) and PSV narrowly beating Vitesse (1 - 0) so no changes at the top of the table.

On Tuesday PSV are away at Spurs, whereas Ajax travel to Lisbon to play Benfica on Wednesday.

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Can’t believe i missed Dortmund v Bayern. One more defeat for Bayern and i might start to believe.

Fucking hell i hate that football club.

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Sod’s law La Liga would become an interesting league the only season nobody’s watching it.

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Eredivisie week 12

Ajax demolish Excelsior at Woudestein by scoring 7 in an hour. Goals by Van De Beek (x2), Schöne, Dolberg, Schouten, Ziyech and Neres.I had the choice to go to this game or Arsenal v Wolves. I choose wrong.

Elsewhere PSV have no issues with De Graafschap (4 - 1) and Feyenoord defeat 4th place Heracles (2 - 0), so no changes at the top of the league.

International break next weekend and Oranje will play France on Friday, and Germany on Monday, both fixtures courtesy of the UEFA Nations League… The Eredivisie is back on Saturday 24 November.

Really like Cork City’s away jersey for next season.

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Basically Fulham innit?

Similar enough. I doubt that Adidas offer a huge variety of shirt templates every year.

Really enjoy that they’re sponsored by my alma mater AND Clonakilty Sausages. From the sublime to the ridiculous.

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