The Football Thread

[pierrelm]

Originally Posted by Roger Allott

I think a European league is inevitable, and frankly a damn good thing so long as there's a proper mechanism for relegation and promotion...Entrance to such a European league must be determined by performance on the pitch. Anything else will be a sham reminiscent of US sports.

Which is EXACTLY what we'll end up with (quoth your friendly neighbourhood Prophet of Doom).
Let's not be naive about this. It will be funded by business people, the ludicrously wealthy, monied consortiums and oligarchs looking for a brand to exploit and using 'their' teams as playthings. This is money-motivated and a step further away from football as a sport - if the horrors are true to form then thay will demand success, insist on protection from relegation and we'll end up with franchises. The whole thing is too sickening to even contemplate and another large step away from being the people's game.

Mod£rn Football is fast becoming nauseating, with every pro$pect of getting wor$e

[Mal Hombre]

A European National team ? Anyone care to bet on how many England players would make the cut.....

[uli12345]

A European National Team?

No! We don't need such a team! If that is the case, we
don't have fun with england!






Best regards
ULI1234

[Roger Allott]

I really don't see why we don't have a European (UEFA) team. A tournament of the 6 confederations (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, UEFA) could be quite fun.

Play it as a round-robin league format in the year preceding each World Cup instead of the current Confederations Cup tournament, which is a bit of a damp squib.

[pierrelm]

Originally Posted by uli12345

A European National Team?

No! We don't need such a team! If that is the case, we
don't have fun with england!




Best regards
ULI1234

The prospect of a combined Dutch, French, German and Italian team being coached by anyone is too funny to begin to contmeplate. I think we can safely say that will never happen.

In the future, I could see the shout for a european league getting louder - thepoint the beaurocrats and businessmen wouldn't perhaps understand is that European football is still, for the spectator, a novelty event but it's never going to replace the feeling for domestic contest. They stand to lose from any artificially contrived, money based league.

The game grew due to it's ability to evolve over a long period and for people to develop a genuine passion for a sport, partly because it was so accessible. The herberts that are looking to exploit it for financial gain and commercial opportunity don't realise that with each step they take, they are killing the roots of what made football such a great game in the first place and overlooking why supporters CARE in the first place.

Supporting a team is not the fucking same as brand loyalty.

Frankly, I wouldn't give a flying one about a league full of Galactico's playing each other - it would reduce to the level of a travelling circus. And the grounds would be lifeless and souless. Still, the sport is being taken over by imbeciles for the benefit of armchair supporters. Based on that premise, the future isn't too bright.

[footstep]

France friendly Japan last night, and a defeat 0 1: in the end a poor national team with still no ideas.And Spain Tuesday .....

[mitchspur]

Could you perhaps have the Champions of the strongest 20 European Countries EVERY year. No Relegation. Then EVERY year there would be 20 different teams competing.
Because each Champion from one season would NOT be competing in their own league the year after they won it??
This would certainly take any monotony out of Every countries domestic season???
No one team would then have a monopoly on their respective league.

[pierrelm]

Originally Posted by mitchspur

Could you perhaps have the Champions of the strongest 20 European Countries EVERY year. No Relegation. Then EVERY year there would be 20 different teams competing.
Because each Champion from one season would NOT be competing in their own league the year after they won it??
This would certainly take any monotony out of Every countries domestic season???
No one team would then have a monopoly on their respective league.

How do they qualify for the following year's competition? If they are not competing in their own league in the same season that they compete in the European League, then they can't then qualify for the EL the next season?? It simply wouln't even begin to work - the big countries would surely want more than one place - Barca and Real Madrid for instance, not just one of them - or the Spanish league would presumably become a domestic procession for the 'other' team. So bang goes the 'champions of each country' scenario.
And say 'hello' very quickly to franchises, no relegation, Liverpool Reds playing the Milanese Maccaroni's, Manchester Devils exclusively live on pay TV against the Moscow Moneylaunderers and the London Arsespurs travelling to play the Glasgow Ba'heids.

Dear Lord, no.

And the players? Well we know how loyal they are, so the EL teams would just shuffle the usual suspects amongst themselves each season and the players would jump ship on an annual basis - sheer stupid anarchy. And, on that basis it would quickly become as meaningless as 'reds' against 'blues'

It's a horrid, bloated, non-starter of a stupid concept. Which will therefore be with us any day soon. If the PL can seriously suggest a game 39 played in the Far East, then there's nothing so stupid as to be beyond consideration.

[Devius]

Originally Posted by pierrelm

How do they qualify for the following year's competition? If they are not competing in their own league in the same season that they compete in the European League, then they can't then qualify for the EL the next season?? It simply wouln't even begin to work - the big countries would surely want more than one place - Barca and Real Madrid for instance, not just one of them - or the Spanish league would presumably become a domestic procession for the 'other' team. So bang goes the 'champions of each country' scenario.
And say 'hello' very quickly to franchises, no relegation, Liverpool Reds playing the Milanese Maccaroni's, Manchester Devils exclusively live on pay TV against the Moscow Moneylaunderers and the London Arsespurs travelling to play the Glasgow Ba'heids.

Dear Lord, no.

And the players? Well we know how loyal they are, so the EL teams would just shuffle the usual suspects amongst themselves each season and the players would jump ship on an annual basis - sheer stupid anarchy. And, on that basis it would quickly become as meaningless as 'reds' against 'blues'

It's a horrid, bloated, non-starter of a stupid concept. Which will therefore be with us any day soon. If the PL can seriously suggest a game 39 played in the Far East, then there's nothing so stupid as to be beyond consideration.

Since when does the ordinary fan get a look-in these days?
We're only needed to pay ridiculously expensive season tickets at the Emirates/Wonga stadia, and fork out ever-increasing sums for the replica shirts....

[mitchspur]

Devius said
We're only needed to pay ridiculously expensive season tickets at the Emirates/Wonga stadia, and fork out ever-increasing sums for the replica shirts....

£62 I've got to pay to go to the Emirates in the 'Spurs' end on 17th November.
By the way Maribor is back on for me!! Stansted to Treviso then 4 hour coach ride to Maribor!!


P.S. The Champions would have to wait until they 'won' their respective league 'again' before they could qualify for 'Champions' league. At least it would rotate and more people would get their chance. And as I've said in previous posts ONLY 'Champions' should play in 'The CHAMPIONS League' Not teams who finish 4th. It would also make a refreshing change to have a season away from playing the same teams season in season out