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A Super What Now?

ballsofsteelandfury

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Yesterday, there was an announcement made by 12 of the most famous clubs in Europe of their plans to create a “European Super League”. The 12 teams are: Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona.

The announcement was immediately met with derision. Twitter done blowed up. There was also retaliation.

UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, announced that any club taking part in this “Super League” would be banned from their respective leagues, European competitions, and World competitions (read: World Club Cup). FIFA backed UEFA as did the federations of each of the countries

Now, as you all know, I love nothing more than a good ole dick-measuring contest and we’ve got ourselves a good one here. The question in my mind is: “Who will blink first?”

Let’s ANALyze this a little bit, shall we?

Why do this?

Greed. Pure and simple greed. There was some bullshit sugarcoating put out by the new Chairperson of the League, Florentino Pérez, saying that “We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world.” Now that is some GRADE A bullshit right there. Roger Goodell should take notes. Football is already the number 1 sport in the world. It doesn’t need to be taken anywhere.

Keep in mind that Florentino Pérez is the same Florentino Pérez that is the President of Real Madrid and as such has presided over the Galácticos era of Real Madrid in which all they care about is buying the most expensive stars in the world whether or not they can actually play well together.

/ spits on the ground Don T-style.

Who is behind this?

One of the Vice-Chairpersons of the League is Manchester United co-Chairman and Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Joel Glazer. The other one is Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli. There is supposed to be funding from JP Morgan and DAZN is supposed to be the broadcast partner.

Who is against this?

Pretty much everyone. Let’s do a short list:

  • FIFA
  • UEFA
  • The European Club Association
  • Boris Johnson
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • The English Football Federation
  • The Premier League
  • The Royal Spanish Football Federation
  • La Liga
  • The Italian Football Federation
  • Serie A
  • Chelsea Supporters’ Trust
  • Tottenham Supporters’ Trust
  • Manchester United Supporters’ Trust
  • Arsenal Supporters’ Trust
  • Balls of Steel and Fury

And that was just a few hours after the announcement was made. By the time this posts, I’m sure a lot more organizations will formally and loudly proclaim their dislike for the idea.

The interesting part is going to be what the sponsors will say and do. FIFA and UEFA have a long list of powerful companies and sponsors. They can and will exert pressure on their corporate partners to disassociate themselves from these clubs and the Super League.

Here is a short table showing the current sponsors for each of the 12 teams in the Super League:

TeamSponsors
AC MilanPuma, Emirates, Banco BPM, BMW, EA Sports, Skrill, Starcasino, Bioscalin, DAZN, Snaipay, Frecciarossa
ArsenalAdidas, Emirates, Visit Rwanda, Acronis, Ball Corp., GKFX, Konami, Santa Rita, Sportsbet.io,
Atlético MadridPlus500, Nike, Wanda, Hyundai, Ria Money Transfer, Versus, Mahou, Caixa Bank, Socios.com, EA Sports, Coca Cola, Acronis, Movistar
ChelseaNike, Three, Beats By Dre, Cadbury, Carabao Energy Drink, EA Sports, fiserv, GO Markets, Hublot, Hyundai, Levy Restaurants, Millenium hotels, MSC Cruises, Singha, Sure, Vitality Health Insurance, Yokohama tires
BarcelonaNike, Rakuten, Beko, 1XBet, Estrella Damm, Konami, Cupra, Oppo, Stanley, Gatorade, chiliz, FBS, Thom Browne
InternazionaleNike, Suning, Lenovo, EA Sports, Acronis, Hugo Boss, Credit Agricole, Volvo, Sky, starcasino.com, DAZN, manpower group, snaipay, Locauto, Frecciarossa, cashback world, nilox, linkem, a2a energia, Carimi, RDS,
JuventusAdidas, Jeep, Allianz, Cygames, Konami, Sky, Pari Match, Socios.com, M&Ms, Intesa SanPaolo, Linglong Tire, Balocco, Ganten, Frecciarossa, DeCecco, Wuber
LiverpoolStandard Chartered, Nike, AXA, Expedia, Carlsberg, Tribus, 1XBet, MG, Holly Frontier, Tigerwit, Mauritius, EA Sports, Quorn, Cadbury, Acronis, Vodafone, NH foods, ugis, Joie, Mitel, Levi’s, Alex Bank, ExtraJoss, Verbier
Manchester CityEtihad Airways, Puma, Etisalat, Nissan, Visit Abu Dhabi, Nexen Tire, MarathonBet, EA Sports, Cisco, Wix, QNET, Socios.com, Tecno, SAP, Unilever, Axi, JNC, Xylem, Hays, Gatorade, Midea, UBTECH, Wega, Unilumin Sports, Dsquared2, SeatGeek, Acronis, Vejo, Therabody, S.C.M.
Manchester UnitedChevrolet, Adidas, AON, Kohler, Aeroflot, Apollo Tires, Cadbury, Canon Medical Systems, Casillero Del Diablo, Chivas, DHL, Gulf Oil International, HCL, Konami, Maui Jim, Marriot Hotels, Melitta, MLILY, Remington, Swiss Quote, TagHeuer, Visit Malta, Yabo Sports
Real MadridEmirates, Adidas, Nivea Men, Audi, Hankook, Mahou, Easy Markets, Hugo Boss, EA Sports, Palladium Hotel Group, Meatless Farm, Theragun
TottenhamHSBC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, William Hill, FUN88, betway, Audi, Libertex, Heineken, Monster Energy, Kumho Tire, EA Sports, IWC Schaffhausen, hotels.com, vivopower, Cadbury, Hugo Boss

It’s interesting to see how many sponsors these teams have in common. I have no doubt that EA Sports is somehow behind this plan.

What will happen?

This is where Reverend Mayhem’s avatar is particularly appropriate:

I really hope that this turns into a war and there is plenty of blood spilled. I happen to think that UEFA have the upper hand as FIFA is supporting them and there are MAJOR dollars behind FIFA. FIFA will make sure its sponsors fall in line. In particular, FIFA can exert great pressure on the big three shoe companies (Adidas, Nike, and Puma). It can also choose to terminate its relationship with EA Sports which could further weaken the Super League.

To me it’s just a question of whether UEFA/FIFA have the collective BALLS to stomp on the Super League’s neck.

I hope they do.

Your thoughts in the comments.

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Dunstan

Ok, so which NFL owners are currently texting each other and saying “Hmm, this gives me an idea”?

JJ for sure. Probably Kraft and the Maras. Snyder wants in but they probably won’t let him.

2
Viva La Tabula Raza

Why does a shithole Northern town full of Mankies have TWO football teams? Oh well, NYC and LA both have more than one….

1
Sharkbait

Guessing I should drop my support for Spurs and go full in Brighton.

Also Jose Mourinho for USMNT. That would be highly entertaining

1
ballsofsteelandfury

At least you wouldn’t have to translate “park the bus” into English…

2
herodotus450

The joke you are about to read was inspired by true events*:
With all the best talent in the world locked out of the World Cup, the US can finally win one.
*the event was someone else’s joke I read somewhere.

5
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Should I use this as an excuse to stop rooting* for Arsenal and choose another squadron to support?

*only during the fairest of fair weather

2
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

“Ben, Hope, I know you don’t believe in modern medicine, but you do believe in the power of prayer…and through the years, when there was disease or infection, people of good faith would pray to God for a cure. Well, then isn’t it possible that penicillin, vaccines and antibiotics are all actually answered prayers?” – Lois Griffin

0
Brick Meathook

Christ is King. He can cure Covid, raise the dead, and then build you nice table and some cabinets.

Last edited 5 years ago by Brick Meathook
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Viva La Tabula Raza

He can also macramé up a nice whip to chase the moneychangers out of the temple…

0
Doktor Zymm

His mortice work is impeccable

0
BeefReeferLives

“Just give him some wood and he’ll build you a cabinet”

0
Darkest Timeline Zack Morris

I like that they put other imaginary characters in there to drive home that Jebus isn’t real.

1
Beerguyrob

Where the hell is the talking carrot?

1
Beerguyrob

No Rangers or Celtic?
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Wakezilla

My man, Bruno Fernandes, posted on Instagram with the message that read “Dreams can’t be bought.”

Sploosh!

1
ballsofsteelandfury

Ha ha ha ha!!! “Super League” dipshits Liverpool can’t even beat Leeds!!

3
Wakezilla

It’s been a banner 24 hours for Superclubs. Scousers can’t beat Leeds, Arseholes can’t beat Fulham and Tottenham fire Jose after he got spanked by United and drew Disappointing Everton.

3
Brick Meathook

Dang! Some of you folks are really into this shit!

I’m more amazed that the official automobile of Manchester United is Chevrolet.

I know nothing about soccer, so let me just say that I support this idea for a new league or whatever it is, sponsored by Chevrolet.

1
TheRevanchist

https://youtu.be/McsERHUtHBc

Built Chevy Tough. Zoom zoom zoom.

1
Brick Meathook

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Brick Meathook

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Fronkenshteen

Not that I want this to happen, but how are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund not included?

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ballsofsteelandfury

They said NO. The CEO of Bayern put out a statement condemning the Super League.

2
Senor Weaselo

I also read that 51% of German clubs are owned by the fans or something.

2
ballsofsteelandfury

51% of each German club must be owned by the fans.

2
Viva La Tabula Raza

They had to do that after the last war to prevent the rise of a Fourth Reich.

3
Gumbygirl

The Germans said nein, and the French immediately surrendered.

3
King Hippo

HOT TAEK – all 12 clubs should be banned from 2021-22 Shempions (and NIT Shempions, aka Europa) competition…just for PROPOSING this.

3
Doktor Zymm

Ugh, it’s really saying something when you manage to make FIFA look like the good guys…
I say keep the league but put a different controversial and egomaniacal CEO in charge each year, starting with Akbar AlBaker, current CEO of Qatar airlines

4
King Hippo

RIGHT???? FIFA and Boris Goddamned Johnson on the side of the angels? End times, they sure is nigh.

3
Horatio Cornblower

Agreeing with one of them is slimy enough; agreeing with both and I feel like I should take a bath with my toaster.

4
litre_cola

This is insanity. The greed is the worst part.

I have come to really enjoy Mexican footy but now with no relegation that puts me off. Not having to qualify for European nights really puts me off and tarnishes the well earned run that my Mighty Whitey had all those years back.

I personally think this is a dick measuring contest and that it will not happen. Players will not want to give up their rights to play internationally and that is where I think one of the weak points is.

5
Wakezilla

It has been about 24 hours since the Super League has been announced and I still feel shocked, disgusted, pissed off and saddened.

The Super League is the worst thing that has happened to football since its foundation as an organized sport. To put it into non-soccer fan terms on how bad this is:

Pretend your wife just left you and took your kid to go live with a billionaire that looks like Avram Glazer. Within the first year, you’re feeling incredibly depressed and find out that the guy is beating the life out of the woman you still love. By year 5, your wife is a shell of her former self and and he kills her, and decides to throw acid into your child’s face. Of course, because he’s a billionaire, he just sells off an asset and disappears into the limelight for a few years while you deal with the devastating aftermath.

This whole thing is blatantly an attempt to concentrate money at the top of football and take away competition. It’s financial imperialism in football. The formation of the Super League is an example of the clubs just doing what they want instead of making changes through the proper systems. It also just assumes that these clubs have some god-given right to be at the top of football, which completely runs against the spirit of sport in general. What really sets me off is that they’re pissing in my ear and telling me it’s raining. Oh, this is a super, hyper competitive league that only the elite of the elite can enter?

Lets take a look at many of the members in the Super League:

AC Milan: No league title since 2011. Having lots of financial difficulties
Inter: No league title since 2010. Having financial difficulties
Juventus: 4th in Serie A, has massive financial debt issues.
Atletico: No league title since 2014.Recently began having financial difficulties.
Arsenal: No league title since George W Bush. They’re frugal, currently 9th or 10th in the Prem and hasn’t seen Champions League in 5 years, where they lost in the round of 16 by a score of 10-2 on aggregate. They literally just drew with Fulham.
Chelsea: 5th in the PL.
Man Utd: No league title since 2013. They have been frugal the past 3+ years and are currently £455.5 million in debt, and have a stadium that’s falling apart.
Spurs: Perennial participant ribbon holders whose season has been so shit, they just fired their manager.
Liverpool: Currently 6th in the standings and the club’s owner, John Henry Jr, who has been notoriously cheap during his time at Liverpool, is rumoured to be struggling financially with the club.
Barcelona: Have so much financial difficulties that they’ll be sucking dick for a quarter soon.
Real Madrid: A team ignoring all the red flags of how much financial difficulties they’re having (until now?).

A$ we can $ee, there’$ a pattern occurring here and it ha$ nothing to do with a club’$ $ucce$$. We can also see that the Super League, like all closed self-selected & self-invited leagues, is a horrible idea and a big step towards the destruction of football. With the UK and Europe banning these clubs from domestic play, the next move from these fucking parasites will be to attack the World Cup, to make the players playing in this league feel like they aren’t missing out on anything.

Aside from missing the mark with fans and everything, another thing that the Super League lacks is vision. It only focuses on the present. Year one could be interesting. However, due to no relegation ever occurring, the same clubs will play year-in year-out until fans are sick of watching the same matches. No Real Madrid fan is going to give a shit to watch fucking Tottenham and Inter Milan play 100 times a year.

Yes, the Champions League is getting a little tedious because many of the same teams consistently enter the UCL. However, what makes Champions League appealing is that the big matches doesn’t happen every week and there’s a sense of uncertainty in the air. Part of champions league charm is to see the big clubs compete against other clubs like Young Boys, as opposed to seeing the giants fight every week.

Where I stand with Manchester United:
I am done with Manchester United until they return to the FA. I will support United if they return to the FA and have to start in the 5th division, but I won’t follow those greedy fuckers in the Super League. Fuck that shit. This move goes 100% against everything that Manchester United stands for. Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Neville have already spoken out against this move. But that’s not enough. I want Ole to step down as manager. He knows this is a bullshit move. I want United players to demand they get transferred from the club because this is bullshit and they want to play for their respective international club.

Just all the lies, man. The board, led by Ed Woodward, has been saying for years that United have no money. Meanwhile, today, they said they’re giving all their players a raise and the club will aggressively try to sign Mbappe, Haaland, Sancho, and Varane.. What the fuck? Where did this extra £800+ million come from? It’s all bullshit.

What I want to happen:

I want the FA and UEFA to strip United of EVERY trophy they have ever won and toss that shit in the bin–until they rejoin the FA. (Goodbye, Treble). Hopefully, that will set enough people off and if fans could get serious, they could start a movement to boycott all of United’s games. Within a year, United would be back and their kleptocratic owners would have lost their money and would be looking to sell, especially if they re-join the FA and cannot start in the Prem.

What I think will happen:

The Super League will start off strong, but will ultimately fail in 5-10 years’ time. Insurmountable damage will be done to the game, but hopefully when the Super League falls, a restructure can occur and save the game.

In the mean time, what team should I temporarily support? I’m thinking about supporting West Ham United because Girlzilla will be joining their Calgary affiliated academy in a few month’s time. I was also thinking Wolverhampton because Girlzilla likes them due to wolves being her favorite animal. Wolves also gets bonus points for having Canadians on their roster over the past few decades, including right now, with Theo Corbeanu.

TL/DR: FUCK THE GLAZERS AND FUCK THE SUPER LEAGUE. I’M NOT WATCHING ONE SECOND OF THAT SHIT AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU!

9
Horatio Cornblower

/looks around nervously

Psst! Guys, where do we keep the tranquilizer gun?

5
ballsofsteelandfury

Well said, well spoken.

2
Don T

Florentino Pérez is literally awesome: his greed and shamelessness are equally jaw dropping. He’s as subtle as an irked King Kong. As commented at length three years ago on DFO, Spain went in as one of the favorites for the Russia World Cup. Then, about a week before the start of the World Cup, Florentino poached Spain’s manager for Real Madrid (Julen Lopetegui). Spain flamed out early and Florentino fired Lopetegui four months later because different outcomes would’ve been surprising. Florentino cares for nobody but Florentino, and bullying through money (not vision or tactics), is his claim to fame.
On the other side is FIFA, THE world behemoth—bigger than Coca Cola, Lockheed, Swiss banking, or any country. Its commitment to graft and patronage makes FIFA the most efficient one member / one vote “democracy” in history. All I’m saying is that it’s easier to take down Satan than to overrule FIFA on its lording over fútbol.
I don’t see a kickoff of a European Super League this year. The announcement, at best, seems more like a toe dip to gauge reaction for an eventual courting with, at least, UEFA’s blessing down the road. With UEFA and FIFA in lockstep (and almost unanimous fan clamoUr against it), methinks Florentino et al.’s priority right now is looking for a face-saving endgame.

4
SonOfSpam

This would be bad for soccer and even the casual fans (like me, who thinks MLS is the greatest league in the world).

Flipside: Boris Johnson hates it, so maybe it’s good.

3
Horatio Cornblower

I’m frankly confused about this. On the one hand, I don’t understand anything that’s going on, but on the other, I hate the Spanish, so I guess I’m against it.

/OK, really I’ve kept up on this through the NY Times soccer writer. I tend to agree that there’s no reason for this other than simple greed, and whatever benefits it may have for soccer overall, (which seem debatable at best), are overwhelmed by the destruction it would do to a system that generally works pretty well across many nations.

Also, as a general rule of thumb, I don’t think you can go wrong opposing anything that Florentino Perez thought up.

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ballsofsteelandfury

I love Real Betis:
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nomonkeyfun

This is the Real Betis.

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Don T

If we’re going by greasy, this is the Real Betis
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