Bloodied nose

It’s not been shut down at all.

We’re at the beginning of the process.

The fact that more and more clubs owned by investment funds should tell you all you need to know, they’re in it for the money and this proposition is about the money.

We will end up with a world league with Saudi and us teams in it and fans will rarely see their team play unless watching a stream.

In the cold light of day if all these club owners instigating all this know they can double their turnover with no fans in the stadium I'm fearful of what the implications of this ruling will eventually be.

The latest EPL tv deal plus all the other revenues from supporters I think per season generates at least £20 billion so if things develop in the same way the Saudi Golf tour has which basically is flooded with obscene amounts of money that one by one tempts the players and then individual tv rights per club will take off even playing in an empty stadium each week this will generate at least double that existing total income.

I don't expect legions of fan protests and bad PR will stop this from sadly becoming a reality in a couple of years and of course the owners will figure that fans eventually will not be able to resist attending their weekly fix and so the owners pockets will bulge even more.

It will of course initially be utterly souless but like lockdown proved you get used to it and learn to enjoy it and then once lockdown ended fans can't wait to get back and that unfortunately is the reality of the world we live in... Money rules!

comment by LIW Rad a %#@% and so is Orta (U8453)
posted 24 minutes ago
Difference this with darts and golf, is the fans are totally against it.

Also, the middle east is with eufa.

Where is the money coming from 🤷🏻‍♂️ Not sure sponsors will want to get involved, when so many against it, too risky.

Only fans who want it are the glory hunting skum from africa and Asia.

who all illegally stream and buy knock off kits.

My gut instinct says we all getting played here…
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Do you think the fans really matter in this?

I asked a question yesterday, who watches the champions league because I don't think true football fans really want to watch two teams of sterile super teams slugging it out. That's the danger in my mind of this, that the game becomes too sterile, too stage manged, like WWF with a football.

But it appears that's what most people want and that's why this thing will take off and why it will attract the money.

The money will come because people will pay for this kind of mass produced cr@p.

Let address a few points.

Do you think the fans really matter in this
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100% where is the income coming from ? if no one watches.

The prem tried PPV, and it was a massive failure, nobody bought it. And now streaming is that rife, it be even worse. Look at boxing, the numbers have dropped off a cliff for PPV, so only staduim fights or go to Saudi Araba, make the big money now.

Lockdown showed 100%, without fans in the stadium, the game isnt the same, and clubs struggled without the income.

Come out of lockdown, and gates are up everywhere, people want to watch live sport in this country.

Football like Wrestling, what sport you watching 🤷🏻‍♂️

Liv golf.

Individual sport, completely different.

More people are watching, QVC, nobody interested, why you think they have now tried to do a joint venture
with PGA.

They cant get the numbers to work.

Governments

Maybe the only thing the Tories have done good 🤣 The new charter wont allow it,

I sincerely hope you're right LIW, but I've just become a lot more cynical over the years and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this whole venture does take off by about the 2026/27 season so Leeds's owners have probably got an inkling that this may happen and all the more reason I'd imagine they'll want a piece of the action and have earmarked promotion ASAP.

Yep, I think the reality is indeed that money talks. It seems inevitable that ESL, or something similar, will emerge and there’s probably nothing that the traditional fan can do about it.

I also hope you're right LIW, but - as Macca said a few posts above - when the money starts talking...

Unfortunately, I can see the ESL gaining traction and support amongst the gilded clubs - after all, it really is all about money and so, if the ESL is offering a bigger pot of money, the clubs will follow.

However, I can also see the lower leagues continuing, albeit with less media exposure and hence less money, and people still following their team. Wages will be far lower, less ad-revenue, the quality will necessarily be lower, but it will still be your team.

Sadly, I can also see the two diverging over the next couple of decades.

A grass-roots game of football and the Soccertainment provided by the ESL.

Seems to me to be sad times.

comment by RadebeTedd (U17015)
posted 7 hours, 39 minutes ago

… and the Soccertainment provided by the ESL.

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Indeed … the travelling theatre that’s “coming to your town” like a Harlem Globetrotters show.

What a shame we no longer have Meadowlark Lennon playing for us....

comment by Jonty (U4614)
posted 3 hours, 19 minutes ago
What a shame we no longer have Meadowlark Lennon playing for us....
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Nice 😁👍