European Super League: Is the Future of Football in Jeopardy?

My Thoughts, Queries, Concerns and Comments.

The 18th of April, 2021, a day that will never be forgotten by football fans globally. The entire football world went into uproar as several sources began releasing the news of a proposed "European Super League" by 12 of the most recognizable clubs in European football to date.

The tournament has merely been an idea thrown about for a few years now but to be honest with you, I never thought that it would come into fruition, mainly because of the complete lunacy of the proposal.

Just to give a quick background on what the tournament would be like here are some of the proposals taken from The UtdReport's Twitter page:

Now, while I understand the financial impact and economic growth this can have for the game, being a man with tremendous respect for tradition and history, the idea just does not sit well with me. I will discuss the several factors for my discontentment with the decision to carry on ahead with the proposal.

1. Discovering Young Talent

Now, according to Fabrizio Romano, should the Super League go on as proposed,

UEFA and FIFA both plan on banning the relevant clubs from domestic, European and International competition.

If this happens, a Pandora's box of footballing talent will be deprived from elevating to more elite and competitive clubs.

For instance, in the summer of 2003, Manchester United played Sporting CP in a preseason friendly where they discovered, oh I don't know, Cristiano (freaking) Ronaldo! They then went on to buy him later that month. This has been the case with several football superstars along the years as many of these "elite" clubs poach talented prospects off the hands of "smaller teams". Far more often than not do they purchase these players rather than producing them from their own academies.

In modern terms, Kylian Mbappe took the world by storm with his impressive display against Manchester City in the round of 16 of the 2017 Champions League. My whole point here is that this tournament will never give these budding superstars, who play for the "little guy", any access to the platforms necessary to display their skill. Erling Haaland made his name for his impressive performance versus Liverpool in the Champions league. What about when Ajax made their fairytale run in 2019? The team was filled with exceptional young players and could have gone on to win the whole bloody thing. Later that summer the leaches such as Barcelona and Juventus went on to sign Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. Listen. The examples can go on forever.

And I know what you're going to say: "But Joshua at least they can still buy these players".

Really??? Does the disrespect know no end??? Imagine these football clubs saying, "People watch football for us anyways and we are too good for you guys, so we are just going to collude and form our own league. Forget you". But then in the same breath say, "Hey! Your player is really good. Can we have him?" LOL. I would have hung up the phone with immediate effect.

This Super League is going to damage so many relationships that many people worked hard to establish over the years.

2. Law of Diminishing Returns

It is not rocket science to assume that too many of these "big games" will get boring after some time. It is the same as saying you and your significant other see each other everyday and give each other no space, yet you are still excited by them. (If you do however, please work on yourself and get a life.) Human beings have a natural tendency to appreciate scarcity far more than excessiveness. If Real Madrid and Barcelona are playing each other once every other weekend I guarantee you, we will get tired of it. Part of the hype around a marquee matchup is the anticipation we develop waiting for the gameday to arrive. Good things come in small quantities, for me at least, and if we have to watch these matchups over and over, " a big game" now loses its value because it is so prevalent. We will get bored of it. Part of the reason the World Cup is so exciting is because it is every 4 years, we have to wait for it, hence we appreciate it more every time it comes around.

3. The Loss of the Underdog

What the "Super League" also does is completely erase the narrative of the underdog; something all true football fans can get behind. It is what makes football so romantic. The fact that a team with incomparable resources to the "Big 6" in the premiership can pull off an upset, is one of the most exciting feelings in the world. I remember in 2011, Arsenal played Newcastle 4-0 up, Newcastle mounted one of the greatest comebacks in the leagues history. Cheick Tiote scored a screamer to equalize in the dying embers of the game!

I mean have a look at that mate! Emotions. Reactions. Priceless. No feeling compares. Aside from miraculously coming back from 4-0 down, Newcastle pulled a point out the bag against an all time historic team in Arsenal. The unbridled joy that the Super League would deprive of Newcastle fans and the remaining clubs of the Premier League is absolutely criminal.

Is that not enough? How about when Wigan won the FA cup against Manchester City?

Now I know it would be remiss of me to not acknowledge that quite often the lesser teams get blown out, and that the creation of the Super League is to create stiffer competition. But I also think it's all a heaping pile of bullshit.

Manchester United have lost 6-1 to Tottenham this season. Liverpool lost to Aston Villa 7-2 this season. In 2018, Barcelona lost to Roma 3-0 after winning the first leg 4-1. These big teams suffer big losses too, Give the underdog its day. Fairness and equality to the small man!!!

As a matter of fact, if we are arguing what makes for a better product, I would argue that most people watch football to see goals. Manchester United have played in more "snooze fests" than anyone else in these big games and have the audacity to come out with something as appealing as this. I am a United supporter and I have no problem slandering them for this because I am truly disheartened by the ownership's actions here. Have a look at this woefulness.

"0 Concern for Both Players and Fans"

4. Aren't we in a Pandemic?

We are in the midst of a pandemic. These owners are talking about starting this competition as soon as next August?? Really??? These are the same people who so passionately spoke against their clubs players travelling to and from countries because they are scared of their players contracting Covid-19. However, it seems to be a non-issue when it comes to making more money. They do know that the players will have to travel to play some of these games still right? What about the away fans? When things return to any sense of normalcy, how are fans expected to afford to travel to and from Europe when this whole thing is over? It is almost as though these owners have completely disregarded the most important party concerned. Us!The Fans.

5. It's all About the Money

The main reason all of these sporting powerhouses have such a strong market is because of our fandom. Our love and dedication to whichever football team we have chosen to support, creates a steady stream of income into the football market, and this "Super League" is just another one of the owners' schemes to exploit us. They even had the audacity to announce that this is for us. Really? Then explain why there are millions of people outraged by this throughout the globe after the announcement yesterday and today.

Does the greed for more money know no end? I mean really think about it. These clubs already generate billions of dollars in revenue. Will it ever be enough? Who is to say that even after this tournament of 20 is formed, that the top ten teams decide that they want an even bigger slice of the pie? Perhaps they then go on to create a Super League 2.0. I mean some semblance of order must be restored. Nothing will ever be enough for these greedy owners. We have a situation currently with VAR technology, and numerous people are outraged by it, despite it being formed for the betterment of the game. Every single week, without fail there are complaints about VAR. This illustrates that no matter what they do, people will find a way to complain. Now it would be naïve of me to not expect the game to evolve as money inflates and technology progresses. But surely, there must be a far better resolution.

Conclusively, growing up watching the Premier League was absolutely all I lived for as a child and to see my beloved Manchester United no longer play in the Premiership would be gut wrenchingly devastating. 100 years of tradition all down the drain because these owners have all decided that no amount of money will ever be enough. I am going to focus my energy on basketball even more now as I have had just about enough of this greed by these ownership groups. There is an old saying that goes, " If it ain't broke, don't fix it". So why are they doing this to beautiful football? Is it perfect? Of course not. Can there be improvements to the modern game? Surely. But just as in life, nothing is perfect and that is why at the end of the day we often ask ourselves "Do we have enough?'' And I think we can all agree that in the way that football is currently structured we can all happily agree and say, "Yes we do."