20 Apr 2021 11:30:30
What effect will this whole hoohah have on transfers? Surely every planned or thought about transfer will be on hold until the players are clear on the implications for their careers.

{Ed002's Note - Of course not.}

1.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 12:50:52
I would consider everything from both sides currently to be bluster. What is happening currently is a public wrangle for negotiating position superiority.

As said previously, banning players from FIFA and UEFA international competitions would be akin to cutting their nose off to spite their face. Same for the individual FA's to expel teams from association competitions.

The reality of the situation is they are trying to put pressure and undermine the bargaining position of the "elite" clubs, so that when they all come to the table to discuss how to move forward they have a stronger position and will have to give up less.

The governing bodies need to remove any notion that an alternative competition could work in tandem with their competitions in order to delegitimise the threat. If an alternative competition is a genuine option then it can very much be used to leverage more control and importantly money from the governing bodies.

If it's not really an option then suddenly the clubs have a much weaker hand when negotiating.

It's all rather unsavoury, but then fighting over money always is. Ultimately I suspect the result will be a restructuring of the existing competitions with things such as seedings for certain clubs meaning they don't have to qualify by position in the league but by "historic" relevance to the competition, maybe more money from TV or increased distribution rights, etc.

The reality is the C.V. has blown a hole in the finances of some of the biggest clubs in the world, while for several of them their financial position wasn't the strongest. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have far more debt than we do for example. While clubs like Bayern Munich or PSG who due to varying reasons are in a strong and stable financial position have declined to be part of it. Italian football is struggling and they can't compete with the rest of the big European leagues for the biggest and best players. For the 6 English teams its obvious, all of them rely on UCL qualification to a degree, while with those 6 sides and the likes of Leicester who have recently been pushing higher in the league there is a clear concern that 7 teams don't fit into 4 UCL places. Therefore ringfencing their position in the ESL would alleviate that concern.

Cracks are already starting to appear within the ESL teams, with whispers of discontent etc. Ultimately it isn't surprising as all the teams are only looking out for themselves. All teams in the ESL would sell the others down the river if they can get what they want from the negotiations.

As fans as frustrating as it is all we can really do is sit back and see how things pan out.

{Ed002's Note - PSG have not declined. They were not one of the three clubs who said no. This isn't "bluster" either.}

2.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 13:16:39
Aren't Bayern, Dortmund and PSG rumoured to be the three mystery clubs.
That means of the of the 4 billion football fans around the world, 2 billion will support one of these 15 clubs, that's quite a monopoly.

Unfortunately football has been a victim of its own success, all those expensive signings we wanted, flashy new stadiums, this is where it has ended up. We can't complain.

3.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 13:45:28
I don't think it is "cutting their nose off to spite their face" at all.

The 12 clubs acted upon their own interest outside of their football governing bodies. If the teams think they are above their respective bodies, they should have no participation in their competitions. Football is a game for everyone. Why should the elite be any more exclusive. If they want to be exclusive, they can be exclusive on their own platform and play by themselves.

I am fully supportive of removing the clubs from their respective domestic competitions and banning the players competing at international level.

4.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 14:22:09
Kurtis - I completely agree mate. They can’t have their cake and eat it. They basically want it all, the money and revenue from competing in domestic football whilst setting up their own closed competition which they don’t have to share. The arrogance and selfishness is abhorrent.

If you want out then at least have the courage of your own convictions, leave domestic football, create your own league, negotiate your own tv deal, sponsorship and reap what you sow!

A few selfish businessmen who don’t even inhabit our shores or have any infinity to our great game has brought European football to the brink of extinction. Anyone who thinks this is an over exaggeration needs to wake up and see what’s happening. This is not postering or peacocking but an all out assault on the very fabric and foundations of our national game. This is not evolution but revolution and make no mistake our game is in grave peril.

5.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 15:21:50
Kurtis, Of course its cutting their nose off to spite their faces. They make huge sums of money based off of people tuning in to see the best players and the best teams. If a governing body expels them from their competition to prove a point then cutting their noses off to spite their face is exactly what they are doing.

While banning players from international football is just plain nasty and spitefulness in my opinion. The players haven't made this choice and from what they are saying they had no idea their clubs were going to do this. They are contracted to those clubs and cannot legally break those contracts. They are effectively stuck, with very few options open to them.

We have seen Pogba for three years want to leave our club and he looks set to be stuck here for at least one more.

So banning players for a decision they haven't made is a horrible response. Its nasty and designed entirely to pressure the clubs and create a negative narrative around the entire situation.

It would also almost certainly lead to legal action from the players against the governing bodies. Denying right to work, the governing bodies would be taken to the cleaners in every court in Europe.

6.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 16:37:44
Shappy I’m sorry but you and the rest of the apologists need to wake up and realise what is happening. This is an assault on our national game, it is the theft of our biggest sporting institutions which has all been done under the cloak of secrecy without proper dialogue or negotiation.

Players lost their lives representing our Club, Liverpool fans lost their lives supporting their Club at Hillsborough, these Clubs are over 100 years old and belong to the people some of whom have lost their lives following their passion. The Glazers might have bought Utd but they do not own us! You can’t simply buy over 100 years of history and tradition and this is what we must all fight to preserve. Sir Matt Busby once said “football is nothing without fans” and that statement is as true today as it was over 50 years ago.

The only nasty, spiteful characters in this scenario are the greedy, spineless, owners and CEO’s intent on monopolising the greatest sport on earth for the sole intention of lining their own pockets.

It wasn’t the miners, steelworkers or shipbuilders fault when they lost their jobs and saw their communities decimated all in the name of progress.

Players and managers must come together, mobilise and decide on what side of the fence they sit!
Do they stand with the thousands of other Clubs and professional players on the outside of a closed shop looking in or with their cowardly employers who couldn’t even be bothered to explain their plans and have threatened their careers.

We cannot allow these hallow charlatans to monopolise our national game and which means so much to so many people.

Bill Shankly once famously said “some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that! ”

I think these greedy, cretins have vastly underestimated our affinity and love for our Clubs and this great game something the capitalist vultures will never understand on the other side of the pond.

7.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 16:43:01
I think there is a fine line here between reasonable punishment on the club and doing it in spite. For me this falls under a reasonable punishment.

I agree with your point about International Players being banned, however I think it should ultimately fall down to player choice. If the player chooses to remain in the ESL they should be banned under the same principles as the club.

I'm not sure how player contracts will work if clubs are removed. Technically they are registered and contracted to the club, but these are regulated by UEFA and the respective FAs. If UEFA no longer recognise the clubs does that void the contracts?

{Ed002's Note - UEFA have nothing to do with regulating player contracts.}

8.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 17:02:49
Sorry Ed, are player contracts regulated at all? I thought there would be something in place, at the least with the FA of the respective country.

{Ed002's Note - The contract is between the player and the club - the details of transfers and length of contracts are included on FIFA's TMS - I don't know what you mean by regulated.}

9.) 20 Apr 2021
20 Apr 2021 17:17:55
Sorry Ed it will just be my understanding. I work in a heavily regulated industry so I just imagined there would be some form of regulating on the contracts or practices.