By Christophe.Jost
- Why is there still no football on TV on saturday afternoons?
- How Arsenal made themselves the least carded club in the League
Since it was launched, the European Super League has taken a lot of bad rap.
Or rather has been brutally attacked by all football authorities and the media acting as their subservient sounding boards.
However, the ECJ has ruled that the sports authorities have not been abiding by European laws and have clearly indicated that creating an ESL is a project that would be legal. Which raises the question: how to go about that?
The ESL was touted by some as a replacement to the Champions League and subsequently all and sundry started a campaign to get the fans worked up about their game being robbed from them, the end of football as we know it… etc etc.
I’m not going to go through these arguments again, but want to propose a solution for Arsenal and any other club interested in finding a way to accommodate all parties.
How about this :
Arsenal join the ESL via a new team : Arsenal European FC – AEFC. This team is the one we see weekly in the PL. This keeps Arsenal in the Premier League but lets the yougsters play…..Arsenal PL FC
So Arsenal as an organisation will field two teams in different competitions.
It would be similar to the approach of college/university sports and professional leagues.
The consequences will be :
- Arsenal keep their PL team which plays in England, and participates in any competition it may qualify for, even the ECL !
- Arsenal field a team in the ESL which has been declared legal by the European Court of Justice.
- The Arsenal youngsters get a real challenge and learning possibility, rather than just spending time on the Premier League benches for a few afternoons or evenings a year. Their prospects of reaching success will be greater, making a difference to the Arsenal bottom line.
- Arsenal fans thus have two teams to get excited about.
- PL games may be cheaper to attend.
- Arsenal EFC will have a larger base of academy players to be able to choose from, the ESL can open up possibilities to have players join for a few games in they come from a club’s academy team.
- UEFA or the PL may resist the notion of a player coming form the ESL team going to the PL team, but my guess is that some court case down the line would make it legal.
- Players in the AEFC squad cannot be blacklisted by their national FA, as freedom of work is the rule of law in the EU. And imagine Southgate refusing to put Saka or Foden in the 3 Lions squad…the fans would be quite upset.
- The revenue side of the solution could look interesting as Arsenal will have funds for the AEFC and for the APLFC
Put that on a larger scale, imagine 20 European clubs joining and having their youth squads keep the club’s place in their respective national league…would fans be really upset?
Such League would have a salary cap, strict financial rules, and best of all, it WOULD NOT HAVE PGMOL !!!!!!
Its calendar would be March to November, allowing for serious rest time, filling up sommer with meaningful games and not colliding with Boxing Day madness.
Would fans be upset at giving youngsters a better chance? Would they be upset at being able to see a national game on the weekend and an ESL game on Wednesday?
Would the public pay to see these games? My bet is that hey would.
Going to European games has become so expensive that many cannot go. Would they cheer their local team instead even it it is youngsters? I believe so. Local rivalries would stay alive. the FA Cup would keep its magic. Indeed, the gap in revenue in the PL would most probably shorten, making the competition more interesting.
If you consider the revenue of the NFL which is derived from just one country, I firmly believe that there is room for an ESL alongside national competitions.
And what about the UEFA CL ? Well nothing. It keeps existing, it will draw crowds as well. Ticket prices will become more affordable I guess and the ‘power’ of UEFA may be less.
Now just consider the situation in Germany where legendary clubs such as Schlake 04 and Hamburg SV are in the second division. Do they play in front of empty stadia? Not at all… rivalries are still there, fans as well, and stadia are packed.
The issue at hand in the PL is that supporters of many big-name clubs are being priced out, and replaced by ‘spectators’, for whom going to a game is an Instagrammable event.
And look at the state of the PL : presently, a team coming from the Championship has little chance of staying up, and as much as I love seeing Arsenal score 5 goals in 45 minutes, as much I must admit this is no fair competition.
As a fan of the Blades, I’d wonder if it was worth the money and definitely would think the Championship, winning games there, even winning the Championship would be more enticing then losing one game after the other. And I suspect players and coaches would have the same opinion.
A two team Arsenal club would represent a way to keep many fans happy, offer young players real playing time in a league where it counts, and give an intercontinental league a chance.
And on a larger scale…well a new international league that is not run by UEFA or FIFA can only be good news.
Add the Arsenal women’s team and you’ve got three teams competing under the Arsenal banner. And if women’s football grows, the same model could apply.
Let’s face it, sports has become all about money. So instead of screaming “murder” about the current situation while wishing your club had a billionaire throwing silly money at it, why not embrace the fact and go BIG!
Say what you want about American sports, but the example of the NFL, the NBA for example prove that the ‘show’ can work, can be fun and captivating and that with some rules to make the competition as even as possible, you get drama, show, fun, passion, suspense, unpredictability, etc. Just go to the US and watch TV. There is no shortage of sports, it is there 24/7/365.
Just consider the upside: see the PlLArsenal team play on Saturday, the ECL team play on Wednesday, repeat…. what would be wrong with that ?
Excellent research providing viable solutions UA so take a bow . It works for me . All we need is the same sporting attitude from filthy rich club owners
Saka has withdrawn grom the England camp and Leicester charged.
Sorry to go of topic so soon but I assume most people saw in the news recently Emmanuel Petit bemoaning the day he left Arsenal? Apparently he did it for the love of a women, which is fine, sometimes things in life are bigger than football. Well, so they say.
But it did get me thinking that this is by no means the first time I’ve heard this from an Arsenal player, so I took a look around and I found the following article in Football.london from last year
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/arsenal-regret-alexis-sanchez-ramsey-26558448
which showed my memory had served me well. Even beyond the names mentioned there I think Hleb is also on record as expressing huge regret for leaving.
BUT, all that is not really the reason for this little ramble, it’s what is said in the opening paragraph:
“As Arsenal have faced a largely barren two-decade spell which saw them fall short in the elite major honours, certain members of the playing staff throughout this period opted to depart for a new challenge”.
So, first of all we have to decide what is an ‘elite major honour’. Are these idiots really saying that only winning the league is a major honour? Sorry, but I know the FA Cup isn’t quite what it was but it still IS a Major Honour, and as such makes that statement an absolute crock of s***.
So lets see exactly how ‘barren’ those 20 years have been running from season ’03/’04 to ’22/’23
For a start we won the PL in ’03/’04 and then the FA Cup in ’04/’05
Then we did have a ‘barren’ spell, but it lasted just 8 seasons, not 29, from ’05/’06 to ’12/’13 inclusive, before we won the FA cup again in season ’12/’13, and again in ’14/’15 and ’16/’17 and lastly in ’19/’20.
So, for some reason footlo turned an 8 year spell in to a 20 year spell. Why would they do that? During this 20 year ‘largely barren spell’ we actually won 6 Major honours. 5 FA Cups and 1 Premier League. They don’t do this kind of thing to anyone else.
This is what we mean when we say about the medias endless negativity. They constantly re write our history simply in order to cast us as perennial failures, when in reality, even when we are not at our very best, we still keep winning things.
And that I think is what really really p!$$£$ them off.
Anyway, sorry to wander but I just thought it was a great example of what we say about the media..
Over the last 20 years , we have had some fantastic talents in our ranks . Some delivered , others did not . But for the most part , we were there or thereabouts in our pursuit of cups and the EPL crown. We came close many a season , despite the refs , bad press , poor support , and petulant players .
The main problem was the stadium repayments , which badly hamstrung us . That time has come to pass , and now I believe that the money will be forthcoming if our management requires it .
I think we are now at a point where we can bid goodbye to some notable players , if MA decides to go another path. And I like to think that destiny is in our own hands , and our support of the team will soon come to fruition .
And through it all this site and its loyal followers have stayed firm in our belief that one day , we WILL rejoice !
Up the Gunners !
Would the Arsenal youngsters be good enough to play every week in the PL and keep their place in the PL? Just imagine us going down…. I think one has to think about fielding a team that would be strong enough to keep us near to the top. And that would cost lots of money. Don’t know if the new super league would provide enough money to field two competitive teams… But it sure is food for thougth…
Thanks Les – it was an interesting piece to look into
And more rubbish from the media. This time The Athletic:
“The Gunners are set for a big summer, with plenty of holes to plug in their side. The Athletic’s David Ornstein has already confirmed that a striker is the priority, though a wide man and midfielders are also said to be on the list of potential signings.”
So lets get this right. We need a striker, wide men and midfield players. Blimey. Well, at least the defence is okay.
Heaven knows how we are top having scored the most goals? Must just be luck I suppose?
Plenty of holes? The fact we are top despite spending large parts of the season without Jesus, Timber, Partey, Tomi, Zinchenko and Vieira contradicts that somewhat, no?
Striker is the priority? The fact we are the top goal scorers contradicts that somewhat as well wouldn’t you of thought?
We need midfield players? Well, the fact we score the most and let in the least suggests to me both the offensive and defensive aspects of our midfield are both operating fairly well, don’t you.
They just cant help themselves can they? And I thought this Ornstein character had some credibility?
@Walter,
I imagine Arsenal would not be the only PL club doing it, so it would level the playing field.
Then, you add that this team would have a much bigger budget, and the picture changes.
And being a feeder club to an ESL team would halp to attract youngsters
And, not only youngsters would have to be fielded in the team.
My main point was simply : how about 2 teams ?
You think ESR, Viera, Lokonga would be better on loan to the PL Arsenal team or some other team ?
I think not.
Yet you are right on one point : would the public come to see youngsters who are not top of the league ?