The new Super League is inevitable, as many have pointed out, football was lost to the fans many years ago, the greed train was allowed to leave the station by the very authorities, owners, managers and players that are now morally outraged.
There will be changes to the format, it might not happen this year, in a pique of democracy they might even allow for promotion.
The fact remains that most of the 12 big clubs are incredibly badly run, hugely in debt and some – in the case of Barcelona are finding it increasingly difficult to service this debt.
Barcelona and Real Madrid have both reportedly said privately that they are unable match the wage demands for Haaland – reportedly £71,000 per day for a four-hour training session, so what is the answer?
Control greed? Or chase it? Understandably they have chosen the latter.
The holier-than-thou attitude of UEFA is particularly grating, they created a moral vacuum by sucking the life blood out of the game. Creating a Champions League where most teams were not champions, making fans travel to finals in Azerbaijan when even pre-Covid it was almost impossible.
The clubs who were shunned have announced their opposition to the Super League like teenagers not being invited to the coolest high school party. You know full well they would love to be seen rubbing shoulders with the school’s glitterati, but having failed to receive an invite they ‘didn’t really want to attend anyway’ Let’s take two examples, Sevilla in Spain and Everton – ruthlessly exploiting the overseas markets for years, ignoring their fans to play pre-season friendlies in China and the United States and now opposed because football is 'for the fans'.
The owners of the 12 have got it very wrong, but absent from all the faux hyperbole is the fact that most club owners have no idea about running a league. They have shown complete organisational and financial ineptitude in running their own clubs for many years and have survived by continually stroking the golden TV and streaming goose. The lack of Super League relegation and promotion is clear evidence of their complete lack of understanding of how a competition actually works. Let’s be clear, this is not a closed shop by grand philosophical design, it is a closed shop due to the triumph of incompetence over sanity.
Similarly, the lack of consultation with managers – see Jurgen Klopp, being asked to perform the role of the Mad Hatter falling into a nebulous black hole explaining how Liverpool were aiming to qualify for a competition that they will not enter next year. This was not carefully planned nefarious trickery on part of the owners, they simply forgot to include Brian from operations in the memo. The tiny neocortex section of the brain of a football owner is unable to see the consequences of taking more than half an enlightened step forward as it requires more brain power than the 12 have combined.
Most obsequious of all are the toadying comments from the authorities and individuals desperately trying to clamber aboard the grovel train laden with the fawning or should that be fauxning respect for fans.
Where was the moral outrage from players, UEFA, the Premier league and broadcasters when they took football away from 3pm on a Saturday? it was our game, we worked hard all week and wanted one afternoon to relax. We may be safe for the moment but tolerate this and our league will be next. Money copies money's ideas.
Where was the moral outrage when Hull City fans had to travel to Southampton on a Monday evening arriving back at 5:30am ?
Where was the moral outrage when fans were charged thousands of pounds for tickets?
Where was the moral outrage when Bury went bust for much less than the total of a day’s salary of Premier League footballers?
Be outraged by the Super League but please spare us the phony concern for fans. Tell it like it is, the owners have found a way to make more money than you. You have ridden the gravy train to the airport and the owners are now climbing aboard their private jets and closing the doors to everyone.
The game was stolen from fans many years ago when the steamroller of finance crushed the spirit of Shankly, Busby et al. It is one reason why supporting Argyle is so much more satisfying, we have so much more of an emotional connection to the club.
Let’s be realistic, money talks, of course owners have to look out for themselves and exploit new revenue streams they are running a business after all.
The game had to move on but there was an alternative, clubs like Borussia Dortmund have managed to progress and take fans along for the ride.
Football could have traveled to the future with a soul, body and a heartbeat rather than just a grubby pair of outstretched hands.
