21/04/2021

The Super League | Timeline

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Ross – @rossic89

Alright. What a mentally exhausting few days dat was den. It’s by no means the end either. Just a complete an utter fucking mess. So much to unravel, so much to take in, so much to try and wrap your head around. Then there’s a small matter of actual footy games at some point this week, which I think have meaning again now. Anyway, as if the past few days haven’t been full on stress and a repetition of Twitter feeds being implanted directly into my eyes Paul has asked me to provide you with a timeline of the past few days. Some of it you may have missed or simply forgotten. Not sure how though.Let’s start with Friday, which is irrelevant, but I think it’s worth remembering in all this Tottenham were mugged off by a dog that sells paint. Feels like old news. It is very much not. And ironically not the worst thing to happen to Spurs at the weekend. SaturdayRemember Saturday? A few football fixtures went our way, we were in a race for top four. Life was good and somewhat calm. Anyway Saturday was the first murmuring of this Super League shite rearing its ugly head once again which to be honest in hindsight we possibly should have expected with the new Champions League format set to be announced. But most of us are like minded people. We concentrate on the day to day. We didn’t ever think something like this was coming round the corner. Not least because Line of Duty was on the horizon and at this point I’ll have to watch that back because my head is battered to the point I think John Henry might be H.  Sunday evening Manchester United vs Burnley.Rumours started to grow even more about The Super League. Journalists started to hint at a few things. It was heavily discussed on Super Sunday that a group of 12 clubs were planning to release a statement regarding a new Super League. Why’s everything called ‘Super’ by the way. Be a bit more creative. Even more so when things are far from fucking ‘Super’.The idea was condemned by Gary Neville who to be fair to him, spoke rather passionately on the subject on a platform where he had to be very careful. Not like Sky to stick their head above the parapet and bring it to everyones attention.  10pm/11pm Statement released, a really shite website with a shite logo with twelve clubs has been created. The culprits, the enemies in all this? Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and ArsenalNo. I don’t know why Spurs were ever in there. Presumably to pay for a stadium or to help fund playing Gareth Bale for 11 minutes this weekend.What was ‘The Super League’? A £3 BILLION fund and a permanent place in the league. And a statement from Joel Glazer. Which went across the websites of other English clubs. Shit was about to go down.The Premier League came out and said that the clubs involved could face bans and that a super league would “destroy” the premise of open competition. More irony was to come. Boris and other members of government stressed they would do everything possible to stop ‘The Super League’ from happening. Not sure if that was to help people, which lets be honest, isn’t like them unless it’s their mates. Or an attempt to claim the fucking moral high ground. Messed up either way when you think about it. MondayAs suspected Uefa produce and outline the new format of the Champions League. Which is also a disgrace.  At some point during Monday Manchester United’s share price grew by £180m. I suspect it may have come down since then. Amongst all the chaos pundits had their say in all this. Some wanted the “big six” kicked out. Alan Shearer. While others called for fans to take a stand and for one of a better phrase ‘stick it to the man’ – Neville and Carragher. They didn’t literally say that. I did.The ‘Super League’ founders decided that they needed more people to have a kick about with because 12 wasn’t enough. Or maybe it didn’t generate enough money. Who knows.Anyway the likes of Bayern Munich and Dortmund thought ‘fuck that’ and declined. Then ‘The Super League’ said they weren’t invited anyway. This is playground stuff isn’t it? Except with grown adults. With lots of money.There is a possibility these clubs said no because the idea is a bit shit, it was risky and as clubs who adopt the 50+1 rule, they’d have to consult fans. Bizarre idea I know. But they they will have been aware fans would have told them to fuck off. So they didn’t bother. Which left the rest of the fans who hadn’t been consulted or considered.Banners started to appear outside the Kop – FSG  UEFA were next in the shit slinging competition. A threat of clubs who signed up for the ESL (I can’t be arsed typing European Super League anymore. Let’s actually go Line of Duty (LOD) on this and just do a load of acronyms) would be kicked out of The Champions League if they were still in it. Bad news for Chelsea, Real Madrid and Man City. Boss if you were PSG.To add to that UEFA then stated that players that play in the Super League will be banned from World Cup and Euros. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reiterated his stance on things: “FC Bayern did not participate in the planning of a #SuperLeague. We are convinced that the current Champions League in football guarantee a reliable basis”Somewhere in all this Mourinho was sacked by Spurs. Not sure when to be honest. He did an Instagram video though.
Monday evening Leeds v Liverpool. Jurgen thrown under the bus. Asked about The Super League. Confirms he wasn’t told anything and found out when we did. Says he was and is against it. An absolute shambles. Had it on, hardly watched it. The game meant nothing. Players were booed on arrival by fans from a range of clubs who had gathered outside Elland Road.Leeds players wore T-shirts protesting the breakaway in the warm-up and it was later confirmed that the rest of the 14 sides were planning to do the same. – This annoyed Klopp as they tried/put them in the LFC changing room.Keir Starmer suggested English football needed to try a German line of ownership model. Yeah thanks for that captain fucking hindsight. Never mentioned that before did you?Meanwhile somewhere in an underground lair Boris took a break from what looked like a building site at one of those PR things he has to do to look interested in the working class to share the idea of introducing legislation as soon as possible to stop shit from going down and clubs breaking off into the ESL. Then a member of the royal family said they didn’t like it, this time not to Oprah. And it wasn’t Jim either. Although I’m sure the words ‘Super League, my arse’ were said up and down the country. Be funny if Will said that. To be honest, at that specific time football fans were in turmoil, not sure it would have been appropriate to make a joke. Probably still isn’t. Liverpool drew that game with Leeds and James Milner was asked about the ESL post match. ‘I don’t like it and I hope it doesn’t happen.”Good on you lad. Good on you. And thank you. Florentino Perez. A man who loves the sound of his own voice and presumably the feel of his own saggy balls slapping against his ankles just to let himself know he’s still alive decided to counter some of the comments and statements made by UEFA. A proper he said that you said that she said that you said that next doors cats nan said you said this shite moment. Honestly, as if things weren’t fucking tiring enough. We had people of wealth and power constantly trying to claim the moral high ground in all this.Anyway he tried to argue the ESL was boss. And came out with some mad statements.  “40% of young people have got no interest in football.” “Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea as the other clubs of #SuperLeague will NOT be banned from the Champions League or domestic leagues. 100%, I’m sure. Impossible” “The attractive thing in football is playing between big clubs, the value for television increases and more income is generated. It’s not just the rich who want the #SuperLeague, we’re doing it to save football because it’s at a critical moment”.BEDTIMETuesdayJordan Henderson decided enough was enough and got onto his ‘Captains assemble’ Whatsapp group to arrange a meeting and you know, consult others who mattered in how they could approach and deal with something. Mad that.Other players and managers started to react with statements against The Super League – Rashford, Shaw, Zidane. There were probably others.Oddly Ander Herrera. A man who moved to a club like PSG dictatting to us, the fans, the morals of football. Nice one lad.Then the 14 Premier League clubs who hadn’t been invited to the ESL decided they’d organise a meeting to discuss implications of ESL because they weren’t in the ESL and were unhappy with those in the ESL and had to decided what would happen to those in the ESL or if they wanted those in the ESL to come back the table. Chelsea v Brighton Chelsea fans gather outside Stamford Bridge to protest The Super League. Petr Cech had to ask them to move out the way to let the bus in. He also asked for time. Someone had a sign which read ‘We want our wet Wednesday nights in Stoke’ big lols. Tuchel gets the same treatment as Klopp. Same answers. Not told, not consulted. Shortly after the game and of course the backlash of those fans, Chelsea were rumoured to be preparing paperwork to pull out of ESL. City rumours shortly followed.Ed Woodward somehow decided this was the breaking point for him and got off. Then things moved quickly coz we were all fed up and wanted bed.8:44pm – Kenny Dalglish tweets “I really hope we do the right thing” – Pressure on LFC. KING. (BIG HEART EMOJI)9pm – Liverpool players collective post across social media – “We don’t like it and we don’t want it to happen. This is our collective position. Our commitment to this football club and its supporters is absolute and unconditional. YNWA” Official sponsor Tribus Watches withdraw partnership.Popworld bar John Henry. 9:23pm – Man City officially out. UEFA welcomed them back. MP’s write a letter to FSG asking them to withdraw. Carragher & Neville condemn owners and praise Milner.10:44pm – News breaks that the rest of the English clubs will formally withdraw Arsenal withdraw.10:55pm – Liverpool withdraw. 47 word statement.Wednesday John Henry video apology That’s about it so far. Think I’ve covered everything but that is more or less my version of events.Oh the PSG owner is now head of the ECA. So yeah, that’s hardly going to be a fucking laugh. Ross – @rossic89
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