How Football Lost Its Soul Long Before Any 'Super League'
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- čas přidán 19. 04. 2021
- The news that 12 football clubs, including six Premier League teams, have agreed to breakaway from the UEFA Champions League and form a European Super League has shaken football to its foundations.
Supporters, pundits, and even players seem angry at football's billionaire owners - but 2021 is not the year in which football lost its soul or its sense of fair competition.
In this video, HITC Sevens takes a look at the gradual decay of competitiveness within the world game, the commercialisation of the sport, and why a European Super League was always a natural next step. - Sport
One day I will tell my grandkids that Jesse Lingard played so well that big six clubs had to run away to form their own league
Goatee 🐐
He's too good for them, good for him
The Goat
Copy cat
I've seen this post yesterday in a sky sports video bro, be original
Arsene Wenger predicted that football will be franchise by top clubs for profit (like American sports) and the whole world laughed at him. The amount of disrespect Wenger received just for being smart was brutal.
People seriously underrate how intelligent Wenger is, they really do. Visionary.
@@ccf3294 Wisionary
The American system works in America/Canada. Take for example in the NHL (National Hockey League) if a top team is doing shit and at the bottom of the table, they can't just rely on money to get them out of the bottom. They have to rely on building and developing from within and play their cards right and navigate a salary cap. European Super League can't replicate that because it's so greedy and all about money.
The last team to win the league was Tampa Bay which is a bottom 10 team in terms of franchise value, while Detroit a team who is top ten in terms of value, but finished nearly dead last last season.
@@CanucksHub Before the Super League, MLS and european leagues had a weird mixture of capitalism and socialism. European leagues had an open structure where anybody couldve arrived at the top, but league hierarchies were strict and not that dynamic. In MLS there is a closed franchise structure but it has drafts salary caps to maintain equality between the clubs.
American sports do alright. None of them are dead
I love how Alfie constantly referred to the competion as the “so called” Super League
Its the JUDAS LEAGUE
If they didnt give all the money away paying hundreds of thousands a week to stupid guys to kick a ball around. They might have something to pay the bills with . Dummys .
I call it the "Super" League.
a bit like ISIS
It's not original - loads of people are using that phrase.
@@monkeytennis8861 So that means I can’t love it?
Basically
"If football wasn’t dead already, it is now!"
More like it was dead before. They finally gave it a fitting burial
L
@@folarinalabi3250 The Funeral of Football
How is football dead when its the bighest sport by far.
@@Joel-mh3cn are you american?
Drinking game: take a shot for each “so called super league“
I've counted four in the opening two minutes.
i just heard him say that when i read your comment
I'll smoke since it's 4/20 and it's all I've got
stomach pump alert
More shots taken than teams left in it..
“It’s pure greed” -Roy Keane, Sky Sports Employee
It is wonderfully ironic that Sky are getting all high and mighty over this.
You don’t want him to have a job? He’s the best thing about sky sports!
As Klopp said in response to Neville, it's all about money. They played for United for money, they represent Sky because of money. How can u blame greed when the world is fueled by it?
@@arijit3110 still doesn't make it right. Esp looking at the state of the world
@@eoinf1276 He can have a job all he wants but the irony is just too much when he criticizes the ESL because of greed when he works for a greedy corporation like Sky.
Its pure scandalous good news teams like Dortmund, Bayern and Porto have rejected it.
Sevilla too
Even though they Play anti football they have my respect👍
Because German clubs have to be majority fan owned and the fans do not like it
@@christianopulinaldo8319 They don’t play anti football
And PSG, which I didn't except but gained a lot of respect for
@@prometheustv6558 they do tho
If u watch their matches, It looks like diving is a part of their tactics lol
Competition is dead, there are no more pure sports...thank you, Alfie, everything you have said in this video is correct. These owners don't care about tradition, history, or the tears and blood that have been shed for the colors. They only see 1 color, green, and they will destroy everything to get it...
GOOD the 🌎 has always been the real golden rule those with the gold make the rules
This is partly why I love the league here in Ireland so much. It may not have the best teams, it may have relatively small crowds, and it may see players booting the ball into the stands more frequently with woeful misses, but it's still got a lot of soul in it and the fans are significantly more connected to their clubs. That's not to say it's perfect but it's a much better than say the situation in the big European leagues.
Hence!!! Use to be the case in England. Before the greed league, sorry premier league.
"A bit like ISIS" sums everything up ngl
XD
🤣
I would rather ISIS than the ESL
😂😂😂😂
That had me dying 😂💀
You know whats the weirdest part about all of this? I realized that i am the problem. Supporting chelsea for about 15 years now. Me and my familiy traveled to london back in 2006. At this point i knew rapid vienna, austria vienna and my local, now bancrupt team. I did not care about football at all. Not only did i not know the offside rule, i didnt even know something like this even existed. I had no idea who the best players are and beside the stories that made it into the sport section of regular news, i had no idea what was going on. That year in london, we randomly walked by stamford bridge. You could hear the fans from the outside, you could feel the passion, and at this moment, i fell in love with the sport. I always felt lonely in my entire life. And just the thought of singing in a stadium with people i barely know, but are glued together by supporting the same club, that warmed my heart (Yeah i know, chelsea isnt the best example for that, but i didnt know better back then and i assume to a certain degree i was draged to a sucessful team to be honest. Some part of me sure as hell is a plastic fan). But that was it for me. I couldnt afford to travel to a match, i didnt knew enough english to even stay at a hotel at this point. The only information i got was news paper collums in my local paper, english football was maybe given 10 lines and the table. This went on for years. At some point german television started to buy the right for maybe one match per round of the FA Cup, and with enough luck, i could see chelsea play for the first time outside the champions league (which was on free TV at this time). Of course it didnt felt the same as i imagined, you just cant funnel atmosphere through a television, but it was great. I will never forget the moment i jumped out of my seat, spilling my drink over the floor when Lampard in the FA Cup Final slipped at the 16 yard box, cought himself, stood up, took aim and hammered the ball into the top corner with his left foot against everton equalizing the game. But at this point i havent even spent a single penny on chelsea, i couldnt afford a shirt, a keyring or anything. The only merch i had was self made during the practical part of my education (couting a chelsea badge in plexiglass, polishing it and using it a key ring). And i was proud of this. This went on. On and on. The first time i actually spent money was back in 2011, and even that was not a jersey, 60 euros just seemed to much (weird when thinking about todays prices), so i bought a replice training session shirt. And this way my proudest posession for ages. I wore it to every lession of physical education i had, i wore it to every champions league match (group stage never showed chelsea, so they had to make it into the quarters for me to even have a chance to see them). At this point streaming became a thing, but only sky had the right i think, so this was out of reach for me. So i only grabbed the odd game from a "half legal" site in bad quality with 3 minuted delay, so i needed to turn off everything else that could spoil the game for me. Those were the times. I think at some point laola, an austrian streaming service even managed to get the streaming rights for the prem for 1 game per week i think, but mostly it was bootleg streams, and i was fine with that. Then Chelsea won the champions league, in a year in which it shouldnt have happended, in a way i could never imagine. It was the best moment of my life, even until now. After the match, i watched it alone at home, i went to the "city" (10.000 people, so barely a suburb anywhere else) and met some friends. To this day they always say that they never have seen me this happy. I was glowing they said. I was over the moon and i couldnt even manage to say a single sentence without smiling. And i am normally grumpy 99% of the day and sleepy the rest of it. The same year i graduated from my school, started uni and worked my hardest for that, but after 3 years i realzied that my hardest wasnt enough and started to aplying for jobs, got one and earned my first realy decent paycheck. I put my life back together, bought a car, traveled to the USA and all the stuff i always wanted to do. Also, for the first time i was able to visit chelsea at the bridge. And this is the part where all my actions, all things i did stating then and there, i am the problem. I bought a plane ticket, checked into a lower budget hotel and my only reason to go to london was chelsea. I was there for 3 days and over 50% of all money spent those days was spent for chelsea. My first jersey, a christmas ornament, normal t-shirts, a keyring, the match ticket, food and a drink before the match, i was in the stands 1h before kickoff, i took more photos that thay than the entire rest of the year. It was everything i wanted for 10 years. The match itself was honestly a litle bit dull, a 1-1 draw with atlectico madrid, and even that was an own goal from savic and michy missed 2 sitters, but who cares, i was in the stands, i sang and i was happy. And i made roman a shitload of money. I went there a second time just before the pandmic hit, franks home debut as chelsea manager against leicester, another 1-1 draw, masons first senior goal at stamford bridge, at this moment i had no problems, i was just happy, and once again, i made roman a shit load of money. And this is the problem. People like me. People who take away tickets from fans, growing up with chelsea in their genes, where chelsea is family tradition. I feel so aweful now. I am the problem. They want the stadium filled with people like me. Not because they like chelsea supporters, but because if you are only there once every 3 years, you will spend a crapload and more of money. Sorry. Sorry for beeing a part of making this happen. It will stop now. The only thing i dont know is, if the money spending stops, supporting chelsea stops, or caring about football in general stops. I dont know, but curently, stopping caring about football is in the lead. After all those years, just leave it behind, as hard as it is, it isnt worth it if i am the one who is destroying the amosphere i loved and wanted to be a part of.
don’t feel bad , you wanted to support your club
Too short, try again.
Football died when you got penalised for removing your shirt - not my quote btw
How is the most popar sport dead. What type of logic is that.
I do the same celebration as Rivaldo did, take of the shirt and spinning the shirt like a helicopter, is cool as hell but the referee gave me a yellow even we don't have any sponsor hahaha (I play Sunday league in Brazil)
It became a rule, when a player (Diego Forlan at United) couldnt take his shirt back on in time and just kept playing without it. Look it up on YT, its quite funny.
@@yannikbergs they don't have any other at the bench? I mean it's professional football
@@yannikbergs Sally gunnel was an idiot, took him 50 games to score
This is why I think private ownership of football teams is a bad idea. As a Portuguese person, there isn’t as much money in Portuguese football granted but there are elections and presidencies because teams are publicly traded and anyone can own shares in the club. This means that if a president of a club does not have the interest of a team at heart they can be voted out. With private ownership there is no accountability and the owners can do whatever the hell they want with no consequences and disregard the fans. I don’t think it will ever go away in English football but it’s a shame how these owners don’t give a single shit about the club or the fans
im still suprised chelseas owner has done this he must actually believe in it cause hes never been about making money hes pumped huge ammounts of money into the club and surely cant have made a profit i think he just loves football ive seen him watching games before but yeah i wish most clubs did it like spain portugal and germany i am suprised considering portos success in the champions league theres not much money in portugese football especially after you won the euros why do you think that is?
Most teams are publicly traded but the majority of shares belong to these corporate boards. Germany have the 50+1 rule so fans will always have the majority of shares but it’s nearly impossible to implement that retrospectively
Private ownership of almost anything is a bad idea
How does that explain Real Madrid and Barcelona who also aren't owned by private entities?
@@reintaler6355 tbh, I think Barcelona has the least cons for joining this league. Firstly they’re financially woeful right now, and that fresh American money is going to help them massively. Secondly, they’ve always been seen as an outlet for opposition to the central government by the people of Catalan, so being banned from La Liga while gaining a membership into potentially the most prestigious competition in football might seem like a fair trade for them. I’m still against it although I’m a Cule from the start. I’m against over commercialisation, which will suck any soul left in the game.
Imagine calling it a European Super League but it's only 3 Europeans countries and most of the teams are washed up in their own countries
It was suppose to be the top 5 European leagues with Bayern Munich FC abd PSG but they declined the invite. A lot of respect for that
Most of the teams? I can see why people would say Arsenal and Spurs, but none of the others
@@blaparty5514 respect for PSG lol
It’s actually just called “The super league” which makes this a lot more scary because half the games will be played half way across the world.
@@seadkolasinac7220 Juventus?
That's what I've been saying, people acting as if only NOW football became all about greed, when it has been that way for 15+ years and UEFA has been taking advantage of it as well.
This is what I was saying yesterday - footballs been about greed and ain’t been the same for last 20 years
That's just neo liberal capitalism for you. Power is always at the forefront in everything, always. And money is power. It's not a mystery
Just sit back and watch football destroy it's greedy self who gives a f!!k about this overrated game played by overrated players on disgusting wages?
@@davidedwards8357 ummmm how is there wages disgusting the skill they have and the millions of people they entertain plus alot have come from poverty i dont get it how is it disgusting?
i dont know man i disagree its not about greed sure theres greedy people in it but theres greedy people everywhere as shown by this theres wayy wayyy more people in it hwo just love the game
Exactly. Where has all this outcry been? Why are we acting as if there was any abundance of hope for small clubs before this? Small clubs have already been fucked for a while, the same teams succeed because that’s where the money is. Occasionally we’ll see a team like west ham compete for a champions league spot, and obviously Leicester is a great success story, but let’s be real, does west ham have any chance at accomplishing anything in the UCL next season? No, because clubs like PSG, Bayern, and Dortmund have far more resources and thus have a fast track to success. And champions like Leicester come around once in a million years, so let’s not expect that to happen again soon. Where is the competitive nature in a sport if your club needs to be bought by billionaires in order to succeed? Small clubs have been in the coffin for a while, the super league is simply the last nail. Organized sports are about being the best managed from the front office, to the coaches, to the players. Getting an advantage due to outside wealth should have no part in sports
You can’t kill what’s already dead 💀
Sad but true
how is the most popular sport dead
@@johnnylee4820 when city and psg got taken over money killed the game
@@johnnylee4820 The is body alive but it is just a husk because the soul is dead
It’s not dead for us west ham supporters, we’re happy surviving a relegation battle each year and the odd game stealing points of the top six sides just when they need them the most, now a possible top six position and irony of nicking a unt reject and turning him into a star we’re smiling from ear to ear 😂
@@ricochet2977 I hope you blokes win the champions league ;)
Lingardinho will fire up
The abolition of the 3 foreigner rule leading to homegrown talent issues, the Bosman case giving players a mercenary attitude, the early 2000 Sky TV deals leading to hyper inflated transfers and the globalisation of football with clubs being bought by foreign owners has taken Footballs soul.
Bosman was important for player rights. Mercenaries are an unintended consquence which has several other factors which agents take advantage of and Bosman is only 1 of those factors making expensive mercenaries.
@@gm2407 You've proven my point. Irregardless of the intention, it has lead to a horrible situation ruining football where players will refuse to play if they don't get a move, unsettling the team, getting managers sacked, and they can just refuse transfers, happy to sit in the stands and pick up millions of pound every year until the contract runs out.
@@Daviebhoy25cfc Bosman is a tool so that players cant be deemed club property and due a transfer fee when the contract ends. Its like arguing hammers are evil because killers exist and may or may not use then. Just because Mino Riola exists and has clients doesnt make the Bosman ruling the source of all mercenaries.
PSG is obviously part of this, but can't start a rift with Fifa till after the World Cup.
Well, BeIN (Qatar's huge network) have the rights to CL
@@HMDHEGD PSG is probably just playing the long game. As long as UEFA and FIFA can credibly threaten to ban everyone from Qatari ventures like BeIN and the world cup then PSG can't move. But once one side relents, probably FIFA and UEFA, PSG will back the super league.
One of their owners in on the UEFA board, TV rights, and WC.
Note that both Bayern and PSG already have near guaranteed entry to the UCL anyway.
Agree with pretty much everything you said. I hope "small" teams and "smaller" leagues get more fans and attention from people who actually care about the game. It would be wonderfull if greed blew up in the face of the rich and we got some sort of a reset on football. Bring back the romance and actual fair competition
I’ll definitely be watching lower leagues. And leagues not affiliated. Already been watching more of the Championship, A-League, SPFL, etc etc
It would be great if this happens, but in the meantime when UEFA announced the new Champions league format which will apply in 2024 a lot of people started ranting how unpredictable and random will be and ironically said that they "can't wait to watch Legia Warszawa vs. Levski Sofia". For me these people aren't true football fans. Football is for all people and clubs. If every year the same big and rich clubs play in European competitions it would be devastating for the small clubs and for me personally boring as fuck. Even now I rarely watch Champions league because I'm tired of the same clubs playing over and over again. It's so freaking hard for teams like Crvena Zvezda and Steaua to reach the group stages now and they are European Cup winners! But they still manage to do it from time to time and that's a big success for them. I'm a Levski Sofia fan, what would be my club motivation to win the Bulgarian title, to participate in the Europa Conference league? Yes, It will be great to play other European clubs from our rank, but the thought that we won't be able to play any of the big clubs is sad. Let me tell you something, Levski participated in the 2006/07 CL group stages on a group against Chelsea, Barcelona and Werder and even though we didn't even get a point it was a big success and euphoria for the club. But that will never happen again if the big rich clubs continue being privileged.
Small teams and smaller leagues getting more fans won't resolve the problem. The small teams will eventually become greedy, because almost everyone gets greedy when given enough money. Some people won't admit but give them 100 million euro and they will try to get even more. The only thing it will do is change the big clubs into small clubs and change the small clubs into big clubs. The only way for football to be fair is to put the revenue of every club on earth into one bank account and split it by the amount of clubs so that every club gets exactly the same amount and give everyone working in the football industry the same salary. Then there are no big or small clubs anymore.
Alfie and his “It is what it is” approach
Never gets old ✨
lool
I'm reminded of a Dara O'Briain joke:
"In Ireland, we have a greater appreciation of the greyness of the human condition. We have all this stuff here which comes under 'That's grand' then it moves into 'A now, don't push it' and finally, we go: 'Right, you're taking the piss!'.
With all the money in football starting at the last point until it slowly moves to 'That's grand'
Been waiting since the news broke for this video!
I’ve always been an NUFC fan, but haven’t been a ‘supporter’ of the club since around the time Ashley took over. Football is not just a sport or business - it’s firmly part of our culture.
"Or maybe, you'll just get further alteration to the champions League"
This statement aged like wine
For me the degradation of football came in three waves.
The first was the super clubs using unbalanced resources to dominate domestic leagues.
The second was injection of more global money solidifying their place with rare exception breaking through.
The third is now, the complete removal of the possibility of competition.
My only hope is people support their local side and enjoy the sport and connection they have to it.
The fact that this is all about shareholders' revenue, is exemplified by the fact that Bayern Munich - a team from the league with a 50+1 rule, has openly denounced it.
This is why I am happy to be supporting a team in League 1.
you will get even less money and end up in some local park with a few benches, why are you happy xD
You mean League 1 Uber Eats
Jinzo Because he supports an actual proper football club...
@@HMDHEGD ok mate
I mean psg leaving would make the league better, someone else could win it for a change. Same for Bayern in Germany
Imagine how Maradona or Cruyff would react If they were alive
Cruyff would prolly publish a 1000 page book full of his quotes regarding the super league
Maradona would probably be recruited as an ambassador, or figure head. Let’s not act like he was the moral compass of football 😂
@Darren Ediss Bayern rejected
Messi has the power do the right thing now.
@Darren Ediss I mean Johan loves the sport so much and he is all about improving it, he’s one of the superiors morally speaking. However, I believe he admires some of the qualities in US sports models and might condone the new league. I can’t say for sure right now but it would be interesting to see his view on this.
£60m rotation players was when I started losing hope.
For me it was the same. But it was 30 million pound rotation player's. When Chelsea got duff Joe Cole robben and Shaun Wright Phillips. It confused me why player's didn't want to be the main star instead of a bit part player. Wages are even more of a problem.
This is how the rich conduct themselves in every walk of life, I hope people can begin to see that
It’s a big club and you ain’t in it - George Carlin transferred to Football basically
@@seekeroftruth9200 George Carlin was spot on about so many things wasn't he, god rest his soul
Such is life unfortunately, big money makes the world go round..
The issue is once money starts to spin it out of control 🙃
but if i say capitalism there will be issues 🤥
Yeah they think they're gods. Quite frankly, they need shooting
walking away from manchester united
rest in peace Newton Heath 1878-2021, you will be missed
djo lo. You don't have to walk away walk down to Broadhurst Park Moston We been waiting for you..............
Why are you walking away now? You were happy for Man U to have foreign owners and to take millions from Sky tv for decades.....therefore able to achieve a little European success.
@@cooldaddy2877 stop amd get some help
Truth hurts, apparently!
Dont worry mate there are millions in the rest of the world who will take your place as a new customer.
The football pyramid is what made me fall in love with the sport. The fact that small teams have the chance to gain promotion and compete with the big teams. Look at Leicester City. Gaining promotion, narrowly dodging relegation, winning the EPL, and have now competed in UEFA Champions League. That’s why I love football. As a fan from the US, I don’t want to see only the top teams play other top teams.
But that Pyramid is not real, small teams cannot stay in the top for long. if you ain't loaded your not staying.
If you love football, watch the best team that is nearest your house. Or just watch the team nearest your house.
If one saw American stuff... you'd regret it as half of what is fun is not there. There's no relegation, no hard work resulting in promotion, etc. All you see is a billionaire's play toy for an owner the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc rejected.
Yep. Anyone who doesn't support their local team has enabled this.
Perfect video, Alfie. It summarizes everything perfectly.
Thank you!
Day 6:Please make a video about DINAMO BUCHAREST...The story of our club is a hard one...And you telling it can really help us a lot,our club is clinging to survival,and we raised 2 milion euros to try to save the club...
Dinamo is one of the biggest clubs in Eastern Europe,it has 18 league titles and 13 domestic cup titles...It reached the Champions League Semi Final in 1984 after beating the holders of the trophy Hamburg...In the Semi Final they played against the great Liverpool side of the 80's...After the 89 revolution the club lost one of their greatest generation after their players where bought off by western clubs,similar to what happened to the clubs in East Germany that you already talked about...Corruption and neglect brought this giant of romanian football to it s knees...At the moment Dinamo is preety much the ONLY true historical side in Romania's top division...This team stood afloat thanks only to it's fans...In the summer some new spanish chiarman came and bought the club,brought players on huge contracts and left without paying them...The players just broke the contracts and the club accumulated even more debt...If the fans did not step in and accumulated 2 milion euros the club would have been dissolved...For anyone watching outside of Eastern Europe it might be hard to understand it s value...If u re English imagine Liverpool being dissolved...This club is OUR Liverpool,and it's stadium OUR cathedral...With all the fears of relegation,players leaving and managers coming in and leaving the club still managed to fight it's way to a Romanian cup Semi Final...Please,make one video about our story too...
A feel for your club my friend,they where a great team with great history,justice isn't swift for fans sadly
Rangers fan Scotland
I have a lot of respect for fans of Non-Premier League Teams.
I am not from England and I used to never understand why would someone support a low league, random club unless that very club climbs the ranks and makes history. I have found an absolute level of respect for y'all
We support clubs because of history, family, tradition and where you are from. I'm a Sunderland fan. We have been awful for many years, are in the 3rd tier but I was born there, grew up there and supporting Sunderland is my way of keeping a connection with my roots and where I'm from
Colesykins exactly
You support the team where you grow up, often it's handed down to you. You can't choose, well not until now anyway. Personally I'm looking for another club. Think I'm gonna with forest
Is about local pride.. I’m from Darlington.. I support Darlington Football Club.. a tier 6 club..
So basically Alfie’s decided footballs already dead because there’s a positive correlation between money spent and league position. Cheers Alfie mate really opened my eyes with this one.
Your video was the only one I was waiting for!
This was my comment on the HITC Sport video yesterday and I'd say I completely agree with you and this video Alfie :
As much as I hate the idea of a European Super League, I think that we should put equal blame on FIFA and UEFA as well. UEFA wanted to expand the Champions League to 36 teams with a 10-game group stage for more TV money, which makes team more prone to injuries and exhaustion. However, the money from the UCL is not "reasonably" distributed amongst the clubs. This is the reason of this Super League. In addition, FIFA decided to host the World Cup in a country where workers are being abused, and FIFA and UEFA keep increasing the international fixtures for their own advantage, pushing the "FIFA virus" crisis even further. Therefore, I'd say that FIFA's and UEFA's greed and corruption have led these mega-clubs to use greed against them instead. The mega-clubs feel that they are contributing more to the competition but receive less, and they see international fixtures as a waste since their players are getting more prone to injuries, but they have to treat the players themselves and pay their wages. These are the reasons why football fans in my country are overwhelmingly in favour of the European Super League.
The ESL is a joke, but UEFA and FIFA are jokes themselves too! As for the ESL, good luck having El Classicos or Manchester Derbys inside stadiums that are not full even after the pandemic.
P/S: I also can't see the point of UEFA or the Premier League applying sanctions on the ESL mega-clubs. The mega-clubs are having the higher ground in this situation, banning them from such competitions will cause a massive drop in viewership of the competitions, since fans of those clubs make up the lion's share of the viewers. The sanctions would make the Premier League or the La Liga no different from the Portuguese Primeira Liga or the Russian Premier League to be honest.
This is areally good comment. And UEFA just refomred CL and there will be 2 clubs that will not qualify based on performance, but based on historical achievements. So just 1 day later, they did what they fought against. UEFA themselves care only about footbal in 5 countries.
@@mionellessi3086 There will be 2 clubs that will be there based on historical achievements. But it's the lesser of the 2 evils. Most of the spots in the new UCL format are based on merit. I'm not in favour of it but it's way better compared to the ESL
Wow, this has been by far the most thought and out and rational rant
“Having no social media platforms of their own, a bit like isis” is too funny 😂
I’ve been waiting for HITC to make a video about this
Excellent vid - thanks for making
This video almost reminds me of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight or sth: how to talk about all of the symptoms of capitalism without mentioning capitalism itself as the root problem
When I heard the news, I was thinking how long it would be until Alfie came out with a video about it....
extremely good video, wish other pundits and creators would have such a rational view of the way things have been going for decades now.
was waitin for ur views regardin d super league . n yeah u nailed it again
Football fans are not known for having much independent thought, and what I found hilarious about this whole affair is that if the initial reaction from these club's supporters had been positive, then all the sheep would have jumped on the bandwagon loudly proclaiming their support. Instead, as the initial reaction was negative, all the sheep jumped on the bandwagon loudly proclaiming it to be 'the death of football', whilst blindly ignoring the fact that football in England died years ago and ceased to be a sport at that time. Football in England has been a business ever since the rebranding that created the Premier League.
Fans of these clubs were happy with their owners when they were spending money on the top players to come to their clubs. They have colluded with the owners and have only themselves to blame.
This is the best and most important video you have ever done. Kudos!
Thank you. I'm so glad to hear you make this point
I am a Liverpool fan I never saw the where, I WOULD WALK ALONE. I am saddened by that fact.
Been walking alone all season in a empty stadium.
It would be great if some of the old European Cup rules return in the modern Champions league so the smaller clubs have more chance of defeating a big club and progress ahead in the tournament. It will be so refreshing for the modern football and also motivating for the smaller leagues and clubs. I think true football fans will appreciate that and it will return part of the "romance" in football. In the meantime when UEFA announced the new Champions league format which will apply in 2024 a lot of people started ranting how unpredictable and random will be and ironically said that they "can't wait to watch Legia Warszawa vs. Levski Sofia". For me these people aren't true football fans. Football is for all people and clubs. If every year the same big and rich clubs play in European competitions it would be devastating for the small clubs and for me personally boring as fuck. Even now I rarely watch Champions league because I'm tired of the same clubs playing over and over again. It's so freaking hard for teams like Crvena Zvezda and Steaua to reach the group stages now and they are European Cup winners! But they still manage to do it from time to time and that's a big success for them. I'm a Levski Sofia fan, what would be my club motivation to win the Bulgarian title, to participate in the Europa Conference league? Yes, It will be great to play other European clubs from our rank, but the thought that we won't be able to play any of the big clubs is sad. Let me tell you something, Levski participated in the 2006/07 CL group stages on a group against Chelsea, Barcelona and Werder and even though we didn't even get a point it was a big success and euphoria for the club. But that will never happen again if the big rich clubs continue being privileged.
Football has "fans" and "die-hard" fans.
"Die-hard" fans are just like you; they follow their hometown team, go to games, etc. They just follow their team.
"Fans" follow the players and popular teams: they follow Barça because Messi is there, the same with Neymar in PSG and Ronaldo in Juventus, they buy their shirts. They even watch charity games because Messi is there.
As you said, these "fans" don't want to watch Legia vs Levski they want Barça vs PSG.
And whether we like it or not these "fans" are the ones who sustain the game, Legia and Levski can play in CL thanks to the money earned in games like Barça vs PSG.
@@MrJuan_Vzla "And whether we like it or not these "fans" are the ones who sustain the game"
Football sustained itself for over a century before those "fans" showed up.
@@AffectedArea But not anymore.
This started when football could be televised around the world. It became a product.
I loved your analysis on this topic. I think you have assessed it in a rational and objective way. I just hope that the sport that I love, football, won't be completely destroyed by this disruptive move😔
Excellent video as always Alfie
we've all been waiting for this video
His voice is so calm i can go to sleep listening to it 😊
Terrific vid, very humourous and a great great dig at the Gulf States too, and frog behaviour.
I would say that there often being just a handful of dominating clubs is something that's pretty much always been in the game and it's hard to change without money. When I was growing up in the mid-to late '80s, it was 'The Big 5' - Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, Everton & United. This dynamic indeed changed pretty much due to money, apart from in Everton's case; the Heysel Ban was a huge factor, which effectively saw the break up of their marvellous side. Blackburn won the league due to money, Chelsea and City joined the 'Big Clubs' due to money, and Everton dropped out because they had none and didn't manage their lean years well.
That's why the Leicester story, or even going back the Nottingham Forest story, are so romantic, because they are 2 clubs that had no business winning major silverware; it was even acknowledged at the time, and since for that matter, that Forest's rise was very unlikely, just as if Hull mirrored their feats today ;).
Even in that period in the '70s, and the temporary demise of United, it was still Liverpool who were dominating, albeit against an unstable number of 'big' opponents which change almost every year: Forest, Villa, Arsenal, Ipswich etc.
You're right, there's far less room for this 'Big' clubs to find themselves in any real difficulty barring some exceptions like, United in 1989-90, Everton a few times in the mid-90s and the occasional poor season by Spurs. However, this is more about Parato's Law and you can't do anything about that. Whatever you do to level the playing field, it will always be a select few over a given period that will dominate; the 'Big 6' nowadays just look more immovable than their predecessors. You can try and change things, and even go 'full-on communist', and collect all the revenue of all the clubs together, and then split it equally by 92, but it wouldn't necessarily mean the biggest clubs would suddenly find themselves in relegation trouble, or that in a few years we will have a Fulham vs Sheffield Wednesday title race.
Even in the States, where, as you know, there is no relegation in their version of 'football', or basketball and baseball (and I'm sure in most other sports) they have something you'll probably know about called, 'The Draft', where all the young rookie stars are chosen by the teams and are then recruited into the necessary franchise. I don't know a great deal about it, or the 'trading' of draft picks, but what I do know is that the weakest sides in the NFL, for instance, have the right to the first drafts picks of the most promising players, and whilst you do get a freak result like the dreaded Glazer family's Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl this year, the majority of Superbowls have only been won by a handful of clubs, just like league titles in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands...you see where I'm going.
This catastrophe, which you shrewdly pointed out is just the latest in a long line of the game being sold out and little being done to stop it, needs to have this atrocious venture suffocated and for anyone who loves the game to try to stop it by at least boycotting it and their beloved teams, which I intend to do, as much as possible. I just fear that your hope for this Super League to explode in a ball of flames won't happen, just like the Russia and Qatar World Cups haven't been cancelled despite all the corruption and inhumanity that are associated with them. My worry is that eventually we all, including Gary Neville, the fans, et al. will just shrug their shoulders and just carry on as they did before for other instances of the game and club identities being chipped away, by continuing to buy merchandise, watching the games on TV and attending matches of these clubs.
The Detroit Lions no matter how much draft picks you give them never really get better than mediocre because the owners and management don't care how well they do.
Chelsea were ascendant before Roman came in anyway
Absolutely spot in video. Thank you.
Thirty years too late to complain. This was inevitable from Day 1 of the Premier League. I'm surprised it took this long.
i was waiting for the Alfie measured response tbf
Agreed top flight football lost its soul long ago but this just rams home the point in such a way it cannot be ignored
Awesome video as you described the reality of football as it is. You gave a perspective that not many people comment about. Nowadays, the same teams finish at the top of the league or the finals of European competitions or national cup tournaments. Although the Super League is just an outcome of greed, long gone are the days when you would see a lower division team win the FA cup, albeit reaching the final.
Carry on your amazing work and humor
I respect your comments, views and you. Please don't change. An honest voice is all one can ask in such heated and spirited discussions.
Was not expecting a Peter O’hanraha-hanrahan reference here but glad it happened
Football was already a little broken for a long time but the super league is like the billionaires smacking a crack with a hammer until the whole wall collapses as they can harvest the bricks for themselves
Alfie: nail on head as ever... football's soul was sold to the highest bidder many years ago... especially in England, but UEFA and FIFA have done their bit too...I just wish I had been able to take you to some German football like I did with some of your contemporaries from school... now they still know about real football (albeit Bayern, Dortmund and RB Leipzig are pushing the boundaries a tad)...
Amazing video 👏👏👏
18:14
Wasn't expecting the Peter O'Hanrahanhanrahan reference, but I definitely appreciate it 😂
It's like football lost its soul after Johann Cruyff died
No. Way before that.
Cruyff supported starting a super league
@@TechSupport900 in this format tho? I think he’ll see right through the greedy founders and hate the idea. Johan is fascinated by the American model, sure, but I think he won’t be too fond of something clearly greed based like this.
I'm from finland where ice hockey is the biggest sport and I like it as well. As a result I've followed American hockey league (Nhl).
I know we Europeans don't generally like the American sport model with no relegation, draft and salary caps but even with it's faults there is one thing great about it: FAIR COMPETITION. In American sport league every team has equal chance of making it to the top because of the salary cap they have. It stops richer teams of just throwing money around and dominating. In a result of this Nhl's two most watched and richest teams haven't won the championship in nearly 30 years and out of current 31 teams I think only like 8 haven't never won the championship.
If we want more competition in football we need a leagues with salary cap and also some kind of budget for buying players. The problem would be to get the current big teams owners to agree to a model where we still have relegation and they can't outspend smaller teams and in that way basically guarantee their place at the top.
Great video... finally someone saying what I've been Thinking for a while now.
i would like to see my man alfie's thoughts on the beneliga, because i barely know what it is, so it would be nice to hear my man explain more about it
I would call it superleague done right, putting a relatively stale belgian league toghether with dutch league(significantly more competitve, but still relatively stale) toghether without disruption of football as we know it.
Not that I'm for it or against it, there are arguements for both side of the proposition I somewhat support.
@@nikolamitrovic3841 so if beneliga is a thing, how would the european competition qualifying work, would it only be the top teams from beneliga, or will it remain the same (ie belgian league and dutch league have their representatives)
@@yungtrashlord only top teams from beneliga, consider it along the lines of beneliga being the tier 1 league, and belgian and dutch leage bein tier 2
I remember the time when clubs could only have 5 foreigners on their teams. Bring it back already.
Can we also say they're only allowed 5 foreign fans and no foreign owners too. In fact no owners at all, just fans
Russian league is like that
@@willowandluka5302 racist or no owners?
Some English clubs need this. It’s basically all foreigners
GREAT VIDEO!
Thanks again for your cool videos
"Every free-to-play games can be exploit by pay-to-win concept"
VIDEO SUGGESTION - how would the Premier League table look if the "Big" six were removed and the matches vs "Big" six excluded?
Leicester will rule!
This season, West Ham are 4 points away from the league title with five games remaininh
Great video. You could argue that we set this path for ourselves when the Premier League was formed in 92 and the process has been accelerating ever since. I would have liked to hear you focus more on the ESL and what it means for football, the Premier League, smaller clubs, traditional fans, etc. rather than constant whataboutisms but maybe a separate video for that in the future. This is going to rumble on for a while.
I could not afford the shirts, or to watch live games on TV or at the stadium. What exactly will I miss?
2015 FIFA Scandal actually ruined football in general
This is the final nail in the coffin but football has been on a downward spiral since 92'. Also isnt it funny sky sports employees are the ones so against it saying its "ruining football" when they were charging 15 quid for STREAMING the game. When you get a bundesliga ticket for less than that and the football is more enjoyable.
Sky Sports tried to make super league from PL.
Great video, Alfie!
never ever tuch cycling any more. love your videos, love your content
champions league would be a whole lot more fun and unpredictable when the 12 giants leave, so I say let 'em leave!
I like to say otherwise because:
1. It'll just be the Europa league which is not very exciting on its own
2. The champions league was never about the giants in the first place, it was the legacy and history the UEFA champions league carries and the sentimental value
3. Referring to number 2. When Porto won the champions league, it was very thrilling and exciting experience, just like if real Madrid won the champions league and Porto is not part of the 12 giants, using that logic, it won't make a difference if the smalls teams win the champions, yes it will be thrilling and exciting, but It'll just be the same as any top team winning the champions league
4. Champions league featured word class players, without those players, the champions league will be like watching the English football
League 2.
5. The European super league affects each team's domestic league, if it is officially happens, theirs a chance the domestic fooball league could be cancelled or their will be a reduction of the top teams in the best league's in the world,which are the ones worth watching in the league's in the first place
6. The 12 giants made the champions league worth watching to a majority of people, the champions league was a super league on its own
If your comment was done by opinion, I fully respect that, I just used logic and facts behind this, as well as the majority of people, In my opinion I think it maybe exciting if the 12 giants leave, so I'm more or less on your side if your comment was an opinion, but factually and logically, I'm not, no offense
@@Lucid5630
1.Inter And AC Milan Haven't made the knockouts in the last 10 years, 2.Arsenal have been non existent apart from the occasional drubbing by Bayern
3. Spurs have reached 1 final and tbh won't make the semis in next 5-10 years again.
4. Chelsea haven't made the semis since winning it
5. United haven't done anything significant since Fergie left.
6. Well, City do make it entertaining every year, seeing them choke every year is funny ngl
7. Juve are in decline, the Ronaldo deal took a lot from them
8. Barca who get their annual thrashing in UCL are in decline too, and if/when Messi leave they are doomed
9. Liverpool this season were brought down to earth too
10. Atletico is boring to watch, have always been
11. Real, well they can no longer brag about their 13 titles since they don't care about it, fuck them.
I do hope FIFA bans all the players of the teams, keep playing in your bubble of 20-25 games a season, and keep pocketing the money
Looking forward to see Ajax, Dortmund, Lyon, Leicester and Sevilla in UCL
@@Lucid5630 I think this years Euro League is more exciting than this years Champions League
Half the clubs will leave the city and country they are currently in eventually anyway
@@abhishekacharjee9931 listen bro, it still doesn't change the fact that these teams are,the most entertaining to watch, this is the majority, not by you,and all for Dortmund, Ajax and Seville in the champions league, I'm on the opinion side, yet I'm on the factual side and point, as i said, even of those teams win, its not going to make a difference nor change the fact that they are still great clubs, even by history, I don't know why your offended by facts, I even stated that the 12 giants make the champions league more worth entertaining to watch by the majority, not by you, your feelings don't change anything because, as i said, UEFA is not about the big giants, it's about the legacy and history UEFA champions league carries and the sentimental value, if we put all Europa league teams in the UEFA champions league for the past 10 years, it's still not going to change the great history and legacy of the champions league, its just going to make it less entertaining to watch,the champions league is for champions, any team could win it, as i said for my example with Porto, the reason why the big 12 won it was because of their hard work and genius, why are you mad at teams who worked hard to be champions, even if Valencia won the champions league, even if west ham won the champions league, even if Nottingham won the champions league, it's still not going to make a difference,Leicester city could win if they want to, no one is stopping them, west ham could win the champions league, no one is stopping them, they just haven't won it yet, but because their are teams who worked hard to be better and to win, it's now suddenly a problem? That makes no sense, no one is stopping them to be better than real Madrid, or Barca etc. It's their own responsibility to win, to work hard and be better just like the 12 giants, no one is stopping them yet your mad at the big giants for simply being geniuses and working hard,just like every other team?, come on man, no matter what happens it still doesn't change their efforts and the fact they worked hard, but seriously dude, come on, and I don't mean to offend you by this
Alfie - Makes a video supporting ESL five months ago
Irish guy- Makes a video bashing the ESL
Their viewers- *Visible Confusion*
Two people can have two different opinions. Who would have thought? 😂
First time alfie doesnt speak fax
@@s.a.6377 it’s not that, I especially was confused as to whose opinion to believe more as both of them made equal sense.
@@pkingglazersout6665 I didn't see the other one so will mention general techniques to help decide on your own opinion rather than give you mine.
Turn the sound off and read subtitles as speaking tone is authoritative and makes points sound more persuasive. Reading it is sometimes clearer if a point doesnt stand up and gives you time to reexamine with the video paused.
Examine the evidence of data surrounding the points made. Is the basis of the point actually factual? Is the deduction logically consistant with how such data would behave under the stated changing conditions. 9/3 always equals 3 because of the relationship of 3+3+3=9.
Consider the world view of the author and the possibiliy that data has been disgarded or not found due to cognative bias and this may affect the strength of the point they make. This means you have to hunt for extra data which argues the oposite of what you are told and judge the validity of that for yourself.
Does the truth lie in between or somewhere else? Examine a mix of both positions to see if aspects can be true and consistent with each other. Consider the posibility that both maybe incorrect to an unknown degree.
I wouldn't say Alfie was exactly supporting the ESL in the video he made 5 months ago...... so many people hated on that video when it was clear they didn't watch it bc it was clear by the content of the video from 5-6 months ago that Alfie is not a fan of the ESL
Wow. If you are reading this you are one of the lucky ones. You have discovered the best analysis of the game on CZcams. Bless you, Mr. hitc sevens.
Couldn't have put it any better. Glad to hear someone who actually understands things
The rot started when the biggest and richest big city clubs decided to keep their home league gate receipts rather than share 50/50 with the visiting clubs.
Yes. Most fans are not even aware that this change happened.
The "soul" of the Bundesliga seems still fine to me.
RB Leipzig is our biggest cancer
"Die gelbe wand". I have a hard time believing they can go on like nothing has changed year after year. 30000 in one stand all singing and full of passion. With a "healthy rivalry" towards local team Schalke. Old people die out or get tired of singing. Younger people do not go to football matches anymore I am told. Or this does not apply to Germany? Some irony here if it was not obvious.
@@lordoflocks8811 Yeah, but they are supporting an east German club and don't destroy the market with ridiculous salaries or transfer fees. Not a fan, but so far I must admit they are doing everything right and actually earned their success with good work, more than with their check book.
Nevertheless we have to be careful about other companies trying to do something similar and push traditional clubs out of the Bundesliga. Many traditional clubs have to be more professional though and get their shit together. What HSV or Schalke are doing is just embarrassing.
@@SSEnrich Ticket prices in Germany are very affordable. Especially in the curves for the "hardcore" fans. Even Bayern keeps them relatively low, despite always being sold out and being situated in a relatively rich area. So yeah young people are not priced out of the stadium like in England or southern Europe.
@@SSEnrich I can’t speak for everybody, but my club don’t have this problem...
Great video! I would like to hear your take on what could be a solution, though. For example, you mention how the Premier League already is controlled by the "top six" based purely on their wealth (I could not agree more of course), can you propose how this could change in favour of a better over all competition?
One new rule could revolutionise the game. Six starting players must have been born within say 20 miles of the ground. It would take the game back to how it was in the 60s and 70s. You could still have a few big name mercenary players but the majority of the team would be local players. Tactics and player development would become more important than who has the most money.
great video
We all know football has gone out of control for years now but this isn't it. The sport can be reformed, this is just a dagger through the heart of the sport. The way Perez talks about how nobody under the age of 24 cares about football or about having to reduce the length of a football match so it appeases international television audiences, its insane.....
It's because of people like Perez that people under 24 don't watch football, they can't afford it. Tickets and tv packages are too expensive for a lot of people in that age bracket
@@danwilliams256 Of course because he doesn't want to spin that true narrative. He goes on a Madrid TV talk show last night and says they will do everything and anything they want. So confident they are going to win the Champions League this season and make 14 UCL wins, 14 ESL wins despite it only supposedly starting in August. Love to see his face when he's go to try and find more money for a legal challenge when FIFA officially kick them out today.
This is true though.
But I don't think a super league is any good either way.
Sure bring reforms and changes but a super league will just destroy it all.
Its like you cutting your entire arm just cause you felt pain in your biceps.
We Indians already have the ipl irritating us each summer now this
more like the arm was rotten to its core.
better to cut it off completely
Great Video!
Please do more opinion- and documentation-style videos!
This video needed uploading, been waiting for this since the announcement on Sunday. Fair play Alfie 👍
I don’t see this Super League happening, when push comes to shove and the actual league is about to start they’ll realize how it’s not feasible in any way shape or form.
I believe it will happen but the clubs will come back to their roots after it fails
The push back is from so called "legacy fans" the plastics and tourists will be fine with this. I've seen many Real Madrid fans happy about this and praising Florentino Perez
@@danwilliams256 Madridiots
@@danwilliams256 Yeah most of the push back are from local fans. Most people from my country passionately support this thing and denounce the local fans as "short-sighted".
Reminded me of hikaru nakamura's "I literally don't even care"
Guy annoys me
legit video Alfie, lots of hyperbole going on and really appreciate people who step back and stay objective 👍
tuned here exactly at 10am waited for this since news came out