A NEW Proposal For A European Super League Has The Soccer World Up In Arms Again Today. So Once Again, I Propose A System That EVERYONE Hates
When there's GIANT money involved no bad idea is ever really dead. The European Super League proposed by this group called A22 is trending on twitter again with their new proposal. Last time the super league seemed like it was going to happen with the big English clubs and the other marquee names from around the sport creating a closed system of the elites that would remove them from domestic competitions. People nearly burned down the continent when that proposal was pitched.
This "new" idea is a bigger tournament. Only 14 matches. 60-80 clubs from leagues around Europe who will compete to crown a champion. Great idea. Only problem is that this already exists. It's called "The Champions League". You can't have two champions leagues. The amount of competitions going on simultaneously is too much for my simple American brain to comprehend anyways.
Recently, my beloved Nottingham Forest made it to the semi-finals of the Caraboa Cup. Not to be confused with the Premier League, the FA Cup, Europa League, or Champions League. Talking to a variety of Forest fans from England and America the excitement about the Semi-Final against Manchester United ranged from "let's rest our best players to make sure we are good to go for league play" to "it'd be pretty cool to win this". It was absolutely NOTHING compared to the playoffs in the Championship Division that Forest went through last year. There were moments from that playoff that will be burned into the brains of fans forever. That was the most important thing in the world to everyone involved. If you ask any fan of English football they will tell you that the best case scenario as a fan would be win promotion through the playoff because of the extra games and the intensity. The format now automatically promotes the 1st and 2nd place finishers while teams finishing 3rd-6th enter into a playoff with the Final at Wembley. I went to that game last year and I've never experienced anything like it as a fan
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That is how all competitions should be treated. In the words of Herm Edwards...YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. If you're not prioritizing winning a Cup then maybe it shouldn't exist at all.
That brings me to my idea that people hate. The Premier League, and all of these domestic leagues across Europe needs playoffs at the end of the season. I really believe the sport would be better off with a format that crowns one true champion. Europeans and their relegation system is AWESOME. I love that. Even when your team is at the bottom there is something to play for every week because the ramification isn't a top draft choice. It's getting kicked out of the league and all the money that goes with it. That is a great system and nobody should try to change it. That was the big flaw of the original Super League proposal besides ending domestic league play for the biggest clubs in Europe.
The one thing Domestic League play lacks is a playoff system at the end of the season to crown a champion, give fans more memories, more meaningful games, and more money for the clubs. The following is my proposal which every soccer fan has told me that they hate, but that is just because people hate change and not because I am wrong.
--Clubs finishing 18th, 19th, and 20th in league play still get relegated as normal
--The club finishing 17th is safe, but does not qualify for the playoffs
--Clubs 1-16 qualify for a single elimination playoff tournament with the higher seed getting homefield advantage
The current table is as follows
Arsenal v Leeds
Man City v Wolves
Man United v Leicester
Newcastle v Forest
Spurs v Palace
Brighton v Villa
Brentford v Liverpool
Fulham v Chelsea
Who wouldn't want to watch that? People will say that it is not needed because of the balanced schedule or whatever, but I think that is bullshit. The teams are so different in February than they were in August because of the transfer windows. It also gives every team hope of a dream run throughout the season. Liverpool and Chelsea have been disappointing this year, but I am sure that their fans would be singing from their chest in a quarterfinal game against a team from the top 4.
I would scrap the Caraboa Cup all together and then condense the premier league schedule a bit. More weeks with 2 games so the playoffs can start mid-April and end by early May. And that is important because I want to give those fucks from A22 a little something too.
Instead of taking 60-80 clubs and playing throughout the year, just take the champion of each playoff from the various leagues across Europe and have a tournament of Champions in May. Have the winners of the top 16 European leagues also enter into a playoff. That would take you right to the end of May. The Final can be moved around the continent just like the Super Bowl moves.
These two playoffs to end the season would be incredible. It'd great more moments, more memories, more money. It'd be easier to follow than these various competitions that bring out varying levels of excitement from fans and muted enthusiasm from clubs. One true champion inside of one season. That is what the sport needs and what fans deserve even if 98% of them say they don't want it at this juncture.
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I don't know how anyone could be against more big games and memorable moments. Everyone will be, but that's okay.