Spellczech Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 4 hours ago, Tommy Brown said: Stop this silly myth. Swansea and Cardiff (Wrexham) previous my played in English leagues since the 1920s. Berwick joined Scottish leagues in 1905. Uefa wasn't formed until 1954. Do you often go on chat forums to shut down discussion? Now that is silly. Of course it is very unlikely but discussing it on a football chat forum is allowed whether you like it or not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyo Drifter Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 20 hours ago, Stuart Lyon said: Long cut and paste from today's Times Lawwell will be monitoring the plans for a BeNe League with great interest BILL MURRAY/SNS Share Save The ongoing discussions between the Dutch Eredivisie and the Belgian Jupiler Pro League regarding plans to merge the best clubs from their respective leagues to create a new 18-team division will have far-reaching consequences for the game in Europe. It may also finally provide Celtic and Rangers with the escape route from Scottish football that they have been hoping for almost a quarter of a century. A report in German magazine Kicker revealed that the two countries have hatched a plan for the ten clubs from Holland and eight from Belgium to form a new Super League, one which would generate considerably more money from broadcasters and help them to compete in European competitions with clubs from England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France. Should their plan be given the green light then the Glasgow giants would anticipate being invited — and would proactively seek an invitation — to join that league or any similar new conglomerate. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell is on the board of the European Clubs Association and will be monitoring the situation with interest. “We cannot ignore the new reality,” said Bart Verhaeghe the Club Brugge chief executive. “Sooner or later, there will be a European Super League with games between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on Sundays.” Deloitte, the international audit, consulting and financial advisory group, was hired by the Belgians and Dutch to examine the potential for a BeNe League and were informed they could expect to earn around £365 million per year in television revenue, which compares favourably to the £73 million each collects at the moment. That would place the BeNe League just behind the big five TV nations and level the playing field for their clubs in the Champions League and Europa League. It has been proposed that the Dutch and Belgian clubs finishing lowest in the table would be automatically relegated each year while the champions of the domestic leagues left behind would be promoted. Celtic attempted to form an Atlantic League with clubs from Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Scandinavia 20 years ago. Roger Mitchell, who was then chief executive of the Scottish Premier League, confirmed that he had taken precautionary measures to protect the clubs who would not have been invited and regarded the move as inevitable until national associations conspired to prevent it. “We had it all worked out,” he said last night. “There was a mechanism there which could have seen our clubs promoted and there were financial guarantees which would have meant that our smaller clubs would not have been worse off. “However, it was the national associations, who are the regulators in each country, who stood in their way. Ironically, it was the former Celtic chairman, Jack McGinn, who was the SFA’s president at the time and he wasn’t interested: he just went through the motions. “The other associations were the same: they didn’t see any reason to give up their cushy numbers and that’s where it died. They didn’t want to lose their perks — the first-class travel and the five-star hotels — so they weren’t bothered and that was scandalous. “Leagues, as we’ve seen, are now an uncomfortable marriage of people who want nothing to do with each other and market forces are driving them apart because broadcasters don’t want to show Hamilton v St Johnstone.” In the late 1990s Celtic considered buying Wimbledon FC, then in England’s top tier, from owner Sam Hammam. The plan was to relocate the club to Celtic Park and then rename it, thus parachuting themselves into the Premier League. A stalking horse had been let loose in the shape of Dr John Hall, a Bermuda-based businessman who had bought Clydebank FC and attempted to play their home Scottish League fixtures in Dublin. The Royal Dublin Showground had been chosen as their new stadium and there was nothing in the rules to prevent the deal being done. However, representatives of the Scottish and Irish associations called on Fifa to act prior to the 1998 World Cup finals and the governing body created new legislation to prevent such a move. Intriguingly, Fifa president Gianni Infantino, speaking to the media in December, appeared to signal a softening of their stance. “We need to be open to discussions,” he said. “The Belgians and the Dutch have been discussing creating a Benelux league and these discussions have been going on for 20 years and we are always saying no, because we are based on national leagues. “But maybe it helps? Maybe it is the only way out, maybe in Europe they have to think about this, maybe in Africa. I was proposing something like this for Africa. I think we have the duty to study these things then we will see where it goes. “It’s not about bringing anyone down. It’s rather about bringing those who are today down a little bit further [up] and we are willing to discuss with everyone about everything. And then we will see.” Share Save Hope it happens. Good riddance to the Ugly Sisters, I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Brown Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 20 minutes ago, Spellczech said: Do you often go on chat forums to shut down discussion? Now that is silly. Of course it is very unlikely but discussing it on a football chat forum is allowed whether you like it or not... WTF? 🖐️ I am enlightening people who keep throwing up Cardiff/Swansea/Berwick, thinking that it can help the OF in moving away. UEFA have closed the door, unless for valid good reason (eg Derry City) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyCant Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Groningen to Liege (probably the 2 furthest apart clubs that might be involved) is about 4-5 hours by coach. Adding trips to Glasgow into this mix is a non starter on cost alone. Belgian clubs and Dutch clubs are strapped for cash. They are not going to want to share a Pretty good TV deal with Celtic and Rangers just for the hell of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spellczech Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Tommy Brown said: WTF? 🖐️ I am enlightening people who keep throwing up Cardiff/Swansea/Berwick, thinking that it can help the OF in moving away. UEFA have closed the door, unless for valid good reason (eg Derry City) De facto these are clubs which play in other countries. You say yourself that UEFA have closed the door, then give an exception...Thus it is not impossible, just very difficult, which is why the OF keep hinting at it, to keep it out there as an idea. Personally I think their prime motivation is blackmail, to maintain their domination of the governing bodies, money and voting structure in Scotland. If they ever did leave, they see themselves one day getting invited to play with Barca and Manu, not Ajax and Anderlecht... The SPFL is under threat at the moment, Rangers are watching to see if they can wrest control back of the governing bodies and, lo and behold, out comes the mooted "we may consider leaving" line from Celtic... Edited July 17, 2020 by Spellczech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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