The Daily Record is today making up stories again, this time floating the Atlantic League idea, which died its natural death, and was buried, over 15 years ago.
The paper tracked down it’s “author” and he “admitted” that the plan is back on the rails.
And pigs might fly.
For the third day in a row, The Record appears obsessed with an idea – this “elite Champions League” – that is nothing more than a shadow on the wall.
Let me repeat; without UEFA’s stamp on it, it will never, ever happen.
Yet The Record today expects us to believe that not only is it a real possibility, but that the “second tier” clubs are about to do exactly the same thing, destroying their own national associations and wrecking what’s left of UEFA and its authority.
A perusal of the article would go something like this:
First, this is an idea that was birthed by David Murray. So whether Sevco are involved or not, this is Rangers plan. It will be resurrected to involve Sevco who the country owes a debt of gratitude for conceiving of such a thing but only if …
If Rummenigge and his people put together a concrete proposal and not just a lot of hot air; and if that proposal goes to a vote at the ECA; and if the other clubs in the ECA, wholly against their own interests, support it; and if the national associations, including the EPL and La Liga, the richest leagues in the world, allow their clubs to resign en masse; and if those clubs aren’t blocked by their own supporters; and if UEFA simply rolls over; and if these clubs do form an “invite only” league, wholly based on money and not merit without destroying football completely; and if those clubs which don’t get in decide to forgo UEFA and their own national associations as well … then in those circumstances maybe, just maybe, we’ll get an Atlantic League.
In other words, when Hell freezes over.
What the article doesn’t ask – because it’s not a fact based one but sheer fantasy – is what exactly the point of such a League will be, if the biggest clubs have already gone off to form their own wee European Super League.
Where’s the TV money going to come from for it?
Will broadcasters care enough to fund it?
We all know where the cash will end up; the whole purpose of the “Big Clubs” doing this would be to get them a greater share of TV revenues … so what exactly will be left for the rest but crumbs? Are we really supposed to be believe football in Europe would be entirely obliterated for that?
In case The Record and others have missed the point this website has been trying to get across for days, these “Super League” proposals aren’t a cause for panic or frantic plotting. Indeed, I would be more than willing to bet that this whole thing hasn’t raised enough indigestion inside Celtic Park for a good fart.
If these measures are ever proposed to the ECA as official policy, the ECA – which is made up of 200 or more clubs – will vote them down because they’re not in the best interests of the members or of their national associations.
How do I know all this? How is it that I’m able to state it all with absolute surety?
Well apart from understanding football and its structures better than the average hack at a Scottish tabloid appears to, even those allegedly “covering” the game, I actually did what perhaps they ought to have done.
I checked out the ECA itself.
And you know what?
They denied all this … over a week ago.
What they are lobbying for are “slight changes to the access list” for the Champions League, which should concern Celtic more than any of this other “breakaway league” nonsense, but not only are a lot of the ECA clubs beneficiaries of this rule (and so scrapping it is unlikely to be in the final list of proposals) the ECA has made it clear that they see this is a UEFA led process … and their own “plan” will be one of a number open to consideration by the game’s governing body.
There has been a lot of absolute nonsense talked about these plans; some have suggested that Leicester City might have cause for concern as they are not seen as “sexy enough” for Europe’s top competition. No-one has spelled out exactly why they should be worried; if they finish in the top four in England their place is guaranteed and no changes to the competition format can be made for at least the next three years ….
More importantly, the European Club Association has offered its support to Gianni Infantino as the next head of UEFA.
This is significant because he is one of a number of senior officials in the sport who is wholly in favour of a more comprehensive “access list” for top competitions.
He is the architect of the plan to increase the size of the World Cup to 40 teams and if elected as the most powerful football administrator in Europe he’ll oppose any major changes to the current Champions League qualifying format.
So no Champions League spin-off for the big guns.
No Atlantic League for the also-rans.
And no credibility for any Scottish newspaper that takes this absolute guff into Day Four.
I consider The Daily Record’s article today, and their coverage of this whole issue, to be a gross insult to its readers, based it as it is not on facts but on outright nonsense. Quite how their editorial justifies paying salaries and giving these people press credentials on the basis of crap like this I really don’t know.
These proposals are Peter Pan on acid. They are unrealisable nonsense.
There are good things happening in football right now, so can we get back to reality, please?