End of the EPL

FOOTBALL’S most powerful clubs are hatching plans for a European Super League which could destroy the Premier League.


Anxious Premier League officials are aware of the proposals and monitoring developments.

The Euro revolution would see the creation of three divisions — each with 20 teams.

Our Big Four — Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal — would be in the top division, forced to play 38 European games alone.

That would rule out any chance of them competing in the Premier League as well and would therefore spell the end of English football as we know it.

Premier chief executive Richard Scudamore has been alerted and would fiercely resist any moves to either abolish the Premier or reduce its size to accommodate extra European fixtures.

But that resistance could force English competitors in a European League to withdraw from the Premier League altogether.

Unofficial talks have already taken place between members of the influential European Club Association (ECA) to discuss the idea of a three-division competition involving up to 60 teams.

The secret plotters plan to get their lucrative idea off the ground by as early as 2012.

The idea, believed to be the brainchild of AC Milan, is to scrap the Champions League and UEFA Cup in favour of the new competition.

England has FIVE members of the ECA — the Big Four and Newcastle.

The Premier League’s Big Four would all qualify for the top division of a European League, while Newcastle would be involved in the second division.

The idea for the new competition was first floated at a UEFA strategy meeting in Switzerland last Tuesday.

And though it is not on the official agenda, the subject is sure to generate further discussion when the 135 ECA members meet this week.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas let the cat out of the bag when he briefed the French media of the talks following his team’s elimination from the Champions League last week.

Although the plans are still in their infancy, it appears the new league would be open only to members of the ECA.

That would mean only the five English teams with the highest UEFA coefficient would be eligible to take part.

It was the threat of a breakaway European League by the members of the former G14 organisation which forced UEFA to introduce the Champions League in 1992.

But this time the competition could go ahead with the blessing of UEFA. Their president Michel Platini said: “We are a democratic organisation who will listen to the views of everyone. We will seek the views of all the stakeholders then, when the time comes, it will be up to the executive of UEFA to decide.”


At present, the plan is for the European League to run alongside any domestic leagues. But fixture congestion would make that proposal virtually impossible.

Any new competition could not start before 2012, when UEFA’s current deal for TV coverage of the Champions League expires.

But Premier League observers are convinced it could be years before all the problems are ironed out.

One source told SunSport: “No one has any idea how this proposal would work.

“How would teams qualify? How would they decide on promotion and relegation? How many teams would be eligible from each country? How do you fit in all the games?

“It wouldn’t be in the interests of any English team to leave the Premier League to play in a European competition. Manchester United fans would much rather watch their team playing against Manchester City, Everton and Tottenham than they would against Alkmaar, Porto and Zenit St Petersburg.

“English teams are dominating in Europe because of the collective strength and wealth of the Premier League.

“They would not want to jeopardise that by going it alone to play in a closed-shop competition created by European teams looking for guaranteed protection against failure to qualify for the Champions League.”

Last night the ECA appeared to cave in as criticism of the plans leaked out.

Executive board members issued a statement declaring: “The ECA is very happy with the existing European competitions.”

But it will do little to silence the concerns of fans.

The end of the Premier League | The Sun |Sport|Football

 

this will never happen

 

Cant see It happening.

 

Newcastle in the second division are you having a giraffe?

 

another lad had a thread with this today and i think the general opinion is this will never happen! the epl will not and why should they merge with euro clubs/

 

I can't see that materializing to be honest. It would ruin football imo.

 

This would be a good thing from a CELTIC point of view it would raise our profile and surely earn us more money than the spl, not only that we the fans would get to see more exciting games week in week out

 

that ridiculas..itll never happen and i dont see how it would be a good thing for us because i dont see us in it

 

I agree, it would be too drastic a change...

 

the two most important words in the whole of the article are at the very bottom where it shows where the article came from THE SUN says it all

 

Yeah noted , In the real world i would say this wont come off ,but when theres * loads of money involved anything can happen.

 

Charming! If I was Villa, Man City or * even Blackburn (who won it in 95) I'd feel a bit insulted with that. 4 'big' teams a division does not make.

*, did I just get trolled by them again?

 

what about the rest of the english teams? they will greet like * to get in before us and the huns and other big teams outside the big countries !

 

What about the fans could you imagine being a fan who goes to all home and away games...... the away crowds would be very poor