You could argue about the ratings slightly but overall the comments are fair enough.

SLEXIT

I wasn't writing an in depth editorial piece on the issue. I was scrambling a reply in between Microsoft Teams meetings. But you are indeed correct.

Cardiff, Newport and Swansea disagree. But point taken. I'm writing on here whilst trying to work you know !

Neville was making the point on Sky last night that City's owners, if any, were the ones most likely to back out on sporting grounds. It's highly unlikely they got into football to make additional billions. And it sounded on Sunday like they were the last to commit.

I agree with your vision but I don't think it will happen. I fear the clubs bemoaning the greed of the big 6 will suddenly change their tune when there is only £X amount of money left in the UK game, and that money is being divided up between the 86 football league teams. I think your Evertons and your Crystal Palaces that are speaking out about this now will suddenly go quiet once their income has dropped and when they realise that if other clubs go bust they will be able to get a bigger share of £X. Do you think Burnley's new owners would care? Do you think Venkys would care? I don't see a total reset for a long time. I see the Super 6 dining at an elite table, whilst the rest of the clubs ultimately will turn on each other and scavenge for whatever money is left over.

The point is many clubs will go under because of breakaway. Villa fans might think they will become a big club, but if their TV rights are slashed by 50% almost overnight how are they going to pay the ridiculous bills they currently have. Villa could be in as much financial jeopardy as Exeter over this. Do I want to see the Premier League kick them out. Damn right. But owners of all "non-elite" clubs are going to have to find some serious funding to cover black-holes over the next few years whilst the clubs become sustainable. Drawing up stumps on the 6 with no going back allows this European Super League to happen, and will be signalling the end for many football clubs in the UK. It's not a decision to be taken lightly. Ultimately I feel one of two things will happen. • Either the ESL goes ahead and the teams also remain in their domestic leagues, but a 'payment' is made from the ESL to the domestic leagues to allow them to take part, which funds the losses in TV rights. • This is stopped and the current formats continue with tweaks, but the 'Super 12' clubs are then allowed a bigger share of the TV rights for the Premier League and the Champions League featuring themselves because they are the ones that more people are tuning in to watch. Again, I'd love to banish the whole lot, but you have to be prepared for the collateral damage.

The problem is the money would drain quickly and clubs would have to readjust quickly. If Villa's TV rights were halved over the next 2 years they would have serious financial problems and could well go bust. With the knock on effect as could Burnley, Rovers, Blackpool or Morecambe. This has been rumoured for a while. Who is to say that the Sky / BT Sport, Bein Sport, Canal Sport etc.. TV contracts for the Premier don't have a clause saying that if any clubs walk away the contract can be re-negotiated. If it goes ahead, the 12 become untouchably richer, some of the rest of the UK teams will sink to a more palatable financial level and some of the others will go bust. @Wheelton Blue asks "I wonder what Burnley's owners are thinking" . Probably thinking that if this happens we can't get our money back, so do we cut our losses and pull the plug. Which may well be the same as Venkys and many, many other owners outside the big 5 and Spurs.

So no Big 6 in the Premier League. Not sure if that will be a breach of contract from the PL to the existing broadcasters / sponsors, but fairly quickly the Premier League money will dry up. Then the EFL money. All clubs from the likes of West Ham down will need to quickly cut their cloth and many will go bust. I suspect the ESL will pass some money across the the Premier League to 'allow' their clubs to compete and to keep the Premier league running. But those ceilings can be broken. We did it, Leicester did it. With regards to the money available for getting in the top 4 and a Champions League spot, Newcastle did it. Leeds did it. Tottenham did it and have now got their golden ticket. Previously it could, and was, done. Now it is to become a closed shop. .

But you can get there on merit. Just ask Burnley. In this situation with the ESL you cannot. That's the difference.

If this goes ahead, and the Premier League money starts to dry up as the media rights' deals collapse, that removes Venky's "lucky promotion" as an option to get their money back.

Because as much as the Premier League and Champions League was about greed, if you performed well enough you could get access to that money. The Premier League wealth was allowed to be shared to Barnsley, Swindon and Huddersfield instead of Leeds and Newcastle as their relative performances earned it. Leicester have been in the Champions League. In a season where several of the big 6 are under-performing, they may do so again along with West ham. It always felt like it took money to get at the money, but at least you could get at it on merit. This way you get at it by invitation only, and those that have it can never lose it.

i agree. That's why Elliot is a Premier League John Buckley and John Buckley is a Championship John Buckley.

Kind of a Premier League John Buckley then?

Pretty low. How much XBS do you reckon he will come out with in his interview after?

Rovers V Derby. Wazzock V Wazza

Do the pre-80s figures take 2 points for a win into account?

This game stinks of 0-0

I think they are still to be played at the weekend, just not at 3pm KO on Saturday.

If you go onto the championship predictor and put in the results you think for the rest of of the season, you really struggle to get rovers relegated. Even if we don't pick up another point.

Will he be doing his press conference stuff for the Cardiff game this afternoon or is it normally the day before the game?

Predictive text at its finest 😁

Yeah was just being facetious. I think that's just him to be fair. I get the feeling it would be difficult to try and stop him doing it. My player of the year by a mile. Anyway we digress. Anyone gone yet?

Stop thinking your Frank Beckenbaur every time the opposition play a ball over the top?

When will people learn that we can't just keep playing diagonal balls into Danny Graham, and that changing our tactics to a more possession-based game will lead us on a journey ..... to Crewe, Lincoln, Cambridge and Milton Keynes.