Boom, Sheikh shake the room...

[SoundbiteBarmyArmy]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/europe/article3712126.ece

No wonder your 'big 4' are named the 'big 4', no wonder teams who play good football and are entertaining, but can't survive in the PL such Blackpool, Reading etc, etc can't survive for long.

£175million per team that competes!

Ridiculous!

[Mr1Croft]

Although the Qatar FA have since denied it, this wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. In fact a year ago I made this comment when talking about the threat the Eastern world poses:

We do now however face a problem in Asia, with the markets there soaring and becoming more interested in football, how much longer is it before they stop investing in European football, and the tv rights (the PL make around £1.4 Billion over 3 years from Asian coverage) and start building their own football empire; attracting the better players and dominating world football? Is this a reason behind talk of the top European clubs breaking away? So that they can create a "Euro-Asia Champions League" ? It may be the only way to stop Asia  becoming a dominating force in football, "if you can't beat'em, join them" may be a more appropriate phrase.

Full post is in this thread:

http://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=217465.msg244452#new

[South West Rover]

This could be great for the English national game though.  If all the big players go to Asia for the money, our home grown talent may get to fill the spaces left in the and get more playing time.

[Mr1Croft]

Oh it would be fantastic. In my post above when I say "we have a problem with Aisia" that is meant in the context of the Premier League and Europe in that we are the football dominating continent.

Sky would break its banks to get the rights (already paying £2.2 billion per 3 years rom next year into the PL) so we would get rid of the dirty Murdoch Arse-wiped cash, we may even be able to dissolve the Premier League and go back to the Championship being the highest division in England. (We might get into Europe)

By breaking its bank Sky will surely be in financial meltdown sooner or later.

The fans of Manchester United and co would hopefully go with their clubs (or as the chance of watching their own club decrease turn out in numbers for community clubs again) and the armchair fan would soon disintegrate as Sky falls.

The owners chasing the Premiership dream in the football league would soon pack up as well. Good riddance.

With more and more attention on Qatar we may finally 'learn' about the truths of Fifa and their decision to have a world cup in one of the smallest countries, resulting in Sepp Blatter being to sentenced to 2 years of being Joey Barton's chauffeur, his body found dead 18 months later, hanging from the top of Wembley way.

Everybody wins...

[PDX_Rover]

Good riddance to 'em. I bet UEFA's chuffed to bits with this...

[not on facebook]

I would laugh me socks off if both Rangers and Celtic
Got the move to english football leagues via a starting
Off point in the conference.

Then by time they reached league two or one the premiership went Arsè about b*llocks and fcuked off to Asia.

[wilts rover]

Curiouser and curiouser said Alice

However, it appears the basis for The Times article may have originated from a spoof story on website Les Cahiers du Football. The report on the satirical French website was clearly a joke, claiming each team would have their own stadium, players would live on specially built islands, crowd noise would be plumbed into grounds and fans in England could watch holograms of their players in action. The site themselves have subsequently tweeted that their story "came entirely from our imagination."

"We apologise in advance," they added, "if Doha finds the idea sufficiently interesting to implement it #DreamFootballLeague."

The Premier League would not comment on today's story but it is understood they expressed surprise at the plans. It is also understood that no Premier League stake holders have been approached with concrete proposals about a new competition.

However The Times have stood strongly behind the story, with the journalist behind it, Oliver Kay, telling Reuters: "I've been amused by the speculation about the source of this story, I can guarantee you 100 percent, 1,000 percent, 175 million percent, that my story had nothing to do with any website, spoof or otherwise.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/dream-football-league-story-that-manchester-united-chelsea-liverpool-and-other-premier-league-clubs-will-be-offered-as-much-as-175m-to-compete-in-qatar-strongly-defended-despite-hoax-claims-8532258.html

Anyone got a copy of the Hitler Diaries at home - worth a fortune