Comment on the European Super League

I am confident enough to make that prediction – we have seen things like this mooted in the past only to be used as a bargaining chip.

This will rumble on until one side backs down, a compromise will be reached and the plan will be put on the shelf.

For many though, that is besides the point.

The wave of anger and derision over the past 48 hours has stemmed purely from the intent shown by those in charge of these 12 rebel clubs.

Some of them have barely tasted success for years. What makes the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur think they have the God-given right to dine at the top table when they have not done so for so long?

For as long as I can remember, I have loved football. It has given me some of the best times in my life, and some of the worst too.

And that’s the beauty of it – you celebrate the wins and commiserate the losses as part of the rollercoaster ride the game takes you on, whether playing or watching.

Now, the privileged elite of European football want to take all of that out of it and create a closed shop?

It strikes at the very heart of what makes the beautiful game beautiful, at a time when the world as a whole is on its knees too. How dare they show such gall.

Not only that, but those who made this decision have hidden away in the shadows while their foot soldiers – players, managers etc – are left to face the tsunami of disgust over something that is out of their control.

Owners like Manchester United’s Glazer family and Liverpool’s Fenway Sports Group will always feel validation for concepts such as this because no matter how much negative press there is, Old Trafford and Anfield will still always be full for every home game (when they are allowed to be again).

Merchandise will still fly off the shelves, social media followers will always be sky high and when all of that is added together, the money will keep rolling in and that is all that drives them.

The worst thing about it for me, though, is that I was not in the least bit surprised when I saw this news break on Sunday evening.

As a lifelong supporter of a club in the lower reaches of the Football League who now reports on non-league football professionally, I already felt a bit of a disconnect with the very top of the sport.

Given the mind-boggling amounts of money involved at that level, it creates a greed among those looking after it that we are seeing in action right now.

What I would say to any supporters disillusioned by this – and there are clearly many – is to take your custom to your local football club.

There, your support will be valued. There, you won’t be just a number.

Now more than ever, they really need as many people behind them as possible after more than a year of pretty much no football whatsoever.

Who knows, the European Super League could inadvertently end up giving them that much-needed boost.