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Ange Postecoglou said ‘power to the people’ when quizzed on the European Super League on Friday, pointing out that it failed thanks to fan-led protests in 2021 and it will fail again.
Tottenham‘s manager, known as a footballing romantic, was working for Yokohama Marinos in Japan when the initial idea was revealed.
It was such a seismic story at the time that even Jose Mourinho‘s sacking by Spurs did not dominate the news agenda like it usually would.
Tottenham are among the Premier League clubs who have distanced themselves from the Super League’s revival after the European Court of Justice gave it the green light this week.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is still peddling its benefits, as is his Barcelona counterpart Joan Laporta. But Postecoglou, ahead of facing Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, said of the whole idea: ‘Maybe it surprised some people. It didn’t surprise me.
Ange Postecoglou has come a long way since European Super League proposals first surfaced
Fans turned out in full force to protest the announcement of the ‘closed’ league in April 2021
‘These decisions are made in a room with some people who are fairly detached from what the real footballing world is about.
‘They think it’s a great idea and then they walk outside that room and they’re faced with reality.
‘The one thing that whole period showed us, because we were just coming out of Covid at the time, was that without fans, you’re struggling.
‘It was still being shown on TV but no one can tell me it was the same product. We were trying to artificially create atmospheres so it felt like a real football game.
‘It’s kind of a throwaway term that “without the fans, football is nothing” but it does ring true in many respects.
The ECJ ruled on Thursday that UEFA and FIFA acted unlawfully in blocking its creation in 2021
European Super League CEO Bernd Reichart revealed the breakaway league’s proposed structure on Thursday morning
‘You should test the temperature of the room before you make those kinds of decisions and I don’t think often that is taken into account.
‘Any idea that comes down to numbers in our game where there is so much investment and emotional attachment is always going to struggle to get up.’
On the reaction to the Super League in 2021, including the angry scenes outside Stamford Bridge where Chelsea technical director Petr Cech tried to calm protestors, Postecoglou said: ‘Power to the people, mate. It’s good that people still have a voice. That’s what life is all about. It was great.’
Postecoglou went on to say that the workload being placed on players is worrying, continuing: ‘The saturation of the product we have will deteriorate because we’re putting so many demands on players.
Teams will be guaranteed 14 group games, before knockout stages to determine the winners of each league
‘Ultimately performances will suffer. Ultimately you’ll get more players missing out because of injury or fatigue.
‘We keep coming up with competitions that we think are going to be great. For the most part, (they are) money-spinners.
‘Which I understand because that is kind of what grows the game but if the punters don’t like what they see and don’t turn up, it isn’t going to work.’
Asked if he is surprised that there are still factions within football pushing this idea, he said: ‘Nothing surprises me, mate. Not in this world.’
