Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
[Football] Union Saint-Gilloise
- Thread starter Change at Barnham
- Start date
Skaville
Well-known member
Congratulations to Alex Cochrane too.
Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo
I believe in Joe Hendry
- Oct 4, 2003
- 12,063
They've had a format change this season and the top division has been expanded from 16 to 18 sides but previously there was only 1 relegation spot so it's a lot easier to stay up. I believe the last team to be relegated straight after being promoted were OH Leuven in the 15-16 season.
The two promoted teams from last season Beerschot and the returning OH Leuven are sitting in 6th and 7th respectively. Waasland-Beveren who were reprieved from relegation last season on appeal due to the season being cut short are currently bottom again.
Thank you
Ali_rrr
Well-known member
Not a lot.
Here in The Netherlands they're constantly discussing whether or not to create a BeNe league, a mix between the two countries. This supposedly means there would be extra TV revenue for teams in both countries.
Live by the sea
Well-known member
- Oct 21, 2016
- 4,718
Income for Belgium top flight is tiny in comparison to the PL . Eleven sports last year announced a new 5 year deal for just under £100m per season But 80% of that money goes to the so called big 5 teams in Belgium regardless of where they finish in the league .
schmunk
Why oh why oh why?
Postman Pat
Well-known member
Professional clubs in Belgium have voted in favour of merging with the Dutch Eredivisie, in a move that could happen in 2025.
25 Belgian clubs have taken the remarkable step of 'establishing Beneliga,' which would see clubs in Belgium and Netherlands merge in one football pyramid.
The idea has been floated in the past but previously there has not been unanimous support from the Belgian Pro League as there is now.
Television deals in the two countries run until 2025 which would be the opportunity for a league restructure from both parties and allow the possibility.
https://www.sportbible.com/football...eague-could-merge-in-2025-after-vote-20210316
Ali_rrr
Well-known member
It's all good and well for the bigger clubs (Anderlecht, Ajax, PSV etc) but it'll be awful for the smaller clubs. My local team, ADO Den Haag, will most likely be shafted by it even if they were not a dead certain this year to go down. It's like if we merged with the German league, clubs like Brighton, Southampton and Schalke would be immediately in the second division, undoing the hard work to get ourselves up.
Would we see a financial benefit from being in the second league? Most likely not. That's what will happen here. In Belgium, the top 80 per cent of TV revenue is distributed between Anderlecht, Standard Liege, Club Brugge, Genk, and Gent. That'll just include Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV but not teams like ADO Den Haag or Fortuna Sittard.
Whilst there are already BeNe leagues in hockey and basketball, it will just create a huge gap in football that will further remove the competition in the Eredivisie.
Trufflehound
Re-enfranchised
I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if a BeneLiga ever became reality.
There was a women's BeNe league a few seasons ago. That only lasted three years before arguments over distributing the money caused it all to collapse.
With the men's game you also have the fact that, at the moment, the Dutch and Belgians get 5 CL/Europa League spots each. That would obviously get reduced, probably to 5 between them. How that gets sorted and split has always been one of the arguments that has scuppered this idea when it's been floated in the past.
Ali_rrr
Well-known member
I saw that the UEFA chief stated that they wouldn't give out 10 spots for sure. The money again is a big factor hence why I was also surprised that all the Belgian teams voted for it, especially the big 5. Do they really think they'd get more money combining with the Dutch league? I think not. Talking to people here, it's usually only Ajax/Feyenoord/PSV fans that have never been to a game that support the idea.
Change at Barnham
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #415
There's a cracking article by Andy Naylor in The Athletic about Union Saint-Gilloise's growth since Tony Bloom became the majority shareholder.
As usual the story is behind a paywall. Here's a snippet:
They had narrowly avoided relegation to the third tier when the Muzio/Bloom partnership took control.
The club had an annual budget of around £3.5 million, average crowds of 1,500 and an amateurish set-up. It reeked of long-running decay.
“When we arrived, the players would arrive at the stadium, get changed, get in their cars, drive to a training pitch with no toilets, no facilities, no nothing, train, get back in their cars, drive back to the stadium, shower and then go home,” Muzio says.
“That’s what we were dealing with and we wanted to professionalise. There wasn’t the option in Brussels to do that.”
Suitable training facilities were found in Lier, 30 miles north of Brussels. Muzio, responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, set about the task of making Union more professional while retaining its soul.
“The spirit has remained the same and it’s important that we are involved in the community,” he says. “It’s a fanbase that has equality in mind, very anti-racism and a certain feeling about it.
https://theathletic.com/2471524/2021/03/26/union-saint-gilloise-the-belgian-club-brighton-owner-bloom-is-helping-back-to-the-top/?source=ukdailyemail
As usual the story is behind a paywall. Here's a snippet:
They had narrowly avoided relegation to the third tier when the Muzio/Bloom partnership took control.
The club had an annual budget of around £3.5 million, average crowds of 1,500 and an amateurish set-up. It reeked of long-running decay.
“When we arrived, the players would arrive at the stadium, get changed, get in their cars, drive to a training pitch with no toilets, no facilities, no nothing, train, get back in their cars, drive back to the stadium, shower and then go home,” Muzio says.
“That’s what we were dealing with and we wanted to professionalise. There wasn’t the option in Brussels to do that.”
Suitable training facilities were found in Lier, 30 miles north of Brussels. Muzio, responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, set about the task of making Union more professional while retaining its soul.
“The spirit has remained the same and it’s important that we are involved in the community,” he says. “It’s a fanbase that has equality in mind, very anti-racism and a certain feeling about it.
https://theathletic.com/2471524/2021/03/26/union-saint-gilloise-the-belgian-club-brighton-owner-bloom-is-helping-back-to-the-top/?source=ukdailyemail
Live by the sea
Well-known member
- Oct 21, 2016
- 4,718
Alex and Tony go back a long way ..
Pavilionaire
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 31,262
I don't know why Luxembourg don't try and get a team in that new league. The population is 600,000+ and although they have many migrants they should be just as viable as the likes of Iceland.
You'd think playing in that league would help improve their players too.
You'd think playing in that league would help improve their players too.
Blue Valkyrie
Not seen such Bravery!
Yes. About a year ago. They were shipping to the UK then.
ifightbears
Well-known member
[tweet]1392085641593344000[/tweet]
May the production factory begin.
https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-rising-star-lewis-quits-chelsea-as-union-deal-agreed/
https://www.transfermarkt.com/marcel-lewis/profil/spieler/545432
May the production factory begin.
https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-rising-star-lewis-quits-chelsea-as-union-deal-agreed/
https://www.transfermarkt.com/marcel-lewis/profil/spieler/545432