What if you got an earlier version of something like the Bosman decision and got free agency in European football/soccer before it happened IOTL?
I was reminded today that competive sport was super controversial when first introduced with papers seriously arguing that sport was entertainment so all football should be exhibition matches where the point is to show of moves not matches for trophies where the players want to win. So no 0-0s.
It occurs to me that the one sport that actually listened is pro wrestling and now I want wwe-premier league as a vignette.
I was reminded today that competive sport was super controversial when first introduced with papers seriously arguing that sport was entertainment so all football should be exhibition matches where the point is to show of moves not matches for trophies where the players want to win. So no 0-0s.
It occurs to me that the one sport that actually listened is pro wrestling and now I want wwe-premier league as a vignette.
This was also for even longer an issue in faction fights in European socialist movements about whether their affiliated sports federations should have competitions (even amongst themselves) or remain entirely aloof from that idea.I was reminded today that competive sport was super controversial when first introduced with papers seriously arguing that sport was entertainment so all football should be exhibition matches where the point is to show of moves not matches for trophies where the players want to win. So no 0-0s.
It occurs to me that the one sport that actually listened is pro wrestling and now I want wwe-premier league as a vignette.
I do have rough notes for a vignette where Keegan's "I would love it if we beat them" rant leads to him inadvertently making a deal with the devil.
I'll have a think. I did have some notes about a different non league set up, but not sure where they are.
I had a thing on the other place based on Newton Heath FC (as was going bust), rather than being saved and renamed. But I'm not sure football without Man Utd is interesting enough
I have a couple of ideas floating around that I might get about to w r i t i n g
How about a story about this?
'What if?' - The story of India's lost opportunity at the 1950 World Cup
Known as a cricketing country around the world today, India's football story would've been vastly different if only they made the trip to Brazil in 1950. Art by Onkar Shirsekar. Many among the capacity crowd in National Stadium, Delhi heaved a sigh of relief when the referee blew his halftime...www.footballparadise.comIOTL, India managed to qualify for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in Brazil, only to then withdraw from the competition, with the All India Football Federation citing travel costs, lack of practice time, and valuing the Olympics more than the World Cup as reasons for doing so. Despite the reason given out by the All India Football Federation, the popular belief that India withdrew from the World Cup due to FIFA imposing a rule banning players from playing barefoot still abounds; and FIFA offered to pay the travel expenses of the Indian team, so travel costs were a non-factor. However, according to the then captain of India Sailen Manna, the story of their team having refused to play unless they were allowed to play barefoot was wholly untrue, and was just an excuse to cover up the real reasons the AIFF decided not to travel to Brazil.No, India Did Not Withdraw From The 1950 FIFA World Cup Because They Did Not Want To Wear Shoes
It has become folklore that Indian players wanted to play without shoes in the tournament.www.indiatimes.com
And the main one was their fateful flawed decision to value the Olympics over the World Cup. Unfortunately for India though, the conditions at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki weren't in their favor, and they'd go on to be defeated in the first round by Yugoslavia, by a heavy score of 10–1; most of their players' decision to continue playing barefoot, in spite of the unseasonably chilly and rainy conditions, played a key role in this defeat. And at the subsequent 1956 Melbourne Olympics football tournament, where all their players had shoes and the conditions were far more favorable to them, they went on to achieve their greatest result in a competitive tournament, finishing in fourth place after losing the bronze-medal match to Bulgaria 3–0. So I reckon the idea I think I'll go with, and attempt to write myself, is going to be a story set in a TL where the AIFF decided to prioritize the FIFA World Cup over the Summer Olympics Football Tournament rather than the other way round, and went to the 1950 World Cup.
8yrs later, having successfully qualified for the '54 World Cup (taking the place of OTL's South Korea, and unlike SK, successfully avoiding the worst performance of any team at any World Cup, albeit still going out in the group stages with zero points), the Indian Golden Generation have successfully defeated Israel and Wales in the qualification play-offs to get there, and advanced to the quarter finals in Wales' stead. Facing off against the young Pepe's Brazil, whose star will rise ITTL? And can the victors of this quarter final, as IOTL, go all the way to lift the World Cup ITTL...?
I've still got the idea rolling around, but not sure I'll get it down. Will shout if inspiration strikes, but assume not if you don't hearNo idea, if any of this was anything more than just spitballing but if any of you are writing a story, let me know how it's going and what I can do to help. I'm going to try and get the anthology collated and ready this month (December, not November).
Yeah, sorry- wound up putting it on the backburner after I focused on writing a web novel, and whilst I've got a vague plot sketched out, don't think I'd be able to do it justice in the time that's left. I'll still try, mind you- cut it down to the one final match (what's the target word count again?), focus on getting it written within the next fortnight- but don't count on it being ready.No idea, if any of this was anything more than just spitballing but if any of you are writing a story, let me know how it's going and what I can do to help. I'm going to try and get the anthology collated and ready this month (December, not November).
3000-8000 words ideally.Yeah, sorry- wound up putting it on the backburner after I focused on writing a web novel, and whilst I've got a vague plot sketched out, don't think I'd be able to do it justice in the time that's left. I'll still try, mind you- cut it down to the one final match (what's the target word count again?), focus on getting it written within the next fortnight- but don't count on it being ready.
I was reminded today that competive sport was super controversial when first introduced with papers seriously arguing that sport was entertainment so all football should be exhibition matches where the point is to show of moves not matches for trophies where the players want to win. So no 0-0s.
It occurs to me that the one sport that actually listened is pro wrestling and now I want wwe-premier league as a vignette.
Well free agency already existed in France, Spain and (kind of) the UK. Bosman just made it eu wide. Which was primarily important because it meant clubs in poorer leagues like the dutch and the scottish were far more vulnerable to the big boys.
Likely an earlier law like that just kind of speeds up that two tier europe and avoids Ajaxs great 1990s team and the like. The worst timing for English football would be for it to happen prior to the heysel ban, of course.
Arguably the biggest result of the bosman ruling wasnt free agency but the ban on foreign player caps. If that is established earlier that has huge consequences.
Also depends how early we're talking about. Be fascinating if this was a live subject during the referndum on uk joining the common market during which english football still had a foreign player ban and before the transfer tribunals.
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Made this earlier, clearly from a Soviet Britain Premier League timeline.
How is there still a premier league in this world? Don't ask me, I just made a joke logo.
As a filthy Yankee, I wonder how many people who'd be rugby players and cricketers IOTL would cross over to baseball and American Football in such a scenario.Other sports, such as cricket and rugby, would feel the impact of the loss of their homeland, too.
The Premier League has always in the end wanted a Soviet style organisation for top flight football.How is there still a premier league in this world? Don't ask me, I just made a joke logo.
As a filthy Yankee, I wonder how many people who'd be rugby players and cricketers IOTL would cross over to baseball and American Football in such a scenario.
(Probably not that many, but you never know)