I don't think that the German teams and PSG sticking to the CL model has anything to do with 51% fan ownership. I think it's down to their league system and how the clubs operate. Basically, Bayern and PSG would be mid-tier at best in the ESL - it's better for them to play a more cup orientated comp where they have a better chance of winning. The Spanish clubs, with 51% fan ownership, have signed up - this makes sense for them because they could compete in the ESL and if anything it gives their clubs something more competitive than La Ligua.
1. It's anti-meritocratic, and it makes much of the season meaningless. If it was already in place, then pretty much every team from 3rd to 14th would have nothing riding on their remaining 6 or 7 games. Having consequences to winning/losing is part of what makes a match important.
2. It is turning it's back on the European Cup/Champions League heritage. No matter whether you are Real chasing #14, Liverpool chasing #7, or City chasing #1, the European cup and it's successor tournament have come to define the top of European football. To tell fans that the chase is over, that there is some new tournament with a new name and a new trophy, and they will never see their team lift the European Cup (they kept the same cup - it's part of the charm) is a big deal.
3. It's explicitly aimed at keeping the wealthy clubs at the top of the game forever, which makes it more about money than about competition on the field.
4. It stokes the divisions within the local/international fanbase - who can afford to travel to 9 away games in europe?
5. With 6 English teams, that means you'd get to play 2 other English teams at least 4 times a season - that gets boring (see Liverpool Chelsea 2005-9).
All fair points. I do think that fans are currently knee-jerk reacting to how this was initially perceived as a league above the the PL/La Ligua/etc - once the details actually have time to sink in I think that they will be less worried.
1 - This is already 60-90% there. Mid-tier teams play for a bit of extra cash to splash the next year and top teams play for European football money. While there is a short amount of joy at seeing a mid tier team make it to the CL, it's short lived as they will crash out early - better keep the big boy's comp for the big boys who can actually play the game at that level.
I wouldn't call the 11-man game meritocratic, it's all down to purchasing power.
2 - Okay, but heritage would suggest no PL, can you still see fans wearing hair shirts over that?
3 - As opposed to how the 11-man game is structured at the moment (e.g. in English football the only way to compete is to either already start in the top-6 or to be bought up by some foreign oligarch)? If you are a fan of one of the top clubs you'll quickly come round to the idea of not needing to compete for the place your team deserves. If you are a fan of a team that might get into the European league, just to then crash out early, you'll probably be happy to get money in lieu and save your players for the domestic league matches. If you are 99% out of the running then some cash to shut you up would be welcome.
4 - Who can afford to go to two away European matches? Once you accept that getting to more than 1 away European match will be unlikely for most people then whether there's 4 or 20 away matches it makes no difference.
5 - Tee Hee, did you see what you did there? You suggested that it
might be boring...
This doesn't change the very valid points you/fans are making, I'm just suggesting that once this gets time to calm down and people have a chance to think about it fans will rethink or modify their position.