https://www.football365.com/news/liverpool-man-utd-drive-project-big-picture-premier-leageue-control https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54499998 Thoughts? All sounds absolutely awful to me and is just the big clubs wishing to assert their dominance. Really don't like the idea that the top 6 could veto another clubs takeover.
Moved: I presume for the proposal to go through, it still requires the current threshold of 14 PL clubs to vote for it. So whilst I do completely agree with you, if this does come to fruition, there will be eight other PL clubs to also blame for it. Which may or may not include us. Sounds like the EFL voting for it could be a formality.
Loads of sweeteners in there for EFL clubs, but the very idea of the so-called Big Six essentially having total control over the whole of English football including the women’s game is vomit-inducing.
It's definitely nothing to do the EFL's chief executive having incredibly close ties with Liverpool...
I think this is further advanced than we might realise and that the 14 votes are very possible. In addition to the big six they've already bought the votes of ourselves, Everton & West Ham. Throw in a few relegated sides as it could benefit them when they're not in it then you're already very close. It's a disgraceful power grab in reality. If Saints vote for it think I can honestly say that I'll never give them another penny.
I think they should go further - some suggestions: - a big six team should be able to decide if an opposition goal counts. - control over opposition substitutions. - retakes for big six strikers that miss the goal. - big six team allowed to take their ball in whenever they want If you're going to piss over everything, at least drink a gallon of lucozade first.
If we and West Ham have any sense though, we should realise that our power votes are only temporary. Once either of us are relegated (the chances of which greatly increased with a reduced 18 team league), we lose our power votes to someone else. Everton would probably take their chances that they won't be going down anytime soon. Plus, as I said on the other thread, these final three power votes are window-dressing only. They're completely meaningless, regardless of which three sides have them each season, if the big six always vote together. Of the other eight sides who need to vote these proposals, I wonder how hard they will push for the power voting threshold to be shifted from 6-3 to 7-2 (or even 8-1)?
I can’t see how this gets through without significant come downs. the long term forecast would be so poor for all sides outside of Man City, Man United, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea (possibly Everton on the outside), that it would be a bad corporate decision for anyone else. Long term it would also damage the PL brand when it becomes indistinguishable from La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and the Ligue 1 in terms of predictability and style. I really can’t see how this gets through, at least I hope.
Both of those things happen already, so I think it all needs to go a bit further, like giving all big six teams a 2 goal lead at the start of matches against lesser opposition. Any contact with a big six player shall result in immediate dismissal, while during the transfer window, big six clubs decide which of them will employ any decent players one year after signing for a lesser club.
Reducing the PL down to 18 sides would be a huge decision by itself. Scrapping the League Cup would be a huge decision by itself. Allowing the third to bottom side (of whatever sized PL) to enter the play-offs with three Championship clubs, to potentially avoid relegation, would be a huge decision by itself. Changing the distribution of TV and sponsorship money between the PL clubs would be a huge decision by itself. But all of these, together with so much else (eg EFL clubs taking up to 15 players on loan each), are over-shadowed by the big six power-grab.
The role the FA play in this will be very interesting. It came to light earlier this year (during lockdown, prior to Project Restart being put in place) that the FA were given a "golden veto" back when the PL was formed in 1992 (in return for the FA agreeing to the formation). Some people would have been well aware of that, but most fans would have had no idea, given that over the subsequent 28 years the FA have never needed to exercise it. So, in theory, they could single-handedly choose to veto this. But would they? Given the bail-outs involved to both the EFL and the FA themselves, they too might waive it through. A difficult balancing act for them.
I’m all for helping lower clubs, but concerned that reducing the PL to 18 teams vastly increases power of top 6.
I can see the 16th team going into a playoff, with numbers 3/4/5 in the championship, as an incentive for some of the clubs that hover in the lower region, but I can see that being us in the first season it comes in.
It'd be hilariously ironic if we voted for this so we could get a vote and then got relegated the first season.
I doubt even we are that stupid, I hope. Even if we were a super voter we would be in a weaker position than now.
