The PL & the Govt are currently engaged in a dance and a stand off as to who does what in terms of finding a way of covering the £250m Black hole in the EFL finances caused by COVID. Conflating the required bail out with a supposed need to complete reorganise the game is an utterly false premise imo. Any plans to change the game itself should be done outside of this immediate need imo, it’s the wrong background for this discussion.
Yeah, I heard Mark Palios saying that on 5 Live yesterday, but he did say as well that a plan needs to be developed asap, as all this highlights how some (the majority?) of EFL clubs are becoming increasingly desperate.
Yeah, as their immediate need is desperate, so they’d likely grasp at anything that solved their immediate need, without the level of due diligence being done that a major restructuring of the game must have imo. The bottom line of this proposal (ignoring the ridiculous voting rights changes) is that the big 6 would see their current TV revenue virtually unaltered, whilst having the opportunity to add to it by selling 8 of their own games. The additional money for the EFL was seemingly coming from massively reducing the TV revenue of the rest of the PL. As it goes, beyond the necessary bail out caused by the removal of matchday revenue caused by COVID, personally I don’t see how throwing more free cash at the EFL will solve anything for them long term, as it’ll merely cause transfer fee and wage inflation. I’d prefer to see something like a change to the tiny compensation payments that EFL clubs get when they have their youngsters nabbed from their academies as promising youngsters either before they turn pro or when their first contracts expire. Make those figures genuinely reflect the market and this will both provide clubs additional cash and encourage their academy investment.
It's now emerging that when the government ordered the PL to help the EFL financially, this is what they come/came up with: -£40m grant £110m in loans contingent on the lower leagues giving PL complete control of the calendar -League Cup scrapped due to expanded European competitions -PL to require EFL to accept no promotion or relegation in the event of less than 75% season completed -EFL would have to support PL's attempt to convince the FA to allow clubs unlimited access to foreign players after Brexit -PL to impose salary cap on Championship, L1 and L2 The EFL have rejected it. One club source said that the EFL clubs couldn't accept PL complete control over the calendar, spending and competitions in exchange for loans that most clubs can't afford to repay. It rumbles on.
If you can persuade your employer to pay your window cleaner directly and cut out the middle man (you) then yeah
BREAKING: Premier League clubs have rejected the Project Big Picture proposal and agreed instead to hold an urgent strategy review involving all 20 members, as well as making a new bail-out offer to the EFL.
It's not just the voting rights scam that I'm against though. I fail to see how scrapping the League Cup in favour of expanding European competitions can be beneficial to the lower leagues.
It isn't beneficial to them at all. It looks like a trade off to me. Interesting to note though that the PL also included that in their proposals with no trade off in sight. Lose the money from the League Cup in exchange for...... erm ...... a loan.
The only place I can see detail of that reported is from an unnamed source in the Daily Mail. They’ve agreed to give £50m to L1 & 2 today which is progress.
England are the usual crap, but the good news is no LFC players on the pitch to get injured. Maguire deservedly sent off for being a complete donkey of a player. Don't know why Denmark got a penalty, but with no VAR it stands. I think England will have to play a blinder to get anything from this game
