Premier League Stitch-Up?

News that Rick Parry seems ready to sell the EFL out to give the 'Big Six' control of the Premier League in return for a £250 million bailout is making headlines. Reducing the PL to 18 clubs, scrap the League Cup and Community Shield in return for 25% of PL revenues for 25 years would effectively kill off any ambition outside the Big Six who would collectively have the power of veto over the remaining clubs in voting through any changes they don't like.

Parry only notified EFL clubs one minute before the press release, it would appear his allegiance is still with the PL...

 

Roughly my take of this news too, especially the veto bit, but think the proposal was for the top 9 of a 18 Club PL to have a deciding veto.

BBC say its getting a lot of criticism including from the PL..

 

Haven’t read the detailed proposals but many EFL clubs facing extinction and with no dreams at all of ever getting to the PL might well welcome a guaranteed income stream for a very long time. Mansfield or Barrow for example. Why would they care how the PL organises itself?

 

I think that’s a totally reasonable point and there are many clubs who would grab the money while they can (or should I say the owners of the clubs). And of course if more money goes to clubs, players and agents will want their bigger slices, so clubs won’t even see it all anyway. Waste of time.
I sense a bit of trying to shift the power to the clubs so they can negotiate their own rights and outvote everyone else so that they can get their way. Can’t see it happening as there has been bucket loads of opposition from EPL, EFL and government too.
Parry is a snivelling rat. He shouldn’t even be taking the steps he has without talking to the clubs. Letting them know immediately before it gets out is appalling.

 

surprised the big clubs have taken so long to grab the money

 

As soon as I heard this yesterday I thought it was dodgy. For year's they have been wanting to shrink the Premier league. They won't be happy until there is just 8 teams. Liverpool has been crap for 20 years and now they think they have the right to decide what happens?

 

Rick Parry of the EFL and Gordon Taylor of the PFA both top dogs in their associations who listen to no one unless they agree with them....wouldn’t be surprised if there a few brown envelopes doing the rounds. Why can’t the big 6 whoever they are just join their Euro super league and let the rest of us get on with enjoying our football again

 

I wish they’d shrink the Championship. A season goes on forever. The old style 42 league games would be fine.

 

I think a sell-out here would be the first step to having Premier 'B' teams in the EFL, they're not going to give 25% of their billions if they can't have it ALL their own way. I hope the rest of the PL don't get taken in by all this, save for the Big Six the rest are all playing firstly for survival every season. Everton, West Ham and Southampton are apparently the favoured three to assist the six getting everything their own way. I guess there may well be back-stabbing involved along the way but with their wealth the rich bastards hold all the aces...

 

Its all about doing things discreetly.
The pandemic has given the big clubs the opportunity to ( in their eyes ) 'save' the PL and football in general.

The FA needs to show some ticker and derail this asap.

 

here's my opinion. I can see the benefits and the negatives.
Benefits - top 6 play each other 4 to 6 times a year. Will be the supporter as the league wil start to look like the Scottish top division. Not sure how / why West Ham and the Saints plus Everton should also be included in a top 9 - however thought that it only means more opportunities for thse sides to get money in....however boredom wil filter in and fans will eventually lose interest
Benefits - the real fans will follow the other 80 odd clubs. They will get money from the top clubs. Parachute payments....I am sure that the proposal is for this to be removed however if all clubs were given a percentage this might make the divisions more competitive. It might even mean that the glory hunting fans start to watch football which will still be of a decent standard.
Negatives....a few people making a decision which is very shortsighted and has the potential to see the fans vote with their feet.
Listening to Radio 5 LIve earlier fans of the top 6 were phoning up and saying it was wrong.
Does anyone remember what happened before 1992 as I am sure that there was a football competition lasting roughly 9 to 10 months....

 

Looking behind the headlines, it looks like a very bad deal for EFL clubs.

Bear in mind we already get a solidarity payment of c.6m per year from the PL.

£0.5bn of TV rights cash divided by the 72 football league clubs is 'only' £7m per club. To Sb's point, that is a lot for a L2 club, but not life changing for a championship club when you take away solidarity payments.

Why give away more power for so little?

I also have no idea why the clubs like Newcastle who don't get special status in the PL would vote for this. Or frankly why Southampton or West Ham would...their special status would be fast removed one year when they get relegated, given it only takes the big six to vote on something...

Edit - no surprise to click on BBC and see West Ham are against it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54505270

As if the average fan wants to see fewer competitive games to facilitate more PL tours to Asia and the USA.

 

Don't like the sound of this at all.

 

I see the slow trickle of club EFL owners are already beginning to voice their support.
I find it hard to believe they can be suckered in to this. Do they really think the likes of the top six care a damn about any of the EFL clubs, or any of the clubs below them in the EPL. Can they really be blinded by the offer (bribery).

Football seems to sell its soul so easily!

 

Just sums up the world we live in today, the mega-rich serve themselves to get even richer while everyone else is disregarded and consigned to the tip.

 

Anyone heard of any EFL clubs coming out against this proposal? Wayne Rooney’s Derby County highest profile supporters so far. Lots of threats that several clubs will be out of business by Christmas without some kind of support.

Even before the pandemic over 70% of EFL clubs made a loss, something has to give.

 

This is spot-on...

 

Derby are a bigger basket-case than we were, they've run out of things to sell so this'll do...

 

Big Six supporters against Project Big Picture. Since when have owners of these clubs ever given a sh*t about what supporters think?...

 

I think the answer you’re looking for Soops is: NEVER!