Anyone had any thoughts on the Liverpool/Man Utd led initiative to reform football in this country? There are some sensible ideas such as scrapping parachute payments, a bail out for EFL clubs suffering due to Covid, funds to improve stadia, for instance. Then there's some debatable issues such as scrapping the EFL cup, reducing the PL to 18 clubs and losing two teams from League 2.
However, the sting in the tail is the power to be placed in the hands of the big six clubs (plus West Ham, Southampton and Everton for PR purposes only) and that these clubs will control everything from TV rights to which people should be allowed to take control of other clubs.
Rick Parry has supported the proposals but to my mind it's a cynical ploy by the big boys to take control at a time when they know clubs are desperate for assistance to survive and might therefore help push through their power grab. Apparently the Government and the Premiere League are not in favour but it will be interesting to see if anyone has the guts to stand up the the American owners with their deep pockets.
Any thoughts out there?
Taken individually some of the proposals look good. There should be fewer teams in the Premier Lesgue, and the EFL Cup should go. Nobody could argue about a bailout. Parachute payments are a disgrace. Unfortunately, the context is that the motivation is exactly what you say it is, Glenn, which is a power grab. The direction of travel is towards a sterile Premier League and perhaps ultimately the end of promotion to and relegation from it, and 'B teams' lower down the pyramid. In my opinion there are real problems with the way football is structured and run, but these proposals are not the answer and it is all a bit unseemly for them to have appeared at a time of real crisis. When a lower league club can go bust for debts equivalent to one weeks wages of a top earning individual player in the top league, things are horribly out of kilter. These proposals wont scratch the surface of the real issues.
Rick Parry has said it is designed for the greater good of English football. Some of it does look good for EFL clubs, like £250m rescue package and a further 25% future annual share of premier league revenue. Abolish parachute payments would also level up the playing field in the championship. There is also a £20 away ticket price cap in there. 6% of premier gross revenues to go towards stadium improvements across the four divisions would also benefit the smaller clubs imo.
So where is the problem? As Glenn and Smiler have said, it is a power grab to concentrate the power in the biggest clubs. This could lead to them controlling broadcasting rights/contracts,financial rules, takeover of smaller clubs and the possibility of a European super league. I would also fear, from these possible takeovers, would come a reserve team or under 21/3 team playing in the lower leagues.
Smilers last couple of sentences are good ones and show the obscenity of society in general imo. Buisnesses going bust yet the top 1% of society reaping further rewards and either getting richer or not feeling the same pains as ordinary working class people. EFL support it because it would give a short term fix for the problems we now have. Long term, the patient will return to ICU unless we have a real redistribution of the finances available in professional football.
Rick Parry has said it is designed for the greater good of English football. Some of it does look good for EFL clubs, like £250m rescue package and a further 25% future annual share of premier league revenue. Abolish parachute payments would also level up the playing field in the championship. There is also a £20 away ticket price cap in there. 6% of premier gross revenues to go towards stadium improvements across the four divisions would also benefit the smaller clubs imo.
So where is the problem? As Glenn and Smiler have said, it is a power grab to concentrate the power in the biggest clubs. This could lead to them controlling broadcasting rights/contracts,financial rules, takeover of smaller clubs and the possibility of a European super league. I would also fear, from these possible takeovers, would come a reserve team or under 21/3 team playing in the lower leagues.
Smilers last couple of sentences are good ones and show the obscenity of society in general imo. Buisnesses going bust yet the top 1% of society reaping further rewards and either getting richer or not feeling the same pains as ordinary working class people. EFL support it because it would give a short term fix for the problems we now have. Long term, the patient will return to ICU unless we have a real redistribution of the finances available in professional football.
If your 1st 2 paragraphs are a good summary whiston, then providing all clubs can vote on future changes rather than changes just being possible without that (to stop the 'B' team thing & other future moves), then I can't see why we wouldn't go for it...
Stopping the parachute payments is a good one, as that is contributing to preventing clubs like us getting any chance of competing enough to ever have a shot at the Prem. promotion...
