Shake-up of English football pyramid being proposed
The sweeping changes to football pyramid being proposed by Man Utd and Liverpool
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/10/11/world-exclusive-man-utd-liverpool-driving-project-big-picture/
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The sweeping changes to football pyramid being proposed by Man Utd and Liverpool
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/10/11/world-exclusive-man-utd-liverpool-driving-project-big-picture/
Comments
What’s the gist of it as it’s behind a paywall?
Looks to be PL down to 18 clubs, devaluing the league cup, 2 automatic relegations and play off between 16th place and another from championship
More power to big clubs in doing away with 1 team 1 vote.
More money to EFL
The proposals include:
*£250 million immediately to the EFL to compensate for lost matchday revenue, deducted from future television revenue earnings; financed by a loan taken by EPL
*Special status for the 9 longest serving clubs – vote of only any six of those “long-term shareholders” needed to make major changes, including amending rules and regulations, agreeing contracts, removal of chief executive, wide-ranging veto including on club ownership
*EPL go to 18 clubs from 20
*£100 million one-off gift to the FA to cover coronavirus losses, non-league game, women’s game, grassroots
*8.5% of annual net EPL revenue to go on operating costs and “good causes” including the FA
*From remainder, 25% of all combined EPL and EFL revenues to go to the EFL clubs
*6% of EPL gross revenues to pay for stadium improvements across the top four divisions, calculated at £100 per seat
*New rules for distribution of EPL television income, including proposals that base one portion on performance over three years in the league
*Abolition of League Cup and Community Shield
*24 clubs each in Championship and Leagues One and Two reducing pyramid overall to 90 clubs (from 92)
*A women's professional league independent of EPL or FA
*Two sides automatically relegated from EPL every season, top two Championship teams promoted. 16th place EPL club in a play-off tournament with the Championship’s third, fourth and fifth placed teams.
*FFP regulations in line with Uefa, and full access for EPL executive to club accounts
*Fan charter including capping away tickets at £20, away travel subsidised, focus on return to safe standing, minimum away allocation of 8% of capacity
*Later Premier League start in August so greater scope for pre-season friendlies, and requirement for all clubs to compete once every five years in a summer EPL tournament
*Changes to loan system allowing clubs to have 15 players out on loan domestically at any one time and up to four at a single club in England
Nothing here about premier league B teams. I fear that the survival money for EFL clubs might come with strings that lead down that road. The beauty of the football system is that any club can dream of promotion to the top tier, however unlikely.
Don't like anything that reduces sizes of divisions and thus reduces promotion places.
Giving the 3rd worst Premier team a lifeline of a playoff is woeful.
As is kicking two extra teams out of the football league.
But generally, it's the classic throw the little clubs some more money to get stitched up in other ways.
"*Special status for the 9 longest serving clubs – vote of only any six of those “long-term shareholders” needed to make major changes, including amending rules and regulations, agreeing contracts, removal of chief executive, wide-ranging veto including on club ownership"
See F1 - this would be an absolute shit show.
So West Ham Southampton and Everton will wield all the future power in football alongside the "big 6". Whilst Everton deserve to be one of them, it does grate with me why Southampton, and particularly West Ham with their dodgy owners, will have such power.
Would be utter madness for any team outside the top 8 to vote for reduced places in the premier league, and to give other clubs rights to out vote them!
Just hope clubs lower down don't just go for the money and throw a couple of teams under the bus - who will see their league status go.
In F1 this has lead to stand offs every year as people push their agendas, hand outs and prize money favouring those already rich, the biggest budget teams finishing in budget order, mid table teams spending a fortune just to stand still and it being almost impossible for anyone to join the upper tier of Motorsport with any chance of being financially self sufficient , let alone having a chance at a single race win. It also just happens now that the commercial arm of the sport and the ruling body are dominated by ex employees of the historic teams.
In fairness, money has always ruled the premier league.
Leicester aside (who were bankrolled by a super rich guy themselves), the league is always dominated by the richer teams.
Newcastle not getting taken over by the Saudis was probably the only good thing to happen in a long time.
The key proposal is the 'special voting rights' for the big 6. It's hard to see how that would be a good thing and it shows how desperate they are to obtain it that they're willing to give away so much of their TV revenue.
I think people sometimes forget that probably the main reasons the old top division broke away from the FL and formed the Premier Division was to enable them to negotiate their own TV deals and keep all the money, rather than the previous arrangements when the FL did the negotiating and distributed the money across all 92 clubs.
David Conn, who is not generally inclined to go easy on the Big Six, is actually rather interested in this proposal: https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/oct/11/plan-to-mend-the-great-crack-in-football-pyramid-should-not-be-swept-off-the-table
I wonder whether the Big Two are open to negotiation of something slightly less warped towards their interests. If so, there might be a deal to be done.
This set of proposals was put forward by Manure & Liverpool (or should I say their US owners) and endorsed by (p)Rick Parry.
It has since been damned by The Premier League, DCMS, FSA and a whole host of EFL club chairmen and supporters associations.
This is solely about making more money and protecting that money for those 2 clubs in particular and any supposed largess is likely to be caveated with so many riders that it wont be worth having them
Thanks for sharing @our_frank , interesting article and interesting proposals if you look beyond the ridiculous power grab attempt. It seems owners of the clubs right at the top of the Prem think they've outgrown it and want more time to spend with the Champions League and on worldwide tours, can see very little on the England team, player development or governance in the supposed masterplan though.
My first thought was West Ham finishing 16th and only having to persuade 5 other clubs to change the rules of the play-off match, allowing them a 5 goal head start.
West ham have actually come out against the plan
I think the overall game might benefit from the corporate six leaving for a Euro Super League. There would be less TV money by far, but perhaps a more balanced system? You would also have more teams in with a shout of winning the league each season, and it might be similar to the competitive nature of the Championship now.
Make every Premier League game pay per view and put the Football League on subscription and free to air platforms. See how popular these top sides really are
They are clearly very popular. In South Bucks we are surrounded by Liverpool and Man Utd fans who are driving football's future.
Would they be as popular if people actually had to pay a decent amount to watch them on TV? Even £15 per match is a fraction of the cost incurred by a fan actually going to matches.
Easy to be a fan when you never gave to move from your mobile screen and you get it subsidised as well
I do.not believe even the prawn sandwich PL fans will want the fabled euro super league would they?. Surely the excitement of the league is relegation, promotion and qualifying for Europe with domestic cups thrown in. Just watching round robin games with the same few bloated franchises would bore after a while shurely. By the look of rick parry as he does the tv rounds he knows he's close to a pay-off and he wants a very good one! If it goes through lets hope the mancs finish 19th the season they bring it in. I was just starting to like liverpool again...
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But for the big PL clubs there is no threat of relegation and in other countries, particularly the US, teams play each other year on year for just one possible trophy. The excitement comes from beating a rival and perhaps the game day experience, whether in the stadium, in the bar or in the rumpus room with snacks n beer.
Maybe not, but then I'm not sure I would have expected a Manchester United 3rd shirt to sell for £79.99 and be very popular, so I'm not sure to be honest.
God that sounds depressing @Manboobs
Just to put that and the margins in perspective, my local non league club are (trying to) sell replica team shirts. Obviously a much smaller manufacturing run which should make Man U shirts cheaper than Tavi's. Cant vouch for respective quality. Tavi are selling the shirts for £10.
Even if they fall apart first wash (ie end of season) that’s a right billie.
It seems to be the case that we, as a club, support these ideas
According to the Torygraph the plan has almost total support from the championship down. With each EFL club getting a massive bung i am.not entirely surprised.
Have to say with the exception of the crazy voting system, looked pretty good to me.
If it happened EFL would need to change its rules to prevent the additional money simply being wasted in higher wages. I favour the EFL taking a substantial chunk of the extra money as a contingency fund to buy failed clubs out of administration (no repayment of shareholder equity or debt) and to fund acquisition of stadia at open market value then charging clubs a commercial rent .
You can't say 'with the exception of....', because its all or nothing as it stands