Reimaging of English Football Soccer

[Micro Dave]

Moving to 18 clubs would be a great move. Give the players a winter break every season. Can only be good for the league.

 

[Mouth]

The £250m is not a gift. Its a loan

Unless I'm reading it wrong, the Premier League are taking out a loan for £250m. They are giving 25% of future TV revenue, the £250m upfront is included in this?

Moving to 18 clubs would be a great move. Give the players a winter break every season. Can only be good for the league.

Is the thought behind the move to 18 not to facilitate additional European games so the clubs involved in Europe will still have the same number of games?

Re-jigging the League Cup would be a good idea rather than scrapping it altogether.

Have it that any team that has qualified for Europe the previous season are automatically excluded from the following seasons' competition with the winner getting a Europa Leage qualifier spot.

It would mean the "smaller clubs" have a real shot at silverware and European football and the "bigger" clubs that are in Europe already have a less congested fixture list.

 

[Tom]

I've long thought excluding the European sides from the League Cup was a good idea. It would add a bit extra to the FA Cup being the only domestic cup competition too.

 

[Ray Gin]

Is the thought behind the move to 18 not to facilitate additional European games so the clubs involved in Europe will still have the same number of games?

That's what I imagine, which just increases the money imbalance of the league. Fewer league games means there is less money in the TV deal. The clubs in Europe get extra money from European games. So you reduce the income of the poorer clubs while increasing it of the richer clubs.

 

[Zidane]

All 20 Premier League clubs have unanimously rejected Project Big Picture proposals but will agree on an emergency financial package for EFL clubs

Premier League clubs have rejected Project Big Picture but have agreed to create an emergency financial package for clubs in League One and League Two.

At a virtual meeting on Wednesday, all 20 clubs "unanimously agreed" that neither the Premier League nor The FA would endorse or pursue the proposals, which included changing the voting structure of the Premier League, as well as funding models for the English Football League (EFL) and Football Association (FA).

The clubs have also agreed to work as a "collective" and with transparency on any future plans that involve the structure or financial of English football.

The plans had involved several other major changes to the structure of English football, with a reduction from 20 to 18 teams in the Premier League and the scrapping of the EFL Cup and Community Shield.

These proposals, which have now been rejected, were initially drawn up by Liverpool, with the backing of Manchester United.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Premier League said: "All 20 Premier League clubs today unanimously agreed that Project Big Picture will not be endorsed or pursued by the Premier League, or The FA.

"Further, Premier League Shareholders agreed to work together as a 20-club collective on a strategic plan for the future structures and financing of English football, consulting with all stakeholders to ensure a vibrant, competitive and sustainable football pyramid.

The EFL, however, said the majority of its clubs overwhelmingly supported Project Big Picture plans following meetings with chairman Rick Parry.

Six Championship clubs have told Sky Sports News they could go out of business by the end of the season without fans and without a financial bailout.

On the EFL bailout, the Premier League said it "aims to ensure that League One and League Two clubs will not go out of business".

It added: "League One and League Two clubs rely more heavily on matchday revenue and have fewer resources at their disposal than Championship or Premier League clubs and are therefore more at risk, especially at a time when fans are excluded from attending matches.

"This offer will consist of grants and interest-free loans totalling a further £50m on top of the £27.2m solidarity payments already advanced to League One and League Two this year, making a total of £77.2m.

"Discussions will also continue with the EFL regarding Championship clubs' financial needs. This addresses Government concerns about lower league clubs' financial fragility.

"Football is not the same without attending fans and the football economy is unsustainable without them. The Premier League and all our clubs remain committed to the safe return of fans as soon as possible."

Ahead of the meeting, a Premier League club owner told Sky Sports News only six top-flight teams are in favour of the proposals.

"We are 100 per cent against the plans," he said. "If there was a vote now I would be surprised if more than six supported it. I can guarantee you the majority of club owners are against it."

 

[Snoops]

Delighted this got shut down