Beware Big 6 Power Grab - Operation Big Picture

Because it’s a **** cup that means nothing. And because there are too many fixtures, it’s essentially won by the best reserve team that year, which inevitably will be one of the top 6.

More crap clubs like us have got closer to winning the FA cup than the Johnson’s paint milk littlewoods FA trophy or whatever it’s called these days.

 

Seems an easy and obvious change to make. If you're in the Champions League and Europa League, opt out of the League Cup. Anything that gets us closer to winning a cup is fine by me.

 

100% league cup should exclude clubs in Europe. It would give all normal clubs a chance of winning something and would go against clubs like City actually wanting a B league, as they’d actually have one less competition to play their reserves in not more. Win win.

 

If we won it it would be by far the greatest day in our clubs history. How does that mean nothing?

The fact that they've got rid of the two legged ties means we've got a better chance of winning it than ever.

You want to scrap it because you've fallen for the big club's propaganda. Sad!

 

You'd rather win the League cup than finish second in the league/ qualify for Europe? Sure...

If you're only talking about silverware, winning the FA trophy would also be the greatest day in our clubs history. It doesn't mean I want to win it, or be a part of it.

In reality, every year, the League Cup is utter dross. Play a league 1 or 2 team with our squad players. Scrape through. Play a League 1 team in the next round. Lose. And repeat. It's a dire tournament designed to give minutes to squad players, like in U23 matches. It is time to resign the micky mouse trophy to the scrapheap, or redesign it into a joint youth/ pro tournament so it has a purpose.

 

Yes. As I remember it, the BSkyB deal was pushed through by the "Television Five" - Liverpool, Everton, Man Utd, Spurs and Arsenal. No.Chelsea or Man City. And what have Everton won lately?

 

Football in the UK badly needs a revolution. It has become readily apparent that business interests and the top clubs are dictating the agenda to the detriment of the entire pyramid. That agenda is largely driven by foreign owners who don't give a toss about the cultural importance of the game in the history of almost every city, town and village in the UK.

Unfortunately, I don't see any way of breaking it short of direct government legislation to establish rules for sports operations in the UK.

Ban foreign ownership. Reward clubs that are fan owned and operated. Institute salary caps and have draft system similar to the NFL (the fact that the Yanks have somehow managed to design a fairer league system than we have is a national embarrassment). Protect clubs that develop players instead of allowing the biggest clubs to steal them from others for bugger all. Invest in grass roots football through reasonable solidarity payments that invest further down the pyramid. Stop the kleptocracy-style rules designed to keep a handful of English clubs on top.

I won't hold my breath, though.

 

Great plan, but one more achievable would be to induce the top six to piss off into a closed-shop European Showbiz League for people who think football is a TV programme. In return for this they'd be limited in the number of players they could sign to prevent stockpiling.

 

Even if we put them in a lifeboat and cast them off, we still badly need reform in the modern game. It's pretty obvious that's never going to happen unless it's forced.

 

Who's gonna force it?

 

I refer you to the post I made 28 minutes ago!

 

To further add to this point, although I hate the term ‘big club’ before Sky there was pretty much a direct correlation between the size of a club and their fan base and success. Despite all of that, the gap wasn’t so big that a little club like Watford couldn’t still finish second in the league.

The TV money has massively skewed this so that any club currently or recently receiving PL TV money is ultimately ‘bigger’ than a club who hasn’t but how has a much larger fan base.

The top 6 are only the top 6 (and clubs like Southampton and WH) because they were in the right place at the right time.

 

Yes, but government interference in sport gets you a ban from FIFA.

 

These things always seem to hit clubs like Watford the hardest.

Just heard part of the deal is to scrap the parachute payment scheme which would directly affect us of course.

So 9 clubs will have protected voting rights. The top 6 and probably Everton. But who are the other two? Villa and Leeds?

The entire thing stinks and is a self-interest power grab by the elite and nothing more.

Once they gave the power on voting rights they can do whatever they like. This financial incentive for the EFL clubs could stop at any time and they can make it a closed shop containing only the big fancied clubs. They could even vote out relegation, and just elect clubs or whatever they’d like to do.

You cannot trust clubs to do the right thing for the benefit of the game, because they won’t. They’ll only look after their own best interests at all times. They are only offering this financial EFL incentive in order to get it pushed through. No other reason.

 

And? If the alternative is what we have now it's a small price to pay as far as I'm concerned. I'm long past caring about FIFA's threats.

Start a new football body and cast off the old corrupt ways. Sod 'em.

 

I'd love you to be right, but I fear that a renegade Decent International Football Association would see no foreigners playing in England, and the England team reduced to playing endless home internationals.

 

So long as the EPPP means than the "Big 6" can continue to cherry pick the best youngsters from smaller clubs for a pittance, they and this plan can **** themselves.

 

Southampton regularly flirt with relegation and have been relegated in the not too distant past. Leeds would’ve been in the premier league for a longer period than Saints have consecutively, yet have just spent 17 years outside it.

Outside the ones that have never been relegated from the PL not many are safe (as it stands) from getting relegated at some stage.

Yet Covid is being used as a means to try and pull the drawbridge up, with some historically random teams being handed the benefit of almost certain premier league survival for years to come.

 

The League Cup is certainly not “designed to give minutes to squad players”. That’s the way clubs have come to treat it - and the FA Cup is not far behind. Very sad for those of us who remember clubs trying to win EVERY game.

 

Errr you know winning the league Cup gets you into Europe right? Who in their right mind would choose not winning the league over a glorious cup final victory at Wembley.

Modern football fans eh.

 

If it helps, I’d chose 2nd place in the Premier League over winning the Community Shield too. And the FA trophy. And lots of other useless trophies which you can win at Wembley.

Not the FA cup though. That’s a real trophy.

 

It makes the play offs worse - the championship is interesting because for most of the season most of the clubs have a chance at the playoffs - and once you're in you have a nearly 1/4 chance of promotion. This would not only reduce the number of spots but also mean you have to compete with a premier league team with much greater squad depth, a huge wage bill and far more resources.

**** this plan and **** "special status" for any club.

 

Bit odd to keep mentioning the FA Trophy mike. It’s a non-league competition.

 

It’s a barely disguised plan by American owners to introduce a US style model. A step away from banning relegation. If it is allowed to go ahead, it will be mere moments before the 18 become a top eight who want to join a European league. Tier 3 restrictions in Merseyside. No worries we are happy to play our games at Wembley.

 

Yankee doodle Feckheads.

 

Oops, I meant the EFL trophy.

I’m mixing up the numerous tinpot second-rate trophies.

 

With none of the pain, like salary caps and draft picks.

 

Is it a coincidence their plan involves Southampton and West Ham having ‘special voting rights’ but not Villa and Newcastle? Yes Southampton have spent more recent consecutive seasons in the PL but villa and Newcastle have more overall.

Villa and Newcastle are probably a bigger long term threat, Southampton and West Ham literally never even threaten the top half of the table.

As and when one of either or both Southampton/WH get relegated they’ve got all the power then.

 

Had to google that, apparently the EFL Cup gains you entry to the UEFA Europa Conference League (who knew?) from 2021-22 onwards, a third European competition after the CL and EL. If anything, winning the EFL Cup would give us a realistic shot in Europe and a few tasty European away days (something most under 40 years old Watford fans have never experienced)- the best we can realistically hope for tbh. Therefore, the EFL Cup has never been more important, we could probably do alright against 3rd tier European teams.

There's also no reason why we can't realistically stay up comfortably and also have a crack at a Cup - it's quite rare a team does well in a cup and also gets relegated.

 

Wouid that be such a bad thing? It would give many more clubs a decent crack at doing a Leicester.

I suppose it depends whether the Euro league sucks all the money away.

EDIT: it’s just dawned on me that Leicester are not one of the nine. Which is scandalous given they have won the PL more recently than all but two of them.

 

This is absolutely a power grab from the 'big 6'.

"We'll give you a £250m bailout package and 25% of yearly revenues, but only if you agree to our terms and conditions that we and the rest of the elite have worked out to make sure that we keep all the power in the PL and the likes of clubs like Watford, Newcastle, Brighton, Leicester etc. don't upset the odds by qualifying for European football and usurping one of us, or god forbid win the league."

It's a pisstake. The fact that the elite plus Wet Spam, Everton and some other club will be able to veto any takeovers of other clubs in the PL if they feel they might be able to challenge the elite in a few years says it all. Let the rich get richer and let the smaller clubs stay where they belong.

 

In fairness, West Ham have come out very strongly against it even though they are one of the chosen few.