Beware Big 6 Power Grab - Operation Big Picture

It’s the other Premier League clubs who are annoyed at Parry, not EFL who seem to be lapping it up.

 

A fringe benefit of relegation is that week in, week out, we can watch games against these arrogant teams and hope they lose every single one.

Used to make me feel a bit sick wanting the "big six" to turn over everybody else just to guard against one of our lower half rivals earning a decent point here or there.

 

I agree with much of what you write, but the owners of EFL clubs have been saying that they found out about the plan in the media only during this week. The negotiations were done in secret and only a small number of people were aware that they were in progress. EFL clubs had a video conference in which the proposals were explained, but I doubt that they had much opportunity to express any concerns. I suspect that Rick Parry is manipulating the situation to his advantage. The Division 1 and Division 2 clubs are desperate for the money so they will consider only the short term implications of the plan, but most Championship clubs must have some long term concerns about Project Big Picture. An EFL rescue package should not be linked to these proposed changes.

The EFL club chairmen/owners are very naive if they think that the payments to the EFL will continue indefinitely if the voting proposal (handing power to the 'Big Six' clubs) goes through. Live overseas streaming by individual clubs for PL games could also reduce the overall income from media rights which is available. Some people such as Mark Palios (Tranmere chairman and former F.A. Chief Executive) plus - strangely enough - Ian Holloway (Grimsby manager) and Sam Allardyce can see the dangers. The National Supporters' Association (as well as the individual supporters' associations of the 'Big Six' clubs) oppose Project Big Picture and has issued a statement which warns of various dangers including the possibility that the 'Big Six' clubs may decide to end relegation from/promotion to the Premier League and to introduce a franchise system (as in the U.S.A.).

 

Yeah, I notice you say EPL. Didn't read that right.

 

That's without a doubt the long term aim of the American owners for sure. That's what they've grown up on, they own NFL teams or have stakes and they can shape it however they want.

And you know what, fair play. American sports make ridiculous amounts of money despite these things. They'll still have the major franchises, such as the Dallas Cowboys and the Yankees making the most money despite years of not winning anything.

Players will love it too. They can move from franchise to franchise, like a LeBron James and take the sheer wealth that it'll bring.

 

He was an ******** when he first appeared on the scene in the 1990s and he hasn't improved. He's supposed to be leading the EFL, not selling its clubs down the river.

 

Yeah I could see something happening along the lines of club franchises, but the NFL have the players franchising system which I’d love to see, but would be the last thing the top six would want as it would dilute their power across the league.

So we’ll just get the worst parts of American sports and not the best parts.

 

Giving the big clubs control over TV broadcast rights and money is the exact opposite of what's good for the game. More revenue sharing is good for the game. Revenue sharing + working with FIFA and UEFA to get agent fees out of transfers are what they should be working on.

The game will migrate over time towards more pay-to-view/stream vs. attend in person, at least in the top flights. Whoever owns the rights to those channels controls the game. If big clubs get those, they will not only be able to drastically outspend others, but they will choke out the ability of smaller clubs to get enough eyeballs to enable them to grow.

 

£16.50 at St Albans City, and £22 at Barnet, so I thought it was ok for an afternoon out.

 

All 20 PL clubs reject the Project Big Picture plans but still bail out the EFL. Liverpool and Man Utd reject their own plan. Circus.

The first chess moves of many, I'm sure.

 

The Prem's USP compared to La Liga/Serie A/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 is competition, whether it's at a game-by-game basis or for those vying to be the champions; this completely destroys that. It's like what others have said- this is a slow Americanisation of our sport to turn the top tier into an eventual closed Premier League, or to allow for the eventual breakaway of the Big 6 for a closed European super league. It's just another step further away from who the sport should (and still very tentatively does) belong to- the working-class.

I'm not surprised the EFL supports this- Parry is a Liverpool fan and also the vast majority of these EFL clubs that do apparently support this know they will never reach the Prem. A story like Bournemouth won't happen for a long time (unless there's an agenda behind it, like Salford City). The perfect storm that has been created with the Covid fallout has meant they're not in a position to barter (not that they were anyways), so they might as well put the final nail in their coffin as a competitive football club and hamstring themselves. I don't think our club would agree to this though. I feel that the ones who wouldn't are the ones in the Championship and clubs like Pompey and Sunderland- clubs that believe they can still join the Prem and want to join a league that has some competition.

I'm also not surprised that all 20 of the Prem clubs rejected the project- it would be ludicrous for them to agree to it after all the negative feedback (thanks GD for the update). It'll still get pushed through.

On a further rant, I've become (like Jumbolina was alluding to) so dissociated with footy now. TV money had so much potential of levelling the playing field- the idea that city clubs can become more successful because they have larger populations and therefore larger ticket gate money and more money to spend on the club (whether infrastructure or players) is stupid. Instead, all it has done is further the divide and attract unscrupulous people to the sport. It's gone far away from the sport and community feel that GT tried desperately to instill in the sport (though I feel he also inadvertently helped the demise of the sport). The Premier League is a corrupt league- I have no evidence of course and am currently modelling my finest tin hat. However, no one can tell me that La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 have all had proven corruption scandals and yet the Premier League is squeaky clean, when it has the most money out of the top 5 leagues. It doesn't help that I'm also reading the Football Leaks book but it's just such a sorry state of affairs.

 

If anyone cares to start a fans' boycott of Man Utd and Liverpool matches on pay-per-view, count me in.

 

tbf, I already do.

 

I’ve said this a few times in this post, but the idea that Southampton could get ‘special voting status’ because they’ve been in the premier league for 11 years in a row is beyond a joke.

For all but the top 6 life in the premier league is transient, plenty of teams have spent longer spells in the premier league or fairly long spells and eventually fallen away. Southampton have flirted with relegation plenty of times and it wasn’t long ago that we were playing them in the championship.

I have nothing against Southampton, but talk about being in the right place at the right time, whereas clubs with a far more significant history could be locked out of the top flight forever in a glorified version of musical chairs.

 

Southampton were in League 1 in 2011. This is their 9th consecutive season in the PL.

 

In their fairly recent history they were an established top flight side (albeit one who often survived by the skin of their teeth!), but for argument's sake, if this were done 15-20 years ago, Leeds would definitely be one of the 'big clubs' and City would be one of the clubs this plan would look to keep out of the Prem, as it turns out, Leeds are only just back after a long absence, and City are buying up titles to sportwash human rights abuses by their owners...

 

Read a post from a Stoke fan, they were one of the teams really keen on B teams in the EFL Trophy, back when they were 'established' as a Prem team...then it all went wrong and they nearly became one of those teams who'd be playing the B teams in that competition...

 

That

That is the beauty of our league system as it stands, yes you can understand why a number of league 1 and 2 clubs must want the money, but of any club with 20k fans+ gets their act together they can get promoted. It’s even been possible with 10k fans like Wigan and Bournemouth, for the majority though it will be transient when they get there. I don’t think a club like Southampton could ever consider themselves completely embedded, especially when their model is not to different to ours in terms of manager turnover.

 

It's the minimum charge for the league. A tenner really isn't bad for that level of football. KL are playing at a decent level these days, one below national league south.

 

That's interesting. Do you mean minimum as set by the league?

 

Take this with a pinch of salt as I haven't fact-checked this, but according to The Second Tier Podcast account on Twatter:

Championship clubs that have publicly come out in support of Project Big Picture so far:

Barnsley
Brentford
Cardiff
Derby
Luton
Middlesbrough
Nottingham Forest
Preston
Rotherham
Stoke
Wycombe

All other clubs are yet to support a side.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

 

It was the case but on further research it only seems that steps 1 & 2 (national league) set one as do steps 5 & 6. Frustratingly neither declare how much...

There's also a minimum set for FA cup qualifying matches which is published by the FA. Round 1 onwards is an agreement between the two clubs.

 

Interesting that Brentford support it, new stadium, knocking on the door of the prem, you’d assume they’ve got aspirations to reach and stay in the Premier League at some point?

 

I see that within a week of the American plan, Man Utd and Liverpool are now promoting a European League. With 5 permanent English clubs as members.Presumably Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City are the ones to make up the five. I hope it happens. Let them clear off, and the Premier League should expel them. Instantly creating a situation where a 18 team top league can be created.

Promote the top three of the Championship. It allows a winter break say in February, will still leave an exciting Premier League, with a good product to sell. Would be terrible for the genuine fans of the five, but ultimately they can pick another team to follow domestically.

A bit presumptuous i know, but i would love us to be in a Premier League with Newcastle, Spurs, West Ham, Aston Villa, Wolves, Leeds, Everton, Southampton, Leicester, etc.

 

Ultimately these big clubs don’t give two ***** about the fans that got them to where they are in the first place, before TV money was so meaningful.

Even though their revenue is down because of Covid they can only get so many fans into their stadiums, but Covid has brought forward their desire to increase revenue for elsewhere.

They care more about growing revenue from being in a competition that will make more money from fans in the rest of the world, than their actual fans who fill their stadiums.

Good riddance to them, the sooner they go the better.