Premier League reform proposals

[AllanW]

The beating heart they are trying to cut out of football is promotion and relegation. Everything else is gift wrapping on the priceless gift scoundrels like Parry want to give Fenway and the Glaziers.

Exactly. Perfectly expressed.

Notice that it's the American owners of these two teams who wish to turn this sport from the grassroots, historic and joined-up pyramid it is (competitive, complex, open to many, the jewel of the sporting world)   into a carbon copy of the static, tame, simplistic, franchise-structured, pull-the-ladder-up-behind-us, 'we wealthy owners buy a feeder-team network to kill any potential competition' and it's all about the tv rights sport that baseball, American football, American basketball etc have become.

Sky may think they want to back the Slimy 6 because their American owners understand the model but it will very quickly kill the product they already have to distribute worldwide. It's the unpredictability the world loves; it's Manure AND the scousers being caned on the same weekend. That's what the world watches the Premier Leagure for. It's never over until the crap referee grabs centre-stage.

I hope Wes and Nassef understand that and are putting the alternative together right now. Because we could use this to maintain the facet of this sport which pulls everyone in; unpredictability.

[algy]

We should hold our nose, call West Ham and draft an alternative set of proposals the other 14 clubs like very much.

We may as well, before most of our votes count for nothing.

I agree, gather with our tribute acts (West Ham, Burnley, Palace) and the clubs that owe us their existence (Everton, WBA), and the other 8 who wouldn't be playing League football if we'd not come along. Then give the Sky 6 a bloody nose. They need to be put in their place.

Sounds great in principle but the Sky six are the brainchild of Murdoch and his brash American chums and even though the rest could outnumber them Sky wouldn't wear it. They think they have it all carved up but they can think again. Gollum (Ian holloway) called it corruption at the highest level this morning. Love him or hate him you've got to admire the little guys balls. (Ahem)

Surely we just need something that BT/Amazon/Dazn will pay good money for, so it doesn't matter what Sky thinks?

If I were Villa, I'd possibly start asking about how the Old Firm feel about decamping to the English league.  No firm offer, no "this is definitely going to happen" ... just so we've got enough of a threat that, if someone leaves, we can replace them with a high profile team just like *that*.  Not that I particularly want the ugly sisters involved, but undeniably they're the biggest two clubs outside the league structure & would most likely make up a good proportion of the financial shortfall.

Then turn the screw.  TV money & prize money from any competition you qualify for from the league (Champions League, Europa League, World Club Cup, ..) goes in the Premier League pot.  All of it.  Shared out by positional placing.  Oh, and that fourth Champions League spot?  That's a playoff now, places 4-7.  Highest placed non-qualifier(s) go in to the Europa League.  Play that in Asia or wherever if you're that bothered about a summer Premier League tournament.

£250m goes to the EFL and £100m to the FA, no strings attached.  Parachute payments stay, as does the current voting structure.

I reckon that'd be enough of an offer for TV companies etc, and be popular enough amongst 'the 14' that the Sky 6 proposal might struggle.

[The Edge]

How about a power grab of our own led by our extremely wealthy owners. No not a financial power grab but a moral one. If our guys could come up with a viable alternative that helps the lower leagues and rips the power away from the Sky Six we would be seen as the club who gave the original Football league structure to the to the country and the world and as the club who saved football for the country and the world. A pipe dream of course but wouldn't it be just fantastic?

[Risso]

A slightly paranoid thought occurred to me, in that I wonder if the reason they've chosen the likes of Southampton to be part of the 9, is that they think/hope our owners might back the plans anyway? An American co-owner and an Egyptian with lots of media contacts, maybe they think the ability to cut our own deals might appeal?

[The Edge]

A slightly paranoid thought occurred to me, in that I wonder if the reason they've chosen the likes of Southampton to be part of the 9, is that they think/hope our owners might back the plans anyway? An American co-owner and an Egyptian with lots of media contacts, maybe they think the ability to cut our own deals might appeal?

I really hope not. We should stay well away from these greedy grubby proposals. Southampton can go fuck themselves.

[ChicagoLion]

The money that Parry talks about handing out does not exist, it’s based on projections.

What Parryis cooking up is nothing like the American sports model, it is no where near as democratic. This is a power grab to concentrate control into the hands of a few.

[Baldy]

All footballers should pay their own agents fees for transfers. Afterall, the agent is acting on the players instruction!!

A percentage of the savings made by 'all' clubs on agents fees should be donated to a central fund designed to subsidise clubs in financial need.

Players can afford it, might improve loyalty, likely to reduce agents fees and in the process finance struggling clubs.

The big six can **** off. 



 

[paul_e]

fees, wages, agent fees should all be looked into but any changes to that need to be enforced by FIFA.

[AllanW]

Surely we just need something that BT/Amazon/Dazn will pay good money for, so it doesn't matter what Sky thinks?

Yep; I can see a consortium of BT, Amazon/Netflix, ANO being a very credible alternative to selling the TV rights to Sky. And why wouldn't that group be interested in acquiring them? Just make it a condition that all your other conditions are met (funneling money to lower leagues regularly, stuff the unequal voting rights provisions back up ManUre/Scouse arses etc) and more clubs than just those 6 will vote for it. Their owners surely cannot be stupid enough to allow the Scumbag 6 to control the whole sport in this country, can they?

[Big Ming]

The 'Project' is anti-competitive and, if an attempt is made to to force it through, it will end up in the Courts for months, if not years.

[darren woolley]

I don't want any change this smells trouble.

[rob_bridge]

The 'Project' is anti-competitive and, if an attempt is made to to force it through, it will end up in the Courts for months, if not years.

This is key

If Elon Musk wants to buy Newcastle - and he could just about buy the Big 6 owners - then there is no way they will agree to it. They wouldn't have let our dual owners buy Villa.

[old man villa fan]

There should be a levy on transfers and the money from this is fed in to the lower leagues.  Also, the teams that qualify for the Champions League or later stages of the Europa League should have to pay a fee for each match as they have qualified through the Premier League.  Again, this money could be fed in to the lower leagues.

We need to even up football again, rather than extend the imbalance.

Too many teams are promoted and relegated and this is causing financial problems.  There needs to be more stability.

[garyellis]

Mark Palios was interviewed by the BBC where he stated he saw this as no more than a power grab by the big six. He did say things need to change but not by implementing this proposal.

[JimmyV]

As others have alluded to, this is a red herring. A dead cat thrown on the table, a tactic often used in political strategy. I have no doubt it has been deliberately leaked despite the public protestions of Parry the willing stooge. Look how available he was to conduct media interviews with all and sundry immediately. Uncanny. They know there is not a chance in hell this would get voted through in its leaked form. What it has achieved is to open the discussion, shift the narrative and give a starting point for negotations with the aim of settling on a proposal a step or two back from the current, somewhat nuclear opening gambit. This is just a continuation of English club football being tenderised and manipulated further by financial aims. This is now big business after all, the prime concern being profit.

In terms of a work around, a Netflix style subscription service would give an opportunity for the equitable sharing of revenues to all, fuck sky/BT/Amazon etc - go straight to market. Would be worth billions and piss all over any current TV deal in terms of club revenues.