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West Ham is against radical plans by Liverpool and Manchester United to reform the pyramid of English football, according to a club source.
Project Big Picture submissions have been produced by Liverpool owner John Henry and United co-chairman Joel Glazer.
Everton, Southampton and West Ham would gain special status in the plans, along with the so-called ‘big six’.
However, a Hammers source has told BBC Sport that they are “strongly against it.”
It is understood that the club was not aware of the proposals, even though they were named in them, and were shocked when they were released into the public domain on Sunday.
The source said they believed Liverpool and United were the instigators, but had been told that the talks had been going on since January and what has emerged is version 17 of the proposal.
The plans also include special status for Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday the plans “would undermine confidence in the governance of football.”
“In terms of supporting the clubs, the Premier League and English Football League have assured us that they have no intention of letting any EFL club go bankrupt due to covid and we know that they have the means to prevent that from happening within. of existing mechanisms.
“We strongly urge the Premier League and the EFL to continue to work constructively to create a support package for the entire football family.”
The proposals of the ‘Project Big Picture’
- The Premier League cut from 20 to 18 clubs, and the Championship, League One and League Two retained 24 teams each.
- The last two Premier League teams were automatically relegated and the 16th ranked team joined the championship play-offs.
- The League Cup and the Community Shield were abolished.
- Discarded parachute payments.
- A £ 250 million bailout fund immediately available to the EFL and 25% of all future TV offerings.
- £ 100 million paid to the FA to make up for lost revenue.
- Nine clubs received ‘special voting rights’ on certain issues, based on their extended careers in the Premier League.
The Hammers feel the obvious negatives – losing two home games – will affect their finances, while at the same time creating room for more European games and lucrative pre-season friendlies, which would disproportionately benefit the ‘big six’.
Plans include reducing the Premier League to 18 clubs and eliminating the EFL Cup.
In return, the EFL would get 25% of all future TV deals, to be negotiated jointly, plus the £ 250m ransom that many clubs have been demanding since May.
This is the fourth season in a row that the ‘big six’ have qualified for European football. In the last 10 seasons, one of them has been lost only four times.
Over the past decade, West Ham has had two European campaigns, both of which ended during the qualifying rounds. Southampton and Everton have also qualified for Europe twice in the same period.
“The Big Six are using Covid to seize power,” the West Ham source said. “If this happens, over time they will just use more and more for themselves.”
It is not known what will happen if the plan is rejected, which has drawn criticism from supporter groups, the government and the Premier League executive.
The Premier League said that the “individual proposals” in the plan “could have a detrimental impact on the entire game”, and that it would continue its own work on a “resolution of the Covid-19 bailout funding requirement” for the EFL.
However, one theory, which EFL President Rick Parry refused to rule out when asked specifically about it twice on Sunday, is that all six clubs that they could play within the Football League were told if his Premier League status was threatened.
A source with detailed knowledge of club management at both the Premier League and EFL levels says the plan has merit, but the fear of how the ‘big six’ could rewrite the rule book, which could include stop the decline or lock in new owners whose investment may threaten yours. status – it was likely to be considered too high a price for many to accept.
‘Something must be done right now’
Forest Green Rovers League Two club president Dale Vince said he was “positive” and “excited” for a “very comprehensive and fair change package.”
“I think it will really put a line under the EFL in terms of financial stability, and also in terms of creating a level playing field,” he told BBC Sport.
“The end of parachute payments goes hand in hand with that. It distorts the competition in the Championship in particular, but that also flows into the EFL.”
When asked if the proposal would put too much power in the hands of the ‘big six’, Vince says the Premier League should adopt a simple majority voting system, where 10 votes would win out in a league of 18 teams.
He added: “I don’t think there is anything wrong at the time of this, everything is probably fine because something needs to be done right now.”
