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Leading clubs reportedly threatened to quit the Premier League in an attempt to push for a transformation of English football designed by Liverpool and Manchester United that would give them more power and wealth.
The president of the American Football Association, Greg Clarke, revealed the warning from elite clubs as the reason he walked away from talks earlier this year on “Project Big Picture,” which was only released on Sunday. .
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The plans, if approved, commit to redistributing more Premier League cash to the 72 professional teams in the English Football League. But woven into the proposals is a transformation of the power structures in the Premier League, which is even angering the supporters of the elite clubs who would benefit the most. The number of teams would be reduced from 20 to 18 starting in 2022, and the nine longest-serving clubs would gain more control, with only six needing to approve the changes.
The FA could block the review of the competition, Clarke said, using its “special stake” in the Premier League, which was created in 1992 when it split from the EFL.
“In late spring, when the main focus of these discussions became the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few clubs with a separatist league posed as a threat,” Clarke wrote to members of the FA Council, “I, of course, interrupted my participation and recommended a more consensus-based approach involving all Premier League clubs and their president and CEO. Our game must seek to continually improve, but the benefits must be shared.”
The Premier League said plans formed by US owners Liverpool and United with EFL president Rick Parry would be detrimental to the English game, especially as they could widen disparities. Within Project Big Picture there are means for clubs to sell their own match rights live, which would make the most popular clubs generate the most cash.
The elite could use their newfound power to later force new changes in income structures or distribution. Even the EFL clubs backing the plans are suspicious, including Preston, who won the first two editions of the English championship in 1889 and 1890.
“If I am absolutely frank, do I trust him [Premier League’s] the top six today regardless of these proposals? No, I don’t think so, “said Peter Ridsdale, the Preston owner’s advisor, after taking part in an inter-club call at the second tier championship.” I don’t think some of them believe in the pyramid. I think some believe in a franchise system like the one seen in the United States. “
That would see teams locked up in the Premier League without the threat of relegation.
“Is it a concern? 100%,” Ridsdale said. “However, today the Football League has a unique opportunity if this remains on the table to perhaps protect the Football League in the long term, whereas right now, in the short term, there is a real danger.”
Ridsdale knows the power mechanisms of the Premier League and the financial difficulties after being president of Leeds when he reached the semifinals of the Champions League in 2001 after spending beyond his means and threatening the survival of the club. Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in 2004 and have only returned this season.
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“Going forward, it would be basically six clubs that would determine what would happen to the Premier League and, by definition, to English football,” Ridsdale said. “That is the piece that is clearly missing and needs to be resolved.”
Ahead of a virtual Premier League meeting on Wednesday, United and Liverpool have not commented on the controversial plans and have left Parry to defend them in public despite anger. Fan groups at United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City said they are “totally against concentrating power in the hands of six billionaire owners” and ending the collective spirit of the league.
“This part of the proposal must be immediately discarded if other elements are to be seriously considered,” they said in a statement.
The FA is resisting renewal despite the promise of a £ 100 million ($ 130 million) donation to help the governing body deal with the impact of the pandemic and provide an annual revenue cut.
“There is more to our game than the economy,” Clarke said. “The change must benefit clubs, fans and players, not just selective balances. In these difficult times, unity, transparency and common purpose must prevail over the interests of a few.”
