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Liverpool and Manchester United were accused by the government of “preparing secret deals” in an opportunistic attempt to seize power amid the COVID-19 crisis. Soccer turned into a civil war and the Premier League board was understood to be furious that EFL Executive Director Rick Parry publicly approved a plan that would see the formation of the top flight of 18 smaller teams.
The secret plan that emerged on Sunday is called Project Big Picture and is understood to have been created by Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group, with much of the work done by United owner Joel Glazer.
A £ 250 million carrot to help them overcome the pandemic has been dangled in front of the league’s lower clubs, with three divisions of 24 making up a reduced ‘professional’ game of 90 teams.
Going forward, 25 percent of the media revenue would go to the EFL to try to smooth the cliff that has developed between the two leagues.
However, the EFL Cup would be eliminated alongside the Community Shield in a deal that could ultimately give full power to the six big teams in the Premier League.
“We are surprised and disappointed that in a time of crisis when we have urged the highest levels of professional football to come together and finalize an agreement to help lower league clubs, it appears that secret deals are being prepared that would create a store. closed in the best of the game, “said a spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sports.
“Sustainability, integrity and fair competition are absolutely paramount and anything that can undermine them is deeply concerning.”
Currently, 14 of the 20 clubs must vote for any major changes, something that the Premier League board has always struggled to maintain.
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Premier League and EFL at war as government attacks Liverpool and Man Utd Big Picture plan (Image: GETTY)
Joel Glazer and FSG play a key role in the new plans (Image: GETTY)
However, under the proposals, the ‘Big Six’ plus Everton, West Ham and Southampton, the next most consistent teams in the Premier League, would receive special voting rights, with six of the nine votes required to make a switch.
Under current rules, the FA also has a “special stake” in the Premier League that gives them the power to veto any major structural changes.
But if soccer continues this infighting at a time when clubs are desperate for cash flow, the threat of government intervention in an attempt to put the house of sport in order increases.
It is the ‘big picture’ which is too scary for any gallery wall. The portrait to be hidden in the attic. Forget the glitzy headlines about £ 250m spending, a healthier match schedule and a bright landscape for football.
It’s a portrait of greed and selfish power and a vision of what soccer could become in the fullness of time that should terrify the beautiful game.
A game ruled by the ‘Big Six’ would never allow Leicester City to be crowned Premier League champions. Aston Villa, the relegation escape artists, never beat last year’s champions 7-2.
Premier League and EFL at war as government attacks Liverpool and Man Utd Big Picture plan (Image: GETTY)
One-sided national weekends are simply the backdrop to a dominant Champions League.
Meanwhile, clubs across the country fighting for existence in communities worried about losing their identities will depend on the scraps that the ambitious and glory-seeking elite find they can spend.
Even Rick Parry, the man very much at the poisonous heart of this scheme, admitted that soccer was not getting long-term guarantees with its cast.
“Listen, it’s impossible to etch something in stone forever,” he said. “But frankly, that’s not a reason not to do the right thing now.
“The message from Liverpool and Manchester United and their owners is that they really care about the pyramid.”
Then it’s okay. Parry, remember, was the man behind the original move to take the true power of English football and give it to its wealthiest clubs as the inaugural CEO of the Premier League.
Now he has stabbed the organization he created in the back, murmurs of “take power” whispered from his Paddington headquarters.
Certainly those sentiments were behind the “disappointment” formally expressed in the EFL CEO who appeared in his official statement.
As the war of words built, there were even suggestions that minor Premier League teams could fall by the wayside with top clubs and EFL members planning to go it alone in a new organization if they don’t get away with it. yours. .
EFL boss Rick Parry has enraged the Premier League (Image: GETTY)
The 2022-23 season has even been scheduled for its changes to take effect, with the last four Premier League teams in 2022 relegated and replaced by the top two in the Championship, with the third, fourth and fifth clubs entering a play. -off with the team ranked 16 in the highest category.
But what happens after that?
Fund distribution can be changed to suit the best clubs in the Premier League, widening the gap between the best and the last. Five alternates would be acceptable. The game would be changed to suit traditionally top clubs.
It’s no wonder fans are concerned.
“Once again, it appears that the big decisions in soccer are apparently being stitched behind our backs by billionaire club owners who continue to treat soccer as their personal fiefdom,” the Soccer Fans Association said in a statement.
“Soccer is much more than a business to be divided; it is part of our communities and our heritage, and soccer fans are its soul.
“As the most important stakeholders in football, it is critical that the fans are consulted and participate in the decision-making of the game.”
Premier League and EFL at war as government attacks Liverpool and Man Utd’s Big Picture plan (Image: GETTY)
Commentary by Daily Express Sports Director Neil Squires
Project Big Picture is an invitation to enroll in a benevolent dictatorship. The problem with a benevolent dictatorship is that there is no such thing. In the end, however honorable the original intentions may be, dictators take care of themselves.
There are some excellent suggestions in the radical document, including the promise of the £ 250 million bailout the EFL is calling for and a fairer distribution of football finances, but the price of leaving democracy is too high to pay. .
Once you hand over power to the powerful, it will not return.
The best clubs in the Premier League may insist they don’t want a bigger slice of the pie right now, but give them unchecked control and you can be sure they will one day.
Driven by the current system of one club, one vote, elite clubs have long harbored a desire to expand their control. The timing of her attempt to get hold of him completely is cynical in the extreme.
Liverpool, Manchester United and the rest of the clique knew that the EFL would seize the opportunity for a life-saving drug, regardless of the side effects. With the patient’s pulse waning, Premier League clubs have come under enormous moral pressure to accept the deal.
Project Big Picture has exposed the flaw in the Premier League, but what it has also done is expose the falsity of the league’s bailout prevarication.
If the best clubs can afford £ 250 million in exchange for EFL’s support of Project Big Picture, the Premier League as a whole can afford it unconditionally.
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