Plan to restructure the game

[Martyn]

What happens if 3/4 years down the line, Fenway (Liverpool), Glazer (Manure), go there separate ways, after all they are USA owners, and may want to return there money to the America first brigade.

The damage has already been down.

Note, these proposals have come from these two clubs American owners. Bringing in the franchise system to the UK.

 

[buck197]

It’s a business pure and simple and why would someone at the top of an industry finance a small competitor sufficiently to challenge them or to bail them out. If say half the EFL clubs folded then thus “bank” of supporters would be available to be enticed by the PL clubs to buy tickets, shirts and Sky packages. It’s been heading this way for a long time as the money in the game has multiplied. It hasn’t been a level playing field for many many years so let’s not fool ourselves. Do we take their carrot? If we don’t then do they really care if PAFC or clubs like us fall by the way side, almost certainly not. As in Spain the super clubs are looking after their own interests. Can a country this size support 92 professional clubs? This surge in finance in football has attracted these foreign investors for one reason, to make more money from us the fans.

 

[justanotherfan]

Disappointing to see the club have taken a positive stance on this already.

Might be a good idea to listen to the fans before throwing all their support behind it.

This is reported where?

 

[East End Green]

Disappointing to see the club have taken a positive stance on this already.

Might be a good idea to listen to the fans before throwing all their support behind it.

This is reported where?

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/ ... ns-4598478

I think it is overstating (to put it mildly) that the club has 'thrown all their support behind it'. But the point about fan consultation is a fair one and something I would hope the Trust would be instrumental in coordinating.

 

[justanotherfan]

It reads to me that the bail out figure of £250 million is all that he is commenting on, the same amount which has been discussed for some time now.

 

[Green Painter]

And not to mention the many charities that will lose out on the considerable amount of funds from the Community shield which they plan to scrap. Shameful

 

[Ipplepen green]

It’s sickening that the big clubs are exploiting the present situation by trying to push this through at a time when they know many clubs could be financially vulnerable.
I’d be quite happy to see them p1ss off to a European league as they bring nothing to the British game.

 

[metroace]

It seems clear that this is a framework that will then be debated amongst the various leagues and authorities involved.

One thing that bothers me is the proposal to scrap the EFL Cup. Quite simply, this is only in the interests of the clubs involved in European competitions. While for all other clubs, this equates to bums on seats and much needed cash through the turnstiles.

If I was in the meetings for the EFL, I would reject the scrapping of the EFL Cup. I would propose to include in the rules of the EFL Cup that those clubs who have qualified for European competitions can choose to exempt themselves should they wish. BUT also that the winner of the EFL Cup gets a place in European competition in the following season. All clubs that enter have to play a majority of their recent first team players. That would give those self-declared special clubs a dilemma.

 

[rsp4]

I have just caught up with this.

I do think it's a starting position for negotiation but who would I trust in the EFL to do this?

I don't like the fact the so called big six take over football like something out of animal farm. Tbh I wish they would eff off and form a European league with the fat cats in Europe.

I do like a greater share of money going across the league's, scrapping the parachute payment and do you know what I'm not all that fussed about the league cup.

I have no interest in the prem at all. Not even fussed about the national team much nowadays but I do care about the lower league clubs and we will be a few short very soon because of this bug. I would like to see the bloody grounds opened up and let those that want to go with social distancing go. Afterall how many shoppers pass over the threshold of the large shopping centres at Trafford, South Brent or Cribbs Causeway. Many more than the 3-5K who want to get back into lower league grounds. :coat:

 

[Biggs]

Can a country this size support 92 professional clubs?

Yes.

I know you haven't done it here, but it annoys the hell out of me when people compare England to Spain and France with their two or three professional divisions.

The strength and unique selling point of English club football is the depth of the pyramid, and where a third division game in Spain may be watched by a few hundred, we regularly have 10-15k crowds with clubs the size of Ipswich, Pompey, Sunderland and Argyle.

Why on earth would you want to downgrade that in any way, especially at a time when communities across the country are struggling and/or suffering from loss of meaning and identity as it is?

 

[PL2 3DQ]

While it's true that this is a starting point it's also the 17th version of the proposal and while PL clubs continue to thrash it out lower league clubs are suffering. They need financial help now and can't wait for this to be settled.

What started out as a £250m bailout has turned into something with strings attached that will drag on and on.

 

[Shadowknight]

This is getting a bit like Parliament and Brexit, everyone knows what they don’t want but no one knows what they do want.

I think some owners know what they want. Matches played in Moscow, Abu Dhabi, New York, Tokyo, etc.

Friendly tournament, innit.

 

[buck197]

Can a country this size support 92 professional clubs?

Yes.

I know you haven't done it here, but it annoys the hell out of me when people compare England to Spain and France with their two or three professional divisions.

The strength and unique selling point of English club football is the depth of the pyramid, and where a third division game in Spain may be watched by a few hundred, we regularly have 10-15k crowds with clubs the size of Ipswich, Pompey, Sunderland and Argyle.

Why on earth would you want to downgrade that in any way, especially at a time when communities across the country are struggling and/or suffering from loss of meaning and identity as it is?

The facts don’t support your case as Bury and Macclesfield have perished even before COVID and how many EFL clubs are operating at break even before this vile disease. I don’t wish any club to perish but lower league clubs are surviving because of owners financing them and not through revenue generated. The Championship is a farce as clubs are running at multi million pound loses as they try to buy a way into the PL. Where would we be without a SH funding us? I love the pyramid but I don’t think it’s sustainable in the long term even if COVID hadn’t arrived and COVID will be the catalyst to sink many clubs I fear. FFP is not working as clubs are still over spending/gambling in order to get up the leagues. You mention communities but in Plymouth I see far PL replica shirts than our clubs shirts, our community does not appear to back our club like it could or should.

 

[Bryan Tregunna]

Special status for the nine longest serving clubs? No selective subset should have the power they are proposing: be able to change the rules or individually have power of veto. It is ridiculous that "qualification" for their coven is a decent history in the PL. Success is transient and you cannot have a "top" club that falls from grace being able to maintain their hold on power.

The abolition of the League Cup and the Community Shield? I'm not sure there can be a strong argument for two cup competitions and the EFL Cup has never had the kudos of the FA Cup, so I might concede removing this. However, removing the clubs playing in Europe, would be a better option - it has also been said on here that this puts bums on seats and much cash through the turnstiles; this argument equally applies to the EFL Trophy and, of course, this isn't mentioned in the proposal because this suits their needs (for the time being). As for the Community Shield, this is a single game, and benefits charities and should be shown on free-to-air TV. It doesn't have to be the first match of the season - indeed, it could be the last of the previous season.

The 16th place Premier League club in a play-off tournament with the Championship’s third, fourth and fifth placed teams? I have no objection to this, but we tried this a few years ago .I never knew why it was subsequently rejected, but why reintroduce it now?

The requirement for all clubs to compete once every five years in a summer Premier League tournament? WTF? Presumably this is a US idea and that matches would be played in the States! No. No. NO.

Clubs to have up to 15 players out on loan domestically at any one time and up to four at a single club in England? I have no issue with this as long as the rules for playing loanees don't change.

 

[Herts Green]

The redistribution of money in the Premier League is also a very worrying proposal (not that Argyle are likely to be in the Premier League anytime soon). According to Kieran Maguire on Twitter, there is a proposal to reduce the amount of money that clubs promoted to the Premier League get by £25m. They would then be reimbursed this money when they get relegated. It’s tantamount to saying that they don’t want promoted clubs to be competitive and they will only get their money when they eventually return to their ‘rightful’ league.