Liverpool and Man u want a 18 team premier league.

[Leicesterbaggie]

The bottom line is that this £250 million bale out for the smaller club is just a ruse to get them on board. Liverpool, United and the others have no interest in the smaller clubs whatsoever. If they did, why don't they just offer the money without the caveats. They must not be allowed to get away with it!

[kettering_baggie]

For certain, this plot won’t be dropped by Manure and the scousers, they must have anticipated the reaction from all other areas, so it is to be expected that they will be back with some adjustments and some more sweeteners (bribes). These proposals won’t have been made with any intention of accepting rebuttal; there will be an expectation and determination to get what they want. There may well be some dirty deals being done behind closed doors.

[mickd1961]

Football is going to eat itself.

It’s going to Hell in a handcart if this proposal goes through.

[stripes39]

Football is going to eat itself.

It’s going to Hell in a handcart if this proposal goes through.

Sky are reporting overnight that the Big 6 are threatening to break away if they don’t get their own way. Given the mighty Southampton qualify as one of the secondary afterthoughts to make up the 9 it shows you how little regard the EPL has for footballs history

It will certainly end competition as we know it if the so called elite few can implement stricter FFP, vote in or out the prospective new owners of clubs as well as the board of the Premier League. It’s our way or the highway this proposal should be called.

It all seems a bit Dickensian to me this, it’s as if someone from the big house is throwing crumbs and a handful of change to the poor saying go off and play and don’t bother us again and leave us alone to get on with making money.

[Leicesterbaggie]

It looks to me that they 'ain't going to get away with it. The groundswell of opinion against them is growing rapidly. Even their own fans are anti. Little do these billionaire owners know it but they could have done the game in this country a great favour. Our game was destined to implode at some point in time and this could be it. Let's hope that they will now realise that they won't run our game and basically, **** off!

[Yarmbaggie]

Saw so many Chairmen of league 1 & 2 clubs on tv last night saying how in principle they supported the deal as the immediate money from the deal would let them survive this year. No concern at all about the governance of the sacred pyramid they say they need to protect.

Some reports in the papers today though paint a damning picture. It seems maybe the immediate money is only £150 million and of that £110 million is a loan! That loan subject to the EFL clubs giving up everything to the favoured 9 PL clubs. Don’t forget the PL have just saved about £50 million due to us and Fulham being promoted this year as they don’t have to pay us two parachute payments.

That said this was always going to happen at some time but unless the Government step in and protect the industry from itself by bringing in new competition laws for football then I fear ultimately the big 6 will get what they want. They will just change the offer until it is accepted or just work with others to create ‘Premier league version 2’

My hope would be that they are so up themselves that they create a Super league outside the English pyramid and let us get back to football being a sport played by local clubs not multi National brands. Maybe then they will see that they are not the be all and end all that they think they are.

[Yarmbaggie]

Interesting article by Steve Gibson locally saying why we must support the new proposals. In essence he says it will save the pyramid and yes it is worthwhile accepting that the big 6 will get all the power and money as a consequence. The big money tv deal is only there due to the presence of the big 6.

I fully understand what he says and I think it COULD be good for the game providing promotion to the PL is scrapped and effectively the PL became a closed shop for the Global brand clubs, whether that be 18 or probably less. I see that as the end game after all. Would that bother me if we were not included, NO.

If they continue with promotion/relegation how can sides in the Championship to be able to compete in the new revised PL with ever greater disparity between the finances of the two leagues. Salary caps will exist outside of the PL as well so how is that going to work with promotions.

I do agree that something needs doing though to reorganise football or else we will end up with say 50 full time professional clubs, but that surely has to be a choice as well if football doesn’t manage itself better. Why would businessmen continue to plough large amounts of money into the hands of players, agents etc outside of the PL just to keep the club afloat.

[stripes39]

The bottom line is that this £250 million bale out for the smaller club is just a ruse to get them on board. Liverpool, United and the others have no interest in the smaller clubs whatsoever. If they did, why don't they just offer the money without the caveats. They must not be allowed to get away with it!

The £250M bale out is a loan repayable against future TV revenues. A bit like the last 'gift' the Premier League gave was those so called solidarity payments, which led to clubs giving up compensation rights for academy players, losing tens of millions as a result.

[Yarmbaggie]

Thankfully scrapped with 20/20 PL clubs rejecting it which seems strange if Man U and Liverpool proposed it!

New offer £50 million in mix of cash and loan to clubs in League 1 + 2! Greedy PL clubs not showing a lot of interest in saving the pyramid.

[billsbest]

If you look at the structure of American football it isn't surprising to see it is American owners trying to force through these changes.