Whats wrong with football?

[Frigby Daser]

Need to consider all this in more detail, but initial impressions - it’s not perfect (for example, you’d have to ringfence the aid provided to FL clubs so that cowboy chairmen don’t pocket it and do a runner, or allow the aid to be a magnet for even more of those types in the game) but it’s not as bad as people are making out, and may just save the EFL. The main grumble is if this is the thin end of the wedge, and the power grab is used as an abuse for the Top 6, but is that not better than a series of clubs going under?

[pauld]

A lot of people seem to be assuming that any money from the Premier League would be distributed fairly within the EFL. It wouldn't. Currently Championship clubs take 80% of the central money from the EFL, unless that changes, this would benefit the very wealthiest clubs in the Premier League and might help some in the Championship but it would just serve to widen even further the gaping chasm between L1/L2 and the Championship which is already in danger of becoming a bigger jump than the gap between the Championship and the PL. This looks a lot like Premiership 2, with L1 and L2 left to wither and die.

[Frigby Daser]

That’s why this needs more detail. If it is coming with the justification (with obvious baggage) of acting as a form of aid for lower league clubs, that has to genuinely benefit lower league clubs. We just don’t know yet. I don’t like the idea of there being a power grab, but the PL has so little
(positive) influence at our level, I couldn’t really care.

[tans]

EFL chief exec quits after only 6 months due to frustrations over covid

[pauld]

FSA's view on Project Big Six Get All The Power And Money: "a sugar-coated cyanide pill"

https://thefsa.org.uk/news/project-big-picture-a-sugar-coated-cyanide-pill/

[Banker]

The Thoughts of Chairman Olly...well worth a listen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08v2zsf

Holloway: "Greed is disgusting, and that’s what I’m seeing everywhere. It’s absolutely vile."

[pauld]

The more I think about Project Big Six, the more I think aside from the restricted voting power grab (and that's a massive caveat), I could probably live with the bad stuff if it means the start of a better redistribution of TV money. As Frigby says, you'd need safeguards around that like protections from the Steve Dales etc, and you'd need concrete guarantees that two years down the line the Big Six couldn't just pull the rug on the redistribution and revert back to 8% from 25%. For me, I'd also want to see a restructuring of the distribution within the EFL, so more like 50% Championship, and 25% each to L1 and L2, than the current 75-80% to the Championship. But I suspect the restricted voting is a non-negotiable and that runs the risk of all the goodies being withdrawn a few years down the line at the whim of Joel Glazer and John Henry.

I can certainly see why reportedly 90% of EFL clubs are in favour though

[Panda Paws]

Two simultaneuous threads on this, but I agree Paul.

[pauld]

Two simultaneuous threads on this, but I agree Paul.

Yeah, sorry, I posted a change of heart thing here as this is where Project BP was first mentioned and the other thread seemed to be a bit more about the bailout than PBP per se. What I'd add in this thread is your recommendation of the Chapman and Ornstein podcast discussion of the topic, very measured and with some well-informed guests talking knowledgeably about a subject they actually know a lot about. So the diametric opposite of most football pods (Loathed Strangers aside, natch). Very much well worth a listen, it played a large part in shifting me form my original knee-jerk to a more nuanced thinking about it all.

The relevant episode's here if people want to listen to it:

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9zR2FhOVhVag/episode/NmYzZWRiMTAtMDI3Ny0xMWViLWE5MGMtN2ZiMzYxYWZjNWEz

[Batch]

Inn regards to the 'power' aspect, anyone care tob explain the immediate cons of the 'big 6' proposal on the EFL.

for example, does it allow direct meddling  in EFL matters/structure (parachute payments aside)

[Batch]

next mind, I think Panda explains it in the other thread

[tans]

Sky now reporting plans to channel some of the money from the PL pay per view games have been scrapped due to the fall out of project big picture

[horlock07]

Sky now reporting plans to channel some of the money from the PL pay per view games have been scrapped due to the fall out of project big picture

Project Bollocks was only ever going to be a starting point for negotiations, it as something like the 17th iteration of the plan and was leaked into the public domain, its basically the same as the government constantly briefing via the Telegraph to see what they think the public will put up with.

[pauld]

Sky now reporting plans to channel some of the money from the PL pay per view games have been scrapped due to the fall out of project big picture

That's just a "See what happens? See what happens when you fuck with us?" tantrum from the PL hierarchy pissed off with Parry's involvement in this. Quite pathetic.

[horlock07]

The thing is its being suggested that the majority of FL chairman are broadly in support of it, whilst the PL chairman (bar the top 6) are not, so could be some rather interesting electioneering coming up!