League Restructure

[LBP 3,035]

If this project gets passed we won't be seeing boro in the prem for decades 

[DurhamRed 2,047]

The thing I don't get is if this goes ahead is it applied straight at the end of this season. So in the premiership 5 clubs are relegated? Too allow for 3 too go up from championship. While in the championship 5 are also relagated? Trickle down so in League 2 an extra 2 teams are relagated? 

[Denzel Zanzibar 6,972]

2 hours ago, Changing Times said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8836695/STEVE-GIBSON-accept-Project-Big-Picture-power-shift-save-EFL-clubs-oblivion.html#comments

Well that's just one more reason to wish Steve Gibson would sell our club.

[wilsoncgp 9,283]

Gibson saying it's fine to give those clubs their power because they already have it. He can get ***. It's circumstance; he would not have agreed to this if it was us in the Prem when we were fighting for Europe and he absolutely shouldn't be willing to throw in the towel so quickly now either.

There's not even a hint of negotiation in his response to this. He is bending over and ready to take this situation to solve a problem that shouldn't even be a problem for us. He criticises the parachute payments for making it more difficult to compete... aye, Steve, we're a perfect example of that aren't we, old chap. 🤔

I think the only thing that could have made this more disappointing is if he wrote it for a shitrag paper... never mind, he managed that 'n' all. Who knows, the one benefit of this is he's throwing himself to the national media dogs, maybe they'll stop treating him like a bloody Messiah.

[Erimus 63 481]

7 hours ago, LewisBoroPalfrey said:

If this project gets passed we won't be seeing boro in the prem for decades 

Doesn't really matter though does it?  If we ever go up again, Gibson has nether the bollock$, or spending power to ensure we do stay up. 

[SA Red 114]

7 hours ago, DurhamRed said:

The thing I don't get is if this goes ahead is it applied straight at the end of this season. So in the premiership 5 clubs are relegated? Too allow for 3 too go up from championship. While in the championship 5 are also relagated? Trickle down so in League 2 an extra 2 teams are relagated? 

I reckon the Big Boys will say 2 down with no promotion from the Championship in year one and leave the EFL to sort the rest out.

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

In terms of the logistics, I expect it will be 3 down, 1 up and second place playoff against 17th place. 
 

It does seem like the majority of EFL teams are in agreement with the proposal, so I wouldn’t be too quick to single out Steve Gibson. EFL Club chairman must have given this idea some thought and pretty much unanimously decided it was the right way forward. They probably know a lot more about the financial situations at their clubs than us lot.

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

These are Steve Gibson’s views on it;

“I understand it comes at a cost for some Premier League clubs. I, too, am uneasy about the movement and concentration of power.

But the truth is that those top six clubs already have significantly more influence than the rest. If you look at where football revenue is generated in this country, it is because of the overseas love affair with the Premier League. In particular, those big six clubs.

So nothing is perfect. Would you ordinarily wish that power shift to be the case? Probably not. But sometimes you have to give something up.

Overall, the document is better for the future of football. Because without this, or another bailout, I see a domino effect. One club will go bust and then another and another. And these clubs are so important to the community. I could not imagine the town of Middlesbrough without its football club.“

Can you really argue with those sentiments?

[RiseAgainst 3,793]

I can't think of a better way to sum this whole miserable situation up than in song lyrics:

"That's when they win, they keep us convinced
To lift up our chins, these playing fields are level.
'We all have a chance' - with that they dismiss
The fast lanes they rode
On which access depends on who you know
Or where you came from.
Whose daughter are you? Whose fortunate son?
We're told to stick out our thumbs
They feast from the linens while we settle for crumbs."

If Steve Gibson really is happy to hoover up a few crumbs from the big boys' table until they flex their newfound muscle by reneging on the deal they've offered EFL clubs and leaving us all in the s**t for ever more, he's less of a businessman than I thought. Either that, or MFC is in a truly perilous financial position and this (undoubtedly) one-off payout will somehow keep the wolves from the door.

Either way, it's a pretty lamentable attitude for our club chairman to take. And another enormous stick for his increasingly numerous and vocal critics to beat him with.

[AnglianRed 6,320]

22 hours ago, Redcar Rioja said:

That is a similar concept to our 1988 victory over Chelsea when they had to play off against the third, fourth and fifth placed sides in the old second division sides after they finished fourth bottom of the old first division.

Ah, well that was before I started taking a serious interest in football. I was thinking they'd have to somehow have a 5-team play-off, but 3 Championship clubs +1 PL team makes more sense. Still seems unnecessary when the current system has worked just fine for so long.

[RiseAgainst 3,793]

4 minutes ago, BillyWoofs_shinpad said:

These are Steve Gibson’s views on it;

“I understand it comes at a cost for some Premier League clubs. I, too, am uneasy about the movement and concentration of power.

But the truth is that those top six clubs already have significantly more influence than the rest. If you look at where football revenue is generated in this country, it is because of the overseas love affair with the Premier League. In particular, those big six clubs.

So nothing is perfect. Would you ordinarily wish that power shift to be the case? Probably not. But sometimes you have to give something up.

Overall, the document is better for the future of football. Because without this, or another bailout, I see a domino effect. One club will go bust and then another and another. And these clubs are so important to the community. I could not imagine the town of Middlesbrough without its football club.“

Can you really argue with those sentiments?

If it's a binary choice between these proposals and the rapid death of league football, no, I can't argue with Gibson's sentiments.

If it's a choice between these proposals and something that's actually fairer, more considered, more reasonable, less open to exploitation in a couple of years' time, and less than simply a naked power grab by a self-serving cabal of greedy foreign club owners trying to pull up the drawbridge on everyone else, then yes. I argue most vehemently, m'lud.

[AnglianRed 6,320]

8 minutes ago, BillyWoofs_shinpad said:

These are Steve Gibson’s views on it;

“I understand it comes at a cost for some Premier League clubs. I, too, am uneasy about the movement and concentration of power.

But the truth is that those top six clubs already have significantly more influence than the rest. If you look at where football revenue is generated in this country, it is because of the overseas love affair with the Premier League. In particular, those big six clubs.

So nothing is perfect. Would you ordinarily wish that power shift to be the case? Probably not. But sometimes you have to give something up.

Overall, the document is better for the future of football. Because without this, or another bailout, I see a domino effect. One club will go bust and then another and another. And these clubs are so important to the community. I could not imagine the town of Middlesbrough without its football club.“

Can you really argue with those sentiments?

I certainly can.

Its incredibly short-sighted and very naive to think those top 6 or 9 clubs won't vote for a complete breakaway, or some other measures that mean they don't have to give another penny to the EFL, at some point in the future.

25% of all future TV deals sounds good right now, but whats to say they won't decide to re-write that deal further down the line?

They are setting themselves up to become a completely independent entity, with no accountability to the FA, or the rest of English football.

Its just really sad that nobody seems to have the balls to stand up to them. I mean, a few are speaking out against it...notably West Ham and people like Ian Holloway. But everyone else are apparently just a herd of sheep, bleating about not being happy, but unwilling to actually put up any resistance.

The FA and even the government are also making noises about it not being good for the future of football, to concentrate so much power in so few hands...but nobody seems to actually be doing anything about it.

So I won't jump on Gibson specifically, as he is just one of many who seem resigned to this. I'm jumping on the football establishment as a whole for being so pathetic and spineless...and basically scared of losing the revenue stream and reflected glory of being associated with those top teams.

 

If it were up to me, I'd tell the PL to go and do one. They will have no future participation in any domestic trophies. Players will no longer be eligible or picked for international games and any / all services provided by the FA will cease. In effect the PL will operate in total isolation from the rest of English football. 

They're so keen to become their own independent fiefdom...let them do it.

The Championship would become the new top flight and all the lower leagues would move up 1 tier.

Get some competent people in the FA and let them negotiate a new TV deal, which ought to at least be comparable to what the EFL currently gets from the PL.

You can call it cutting off your nose to spite your face, but I absolutely loathe people who try to bribe and basically bully others with money (and the threat of taking it away).

 

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

I think it probably is a binary choice as the PL are unwilling to bail out the EFL teams. 
 

I’m not an avid follower of the Premier League but I do enjoy watching the odd live game and I’m far more likely to tune into Liverpool v Arsenal or the Manchester derby than I am to watch Sheffield Utd v Aston Villa, I’m sure many football fans all over the world have a similar attitude, without the big six, the premier league would be pretty unspectacular.
 

The biggest damage has already been done with the introduction of VAR, for me that has ruined the game and ought to be scrapped. 

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

7 minutes ago, AnglianRed said:

I certainly can.

Its incredibly short-sighted and very naive to think those top 6 or 9 clubs won't vote for a complete breakaway, or some other measures that mean they don't have to give another penny to the EFL, at some point in the future.

25% of all future TV deals sounds good right now, but whats to say they won't decide to re-write that deal further down the line?

They are setting themselves up to become a completely independent entity, with no accountability to the FA, or the rest of English football.

Its just really sad that nobody seems to have the balls to stand up to them. I mean, a few are speaking out against it...notably West Ham and people like Ian Holloway. But everyone else are apparently just a herd of sheep, bleating about not being happy, but unwilling to actually put up any resistance.

The FA and even the government are also making noises about it not being good for the future of football, to concentrate so much power in so few hands...but nobody seems to actually be doing anything about it.

So I won't jump on Gibson specifically, as he is just one of many who seem resigned to this. I'm jumping on the football establishment as a whole for being so pathetic and spineless...and basically scared of losing the revenue stream and reflected glory of being associated with those top teams.

 

If it were up to me, I'd tell the PL to go and do one. They will have no future participation in any domestic trophies. Players will no longer be eligible or picked for international games and any / all services provided by the FA will cease. In effect the PL will operate in total isolation from the rest of English football. 

They're so keen to become their own independent fiefdom...let them do it.

The Championship would become the new top flight and all the lower leagues would move up 1 tier.

Get some competent people in the FA and let them negotiate a new TV deal, which ought to at least be comparable to what the EFL currently gets from the PL.

You can call it cutting off your nose to spite your face, but I absolutely loathe people who try to bribe and basically bully others with money (and the threat of taking it away).

 

I’m afraid it’s not just football, look at all the false promises and bribes that were made by the Tories at the last election, just so they could push through Brexit. 
 

Money talks more than ever these days, capitalism stinks, but it is what it is and the majority buy into it. 

[Humpty 3,261]

14 minutes ago, BillyWoofs_shinpad said:

I think it probably is a binary choice as the PL are unwilling to bail out the EFL teams. 
 

I’m not an avid follower of the Premier League but I do enjoy watching the odd live game and I’m far more likely to tune into Liverpool v Arsenal or the Manchester derby than I am to watch Sheffield Utd v Aston Villa, I’m sure many football fans all over the world have a similar attitude, without the big six, the premier league would be pretty unspectacular.
 

The biggest damage has already been done with the introduction of VAR, for me that has ruined the game and ought to be scrapped. 

It's not going to be a binary choice because this will be voted down. Do you think that'll be the end of it and everyone will continue as is? No chance. This is the opening gambit and Gibson has bit hard. Make a counter offer FFS.