English football has been rocked by the new of a huge potential overhaul of the Premier League, dubbed 'Project Big Picture'.
The Telegraph reported on Sunday that Manchester United and champions Liverpool are leading forces behind a drive to revolutionise top-flight football in England.
The key reported proposals are a reduction to 18 Premier League teams, greater power given to the so-called 'big six' and the abolition of the Carabao Cup and Community Shield. In return, 25 per cent of the Premier League's annual income would go to EFL clubs.
Since the report surfaced, the Premier League has publicly expressed its disappointment that EFL chairman Rick Parry is supporting "damaging" radical plans for an overhaul of the top flight.
So, what do we know about 'Project Big Picture' so far?
The Telegraph reports that Liverpool and Man United - the two most successful teams in English football history - are driving the plan, though the Press Association is reporting that Rick Parry is key to the proposals rather than the two clubs.
It is reportedly being proposed £250m would be paid up front to see EFL clubs through the current financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and matches being played behind closed doors, with a gift of £100m to sustain the Football Association.
However, there would also be a revamp of the Premier League voting system, abolishing the threshold of 14 votes to pass any resolution, and the introduction of a relegation play-off for the 16th-placed club against clubs in third, fourth and fifth in the Championship.
What has the Premier League said?
"In the Premier League's view, a number of the individual proposals in the plan published today could have a damaging impact on the whole game and we are disappointed to see that Rick Parry, chair of the EFL, has given his on-the-record support," said a Premier League statement.
"The Premier League has been working in good faith with its clubs and the EFL to seek a resolution to the requirement for Covid-19 rescue funding. This work will continue.
"Football has many stakeholders, therefore this work should be carried out through the proper channels enabling all clubs and stakeholders the opportunity to contribute."
What did Rick Parry say?
"The creation of a short-term rescue fund of £250m to replace lost matchday revenue this season and last will enable every club to plan to continue to play and move forward with certainty," Parry said on Sunday.
"As an advance against increased future revenues this is not a loan and therefore does not need to be repaid. It could never have been repaid under the existing terms and revenue of the English pyramid.
"Now is the time to address both the long-term health of the game and the most challenging short-term crisis it has ever faced. Project Big Picture provides a new beginning which will revitalise the football pyramid at all levels. This new beginning will reinvigorate clubs in the lower leagues and the communities in which they are based."
He continued: "The need for a complete rethinking regarding the funding of English professional football predates the Covid-19 crisis. Discussion and planning around 'Project Big Picture' has been ongoing for quite some time, unrelated to the current pandemic, but now has an urgency that simply cannot be denied.
"The revenues flowing from the investment and work of our top clubs has been largely limited to the top division creating a sort of lottery, while Championship clubs struggle to behave prudently and Leagues One and Two are financially stretched despite enormous revenues English football generates. This plan devised by our top clubs and the English Football League puts an end to all of that.
"The gap between the Premier League and the English Football League has become a chasm which has become unbridgeable for clubs transitioning between the EFL and Premier League. In 2018-19, Championship clubs received £146million in EFL distributions and Premier League solidarity payments. This compares with £1.58billion received by the bottom 14 Premier League clubs - 11 times as much."
What about clubs outside the Premier League?
Accrington chairman Andy Holt believes without major change, the EFL is on a "one-way ticket to disaster".
"There was always going to be a price to pay. Not heard a jot from EFL about this and much of the detail is missing," he wrote on Twitter.
"An attachment to earnings order at 25 per cent is better for championship by far. I'm not automatically opposed or horrified by this.
"The EFL is on a one way ticket to disaster as things stand. It cannot survive in the existing set up with the premier league.
"It will fail and break up as clubs fail. I'm glad for once everyone round the table accepts this."
What about the fans?
The Football Supporters' Association said of the Telegraph's story: "The Football Supporters’ Association notes with grave concern today’s press reports of proposals for a major restructure of the Premier League, with far-reaching consequences for the whole of domestic football.
"Once again it appears that big decisions in football are apparently being stitched up behind our backs by billionaire club owners who continue to treat football as their personal fiefdom. Football is far more than a business to be carved up; it is part of our communities and our heritage, and football fans are its lifeblood. As football’s most important stakeholders, it is crucial that fans are consulted and involved in the game’s decision-making.
"We have welcomed the government’s commitment to a ‘fan-led review of the governance of football’; we would argue that today’s revelations have made that process even more relevant and urgent.
"We will of course study the detail of the new proposals, we remain open-minded to any suggestions for the improvement of the governance and organisation of the game, whatever their source, and we will continue to engage constructively in all discussions around reform.
"We would however emphasise that in our discussions so far, very few of our members have ever expressed the view that what football really needs is a greater concentration of power in the hands of the big six billionaire-owned clubs."
What about the political side?
A statement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport expressed disappointment at the plans: "We are surprised and disappointed that at a time of crisis when we have urged the top tiers of professional football to come together and finalise a deal to help lower-league clubs, there appear to be backroom deals being cooked up that would create a closed shop at the very top of the game.
"Sustainability, integrity and fair competition are absolutely paramount and anything that may undermine them is deeply troubling. Fans must be front of all our minds, and this shows why our fan-led review of football governance will be so critical."
A statement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport expressed disappointment at the plans.
Additional reporting by PA.
