BIG IS BEST
Scally backs Parry’s Project as he claims Prem offered £ 25m
GILLINGHAM chairman Paul Scally has given his full support to Project Big Picture – but warned football must not sell its soul.
Scally says the Premier League offered just £ 25m to bail out the EFL and that is what has driven EFL chairman Rick Parry to find a £ 250m bailout to save clubs from going bust and secure long- term stability. He claims this has left the Football League with no other option but to jump into bed with Liverpool and Manchester United, because the Premier League are not doing enough to save them. Scally said: “The Premier League haven’t come up with any ideas in the last six months.
“They’ve offered just £ 25m, which wouldn’t get 24 clubs through six months. “That is all they have offered. It was dismissed out of hand.
“When you consider the clubs have just spent £ 1.2bn in the transfer window and they’ve offered £ 25m for the whole of the Premier League.
“If that’s all that’s on offer, then don’t blame Rick for trying to find solutions.
“It might not work. But at least we’re now talking real numbers and not £ 25m.
“Covid will end at some stage and football will still be in a mess.
“Rick is trying to address not just the short- term problem but the long- term issues.”
That £ 25m figure will cause shockwaves throughout football and put a different look on the current furore surrounding Project Big Picture which has sparked civil war in English football.
The Premier League did advance a £ 125m solidarity payment to the EFL, they have also tried to engage with EFL bosses, asking for detailed accounts and a breakdown of figures, but those have not been forthcoming.
Scally claimed details of Parry’s plan were leaked to put a bomb under the proposals before they are ready.
He added: “Rick’s been hijacked, he wasn’t ready to go public. The clubs weren’t ready to go public.
“This has been leaked way before it was supposed to come out. The leak is quite scandalous, the detail is such that only so many people would know.”
According to Scally, it is not just Liverpool and Manchester United who are on board, claiming at least 10 Premier League clubs are in favour.
He said: “Two have been happy to put their heads above the parapet, they’re happy to push for reform, but the reality is it’s probably more like 10 who want a restructure of football.
“The ‘ Big Six’ are the most powerful and therefore they should have a say in their destiny, provided it doesn’t compromise football, the Premier League and the rest of the football pyramid.
“We must not sell our souls here but the concept of working in a restructured Football League is the most attractive.”
Scally gets on well with Parry but is not afraid to admit there are elements of the plan he does not like.
He said “I don’t think this is a done deal. I don’t like losing the League Cup.
“I don’t want to see a Premier League where the top six gets such a bigger share than the bottom clubs.
“We won’t sell our souls for the future of football, no matter how desperate we get.”