PROJECT IS A NO-GO, BUT IT CAN START KEY DEBATE
IT looks like Project Big Picture won’t be happening, or at least not in its current format, following a meeting of Premier League clubs. Reports from that meeting yesterday suggest not enough clubs are on board with the proposals, although there are suggestions of an alternative to help EFL clubs.
The plans, which were reportedly driven by Manchester United and Liverpool, would have given the ‘Big Six’ more voting power so, let’s face it, it’s not a great surprise that other topflight clubs weren’t so keen.
In fact the idea has pretty much divided football. The EFL chairman Rick Parry backed it, as did a number of his clubs although some, including Port Vale, had expressed reservations.
It seemed to me like it was a sugarcoated pill – great at first, but then there are going to be side effects.
The good bits were the £250m to the EFL in the short term plus that 25 per cent of future broadcasting revenues.
But the possible side effects are what changes we could see to the English game if more power was in the hands of the Big Six.
I just hope a compromise can be found, that all parties can get around the table and come away with something that leaves everybody reasonably happy.
For EFL clubs, particularly those in real trouble, financial help is needed especially as we don’t know when fans will be allowed back in grounds.
So, Project Big Picture will have been a good thing if it starts some serious debates and leads to an acceptable plan that satisfies EFL clubs and the whole of the Premier League.
I wouldn’t expect the Big Six to hand over everything with nothing in return, but we also have to recognise that the strength of the Premier League is that you can have results like Aston Villa beating Liverpool or Norwich beating Manchester City.
The problem with giving the big clubs too much power is they grow ever stronger and you end up with only six clubs competing for the title while the other 12, from a reduced division of 18, are only in it for survival.
So, you wouldn’t have another Leicester City winning the league.
Of course, the matches involving the big clubs tend to resonate most for television audiences, but the great games aren’t always the ones where two of those clubs play each other.
Also, when we talk about the ‘Big Six’, that’s only a snapshot of the top teams at the moment.
After all, Leicester have been English champions more recently than Spurs; Aston Villa have been champions of Europe more often than Manchester City.
The beauty of the English football system is its pyramid and the possibility of rising through the divisions.
So, let’s hope clubs can come up with a plan to keep the competitiveness of the Premier League but also get some help to clubs in the EFL.
The sooner, the better from my point of view.