BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE TO
Tue May 05, 2020 12:10 pm
BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA GIVEN DEADLINE TO FINISH THIS SEASON
Tuesday 5th May 2020
EFL chair Rick Parry has revealed the cut-off point for Cardiff City and Swansea City's campaigns to finish is July 31 and questioned whether next season should start at all if it is played behind closed doors.
Parry's claims are likely to hit home for football fans, who will now realise there is a very real possibility that football might not be the same for a very long time.
In a question and answer session with Government's department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, Parry outlined a number of concerns he has with regards to the game moving forward.
The 65-year-old said the Premier League know that the EFL have an expectation that three sides will be promoted from the Championship, meaning a big boost for Cardiff City and Swansea City, who currently sit two and three points off the play-off spots at present.
However, the main stumbling block would be the date by which he said the season has to be concluded, the first time a definitive end point has been set.
"Our end date, realistically, is July 31, because of the situation with players' contracts," he said. "We can't go beyond July."
He also discussed imbalanced clubs in the EFL have been financially in recent years and mulled over a number of possible solutions moving forward, including how best to implement salary caps - essentially following the Gallagher Premiership rugby model of placing a budget on teams' wages and allowing them to dish out wages accordingly - as well as limiting squad sizes and revamping the youth loan model.
Parry also addressed Gordon Taylor's comments about halves being shortened when football returns, the mixed messages he has received from players about a potential return to action and warned of the worrying £200m black hold the EFL could have by September.
Tuesday 5th May 2020
EFL chair Rick Parry has revealed the cut-off point for Cardiff City and Swansea City's campaigns to finish is July 31 and questioned whether next season should start at all if it is played behind closed doors.
Parry's claims are likely to hit home for football fans, who will now realise there is a very real possibility that football might not be the same for a very long time.
In a question and answer session with Government's department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, Parry outlined a number of concerns he has with regards to the game moving forward.
The 65-year-old said the Premier League know that the EFL have an expectation that three sides will be promoted from the Championship, meaning a big boost for Cardiff City and Swansea City, who currently sit two and three points off the play-off spots at present.
However, the main stumbling block would be the date by which he said the season has to be concluded, the first time a definitive end point has been set.
"Our end date, realistically, is July 31, because of the situation with players' contracts," he said. "We can't go beyond July."
He also discussed imbalanced clubs in the EFL have been financially in recent years and mulled over a number of possible solutions moving forward, including how best to implement salary caps - essentially following the Gallagher Premiership rugby model of placing a budget on teams' wages and allowing them to dish out wages accordingly - as well as limiting squad sizes and revamping the youth loan model.
Parry also addressed Gordon Taylor's comments about halves being shortened when football returns, the mixed messages he has received from players about a potential return to action and warned of the worrying £200m black hold the EFL could have by September.
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Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 12:12 pm
Read the full transcript below.
Q. How many EFL clubs will we lose after this?
"Our objective is to try and ensure we lose none. Our aim is to emerge stronger and leaner.
"We are heading for a financial hole of about £200m cash hole by the end of September and clubs are stacking up creditors.
"We have a great deal of uncertainty around next season, of course, the great, undetermined matter being when we are going to return to playing in front of crowds, which, for the EFL is absolutely critical.
"We are much more dependant on revenue and atmosphere generated by crowds in the Premier League."
Q. The situation with out-of-contract players?
"We have 1400 players who are out of contract at the end of June. That is a train coming down the tunnel very, very quickly.
"They are going to be extremely concerned about their futures, because the landscape going forward in terms of wages and costs incurred by the clubs have got to change, there's no doubt about that."
Q. How many EFL clubs will we lose after this?
"Our objective is to try and ensure we lose none. Our aim is to emerge stronger and leaner.
"We are heading for a financial hole of about £200m cash hole by the end of September and clubs are stacking up creditors.
"We have a great deal of uncertainty around next season, of course, the great, undetermined matter being when we are going to return to playing in front of crowds, which, for the EFL is absolutely critical.
"We are much more dependant on revenue and atmosphere generated by crowds in the Premier League."
Q. The situation with out-of-contract players?
"We have 1400 players who are out of contract at the end of June. That is a train coming down the tunnel very, very quickly.
"They are going to be extremely concerned about their futures, because the landscape going forward in terms of wages and costs incurred by the clubs have got to change, there's no doubt about that."
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Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 12:15 pm
Full Ricky Parry transcript as EFL reveal date season must end and doubts raised over 2020/21 campaign even starting
A decision is imminent on what will happen to Cardiff City, Swansea City, Leeds United, West Brom and the rest of the Championship
EFL chair Rick Parry has revealed the cut-off point for Cardiff City and Swansea City's campaigns to finish is July 31 and questioned whether next season should start at all if it is played behind closed doors.
Parry's claims are likely to hit home for football fans, who will now realise there is a very real possibility that football might not be the same for a very long time.
In a question and answer session with Government's department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, Parry outlined a number of concerns he has with regards to the game moving forward.
The 65-year-old said the Premier League know that the EFL have an expectation that three sides will be promoted from the Championship, meaning a big boost for Cardiff City and Swansea City, who currently sit two and three points off the play-off spots at present.
However, the main stumbling block would be the date by which he said the season has to be concluded, the first time a definitive end point has been set.
"Our end date, realistically, is July 31, because of the situation with players' contracts," he said. "We can't go beyond July."
He also discussed imbalanced clubs in the EFL have been financially in recent years and mulled over a number of possible solutions moving forward, including how best to implement salary caps - essentially following the Gallagher Premiership rugby model of placing a budget on teams' wages and allowing them to dish out wages accordingly - as well as limiting squad sizes and revamping the youth loan model.
Parry also addressed Gordon Taylor's comments about halves being shortened when football returns, the mixed messages he has received from players about a potential return to action and warned of the worrying £200m black hold the EFL could have by September.
Read the full transcript below.
Q. How many EFL clubs will we lose after this?
"Our objective is to try and ensure we lose none. Our aim is to emerge stronger and leaner.
"We are heading for a financial hole of about £200m cash hole by the end of September and clubs are stacking up creditors.
"We have a great deal of uncertainty around next season, of course, the great, undetermined matter being when we are going to return to playing in front of crowds, which, for the EFL is absolutely critical.
"We are much more dependant on revenue and atmosphere generated by crowds in the Premier League."
Q. The situation with out-of-contract players?
"We have 1400 players who are out of contract at the end of June. That is a train coming down the tunnel very, very quickly.
"They are going to be extremely concerned about their futures, because the landscape going forward in terms of wages and costs incurred by the clubs have got to change, there's no doubt about that."
Q. Is there a cut-off point?
"The one plea I would made is that I think the Premier League and Government are working on a twin track approach, which is to decide it is safe to return to training and then make a decision on returning to play.
"That absolutely does not work for us.
"Our end date, realistically, is July 31, because of the situation with players' contracts. We can't go beyond July.
"Players have been furloughed, staff have been furloughed, to expect our smaller clubs to come in and train now, to forego the furlough, only to find out in a month's time they can't play would be a complete mess.
"We need to be making decisions in days, so what we need is guidance for a return to play and we need that very, very quickly."
Q. What about the impact of broadcast revenue and playing behind closed doors?
"One statistic from 2018 is really interesting.
"Premier League wages were £2.9bn, the TV deal was £3bn. You could say the TV deal covered the wages of Premier League clubs.
"The EFL wages were £1bn and TV contract was £100m, only 10 percent of the wages.
"At League One and League Two level gate receipts represent 32 percent of income, slightly less than that in the Championship.
"Gate receipts are absolutely fundamental.
"We have to look long and hard about how we start next season, or, indeed whether we start next season, without crowds."
Q. Do you think the season should be ended?
"My view would only be a personal one, but I think it's premature.
"If and when the season doesn't finish, that will be one for measured debate, there is no right answer.
"We have to come up with a fair and balanced answer."
A decision is imminent on what will happen to Cardiff City, Swansea City, Leeds United, West Brom and the rest of the Championship
EFL chair Rick Parry has revealed the cut-off point for Cardiff City and Swansea City's campaigns to finish is July 31 and questioned whether next season should start at all if it is played behind closed doors.
Parry's claims are likely to hit home for football fans, who will now realise there is a very real possibility that football might not be the same for a very long time.
In a question and answer session with Government's department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, Parry outlined a number of concerns he has with regards to the game moving forward.
The 65-year-old said the Premier League know that the EFL have an expectation that three sides will be promoted from the Championship, meaning a big boost for Cardiff City and Swansea City, who currently sit two and three points off the play-off spots at present.
However, the main stumbling block would be the date by which he said the season has to be concluded, the first time a definitive end point has been set.
"Our end date, realistically, is July 31, because of the situation with players' contracts," he said. "We can't go beyond July."
He also discussed imbalanced clubs in the EFL have been financially in recent years and mulled over a number of possible solutions moving forward, including how best to implement salary caps - essentially following the Gallagher Premiership rugby model of placing a budget on teams' wages and allowing them to dish out wages accordingly - as well as limiting squad sizes and revamping the youth loan model.
Parry also addressed Gordon Taylor's comments about halves being shortened when football returns, the mixed messages he has received from players about a potential return to action and warned of the worrying £200m black hold the EFL could have by September.
Read the full transcript below.
Q. How many EFL clubs will we lose after this?
"Our objective is to try and ensure we lose none. Our aim is to emerge stronger and leaner.
"We are heading for a financial hole of about £200m cash hole by the end of September and clubs are stacking up creditors.
"We have a great deal of uncertainty around next season, of course, the great, undetermined matter being when we are going to return to playing in front of crowds, which, for the EFL is absolutely critical.
"We are much more dependant on revenue and atmosphere generated by crowds in the Premier League."
Q. The situation with out-of-contract players?
"We have 1400 players who are out of contract at the end of June. That is a train coming down the tunnel very, very quickly.
"They are going to be extremely concerned about their futures, because the landscape going forward in terms of wages and costs incurred by the clubs have got to change, there's no doubt about that."
Q. Is there a cut-off point?
"The one plea I would made is that I think the Premier League and Government are working on a twin track approach, which is to decide it is safe to return to training and then make a decision on returning to play.
"That absolutely does not work for us.
"Our end date, realistically, is July 31, because of the situation with players' contracts. We can't go beyond July.
"Players have been furloughed, staff have been furloughed, to expect our smaller clubs to come in and train now, to forego the furlough, only to find out in a month's time they can't play would be a complete mess.
"We need to be making decisions in days, so what we need is guidance for a return to play and we need that very, very quickly."
Q. What about the impact of broadcast revenue and playing behind closed doors?
"One statistic from 2018 is really interesting.
"Premier League wages were £2.9bn, the TV deal was £3bn. You could say the TV deal covered the wages of Premier League clubs.
"The EFL wages were £1bn and TV contract was £100m, only 10 percent of the wages.
"At League One and League Two level gate receipts represent 32 percent of income, slightly less than that in the Championship.
"Gate receipts are absolutely fundamental.
"We have to look long and hard about how we start next season, or, indeed whether we start next season, without crowds."
Q. Do you think the season should be ended?
"My view would only be a personal one, but I think it's premature.
"If and when the season doesn't finish, that will be one for measured debate, there is no right answer.
"We have to come up with a fair and balanced answer."
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Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 12:21 pm
Q. What is your stance on promotion to and relegation from the Premier League?
"Our conversations have been very straight forward, we are expecting three clubs to be promoted, the Premier League is aware of our position on that.
"In all of the conversations we have had with the Premier League, they are expecting three clubs to be relegated.
"There would be a varying degree of outrage from a number of clubs in the Championship (if it didn't happen).
"It would be a breach of the agreement between us, the Premier League and Football Association.
"The safe answer is, it would get very messy. Our expectation is there should be three clubs promoted from the Championship."
Both Neil Harris' Cardiff City and Steve Cooper's Swansea City still harbour promotion hopes
Q. Exploring the option of playing in neutral grounds?
"We are modelling many scenarios.
"Our preference would be to play on the 71 grounds, we are not sure that there is an overwhelming argument, particularly if you go down our divisions, the probability of fans congregating is a major one.
"We are not going to take any decisions that will impose strain on emergency services."
Q. Your thoughts on Gordon Taylor saying the idea of playing with shortened halves?
"I didn't hear it. I have just been told about it.
"I don't know, there haven't been any discussions about it that I'm aware of.
"There have been discussions with FA and FIFA about increasing subs to five.
"The aim would only be to reduce the strain on players coming back from a long period away. I don't think we should be ruling out any creative ideas given the challenges we face.
"We may end up in a situation where we will have a very compressed fixture schedule. Perhaps the thinking is it would alleviate tiredness and help players with recovery, reduce likelihood of injuries."
Q. Has implementing a salary cap been discussed?
"Salary caps and cost control is absolutely essential, there is a lot of discussion going on about that at the moment.
"We have an imbalance in the distribution, parachute payments. The distribution model is a problem.
"Any model where wages are 106 percent of turnover is ridiculous. £440m of owner funding going into clubs (in the EFL).
"Parachute payments are an evil which need to be eradicated.
"We have six Championship clubs (including Cardiff and Swansea) who are in receipt of parachute payments, giving them an average of £40m per club.
"The other 18 clubs get £4.5m each, so they are struggling to keep up.
"I do think there is a need for a reset or restructuring."
Q. How would a wage cap be implemented?
"We are not reimposing a maximum wage to every single player.
"We are talking about capping the amount individual clubs can pay so they would have discretion within that to pay players whatever they wanted to pay them.
"We are not capping individual wages, which I'm almost certain would be illegal.
"We are looking at some form of cost control which limits the total budget clubs are allowed to spend."
Q. Is there a possibility that squad sizes could be limited?
"Yes. I'm a big believer on restricting squad sizes, particularly in the lower leagues.
"It's being debated at the moment, there are mixed views.
"Personally, I think it's a good idea because at least it's a step in the right direction of exercising control.
"It enables us to reform the loan system, one of the things we are keen to obtain from FIFA is a relaxation with more flexibility on youth loans, being able to take players on short-term loans.
"There is a great concern at Premier League level and within the FA about lack of first-team opportunities for developing talent, 18, 19-year-olds, we can provide ample first-team football.
"So smaller squads of full-time professionals, augmented by up-and-coming talent from up and above helps the Premier League and us economically."
Rhian Brewster and Conor Gallagher (top), currently with Swansea, are both benefiting from the loan system
Q. Who makes the overall decision on whether the season resumes?
"It will go to the clubs.
"The board, technically, would have the power to make the decision, but it is wholly appropriate the decision went to the clubs."
Q. How much do the EFL stand to lose if the season is finished now?
"If games were played behind closed doors, it's probably neutral.
"For many clubs it would cost them to play, because they would be putting on the cost of staging games.
"We stand to lose an element of broadcast revenue if we don't complete the season. But our broadcast contract is nowhere near that of the Premier League, so that is a relatively small contribution.
"It's not really so much the economics of needing to finish the season to generate revenue, it's the sporting integrity of promotion, relegation and finishing the season clean.
"The economics are finely balanced.
"At EFL level, we are a spectator sport, a local sport, we are not an international event in the way the Premier League is.
"Without spectators, the clubs are hurting. We are looking at ways of streaming our product with iFollow, which an extremely successful EFL streaming platform, so we would be able to recoup some money that way. But it wouldn't make up for the shortfall."
Q. Is it worth the risk to return to playing, then?
"That is the absolutely key question we need to address in the coming days.
"The component we need is what do we need to do in order to comply with Government guidelines, what are those Government guidelines going to be, what are the costs of testing programmes and additional hygiene requirements.
"Then the decision has got to be taken on whether it is worth it, is it feasible?
"Should we come to a point where we are focused more on next season and addressing the short and medium term financial challenges free from the clutter."
Q. The six captains you speak to, what are they feeding back about players potentially being afraid to go back?
"There is that danger. Of course they are concerned, they raise the concerns when we speak to them.
"It is absolutely fair to say there are mixed views.
"Some are bored and want to get back playing and others where players have young families, pregnant partners, elderly relatives, just as in the population as a whole, is there is a single view as to what happens post-lockdown.
"There are going to be concerns, is the risk acceptable? That's going to be very much part of our judgement when we see the science and the requirements.
"That will be up and most in our thinking."
"Our conversations have been very straight forward, we are expecting three clubs to be promoted, the Premier League is aware of our position on that.
"In all of the conversations we have had with the Premier League, they are expecting three clubs to be relegated.
"There would be a varying degree of outrage from a number of clubs in the Championship (if it didn't happen).
"It would be a breach of the agreement between us, the Premier League and Football Association.
"The safe answer is, it would get very messy. Our expectation is there should be three clubs promoted from the Championship."
Both Neil Harris' Cardiff City and Steve Cooper's Swansea City still harbour promotion hopes
Q. Exploring the option of playing in neutral grounds?
"We are modelling many scenarios.
"Our preference would be to play on the 71 grounds, we are not sure that there is an overwhelming argument, particularly if you go down our divisions, the probability of fans congregating is a major one.
"We are not going to take any decisions that will impose strain on emergency services."
Q. Your thoughts on Gordon Taylor saying the idea of playing with shortened halves?
"I didn't hear it. I have just been told about it.
"I don't know, there haven't been any discussions about it that I'm aware of.
"There have been discussions with FA and FIFA about increasing subs to five.
"The aim would only be to reduce the strain on players coming back from a long period away. I don't think we should be ruling out any creative ideas given the challenges we face.
"We may end up in a situation where we will have a very compressed fixture schedule. Perhaps the thinking is it would alleviate tiredness and help players with recovery, reduce likelihood of injuries."
Q. Has implementing a salary cap been discussed?
"Salary caps and cost control is absolutely essential, there is a lot of discussion going on about that at the moment.
"We have an imbalance in the distribution, parachute payments. The distribution model is a problem.
"Any model where wages are 106 percent of turnover is ridiculous. £440m of owner funding going into clubs (in the EFL).
"Parachute payments are an evil which need to be eradicated.
"We have six Championship clubs (including Cardiff and Swansea) who are in receipt of parachute payments, giving them an average of £40m per club.
"The other 18 clubs get £4.5m each, so they are struggling to keep up.
"I do think there is a need for a reset or restructuring."
Q. How would a wage cap be implemented?
"We are not reimposing a maximum wage to every single player.
"We are talking about capping the amount individual clubs can pay so they would have discretion within that to pay players whatever they wanted to pay them.
"We are not capping individual wages, which I'm almost certain would be illegal.
"We are looking at some form of cost control which limits the total budget clubs are allowed to spend."
Q. Is there a possibility that squad sizes could be limited?
"Yes. I'm a big believer on restricting squad sizes, particularly in the lower leagues.
"It's being debated at the moment, there are mixed views.
"Personally, I think it's a good idea because at least it's a step in the right direction of exercising control.
"It enables us to reform the loan system, one of the things we are keen to obtain from FIFA is a relaxation with more flexibility on youth loans, being able to take players on short-term loans.
"There is a great concern at Premier League level and within the FA about lack of first-team opportunities for developing talent, 18, 19-year-olds, we can provide ample first-team football.
"So smaller squads of full-time professionals, augmented by up-and-coming talent from up and above helps the Premier League and us economically."
Rhian Brewster and Conor Gallagher (top), currently with Swansea, are both benefiting from the loan system
Q. Who makes the overall decision on whether the season resumes?
"It will go to the clubs.
"The board, technically, would have the power to make the decision, but it is wholly appropriate the decision went to the clubs."
Q. How much do the EFL stand to lose if the season is finished now?
"If games were played behind closed doors, it's probably neutral.
"For many clubs it would cost them to play, because they would be putting on the cost of staging games.
"We stand to lose an element of broadcast revenue if we don't complete the season. But our broadcast contract is nowhere near that of the Premier League, so that is a relatively small contribution.
"It's not really so much the economics of needing to finish the season to generate revenue, it's the sporting integrity of promotion, relegation and finishing the season clean.
"The economics are finely balanced.
"At EFL level, we are a spectator sport, a local sport, we are not an international event in the way the Premier League is.
"Without spectators, the clubs are hurting. We are looking at ways of streaming our product with iFollow, which an extremely successful EFL streaming platform, so we would be able to recoup some money that way. But it wouldn't make up for the shortfall."
Q. Is it worth the risk to return to playing, then?
"That is the absolutely key question we need to address in the coming days.
"The component we need is what do we need to do in order to comply with Government guidelines, what are those Government guidelines going to be, what are the costs of testing programmes and additional hygiene requirements.
"Then the decision has got to be taken on whether it is worth it, is it feasible?
"Should we come to a point where we are focused more on next season and addressing the short and medium term financial challenges free from the clutter."
Q. The six captains you speak to, what are they feeding back about players potentially being afraid to go back?
"There is that danger. Of course they are concerned, they raise the concerns when we speak to them.
"It is absolutely fair to say there are mixed views.
"Some are bored and want to get back playing and others where players have young families, pregnant partners, elderly relatives, just as in the population as a whole, is there is a single view as to what happens post-lockdown.
"There are going to be concerns, is the risk acceptable? That's going to be very much part of our judgement when we see the science and the requirements.
"That will be up and most in our thinking."
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Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 12:41 pm
So PL clubs who were saying they objected to playing at neutral venues as it would be a disadvantage to them on their fight with relegation are now happy to do so if relegation is off the table.
Hypocrites.
This is purely and simply PL driven to avoid having to pay Sky TV if they can’t honour their contractual obligations.
Tough - the PL should have had a clause in the contract protecting them from this scenario.
There is no point in completing a competition if the rules are changed.
It’s either voided or to be completed WITH relegation.
Hypocrites.
This is purely and simply PL driven to avoid having to pay Sky TV if they can’t honour their contractual obligations.
Tough - the PL should have had a clause in the contract protecting them from this scenario.
There is no point in completing a competition if the rules are changed.
It’s either voided or to be completed WITH relegation.
Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 2:04 pm
Danny Says wrote:So PL clubs who were saying they objected to playing at neutral venues as it would be a disadvantage to them on their fight with relegation are now happy to do so if relegation is off the table.
Hypocrites.
This is purely and simply PL driven to avoid having to pay Sky TV if they can’t honour their contractual obligations.
Tough - the PL should have had a clause in the contract protecting them from this scenario.
There is no point in completing a competition if the rules are changed.
It’s either voided or to be completed WITH relegation.
100% correct changing the rules to avoid relegation is just ridiculous but it’s the premier league we are talking about where ridiculous is the norm unfortunately!!
Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 3:43 pm
All the clubs entered their competition expected to play x amount of home and away games. If they can not play those games then surely the competition is not fulfilled and at some point abandoned.
The government have made it illegal not to be in your home unless one of four reasons. If they relax those rules so that it is possible to conduct a professional game of football then surely it needs to be played at the home clubs ground.
The congregation of people is a civil order issue so maybe those rules need to be reinforced prior to any resumption of professional football.
I think this is going to be very difficult to manage. Imagine the day, night or week when Liverpool win the league or Leeds finally get promoted, just think about it. Huge cities but also with fans from all over the country and world. It will be the middle of summer, friends and family in one confined space for a few hours slowly getting well oiled and losing any inhibitions,then bang the goal goes in, the ref has blown the final whistle. Try policing that for social distancing !!!!
Its the wrong time of the year and wrong part of the season for this under these circumstances.
I would abandon all the leagues and equally divide up the premier league parachute payments by division for instance 50% championship, 30% league 1, 15% League 2 and 5% to the conference. It won't stop the reckless from going under but it may ease the blow for a few.
The government have made it illegal not to be in your home unless one of four reasons. If they relax those rules so that it is possible to conduct a professional game of football then surely it needs to be played at the home clubs ground.
The congregation of people is a civil order issue so maybe those rules need to be reinforced prior to any resumption of professional football.
I think this is going to be very difficult to manage. Imagine the day, night or week when Liverpool win the league or Leeds finally get promoted, just think about it. Huge cities but also with fans from all over the country and world. It will be the middle of summer, friends and family in one confined space for a few hours slowly getting well oiled and losing any inhibitions,then bang the goal goes in, the ref has blown the final whistle. Try policing that for social distancing !!!!
Its the wrong time of the year and wrong part of the season for this under these circumstances.
I would abandon all the leagues and equally divide up the premier league parachute payments by division for instance 50% championship, 30% league 1, 15% League 2 and 5% to the conference. It won't stop the reckless from going under but it may ease the blow for a few.
Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 4:13 pm
Millions of people are going to lose their jobs worldwide, so to worry about 1400 footballers whose contracts expire in June is irrelevant in the big scheme of things.
Rick Parry wants to be careful what he wishes for. Salary caps and equal distribution of money is not going to work as long as there is promotion to the Premier League and it’s huge amounts of money. Football has always been dominated by teams with the most money, no matter where they get it from - it’s not new, and to deny teams a chance to benefit from a wealthy benefactor is not the way of the game.
Trying to make it equal in the lower leagues is likely to end up one of two ways:- either the bigger Championship teams will join the Premier League to form a “Premier League 2”, or the existing Premier League will become a closed shop of franchised teams with no relegation ever.
Rick Parry wants to be careful what he wishes for. Salary caps and equal distribution of money is not going to work as long as there is promotion to the Premier League and it’s huge amounts of money. Football has always been dominated by teams with the most money, no matter where they get it from - it’s not new, and to deny teams a chance to benefit from a wealthy benefactor is not the way of the game.
Trying to make it equal in the lower leagues is likely to end up one of two ways:- either the bigger Championship teams will join the Premier League to form a “Premier League 2”, or the existing Premier League will become a closed shop of franchised teams with no relegation ever.
Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 5:29 pm
Danny Says wrote:So PL clubs who were saying they objected to playing at neutral venues as it would be a disadvantage to them on their fight with relegation are now happy to do so if relegation is off the table.
Hypocrites.
This is purely and simply PL driven to avoid having to pay Sky TV if they can’t honour their contractual obligations.
Tough - the PL should have had a clause in the contract protecting them from this scenario.
There is no point in completing a competition if the rules are changed.
It’s either voided or to be completed WITH relegation.
mostly agree. but I don't think the neutral ground issue is hypocritical... not wanting to lose home advantage in a relegation battle is valid , taking relegation off the table does change that.
Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 5:41 pm
bluebird58 wrote:Millions of people are going to lose their jobs worldwide, so to worry about 1400 footballers whose contracts expire in June is irrelevant in the big scheme of things.
Rick Parry wants to be careful what he wishes for. Salary caps and equal distribution of money is not going to work as long as there is promotion to the Premier League and it’s huge amounts of money. Football has always been dominated by teams with the most money, no matter where they get it from - it’s not new, and to deny teams a chance to benefit from a wealthy benefactor is not the way of the game.
Trying to make it equal in the lower leagues is likely to end up one of two ways:- either the bigger Championship teams will join the Premier League to form a “Premier League 2”, or the existing Premier League will become a closed shop of franchised teams with no relegation ever.
Re: BREAKING: EFL CLUBS CARDIFF / SWANSEA ECT GIVEN DEADLINE
Tue May 05, 2020 7:18 pm
Cannot see any contact sport participation until there is a vaccine. As for finishing this season, neutral venues et al well this just gives the brain dead media something to chew over, sounds complete bollocks!