"Man Utd and Liverpool driving 'Project Big Picture' - football’s biggest shake-up in a generation"

18-team Premier League, increased EFL funding and axing of League Cup among raft of proposals in 'Revitalisation' document seen by Telegraph



Manchester United and Liverpool are the driving force behind the biggest changes to English football in a generation and an extraordinary overhaul of the Premier League, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The two clubs have worked together on a radical set of proposals – called “Project Big Picture” - that will reshape the finances of the game. The Premier League, the most lucrative sports league in the world, would see a reduction to 18 teams, and controlling power in the hands of the biggest clubs.
In return for tearing up many of the rules that have governed the game since the Premier League’s inception in 1992 there will be £250 million rescue package to the Football League to see them through the Covid crisis.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the details of the working document “Revitalisation” authored by Liverpool’s American ownership Fenway Sports Group with support from United. It anticipates the backing of the other members of the so-called big six, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
In a remarkable set of proposals, which will send shockwaves through the game, 25 per cent of the Premier League’s annual revenue will go to the EFL clubs with £250 million paid up front to see them through the current crisis. There would also be a gift of £100 million to sustain the Football Association.
However, there would be an abolition of the one-club, one-vote principle that has sustained the Premier League since its inception as well as the abolition of the threshold of 14 votes to pass any decision or regulation change.

Under the new proposals, the Community Shield would be abolished CREDIT: Shutterstock
Under the new proposals, the League Cup and the Community Shield would be abolished. There have been additional discussions that the League Cup would survive but without the participation of the clubs in Europe.
There would be two automatic promotion places for Championship clubs, but the third, fourth and fifth placed clubs would be in a play-off tournament with the 16th placed Premier League club.
The nine clubs who have been in the Premier League for the longest - which includes the big six - would dictate its running in every aspect and would be free to play more games in the expanded Champions League that is anticipated from the 2024-2025 season onwards.
As well as the Premier League dropping from 20 clubs to 18, there would be 24 in each of the Championship, League One and League Two making a total of 90.
The plan is supported by the EFL chairman Rick Parry who has held talks with Liverpool’s principal owner, the American investor John W Henry, and shareholder and director Mike Gordon. In addition, Parry has spoken to the Glazer family, who own United.

The plan is supported by the EFL chairman Rick Parry CREDIT: AP
The talks began in 2017 but have been accelerated since the coronavirus pandemic has thrust football into the grip of crisis with no fans in stadiums until March at the earliest. Liverpool and United are prepared for a fierce debate over their proposals but they want them implemented as soon as possible.
The Revitalisation document calls for immediate action to cut dramatically what it calls the “revenue chasm” in earnings from television contracts between the Premier League and the EFL. In order to discourage Championship clubs from gambling recklessly on promotion, the parachute payments system would be abolished in favour of the 25 per cent share of Premier League revenue being shared more equitably among EFL clubs.
Under proposals for the new model of distribution of television revenue in the Premier League, Fenway, the driving force behind the document, insist there would be no greater share for the top six. Their stated aim is to eliminate the huge gap in earnings between Premier League and EFL clubs while in return having a greater control of the decisions made by the Premier League.
The document says: “A reset of the economics and governance of the English football pyramid is long overdue”.
The proposals also rewrite the Premier League’s 20-club democracy in favour of placing huge power in the hands of the nine clubs with the longest continual stay in the division. As things stand that is the big six, as well as Everton, Southampton and West Ham. Those nine clubs afforded “long-term shareholder status” would have unprecedented power, with the votes of just six of them required to make sweeping changes. These clubs would even be able to veto a new owner taking over a rival club.

The power would move into the hands of the nine clubs with the longest continual stay in the division - which includes West Ham CREDIT: Getty Images
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Parry said that he had the support of many of his 72 members, many currently facing financial ruin, to go ahead with the plan. He said: “What do we do? Leave it exactly as it is and allow the smaller clubs to wither? Or do we do something about it? And you can’t do something about it without something changing. And the view of our clubs is if the [big] six get some benefits but the 72 also do, we are up for it.”
He accepted there would be opposition from the Premier League clubs outside the big six who would see it as detrimental to their financial prospects with less money and two fewer places in the top flight.
“It is definitely going to be challenging and it is an enormous change so that won’t be without some pain,” Parry said: “Do I genuinely think it’s for the greater good of the game as a whole? Absolutely. And if the [big] six are deriving some benefit then why shouldn’t they. Why wouldn’t they put their names to this otherwise?”
The proposals include:

• £250 million immediately to the EFL to compensate its clubs for lost matchday revenue, deducted from future television revenue earnings and financed by a loan taken out by the Premier League
• Special status for the nine longest serving clubs – and the vote of only six of those “long-term shareholders” required to make major changes, including amending rules and regulations, agreeing contracts, removal of the chief executive, and a wide-ranging veto including on club ownership
• Premier League to go to 18 clubs from 20
• £100 million one-off gift to the FA to cover its coronavirus losses, the non-league game, the women’s game, the grassroots
• 8.5 per cent of annual net Premier League revenue to go on operating costs and “good causes” including the FA
• From the remainder, 25 per cent of all combined Premier League and Football League revenues to go to the EFL clubs
• Six per cent of Premier League gross revenues to pay for stadium improvements across the top four divisions, calculated at £100 per seat
• New rules for the distribution of Premier League television income, overseas and domestic, including proposals that base one portion on performance over three years in the league
• The abolition of the League Cup and the Community Shield
• 24 clubs each in the Championship, League One and League Two reducing the professional game overall from 92 clubs to 90
• A women's professional league independent of the Premier League or the FA
• Two sides automatically relegated from the Premier League every season and the top two Championship teams promoted. The 16th place Premier League club in a play-off tournament with the Championship’s third, fourth and fifth placed teams.
• Financial fair play regulations in line with Uefa, and full access for Premier League executive to club accounts
• A fan charter including capping of away tickets at £20, away travel subsidised, a focus on a return to safe standing, a minimum away allocation of eight per cent capacity
• Later Premier League start in August to give greater scope for pre-season friendlies, and requirement for all clubs to compete once every five years in a summer Premier League tournament
• Huge changes to loan system allowing clubs to have 15 players out on loan domestically at any one time and up to four at a single club in England

Sounds pretty good? The smaller clubs in the Chamionship and under would benefit greatly.

Not sure about giving that much power to the biggest clubs, though.

Steffen said:

Sounds pretty good? The smaller clubs in the Chamionship and under would benefit greatly.

Not sure about giving that much power to the biggest clubs, though.

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You can tell this has been worked on for some time. It's been designed very well by the Big 6 to try and offer substantial carrots to the EFL, the FA, and the fans - more accessible and affordable away days is exactly what the loudest voices will want. In terms of getting it through they're clearly buying the votes of Everton/West Ham/Southampton with the offer of power and trying to placate the others with a proper FFP regime, but then I assume there's also going to be a whacking great stick to try and get up to 14 votes. That's the unknown - they'll need something more convincing than the perennial threat of a European Super League I reckon.

Sounds like they are taking advantage of the situation. Payoff the smaller clubs and then forget about them. How long before Relegation is dropped to 2 or 1 teams? It’s a club and they don’t like being challenged.

Levy will love it. Something needs to change though.

Smokescreen for last weekend’s hammerings.

There are some good elements but this will lead to a concentration of power among the biggest clubs and less competitiveness over the long term. The premier leagues itself will have a two tier system. Sport thrives on competition and this reduces it. It’s a bad move overall which exploits the weakness of smaller clubs brought on by the pandemic.

Will be interesting to see if the Government's involved too. Obviously the safe standing aspect would need their approval

Not sure I like the power being in the hands of the big six, seems like it could very easily be a stepping stone to a closed off super league. Other than that it all sounds pretty sensible to be honest.

It would only be a matter of time before the big clubs want pay per view. Once that, then they would want the lions share as they get the most viewers.

I don't like it.

Would prefer that every player had a relegation clause in their contract. If they earn over a certain amount and are relegated they get say a 40% cut to wages. Then you could split the parachute payments between the efl.

I remember Arsenal and their smug G14 bollix.

Starting to look a bit like franchising, at least for top 6/9 clubs. Bit weird not have Leicester be part of that group, or Wolves or perhaps Sheffield United even and have West Ham be there. Parachute system has some flaws and teams are gambling on it which can be dangerous. There are some good and bad things, especially good for big 6/9 but it would suck for teams that aren't the part of "elite" and being able to block new owners by owners of City and Chelsea is crazy.

Sounds iffy... American businessmen trying to buy our game and then do what they like with it. Don't like it.

This is terrible. Let's not pretend it is anything more than a power grab by the big 6, who will now be able to push through policies that would entrench them to be permanently big and undermine any sense of competition that previously existed making a sham of the competition. The big clubs will be allowed to bully the rest of the league and bellow to bend to their interests, it will literally give them the ability to block things like takeovers or any other thing that might challenge the status quo. In other words, it will kill any sense that if you run the club well enough and get things together you might be able to achieve long term success.


The loan rules will allow for the big clubs to have massive teams and pool talent, it will weaken the competition and the ability of other clubs to create a team that can challenge. While profitable preseason tournaments would replace cup competitions like the league cup, which while considered an inconvenience to big clubs is one of the only competitions left that allows other clubs to dream.

This is a massive exploitation of the COVID situation and the problems in the EFL created by such. It is an attempt to use this crisis as an excuse to conduct a power grab and force lower league teams to sell their soul to the devil to stay afloat. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but while this might benefit us this would be terrible for English football as a whole, and risks damaging the little soul left in football.

I wouldn't trust the mickeys and mancs as far as I can throw them.

I don’t think this would be good for us.

RickyVilla said:

I wouldn't trust the mickeys and mancs as far as I can throw them a neutron star.

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FYP

Although there are some things that make sense, I am not keen on reducing to 18 teams and the power given to the big 6.

Really hope this doesn't go through as planned.

Bribery, nothing more or less.

And notice how the most important part of football - the fucking FANS! - are completely marginalised. No voice, no input, no consultation with them. As is pretty much par for the course right now, of course, but this just makes it official. Even though my own club will benefit, I'm utterly disgusted. Sadly, I'm not in the least surprised.

What's the old saying: "never fail to take advantage of a crisis."

Had to laugh at West Ham being referred to as "ever present" when they've been in and out more times than the Dildo Brothers' best-seller.