So here it is. The vision for the future. ‘Project Big Picture’, or perhaps more aptly given the fallout, the Manhattan Project
A document containing initiatives of real innovation, entombed in a framework of avarice and self-interest.
There are enough bones thrown to make it an attractive proposition, but there is no doubt what it exposes: a desire from those at the top to entrench their position for their own personal gain.
But should it simply be rejected out of hand?
With the EFL desperate, a deal is tempting
It is easy to see why a struggling EFL club might be tempted. What a shame it is that many of its more welcome reforms may now be consigned to the scrap heap.
Where previously Premier League clubs received 92% of the division’s revenue, they would now instead receive 75%, with the remaining quarter distributed further down the divisions. For clubs in League Two it could come close to an additional £2.5 million each season. That’s not just a bonus, it’s a life-line.
Look closely, however, and you’ll see that it’s not Liverpool and Manchester United making such sacrifices. With reforms to the distribution of revenue amongst Premier League sides, the bottom half of the division would be the likely contributors. It’s about as generous as the CEO of a company making a charitable donation, only to take the money out of his employees’ wages.
Again, for clubs further down the pyramid, this may be a price worth paying. It’s not as if the current system is sustainable; if it’s deal or bust, take the deal. It’s a situation reminiscent of Pablo Escobar’s methods in Colombia: build a school here, a football pitch there, and people will look the other way to what you’re getting in return.
But be in no doubt, the powers the ‘Big Six’ demand in return are substantial. Substantial enough to demand resistance, or see their positions entrenched for good.
It is not as if, once their power to control football’s most lucrative league is established, there is any guarantee they’ll implement the suggested reforms. Nor is there any incentive for them to stop there: there is always more money to be harvested, more power to be gained.
We are seeing an analogous conflict play out in Hong Kong. Despite the agreement that it would be guaranteed its freedoms for “at least 50 years” upon its transfer to China in 1997, Chinese governmental rule has rendered the promise futile. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman made this clear in 2017: “the Sino-British Joint Declaration, as a historical document, no longer has any practical significance, and is not at all binding for the central government’s management of Hong Kong.”
Once those at the top gain unprecedented power, there is no limit to the changes they could implement, and no way to take that power back.
Time to take the fight to the 'Big Six'
What, then, is the way to respond to ‘Project Big Picture’? With opposition from a host of Premier League clubs, it is unlikely it will receive the fourteen votes it needs to pass – and if it did, the FA would almost certainly veto it.
In its current iteration it seems to be a no-goer. But the floodgates have now been opened. English football needed radical thinking, and if nothing else this proposal shows that there are plenty prepared to do just that.
If only we could rescue the attractive parts of this deal, and enforce them without the power-hungry at the top of the division ending up with the most to gain.
The idea of a fan charter – capping away tickets at £20, subsidising travel, introducing safe-standing – is a good one. The implementation of a salary cap in the lower leagues is necessary, to avoid ‘promotion-or-bust’ seasons that can leave clubs on the brink.
Parachute payments do need reforming. Grassroots does need funding. TV revenue does need more equal distribution.
All these are welcome ideas that we should not write off just because they come wrapped in such transparent greed. The ‘Big Six’ are still just that: six. Now is the time for the fourteen other clubs to temper their outrage, and instead take this proposal and run with it.
Keep the good, throw out the bad, use their numbers to force the clubs at the top into a concession.
The top clubs saw an opportunity to capitalize on the desperation of the EFL, and they’ve made their first move to achieving just that. But they’ve also conceded something: what was once unthinkable is now a possibility.
There is no going back to how it used to be. This is now a battle for the future of the English game, and its one that the rich and powerful mustn’t be allowed to win.
