Independent Regulator - IT’S HOTTING UP

Blackpool_Rox

Well-known member
Read this Mail article …


Boom 💥

Pool get a mention I believe - not had chance to read it in full yet …..

tried posting it below - but will only allow me to do it in sections - - -pretty comprehensive :)
 
Last edited:

EFL breaking ranks with the Premier League over the need for an independent regulator in English football is a 'seismic shift' in the national game that hands hope to clubs in the Championship, League One and Two​

  • EFL chairman Rick Parry has written to Tracey Crouch who leads the Government's review of football and said he would accept a regulator
  • It marks a huge shift in the EFL's position and is seen by many as a game-changer
  • Crouch is due to send her report on football reform to Government next week
  • Top of her recommendations is likely to be an independent regulator for football

The EFL’s acceptance of the need for an independent regulator of football has been described as a ‘seismic’ shift in the national game, which could keep lower league clubs in business.
The EFL, Premier League and FA have previously presented a united front when threatened with external regulation, always claiming they can manage the game between themselves.
But now that front has fractured and with clubs battling financial crisis, at each other’s throats and political opinion of football at an all-time low, EFL teams believe the prospect of an independent regulator is closer than ever.

EFL chairman Rick Parry has accepted an independent regulator may be needed to save clubs
As reported by Sportsmail, yesterday, the EFL chairman Rick Parry has written to Tracey Crouch MP, who is leading the Government’s review of football and pleaded for intervention to bring more money for the lower leagues and tougher regulation.


‘They are the organisation with the biggest number of clubs and they are no longer aligned with the Premier League. The EFL has accepted the government must get involved. And the only route is an independent regulator.
The EFL’s volte-face has been motivated by the belief that more money must flow from the Premier League to the 72 Championship, League One and Two clubs, or more of them will go to the wall.

Bury went out of business due to poor financial management and overspending on players
But according to the EFL there has been no ‘meaningful engagement’ from the top flight on a new financial distribution.

EFL OPENS THE DOOR TO AN INDEPENDENT REGULATOR​


‘This letter just reflects the frustration,’ said another EFL source. ‘There is just no agreement over a fair distribution of money or parachute s of £5.9 billion in a year, but only around £350M of that finds its way to EFL clubs annually.
The EFL is proposing the amount directed to the Championship, League One and Two clubs is increased to 25 per cent of pooled media revenues, which works out at around £750M – an increase of £400M.
The Premier League’s lack of engagement is surprising, given the pressure for independent regulation in the game and such a long list of controversies in the last year alone.

Share
The Premier League, as an organisation, may never have been weaker. Its members were divided over Project Big Picture and the European Super League, when the Big Six made brazen grabs for power.
It was hammered by government over the length of time it took to come up with a rescue package for the lower leagues during the Covid pandemic.
And the league is divided again over the handling of the Newcastle United takeover, which has essentially led to an informal vote of no confidence in the chairman, Gary Hoffman, who is now standing down.
Crouch, who is a Conservative MP, is due to publish her report and recommendations on the governance of football next week. It will be interesting to see how the Premier League and FA respond.

Fans support for reform of football has increased after the European Super League fiasco
Crouch's document and proposals will certainly be well-sourced. It is a fan-led review which has taken 100 hours of oral evidence, 70 documents of written evidence and 16,000 responses to an extensive online survey.

 
The cost of screening Premier League football at home and abroad has rocketed since 1992

The cost of screening Premier League football at home and abroad has rocketed since 1992
TOP FIVE LEAGUES: BROADCASTING INCOME PER CLUB
League Revenue per club (£m)% Total club revenue
Premier League£143.2m 53%
La Liga £66.6m42%
Bundesliga £60.3m34%
Serie A £54.0m47%
Ligue 1 £31.1m37%
Source: UEFA Benchmarking Report 2019
‘Places such as Blackpool, Scunthorpe, Plymouth, Gillingham, Mansfield, Blackburn and Hartlepool to name just a few that we are proud to have amongst our membership and whose fans should also dare to dream.’

Most of those towns are widely considered to include crucial ‘Red Wall’ seats, which historically supported the Labour Party, but have been won by the Conservatives at General Elections and by-elections since 2017, supporting the Government's current majority.

The Tories success at the next election may well depend on those constituencies voting Tory again.

Football clubs are important for the economies and wellbeing of communities, and their demise has a huge impact. If the local football club goes bust it would be politically damaging.

WHY DOES THE EFL WANT TO ABOLISH PARACHUTE PAYMENTS?​

Parachute payments aim to bridge the gap between the hugely rich Premier League and less wealthy Championship.
The idea is that clubs need to pay more in players’ wages to compete in the top flight, but that leaves them vulnerable if they go down. They could be saddled with contracts they can’t afford.
So, clubs relegated from the Premier League receive up to £45M in the first year after they go down and as much as £90M over three years.
In contrast, a club that does not benefit from parachute payments receives just £4.5M from the Premier League in a solidarity payment.
Watford have introduced relegation clauses into new contracts in case they go down


+9
Watford have introduced relegation clauses into new contracts in case they go down
Not surprisingly, a relegation bonus of tens of millions of pounds increases a club’s chances of promotion.
Research from Sheffield Hallam University has revealed that clubs receiving parachute payments are twice as likely to go up and twice as likely to avoid relegation as those that don’t. It is a huge advantage.
Inevitably, other clubs start spending more to compete, which is why second tier teams are stuck with eye-watering debt.
There are alternative ways of dealing with the problem. Promoted clubs could consider writing relegation clauses into contracts so a player’s pay falls if the club goes down.
This season, Watford have introduced 50 per cent salary reduction clauses into new contracts, in case of relegation, to help keep the club sustainable in the future.
Clubs that receive parachute payments are twice as likely to be promoted to the top flight


+9
Clubs that receive parachute payments are twice as likely to be promoted to the top flight
Making similar clauses a requirement in the Premier League would provide a relegation cushion.
The EFL wants the money currently spent on parachutes to be included within a £750M annual payment to the EFL clubs, which would be distributed among all 72 teams.
That could also fund an expanded merit system. Currently, Prem clubs are rewarded for each place they climb in the final top-flight table. It could be extended to the Championship, so clubs finishing near the top of the division are better placed to step up.
EFL chairman Rick Parry believes the financial gap between the second and top tiers could be halved from around £80M to about £40M. Not ideal, but more manageable.
 
The current position within football massively distorts the leagues, with the clubs coming down holding all the aces and giving them an unfair advantage.

When you look at £5.9 billion per annum, mainly amongst the top clubs, of which £350 million gets into the EFL mainly in the form of parachute payments to a handful of clubs, then it's no wonder Championship clubs are overspending trying to get into that top bracket. It's trickle down economics writ large.

There is no incentive for the top clubs to help those below, as any levelling up could put their position at risk. The attempts to go it alone in the ESL shows what they think about the rest of the EPL, never mind those below that.

Interesting times. Let's see what comes out of it, but BST can take some credit after being a key part of the consultation.
 
Interesting that clubs are taking advantage of parachute payments like that at the expense of the players as that wasn't what they were originally intended for.
 
This would be the independent regulator that the government said we didn't need when we raised that petition a few years ago 🙄
It can only be good news, as there is a lot wrong with football in England currently.
 
Andy Holt tweeted the letter from the EFL, we were mentioned at the bottom of it. Sounded like begging to Tracey Crouch, to me, its the other big boys, not us!. Will copy it if I can find it.
 
The appointment of an independent regulator would be welcome providing of course fans werent involved, because at present that would only involve one group and leave the majority of supporters without any input.

As an example of why that wouldnt work is the case in hand with Newcastle, where the CEO of the national fans group* has yet to come out and speak publicly against the involvement of the Saudis nor have their LGBT group.
Its unfortunate that fans seem to lose their objectivity when it comes to 'their club' and for that I wouldnt welcome their inclusion, although personally I dont think its possible to shift the PL given the amount of money involved.

*Annual General Meeting tonight and its expected another BST member will be elected to the National Council.
 
I notice that the EPL has announced today that it is increasing its payment to League 1 and 2 clubs for this season. All absolutely unconnected with the upcoming report, of course!
 
The issue is being debated in a grown up way and the EPL will be concerned. Prepare for yet more circling of the greed league wagons but this is a good start. Parachute payments are clearly not a good idea, though it could take years for true levelling of the playing field to occur. By this I'm not even considering the footballing mega rich, more the clubs that have the potential to cycle between the first and third tiers. We could easily compete within that world and in fact are doing so already.
 
The current position within football massively distorts the leagues, with the clubs coming down holding all the aces and giving them an unfair advantage.

When you look at £5.9 billion per annum, mainly amongst the top clubs, of which £350 million gets into the EFL mainly in the form of parachute payments to a handful of clubs, then it's no wonder Championship clubs are overspending trying to get into that top bracket. It's trickle down economics writ large.

There is no incentive for the top clubs to help those below, as any levelling up could put their position at risk. The attempts to go it alone in the ESL shows what they think about the rest of the EPL, never mind those below that.

Interesting times. Let's see what comes out of it, but BST can take some credit after being a key part of the consultation.
It didnt for little old Blackpool...what it did do was allow our egregious owners to benefit massively.

Unfortunately whilst there are eye watering amounts of money involved then there will never be a perfect solution. The top clubs are so greedy that it has severely damaged the and distorted the whole football league ladder...it will never be easy to level things up.
 
What I took from that was that the argument that the EPL top tier need 150 million per club per year to 'compete with Europe' is a bit of a specious one because that income is way higher (more than double) any other European clubs.
 
I don’t get this levelling up stuff. The strength of the EPL in terms of revenue generation has been key to the investment in Chelsea, Man City, Leicester and now Newcastle. The first 2 clubs have gone from being nowhere close to winning anything to being Champions League winners/finalists, whilst other clubs are still competing too. Leicester have won the league and FA cup and have the set up to compete and also provide a wider base for their community to prosper too.

Parachute payments are also less effective in giving an advantage to relegated clubs in the Championship than is often suggested. Yes, clubs do bounce back, but other clubs also get up too.

It seems to me that people labour under the false pretence that in the ‘old days’ titles and cups were shared around equally.
 
Back
Top