64 2GM Wednesday October 14 2020 | the times
SportFootball
the extent of the power and money that
would be given to the top sides.
Premier League clubs would be
allowed to show Saturday 3pm matches
to British viewers on their own TV
channels and digital platforms if the
broadcast blackout is lifted permanent-
ly, in what would be another major
money-making opportunity for the big
clubs.
The “big six” would not only domi-
nate the voting rights in the Premier
League, their powers would also extend
to setting a salary cap in the Champion-
ship and wielding a veto over the fixture
calendar in the second tier of Englishfootball. One document, entitled
Revitalisation, states: “The Premier
League is supportive of the Saturday
3pm broadcast blackout to help protect
EFL attendance. However, in the event
that the Saturday 3pm broadcast prohi-
bition is lifted in the future the matches
that are currently not shown live in the
UK (7+ per club) shall be prohibited
from being added to the central pack-
age.
“Those matches will revert to the
clubs to be shown on club direct to con-
sumer channels and digital platforms.”
On salary caps in the Championship,
another proposal document states:“The Championship would continue to
be administered by the EFL. But there
will be reserved matters where the PL
has a veto e.g. changes to cost controls,
and/or salary caps, proposed changes
to the fixture calendar and club media.”
Other proposed changes include lift-
ing the requirement for League One
and Two sides to have academies,
which, given the suggested changes to
allow multiple players to go on loan
between clubs, could lead to feeder
clubs or B teams by stealth.
Even if the project were accepted by
the clubs the FA could use its “golden
share” to veto any changes it believedwould damage the Premier League.
The most controversial aspects of
Project Big Picture surround the gap it
would create between the clubs at the
top and bottom of a smaller, 18-club
Premier League.
A table in the document shows under
the proposed funding model the top-
earning club would have had
£179.6 million in TV and prize money
and a newly promoted club
almost four times less, £48.2 million.
The actual Premier League earnings
last season were £161 million for the
champions, Liverpool, and £95 million
for the bottom club, Norwich.Peter Ridsdale says that he does not
trust some of the Premier League’s “big
six” but admitted he was backing
Project Big Picture as there was no
other way of saving the Football League.
Ridsdale, the adviser to the owner at
Preston North End, and four other
executives from different clubs held a
virtual press conference yesterday after
the leagues met separately to discuss
the proposals.
All five said there was widespread
support within the EFL for the plan, in
which the Premier League would hand
EFL clubs £250 million, but Ridsdale,
68, questioned the motives of some of
the big clubs who would benefit from
more power in the top flight.
“If I am absolutely frank with every-
one on this call, do I trust the top six
today irrespective of these proposals?
No, I don’t because some of them have
a completely different agenda,” he said.
“I don’t think some of them believe in
the pyramid, I think some of them
believe in a franchise system like you
see in the [United] States.
“Is it a concern? 100 per cent it is. Do
I trust them? No, I don’t. However to-
day the Football League have a unique
US company furious after its
£375m offer is terminated
Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter
The American firm behind a proposed
£375 million investment in the English
Football League believes its offer
became a casualty of Project Big
Picture, the revolutionary plan backed
by the EFL to change the structure of
the leagues.
TPG Capital is understood to be
furious that its offer, which followed
months of negotiations, was terminat-
ed on Friday only 48 hours before EFL
chairman Rick Parry went public about
the project, which is being driven by
Liverpool and Manchester United.
The investment firm — previously
known as Texas Pacific Group — had
offered £375 million for a 20 per cent
stake in the league which would have
helped to solve the clubs’ cash crisis.
The proposed arrangement was similar
to CVC Capital Partners’ 27 per cent
stake in Premiership Rugby, and would
have resulted in TPG putting in place a
management team to handle the EFL’s
commercial and broadcasting rights.
Parry declined to comment on
the TPG offer when approached byThe Times, citing confidentiality agree-
ments. Sources close to TPG say the firm
previously had an exclusive negotiating
period with the EFL renewed several
times after first approaching the league
six months ago, only for negotiations to
be terminated at the end of last week.
The offer was not put to all 72 EFL
clubs but was discussed by the league’s
commercial committee. Parry is push-
ing hard for Project Big Picture because
the EFL would be given 25 per cent of all
TV income from the Premier League as
well as a lump sum up front.
It will be hard to secure the necessary
support of the Premier League clubs
because it enriches the bigger clubs at
the expense of those lower in the table.
Andy Holt, the chairman of the
League One side Accrington Stanley,
said the EFL and Parry should be
concentrating on securing a £250 mil-
lion Premier League bailout.
“We have wasted time on this
project,” Holt said. “It’s a non-starter.”
Holt said he would oppose selling a
stake in the EFL to a firm such as TPG,
adding: “It should not be for sale, in part
or in whole.”No ‘trust’ but EFL teams back project
opportunity if this remains on the table
to perhaps protect the Football League
for the long term. At the moment in the
short term there is real danger.”
Ridsdale appears to be particularly
suspicious of the motives of Manches-
ter City, whose chief executive, Ferran
Soriano, recently called for Premier
League B teams to be introduced into
the pyramid to help the development of
young, homegrown players.
“You only found last week that some-body in a club that was not so long ago
in the third tier is now suggesting that B
teams are better than teams that have
been part and parcel of the communi-
ties for ever and in history,” Ridsdale,
the former Leeds United chairman,
said.
“I find that quite offensive because it
means they don’t really understand
English football.”
Ridsdale said “questions were raised”but that there were “no dissenting voi-
ces” during a meeting involving all 24
Championship clubs yesterday. Tony
Stewart, the Rotherham United chair-
man, agreed that the Championship
backed the plan.
Jez Moxey, Burton Albion’s chief
executive, said that “support was unan-
imous” for Project Big Picture among
League One clubs. Nigel Travis, the
Leyton Orient chairman, claimed that
23 of the 24 League Two clubs agreed
with the proposals.
Paul Scally, the Gillingham
chairman, said: “I don’t think anyone
spoke badly about it. It is welcomed.
Clubs are not looking at selling their
souls for £250 million.”
Moxey said that the EFL was looking
into ways to keep struggling clubs afloat
before a vote could be taken on Project
Big Picture.
“We literally have clubs now who are
worried about paying October’s pay-
roll,” he said. “The only reason that
more clubs have not gone over the edge
already is because we have advanced a
load of payments that were due a lot
later in the season, so this situation is
acute. And we will have to just in effect
manage that process by getting clubs
money to stop them falling over.”Paul Hirst
Ridsdale says he
does not trust
some in “big six”‘Any change must benefit all clubs’
the EFL has not accepted the offer on
the table from the Premier League of a
grant of less than £50 million and a
£100 million loan — all with conditions
attached.
Project Big Picture has been driven
by John Henry, the Liverpool owner,
and board member Mike Gordon,
along with Joel Glazer, Manchester
United’s co-owner, but none of the trio
will face the music at the Premier
League meeting, which is being held by
video conference. Instead, Tom Wern-
er, Liverpool’s chairman, and Billy
Hogan, the chief executive, will attend,
along with Ed Woodward, United’s ex-
ecutive vice-chairman.
Clarke confirmed in a statement that
he had taken part in early talks with the
group around fixture congestion, with
the knowledge of senior FA board
members and the chief executive.
He said: “However, in late spring,
when the principal aim of these discus-
sions became the concentration of
power and wealth in the hands of a few
clubs with a breakaway league mooted
as a threat, I of course discontinued my
involvement and counselled a more
consensus-based approach involving
all Premier League clubs and its chair
and chief executive. Our game needs to
continually seek to improve but bene-
fits need to be shared.
“In addition to the special share in
the Premier League, which prevents
certain changes being made to the con-
stitution without the FA’s consent, it is
also the FA’s responsibility to sanction
competitions in England — including
any proposed new competition — as
well as being responsible for licensing
clubs, through Uefa, to play in Europe.
Additionally, Uefa look to us to nomi-
nate the league, and therefore the clubs,
that will play in their competitions.”
In a thinly-veiled warning against
Liverpool, United and Parry, Clarke
added: “Let’s continue to work together
to determine what is best for English
football. Change must benefit clubs,
fans and players, not just selective bal-
ance sheets. In these difficult times uni-
ty, transparency and common purpose
must override the interests of the few.”
The Times has seen the full project
proposals and the documents outline
continued from back How meeting
will work
Venue Video
conferenceAttendees
Representatives
from all 20 clubsAgenda Tw o
items: Project Big
Picture and EFL
bailoutHow the clubs
line up At least 14
clubs opposed to
Project Big
Picture, while
Arsenal/Man
City/Chelsea are
probably neutral;
Liverpool, Man
Utd and possibly
Tottenham in
favourWhat constitutes
a majority vote
Any change
needs at least 14
of the 20 votesNext step Either
the project is
killed off or it is
agreed to review
some of the
issues raisedTom Werner
Vinai Venkatesham
Susan Whelan
Daniel Levy
Denise Barrett-Baxendale
Ferran Soriano
Paul Barber
Steve Parish
Ed Woodward
Lee Charnley
Bruce Buck
Karren Brady
On the conference call are likely to be Werner (Liverpool), Levy (Spurs), Barber (Brighton), Charnley (Newcastle), Venkatesham (Arsenal),
Barrett-Baxendale (Everton), Parish (Palace), Buck (Chelsea), Whelan (Leicester), Soriano (Man City), Woodward (Man Utd) and Brady (W Ham)