Thursday, November 12, 2009
Clubs Oppose Two Tier Premiership Proposal
Guardian/Owen Gibson
Big clubs prepare to block Phil Gartside's two-tier Premier League• Plans include involvement of Celtic and Rangers
• 'The minuses outweigh the pluses' says Stoke chairman
The Bolton chairman, Phil Gartside, will tomorrow outline his revised proposal for a two-tier Premier League that would include the Old Firm, sparking a vigorous debate about the way in which revenues are shared between clubs.
While the plan is expected to receive short shrift from the larger clubs, and is thought unlikely to result in a concrete proposal, Gartside could achieve his aim of triggering a wide-ranging debate about the way in which TV revenues are distributed among clubs at tomorrow's Premier League shareholders meeting.
In his preface to Bolton's annual report,Gartside recently wrote that addressing "the polarisation of clubs and the increasing revenue differentials will be the major strategic issue for the Premier League over coming years". He said a "fear factor" was "beginning to emerge among Premier League clubs outside the top few".
Last season, Manchester United were the biggest earners from the Premier League's broadcasting pot with £51.5m. Relegated Middlesbrough earned the least with £30.95m.
But the bigger clubs will argue that the Premier League already distributes TV revenues more fairly than any other major European league. Premier League executives will also point out that control of the major destabilising factor — the Champions League money earned by the top four— is not in its gift.
The big clubs will, then, oppose any major change to the status quo, insisting they have already levelled the playing field by agreeing to every club receiving an equal share of TV income, which last year totalled £13.9m. That is then topped up with facility fees of at least £5.9m [which is based on how many times each club appears on television] and a merit payment depending on league position. They will also argue that the next overseas TV deal — revenue from which is also split equally — will be close to £1bn, almost twice as much as the current £650m deal.
But the financial difficulties faced by Portsmouth, Hull City and West Ham indicate the increasing pressure on clubs who feel they must spend beyond their means to compete and yet are terrified about the impact of relegation. Last season, £74.4m was paid out in parachute payments, which last for a maximum of two season following relegation. Some clubs will argue that figure should be increased.
Under Gartside's original plan, the two-tier Premier League would have become an exclusive club with no relegation. The new proposal, for two divisions of 18 including Celtic and Rangers, is believed to include limited scope for relegation and promotion involving what would remain of the Football League on a two-up, two-down basis. The two Scottish clubs, under increasing financial pressure of their own, would welcome the opportunity to join the Premier League. But despite support for the idea from managers including Martin O'Neill, Harry Redknapp and David Moyes, it is expected that self-interest will prevail among chairmen worried that the inclusion of the Scottish clubs would hurt their own position.
Stoke's chairman, Peter Coates, said today he would not support the Old Firm proposal: "We have lots of fine clubs in England to play and we have a system that has worked very well in a competitive sense. If Celtic and Rangers were to come in, after a while that would become the norm. It would be no big thing. I think the minuses outweigh the pluses."
Any fundamental change to the Premier League's structure would require the approval of 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs, as well as the FA.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/11/premier-league-two-tier-old-firm
Telegraph By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter
Two-tier Premier League plan featuring Celtic and Rangers faces rejection
Plans for a radical overhaul of the English football pyramid based on an expansion of the Premier League to cover two divisions and the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers are expected to get a lukewarm reception from Premier League chairmen on Thursday.
The plans, drawn up by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside, are intended to bridge the financial gap between the Premier League elite and the rest of the game, but they are thought to have little chance of being accepted by a majority of club chairmen.
Gartside has circulated a summary of his proposals running to just two pages to club chairmen in the Premier League and Championship.
Related Articles
Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa out for three months
Sport on television The document, produced in response to Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore's call for contributions to a strategic review, outlines six key points, which Gartside says will increase the popularity and profitability of the game.
The document proposes increasing the total number of teams in the Premier League by extending it to two divisions, split into an upper and lower tier.
The upper tier would be 18 teams, while Celtic and Rangers would be invited to join the lower tier, which has an unspecified number of clubs.
Increased overseas TV revenues and the £36 million in parachute payments that presently go to relegated clubs would be used to "seed fund" the expansion.
Sources at the Premier League and Football League have indicated that the Gartside proposal, though well-meaning, has little chance of gaining momentum among clubs.
His motivation is to protect the ability of sides such as Bolton to compete, and to cushion the blow for those relegated, where broadcast revenues are less than 10 per cent of those in the Premier League.
While a number of club chairmen share his concerns, he is likely to fall short of the 14 that will be required to effect change. A more likely outcome is that his intervention will spark renewed debate about the distribution of television revenue within the league.
At the moment the club finishing bottom receive about 60 per cent of the sum paid to the champions. Last season that amounted to a gap of £20 million between the £51m paid to Manchester United and the £31m received by West Bromwich Albion.
This gap is exacerbated by the extra revenue earned by Champions League clubs, which has helped polarise the league between the 'Big Four' and the rest.
Bridging that gap increasingly looks beyond medium-sized clubs like Bolton, who have to run to standstill. In the club's holding company annual report, published last week, Gartside said that addressing this income gap was the league's greatest challenge: "Addressing this polarisation of clubs and the increasing revenue differentials will, I believe, be the major strategic issue for the Premier League over the coming years.
"The gap between Premier League revenues and those of the Championship continues to widen and I believe a 'fear factor' is beginning to emerge among Premier League clubs outside the top few."
Such are the financial realities of the league that last season Blackburn cautioned in their accounts that there was little or no chance of them making a profit in the medium-term, despite the unprecedented media revenues.
Three years ago the Premier League responded to concerns raised by Gartside and others by changing its distribution formula so that all clubs were guaranteed a minimum of 10 "facility fees", received for appearing in live games, which last season amounted to more than £5m. That debate is likely to be revived even if Gartside's revolutionary proposal is not pursued.
Celtic and Rangers' inclusion is also likely to meet with opposition, with Scudamore already having indicated that it is unlikely.
There are major security concerns about admitting the Old Firm clubs to English football, and there would be significant resistance from the Football Associations in England and Scotland.
The impact on Scottish football would be devastating, removing the primary source of income for all clubs.
Stoke chairman Peter Coates agreed with Gartside that the English game needed reviewing but said he would not support the Old Firm proposal: "We have lots of fine clubs in England to play and we have a system that has worked very well in a competitive sense.
"We have 20 teams in the Premier League and they are all tough games. If Celtic and Rangers were to come in, after a while that would become the norm. It would be no big thing. I think the minuses outweigh the pluses."
Gartside's formula:
1: Expand total number of teams in Premier League.
2: Extend league to two divisions split into upper and lower tier.
3: Reduce upper tier to 18 teams. Number in lower tier not specified.
4: Use extra overseas TV revenue and £36 million parachute payments to fund expansion.
5: Invite Celtic and Rangers to join lower tier.
6: Consider the regulatory challenges, mainly from English and Scottish FAs
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/6547311/Two-tier-Premier-League-plan-featuring-Celtic-and-Rangers-faces-rejection.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC
Premier League rejects Old Firm
Celtic and Rangers will have to stay in the SPL
The Premier League has rejected a plan to bring Celtic and Rangers into English football's top flight.
The Old Firm pair had hoped to be part of new plans put forward by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside for a two-tier league of between 36 and 40 teams.
It was thought that there would be a top tier of 18 clubs, with promotion and relegation to and from the league.
The SPL pair would have been invited to join the lower league but the proposal was overwhelmingly rejected.
The Premier League said in a statement: "Bolton Wanderers submitted a discussion paper detailing ideas concerning the restructuring of the Premier League into two tiers with the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers.
"The clubs welcomed the additional input into an ongoing process, however, they were of the opinion that bringing Celtic and Rangers into any form of Premier League set-up was not desirable or viable.
"The other relevant ideas contained within Bolton's paper will now be taken forward as part of the wider strategic review being undertaken by the Premier League since November 2008 with the aim of providing recommendations before December 2010."
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp had backed the inclusion of the Scottish clubs in the Premier League.
The proposals were a revival of Gartside's ideas which received a hostile reception from the Premier League's 20 chairmen six months ago.
More to follow.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8353937.stm
Big clubs prepare to block Phil Gartside's two-tier Premier League• Plans include involvement of Celtic and Rangers
• 'The minuses outweigh the pluses' says Stoke chairman
The Bolton chairman, Phil Gartside, will tomorrow outline his revised proposal for a two-tier Premier League that would include the Old Firm, sparking a vigorous debate about the way in which revenues are shared between clubs.
While the plan is expected to receive short shrift from the larger clubs, and is thought unlikely to result in a concrete proposal, Gartside could achieve his aim of triggering a wide-ranging debate about the way in which TV revenues are distributed among clubs at tomorrow's Premier League shareholders meeting.
In his preface to Bolton's annual report,Gartside recently wrote that addressing "the polarisation of clubs and the increasing revenue differentials will be the major strategic issue for the Premier League over coming years". He said a "fear factor" was "beginning to emerge among Premier League clubs outside the top few".
Last season, Manchester United were the biggest earners from the Premier League's broadcasting pot with £51.5m. Relegated Middlesbrough earned the least with £30.95m.
But the bigger clubs will argue that the Premier League already distributes TV revenues more fairly than any other major European league. Premier League executives will also point out that control of the major destabilising factor — the Champions League money earned by the top four— is not in its gift.
The big clubs will, then, oppose any major change to the status quo, insisting they have already levelled the playing field by agreeing to every club receiving an equal share of TV income, which last year totalled £13.9m. That is then topped up with facility fees of at least £5.9m [which is based on how many times each club appears on television] and a merit payment depending on league position. They will also argue that the next overseas TV deal — revenue from which is also split equally — will be close to £1bn, almost twice as much as the current £650m deal.
But the financial difficulties faced by Portsmouth, Hull City and West Ham indicate the increasing pressure on clubs who feel they must spend beyond their means to compete and yet are terrified about the impact of relegation. Last season, £74.4m was paid out in parachute payments, which last for a maximum of two season following relegation. Some clubs will argue that figure should be increased.
Under Gartside's original plan, the two-tier Premier League would have become an exclusive club with no relegation. The new proposal, for two divisions of 18 including Celtic and Rangers, is believed to include limited scope for relegation and promotion involving what would remain of the Football League on a two-up, two-down basis. The two Scottish clubs, under increasing financial pressure of their own, would welcome the opportunity to join the Premier League. But despite support for the idea from managers including Martin O'Neill, Harry Redknapp and David Moyes, it is expected that self-interest will prevail among chairmen worried that the inclusion of the Scottish clubs would hurt their own position.
Stoke's chairman, Peter Coates, said today he would not support the Old Firm proposal: "We have lots of fine clubs in England to play and we have a system that has worked very well in a competitive sense. If Celtic and Rangers were to come in, after a while that would become the norm. It would be no big thing. I think the minuses outweigh the pluses."
Any fundamental change to the Premier League's structure would require the approval of 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs, as well as the FA.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/11/premier-league-two-tier-old-firm
Telegraph By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter
Two-tier Premier League plan featuring Celtic and Rangers faces rejection
Plans for a radical overhaul of the English football pyramid based on an expansion of the Premier League to cover two divisions and the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers are expected to get a lukewarm reception from Premier League chairmen on Thursday.
The plans, drawn up by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside, are intended to bridge the financial gap between the Premier League elite and the rest of the game, but they are thought to have little chance of being accepted by a majority of club chairmen.
Gartside has circulated a summary of his proposals running to just two pages to club chairmen in the Premier League and Championship.
Related Articles
Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa out for three months
Sport on television The document, produced in response to Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore's call for contributions to a strategic review, outlines six key points, which Gartside says will increase the popularity and profitability of the game.
The document proposes increasing the total number of teams in the Premier League by extending it to two divisions, split into an upper and lower tier.
The upper tier would be 18 teams, while Celtic and Rangers would be invited to join the lower tier, which has an unspecified number of clubs.
Increased overseas TV revenues and the £36 million in parachute payments that presently go to relegated clubs would be used to "seed fund" the expansion.
Sources at the Premier League and Football League have indicated that the Gartside proposal, though well-meaning, has little chance of gaining momentum among clubs.
His motivation is to protect the ability of sides such as Bolton to compete, and to cushion the blow for those relegated, where broadcast revenues are less than 10 per cent of those in the Premier League.
While a number of club chairmen share his concerns, he is likely to fall short of the 14 that will be required to effect change. A more likely outcome is that his intervention will spark renewed debate about the distribution of television revenue within the league.
At the moment the club finishing bottom receive about 60 per cent of the sum paid to the champions. Last season that amounted to a gap of £20 million between the £51m paid to Manchester United and the £31m received by West Bromwich Albion.
This gap is exacerbated by the extra revenue earned by Champions League clubs, which has helped polarise the league between the 'Big Four' and the rest.
Bridging that gap increasingly looks beyond medium-sized clubs like Bolton, who have to run to standstill. In the club's holding company annual report, published last week, Gartside said that addressing this income gap was the league's greatest challenge: "Addressing this polarisation of clubs and the increasing revenue differentials will, I believe, be the major strategic issue for the Premier League over the coming years.
"The gap between Premier League revenues and those of the Championship continues to widen and I believe a 'fear factor' is beginning to emerge among Premier League clubs outside the top few."
Such are the financial realities of the league that last season Blackburn cautioned in their accounts that there was little or no chance of them making a profit in the medium-term, despite the unprecedented media revenues.
Three years ago the Premier League responded to concerns raised by Gartside and others by changing its distribution formula so that all clubs were guaranteed a minimum of 10 "facility fees", received for appearing in live games, which last season amounted to more than £5m. That debate is likely to be revived even if Gartside's revolutionary proposal is not pursued.
Celtic and Rangers' inclusion is also likely to meet with opposition, with Scudamore already having indicated that it is unlikely.
There are major security concerns about admitting the Old Firm clubs to English football, and there would be significant resistance from the Football Associations in England and Scotland.
The impact on Scottish football would be devastating, removing the primary source of income for all clubs.
Stoke chairman Peter Coates agreed with Gartside that the English game needed reviewing but said he would not support the Old Firm proposal: "We have lots of fine clubs in England to play and we have a system that has worked very well in a competitive sense.
"We have 20 teams in the Premier League and they are all tough games. If Celtic and Rangers were to come in, after a while that would become the norm. It would be no big thing. I think the minuses outweigh the pluses."
Gartside's formula:
1: Expand total number of teams in Premier League.
2: Extend league to two divisions split into upper and lower tier.
3: Reduce upper tier to 18 teams. Number in lower tier not specified.
4: Use extra overseas TV revenue and £36 million parachute payments to fund expansion.
5: Invite Celtic and Rangers to join lower tier.
6: Consider the regulatory challenges, mainly from English and Scottish FAs
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/6547311/Two-tier-Premier-League-plan-featuring-Celtic-and-Rangers-faces-rejection.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC
Premier League rejects Old Firm
Celtic and Rangers will have to stay in the SPL
The Premier League has rejected a plan to bring Celtic and Rangers into English football's top flight.
The Old Firm pair had hoped to be part of new plans put forward by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside for a two-tier league of between 36 and 40 teams.
It was thought that there would be a top tier of 18 clubs, with promotion and relegation to and from the league.
The SPL pair would have been invited to join the lower league but the proposal was overwhelmingly rejected.
The Premier League said in a statement: "Bolton Wanderers submitted a discussion paper detailing ideas concerning the restructuring of the Premier League into two tiers with the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers.
"The clubs welcomed the additional input into an ongoing process, however, they were of the opinion that bringing Celtic and Rangers into any form of Premier League set-up was not desirable or viable.
"The other relevant ideas contained within Bolton's paper will now be taken forward as part of the wider strategic review being undertaken by the Premier League since November 2008 with the aim of providing recommendations before December 2010."
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp had backed the inclusion of the Scottish clubs in the Premier League.
The proposals were a revival of Gartside's ideas which received a hostile reception from the Premier League's 20 chairmen six months ago.
More to follow.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8353937.stm
