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Premier League elite with new move to prevent Newcastle United owners competing

2 years ago
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The Newcastle United owners are just coming up to their first anniversary.

In 17 days time it will be a year since the consortium were handed the keys to St James’ Park by Mike Ashley.

Once the takeover was finally approved, we swiftly saw various moves from the Premier League elite to try and sabotage the chances of the new Newcastle United owners competing in the coming years, potentially breaking up the cosy current six clubs dominating money and influence, with the rest just there to make up the numbers.

Now we have a new initiative from the self-appointed Premier League elite, which will form part of a meeting of the 20 PL clubs on Wednesday.

The meeting supposedly, is mainly to look at plans on how to give extra funding to lower league clubs, with the government warning the Premier League that it must agree a deal whereby significantly more cash (hundreds of millions of pounds) is allowed to flow down to the lower leagues, or else the Premier League facing the prospect of being forced to do so by legislation if they don’t implement acceptable new funding.

The Times report that the EFL have made clear they want £250m more.

However, they say that the Premier League clubs are going to wait and see what will happen now there has been a change of Prime Minister. Whether an independent regulator for football will happen, as recommended / demanded in the independent review of football by Tracey Crouch, plus of course, whether the Government will now stick to this plan of forcing the Premier League to allow more funding to go to clubs below the top tier.

Of more / specific interest for the Newcastle United owners and the club’s fans, the Premier League elite are looking to push forward a move that would see restrictions on spending on transfers and wages (and agents fees) for the first time, only allowed spending in these areas as a percentage of income.

This move would massively reinforce the advantages the current Premier League elite have over those clubs, Newcastle United in particular, who are trying to compete and break up that self-appointed elite. Those with the current far bigger revenues obviously looking to keep it that way, by bringing in these measures now that would seriously restrict the Newcastle United owners in trying to close the gap by spending on wages and transfer fees for better players.

Amongst the other proposals on the agenda of Wednesday’s meeting, The Times say that parachute payments to clubs relegated from the Premier League would be much reduced.

Whilst in the domestic cup competitions, it is planned to scrap FA Cup replays in the third and fourth rounds. Whilst even more major, the Premier League elite want to make it so PL clubs in European competition don’t have to play in the League Cup, or failing that, would be allowed to play their Under 21 team in the competition. This move claimed to be to reduce the demands on a crowded fixture schedule but you just know that if this happened, the self-appointed elite would then just use the new gaps in their schedule to make more cash via lucrative friendlies / appearances around the world.

As always, you just know that when any major changes are trying to be forced through by the ‘big six’ in the Premier League, it is never for the good of football, or even the good of the Premier League, just to try and improve their revenues and power. They proved it of course in those shocking attempts to steal football completely forever, when firstly trying to award themselves far bigger and controlling voting powers over the rest of the PL clubs, then secondly attempting to form a European super league with their mates on the continent, which would mean they wouldn’t even have to qualify for European competition and would have made the Premier League all but redundant.

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