Here's an Idea

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Here's an Idea. Get rid of the Premiership, by that I mean leave the Prem to it's own devices. The EFL need to break away from the FA and control the Championship League 2 and rebrand the National League League 3. Yes I know it isn't that simple but I'm sure Fans on this site and other sites and Football Fans in General could come up with a Blue Print that could work and engage with Fans and let them have a stronger say in the running of their club.

My thoughts 1 A maximum Cap on Transfer fees. No player to be sold for more than £10 million. 2 Players wages set at a maximum figure of no more than £15,000 a week. 3 Do away with the Transfer window Transfer deals allowed during all the season. 4 Have their own Cup Competitions. 5 All pitches to be brought up to a certain standard. 6 Clubs in the National League be given a chance to play in the EFL League 3 if  they so wish. 7 New owners must meet Strick Regulations before being allowed to purchase a Club. They must guarantee they are able to finance a Club for at least 5 years. 8 A Fund to be organized that all Clubs pay (once) an equal amount into  to combat things such as another Pandemic.  9 Play offs to be discontinued. Each League top 3 up bottom 3 down. It's unfair a team in 6th place can get promoted over a team in 3rd place who may have 10, 15 or more points over the club in 6th place. 10 Clubs should be encouraged to bring through it's own talent and have a minimum of 3 players from their Academy in their Senior Squad.

Those are my ten ideas and yes I know a more accomplished Football Fan could probably pick holes in it, but these are just my thoughts and ideas and I think letting the Premiership go it's own way, will be much better for the English Game in General, and Fans in particular. Now my fellow Magpie Fans it's your turn, lets have your ideas, and if you don't agree with a fellow fan's idea, remember it's their opinion and their entitled to it.  

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man

My initial feeling is that those ten points are reasonable ideas.

You mention that the PL should be left to its own devices. 

It would be hard to sell any idea that didn't include promotion and relegation from the PL, and if that still remains, it's hard to see if the powers that be in the EFL would ever break away from the FA PL.

A solution that I would like, & this may not be popular, is to just let the top six clubs go & form their own Super League in Europe, & reincorporate the 14 clubs remaining back into the EFL in a Premier league first division.

I would then like to see five divisions of 20 teams playing 38 matches from Premier division to League 2 to 5 ( dispense with the Championship name, League 5 replacing the national league).

A reconstituted FA Cup with replays, a League Cup with replays. 

I believe the domestic game can generate enough money to sustain itself without the big six.

I would like to see a model that stops the top teams taking all the best players just because they can afford them. I would like to see something akin to a US style draft system, where lower teams from the previous season in the Premier Div have first pick of the good players. That would equal things up a bit 

Your financial model seems sound enough. I would put a cap on the number of players a club can recruit & sell per season too, unless they were promoted or relegated the previous season. 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Robbie

The reason I'd let the Premier League go it's own way is because if the top six went into a European Super League, those still left in PL would still have a distinct advantage over other clubs coming up from the Championship. And you would only be replacing the Top six with another top six and they'd dominate League and Cup competitions as the current top sides do. I think you'd only be changing Manchester City Manchester United Liverpool Arsenal Chelsea and Spurs, with Newcastle Villa Brighton West Ham Everton and Wolves. The second six may not be as strong as the original six, but any Club with owners with Deep pockets will end up dominating any remaining PL teams. 

This of course would be the same in the Lower Leagues, which means there would have to be a way of levelling up the teams. Maybe each team having   to be allowed only a certain Transfer Budget, say £10 million with which they can spend on any amount of players within that Budget, be it one or half a dozen.  Putting Teams on a more equal footing would benefit the game after all what Fan wants to go and watch their get thumped 4-5 nil on a regular basis? It would be very much  down to the skill of the Coach and his Staff and not Money Bags owners.

The Draft Pick (like American Football) I don't think would work. After all which team who has an excellent Academy would want to see their Star Youth player(s) packed off to play for another club? After they had brought the Kid on trained him and looked after his interests.  A young player could be bought by another team as part of their Transfer Budget but would they be prepared to spend a part of their Transfer Budget on an untried Youngster? All Clubs should be encouraged to produce their own footballing talent, instead of poaching young players from other teams with a Better Academy.

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man You've stated your case well & you have strong held views

I agree that there has to be a radical change with the professional game.

We have lots of ideas on how to make the game better & I'm sure they could improve the present state of the game.

Unfortunately we have people running the game that think quite differently to the football supporter like ourselves.

We've discussed this before but I believe putting in a football regulator is the first step for real change.

Organise an immediate meeting to change the system so that each league club as an equal vote, so that the PL cannot dominate.

Get representatives of all the 92 clubs together & decide fair financial rules for the professional game. Maybe discuss something similar to your idea for leveling up the game.

The PL should immediately vote to suspend VAR until they can improve the system or decide to scrap it all together.

FA Cup replays need to be immediately restored, so that smaller clubs can get a bigger share of revenue that is vital for those in the lower leagues.

Abolish the playoffs immediately and have 3 up 3 down in all the league pyramid. Reward the team that comes third, rather than the team that comes sixth.

Once these important issues are dealt with then we can deal with the football league structure and with it, the future of the PL etc.

[Fan of Big Tone]

I don’t agree about abolishing the play off system, the system as it is keeps the season alive for clubs in the mid table and generates a lot of excitement for fans. If you abolished the play offs the season would be dead towards the end of season to a lot of clubs who couldn’t get third spot, fans would lose interest attendances would suffer.

[Robbie]

@Fan of Big Tone Excitement for the neutral, big pay day for the TV companies yes, but not for the fans of the club that finishes 2nd in the NL & the club that finishes 3rd in League 2, then could lose to the club that finishes 6th in L2 or 7th in the NL.

Notts were one minute from going out in the playoff final after finishing 35 points ahead of Boreham Wood who finished 6th.

I am quite sure a club and the majority of their fans would prefer being promoted on merit rather than go through the lottery of the playoffs.

And, the playoff final at Wembley gives too much focus to those two playoff teams, then they get a trophy too if they win and it's treated like a cup win.

I was thrilled like everyone else when Notts won the playoff final, but I would have traded that all for the 2nd team in the NL to get promoted on merit which Notts deserved.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Fan of Big Tone   I have to agree with @Robbie .  Imagine the feeling down the Lane if Notts had failed to get Promoted from the National League, after all the hard work the Squad and Coaching staff had put in only to be denied, at the very end of the season. And I would hazard to guess that a large majority of the team would have left, and that would have meant a total Rebuild at Notts. That expensive plus a possible drop in season ticket sales and the Magpies may still be stuck in that League even now trying to battle their way back into the EFL.

[Simon Clark]

With respect to you both for your opinions @Wheelbarrow repair man @Robbie, I disagree. Play offs are fantastic for football. 

I watch a lot of games at all levels, not just the TV stuff where the money is, and play offs have kept the season alive for so many clubs across the country. And bear in kind that the lower you are, the more than are few people through the gate really matters. 

Like you, I would have been absolutely butted if Notts had failed to win the play offs after finishing so far ahead of the pack, but if the play offs didn't, then most of the NL would have had nothing to play for after we beat Chesterfield (in February, I think it was?). That win effectively made it a 2 horse race.

There are very few meaningless mid table end of season games now, and it's so much better for all that.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Simon Clark

That's the good thing about these topics to encourage debate, but we've strayed off the Topic a little bit, when I wrote it my idea was to discuss letting the Premier League go it's own way and let the Rest of Football change things to a more equal footing and let Fans have a bigger say, but we seem to be caught up in a separate debate regarding the Play Off's I would be interested to learn of other Fans ideas regarding The EFL breaking away from the FA and the Premier League, (who I honestly believe is Ruining the Game we all love and follow.) and how they'd go about making things better.

[Robbie]

@Simon Clark I get what you say, but as I have said previously, of course the playoffs are exciting for the neutrals and the media because the media makes lots of money, but I put it to you that the playoffs are not fair to the club that just misses out on promotion.

The league is a test of how consistent a team can be over a season of 46 games. In the playoffs it is how one team plays on the day. One mistake can destroy a whole seasons work.

All the hard work over a season can be undone by just one off game & I personally don't think that is right.

I feel sorry for MK Dons who finished fourth but lost in the playoff eliminator. I bet the players and the supporters were gutted, just as we would have felt if we had lost to Boreham Wood.

[Robbie]

6 minutes ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

@Simon Clark

That's the good thing about these topics to encourage debate, but we've strayed off the Topic a little bit, 

Ten points within one thread is lots to talk about

Looks like this thread will keep us debating on these 10 points for a long time 

[Simon Clark]

On 03/06/2024 at 17:24, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

@Simon Clark

That's the good thing about these topics to encourage debate, but we've strayed off the Topic a little bit, when I wrote it my idea was to discuss letting the Premier League go it's own way and let the Rest of Football change things to a more equal footing and let Fans have a bigger say, but we seem to be caught up in a separate debate regarding the Play Off's I would be interested to learn of other Fans ideas regarding The EFL breaking away from the FA and the Premier League, (who I honestly believe is Ruining the Game we all love and follow.) and how they'd go about making things better.

Ah! Point 9 in your original post was to scrap play offs so I fed off that!! 

To revert to the PL, I'd maybe let the top few - who seem to run things anyway - head off to their European Super League and let the rest carry on.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Simon Clark

As I've stated letting the big Six go their own way, will only Result in the next Six Richest Clubs becoming the dominating force within the Premier League. So just let the Premier League Go It's Own Way and let the remainder work out a plan that puts all Clubs on a more Level Footing.

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man

What about the idea of letting the PL go it's own way, but at the same time, invite a number of PL clubs to join the EFL?

Those Clubs would have to agree to new financial capping rules to prevent a handful of clubs becoming rich and powerful.

I still believe capping clubs to an agreed amount regarding wages and transfer fees could make the leagues much more competitive.

Another benefit of capping would discourage foreign Countries  buying top PL clubs.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Robbie

I think there may be PL Clubs who would be happy to play in the Championship including accepting Transfer and Wage caps.  The Premier League would have 25 teams in it with No Relegation. Let them sort their own Cup Competitions and everything else.

While the Championship would be the top League in the EFL and as I've said in my 10 points a Transfer cap of £10 million and the maximum of £15,000 weekly wage.  Would level the playing field for all teams making them more competitive  The EFL would have make up their own Rules and make sure there are No Loop Holes that Clubs might exploit to gain an advantage, over other teams in their League. Any Team found breaking the Rules would be instantly Relegated and fined Heavily. Parachute Payments would be abolished so No team dropping down from the PL would have that advantage over other Teams.  

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man I agree with having a cap but £10 million on transfers & £15K a week maximum would be too small I think.

Some players in league two are getting more than £10K per week especially Wrexham, Stockport Mansfield & MK Dons. I believe some of the players at Notts are quite high too.

For League 1 & the Championship the Cap for both those leagues would have to be higher.than League 2, otherwise, as of now, the PL clubs would cream off the best players.

By what you have said, it looks as if you still envisage relegation from the PL & promotion from the Championship to remain.

That's why I would prefer the top six to eight clubs in the PL leave and join a European Super League, then get rid of the PL and have EFL Championship 1 & 2, and League 1 & 2.

We can agree to disagree on those two things

 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Robbie

Sure thing it's Ok to Disagree that's the whole idea of Debating. And it's nice to see we can Agree to Disagree and Not Get Personal or Nasty about things.

Even Though I am Right (HA HA). It's Good to be able to Express our Ideas and feelings Regarding Football in General and Notts in Particular.

Long May It Continue.