The plans faced enormous opposition from inside and outside football
Manchester United and Liverpool have been forced to abandon their plans for what has been called Project Big Picture, a vision to change the landscape of English football and reduce the size of the Premier League.
According to a report by Sam Wallace in The Telegraph, the plans were unanimously rejected by the rest of the Premier League, who were in disagreement with the plan which would have seen voting power placed in the hands of what were being described as the ‘top six’. Just as a reminder, Manchester United currently sit 16th in the league table.
A Premier League spokesman said: “Premier League Shareholders today unanimously agreed to work together as a 20-club collective on a strategic plan for the future structures and financing of English football. Premier League clubs also agreed that Project Big Picture will not be endorsed by the Premier League, any of its clubs or The FA.”
The controversial plans were met with a mix of confusion and fury by journalists, administrators and fans alike, many of whom accused the Premier League of holding the English Football League – whose clubs find themselves in a dire financial situation thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic – to ransom over the deal.
As part of Project Big Picture, Premier League clubs would pledge £250 million to EFL clubs in exchange for more consolidated power among the top sides.
Grimsby Town manager Ian Holloway was one of the most vocal critics of the plan, calling those behind “greedy”, “manipulative” and “selfish”.
“This cannot be right. This is not the way forward,” Holloway said.
“Basically they’ve got a gun to all of our heads. They’re trying to take over football and make sure they will get richer and they will be safe.
“That’s not what football’s about. Who do they actually think they are? It’s embarrassing. Absolutely embarrassing.
“I have never seen anything quite like it in my life.
“I knew it was coming. It’s absolutely horrendous. At a time when everybody’s struggling the most, they’ve come up with this.”
“How are they the top six if Manchester United are 14th or 16th?
“Please, make sure the people at the top don’t take over, the greedy, manipulative, selfish, self-minded people don’t win.
“So I’m saying, Oliver Dowden, right now: stop this, step in and tell us what we’ve got to do and take over football.
“Make sure that the pyramid is secure for the rest of however long this world lasts, because this game is too good for it to die.”
