Agreed.
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As mentioned previously, in a time of crisis, some clubs can see real opportunity to push their own agendas. Lower leagues will get the ■■■■■■ end of the deal here, the media will pull a face and say isn’t it terrible for 5 minutes before obsessively covering the premiership again and all will be forgotten apart from the poor sods who’s leagues have been trashed or turned into a reserve league for premier nursery teams.
Its utter toss.
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I don’t think I’d bother if it came to that, to be honest. Like many/most on here, I have spent my whole life following Walsall I lived for it. I’ve lost plenty of jobs and relationships to get to Walsall games over the years. That being said over more recent years I don’t think I have felt quite the same about it. Feels a bit like clinging on to something that is a poor imitation of the game I fell in love with as a kid. I’ve missed the away games, meeting up with mates having a few beers and a laugh. Don’t get me wrong I’d be gutted if there was no more Walsall F.C, but an away trip to Crystal Palace U23s isn’t all that appealing.
Having B teams in the leagues would just kill what lower league football is all about. There is a mutual respect among lower league fans that follow their local team rather than one of the bigger clubs that surround them. It’s always been nice when one of the billy big ■■■■■■■■ teams come down to our level like Leeds, Sheff Wed, Southampton, Bolton etc and we send them back with their tails between their legs.We live for those days. I don’t think there is another football pyramid in the world quite like ours, it has worked perfectly well for a very long time. Be a crying shame if a crisis like this is used as an excuse to take advantage and destroy it all as we know it.
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Absolutely agree. The top and bottom of it is that we need to deliver autonomy back into the hands of our football clubs by ensuring fans return to games NOW. That means this government’s agenda has to be overturned. “Oh not another coronavirus rant” some will say, but that essentially is all that matters. Any temporary financial sticking plaster wont solve this underlying issue, and any scraps from the top table are going to be conditional…so again there is only one exit strategy in town, and we all need to get behind it.
The momentum of the petition has stalled somewhat, just an additional 20k in the last 24 hours, but its still heading up to 200k, amongst those are likely the numbers to keep lower league clubs alive.
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I totally agree with that too. I think the fans have reacted brilliantly. Supporters groups rallying to raise money, and the fact so many fans were willing to leave their season ticket money in the club is quite astounding given that a lot of people have lost their jobs, or at the very least face uncertain futures. I only know about what Walsall fans have done, but I’d guess many other clubs fans are rallying too.
I understand that clubs are waiting/expecting support from elsewhere and that’s all well and good. The petition from fans is great, I’m not sure if I just haven’t heard or don’t know but it feels like clubs have just accepted that fans won’t be allowed back in anytime soon. I saw the letter Colchester’s Chairman wrote but I haven’t seen much from other clubs trying to at least fight the decision and put some pressure on. I still believe the solution to the problems is to have fans back in stadiums ASAP rather than taking money that will come with great consequences for the future.
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I wondered at 200,000 but that’s nearly the average attendance at L1/L2 clubs each week isn’t it, so a decent proportion.
“Clinging on” is a good description of the current position of many Clubs. As the Premier League has taken more and more of the money and as the Championship has followed suit the rest of us ,unless we have a “sugar daddy” ,just cannot compete. They have destroyed the cup competitions as well and the sad demise of the FA Cup is one of the saddest outcomes of their greed. As a Walsall fan the best we can hope for now is a yo -yo existence between division 1 and division 2 which is not very appealing. I will continue to support the club but my expectations are not what they were.
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Just listened to the Peterborough chairman , got to say he was excellent regards Premier B teams in EFL was very forthright in declaring that it’s a non starter and not up for discussion , basically saying it may be ok in Spain but the EFL is ok as it is thanks
Also addressed the Premier league bail out money , saying that if the EFL clubs received 2 / 300 million the lenders would get it back with interest via future TV payments etc so couldn’t see what the problem is, also said that the government should be helping as they are already helping the Arts with money and allowing people in venues.
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Well here we go again , as people have stated already about the greed of the Premier , Sky and BT sport .
I haven’t read this article yet , it’s just my knee jerk reaction of seeing the headline .
Will they be using this money to fund ’ helping ’ the lower leagues …
I am seriously considering cancelling all my sports channels as I am already paying a discounted £110 a month , and now they want you to pay to view games , they can fuck off and shove it where the sun don’t shine .
This could be the end of my football indulgence right here .
I just wish everyone would just cancel their subscriptions so these companies would stop paying these Premier league clubs and their grossly overpaid players astronomical wages …rant over
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Covid acting as a Trojan Horse that even my little Trojan avatar would be embarrassed to ride in.
Telly revenues used to be fairly distributed throughout the game until the Premier League came along. A big ■■■■ off to 72 of the 92 clubs even though some within the 20 had spent most of their previous and now subsequent existence outside of the top flight. Having stymied the distribution of wealth from 92 to 20 the next logical step was always that the top five or six would want disproportionately more again.
This new development then just the beginning of clubs negotiating their own rights. With the big boys with their millions of supporters worldwide offering up pay per view which will hugely skew the distribution of wealth again.
It just isn’t sport anymore.
■■■■ ‘em.
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There’s absolutely no way you should have to pay subscription fees (which are astronomical) then pay extra for individual matches. It’s just pure greed.
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Perhaps the money from the pay per view is going to be distributed into the EFL & National leagues 
Cancelled Sky Sports last week - not sure why they let me as I am still in contract until March, but that’ll go straight in the iFollow pot and mostly to WFC - will miss the cricket the most, as for top flight football, no thanks!
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There’s slight of hand at work here. A few weeks ago fans were due to be allowed in grounds, many of whom had already paid for season tickets for both last and this season, now they’re going to shut the pubs, certainly across the North, and probably evetually everywhere meaning the only place you can watch football is in the house and hey presto here comes a new pay per view package. No more “we’re all in it together, football’s good for the morale of the plebs”, now just stay at home and get your money out. Wheels within wheels as Delboy used to say, and who are the losers?? Well the fans and the smaller clubs. This “agenda” doesn’t want folks mixing and gathering as I’ve said a hundred times, it wants as many forms of behaviour as possible corralled online …and your reddies.
They might as well come round your house and check you havn’t got any mates round and charge you for the privilege…oh hang on…?
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I don’t have sky sports end of, i do have a firestick but it is hit and miss
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Interesting story in the Telegraph today. I found a version that wasn’t completely hidden by a pay wall.
It doesn’t look too bad and I’m relieved to see no mention of b teams. Might be missing something but it looks like a big initial bail out for the FA and EFL. The EPL goes from 20 to 18 clubs. League cup and community shield die. Special status to big six plus a few others but notably not Villa or Newcastle. A degree of pay per view coming into the EPL.
As I say, I might be missing something here but whilst I would be sad to see the League Cup going, if that is the only “cost” of the game re-emerging post Covid then it could have been a lot worse. I suspect the EFL might also scrap the EFL trophy and create a new EFL only cup competition which encompasses all three EFL leagues.
Sky’s take on it.
Not sure about giving most of the power to 9 clubs.
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That’s the bit that has got a lot of people annoyed.
But to the likes of Burnley, Brighton, Palace et al this was the obvious next step within the game. An elite within the elite. This is the devil they have danced with.
The crass words from Dyche the other night just give support to the “the big get bigger” proposals here. He won’t like them though because exclusive clubs are only fine if you’re “in”. Small clubs like us have been “out” for bear thirty years. The fact that there’s a new little clique within the old little clique at the top of the game makes no odds to me. It is a power grab there’s no doubt but one where the collateral manifestation lower down the pyramid has decent optics. We get money to save us now and a bigger proportion of overall revenue going forward. We lose a competition that judging from crowds in the last thirty years was dying on its arse anyway.
And no B teams
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Scumbag millionaires.
Next the elite will not be allowed to be relegated.
Then the 9 will vote themselves a bigger slice of the pie. And then the 9 will become 8 and then 7 and then 6.
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