MAN CITY'S KEY ROLE IN ONGOING DELAY TO PREMIER LEAGUE'S FINANCIAL DEAL WITH EFL
There are growing fears that the Premier League’s financial deal with the EFL faces an even longer delay.
The 20 top-flight clubs are under pressure from the Government to agree a package to stop the independent regulator from having to step in. Prem bosses held two meetings - on February 29 and March 11 - with the clear message that they would put forward a new proposal which the clubs would vote on and offer to the EFL.
But the stand-off remains - and, if anything, the depth of feeling is growing stronger among the top 20 clubs and any deal feels further away than ever.
The three main sticking points are:
- Clubs feel they cannot agree to a financial deal with the EFL until they know their own budgets with the new-look Profit and Sustainability Rules yet to be agreed.
- They want PSR to be done in “real time” with point deduction punishments imposed in the same season rather than the following year as has been the case with Everton and Nottingham Forest.
- Manchester City have launched a legal challenge against the Premier League over PSR which could bring down the whole system and several clubs believe it is impossible to agree anything until that case is resolved.
The Premier League’s next hope was that the new PSR arrangements would be in place before the end-of-season Annual General Meeting which is usually held in June. That would then enable them to put agree a new proposal to take to the EFL which would stop the independent regulator from stepping in and imposing a financial deal once the Football Governance Bill is passed.
However, the chances of that happening are gradually reducing and, despite the rough agreement of a six-year £998m package for the football pyramid having been discussed, that has hit a deadlock.
There is also a general frustration at some clubs that the reasons behind the stand-off have not been made public when the reality is they are ready and there is a willingness but it has been held up in red tape and in-fighting.
Postponed games headache
The Premier League is facing a major fixture headache with FOUR postponed games yet to be rescheduled. Manchester City’s trip to Tottenham has still not got a date and nor have Manchester United v Newcastle, Chelsea v Tottenham and Brighton v Chelsea.
It is largely because of the FA Cup plus European games causing a backlog and just downright bad luck with the same teams being involved postponements.
The backlog is unusual but not unheard of but there is a very real fear that it will get far worse next season with extra European games, including eight matches rather than six in the Champions League Group stages.
Klopp strop blown out of proportion
Jurgen Klopp's strop at a Danish TV reporter went viral after Liverpool’s FA Cup exit at Manchester United. For many, it felt at odds to Klopp’s usual behaviour as he can be quite charming as Liverpool manager and has a connection with fans.
However, it was actually very tame compared to old school rollickings from Sir Alex Ferguson, George Graham and the rest which were rarely in front of cameras and at least one hundred times more severe. And what they did not have to put up with was the staggering demand that any modern manager gets from his post-match media commitments.
Without wishing to excuse bad manners, it might just offer some context to know exactly what follows for any manager after a big game in the Premier League.
One club this season had over TWENTY post match interview requests. The manager always takes up the lion’s share, sometimes getting into double figures on TV slots from Sky, TNT Sports, BBC and broadcasters from around the world.
The rest are often shared among players but the manager also has to start doing post match interviews within 20 minutes of the game finishing. With all of that in mind, it is probably more understandable as to why occasionally managers like Klopp can get a little snappy after games - especially following defeats.
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2024-03-28T18:55:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd