Premier League vote rejects Project Big Picture
The Premier League have agreed an urgent strategy review involving all 20 clubs after Project Big Picture was rejected at a meeting on Wednesday.
The vote ends any chance of the current proposals - which were being driven by leading figures at Manchester United and Liverpool with support from the English Football League chairman Rick Parry - from being implemented in their current guise, although they could still be used as a model to draw up a new framework that will revamp the English pyramid.
The emergency meeting saw those Premier League clubs not included in the ‘Big Six’ voice their opposition to Project Big Picture, which would have seen a significant proportion of power afforded to United and Liverpool as well as Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
The other 14 clubs opposed Project Big Picture, while the ‘Big Six’ were not entirely on board with the plans, which had been forged in secret talks between Liverpool, United and Parry over the last three years. At the meeting there was some expression of upset with how Parry has gone about his actions this week, having gone on the record with his comments about Project Big Picture when the story originally broke on Sunday.
With the Premier League following the Football Association in speaking out against Project Big Picture, the plans are essentially dead in the water.
However, it’s understood that the Premier League stakeholders agreed in principle a financial bailout for the EFL, which would see funds go towards the clubs in League One and League Two. That still needs to be offered to the EFL, which could yet be rejected by the Championship.
A Premier League statement read: "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.”
Although Project Big Picture has been the brainchild of Liverpool owner John W Henry and club president Mike Gordon alongside United co-owner Joel Glazer, none of them appeared in the videoconference meeting. Liverpool were instead represented by chairman Tom Werner, while United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was in attendance along with chief executive Billy Hogan.
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