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Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL 19:36 - Sep 20 with 100 viewsBringBackTheRedRoom

Championship clubs may still pursue a breakaway from the English Football League if their deep-seated grievances over the handling of a new TV deal are not immediately addressed.

Former Liverpool and Premier League chief executive Rick Parry was named chairman designate by the EFL on Thursday, with his appointment due to be ratified at a meeting of member clubs on 26 September.

The appointment of 64-year-old will be followed by a new chief executive to replace Shaun Harvey, who left his role at the end of last season.

After the recent turbulence of trying to manage the catastrophic financial situations at Bury and Bolton, EFL executive chair Debbie Jevans had hoped the installation of a new senior executive team would lead to a resetting of the relationship between the organisation and its biggest clubs.

However, it is understood Jevans has been told that is not the case.

Instead, BBC Sport has been told by several sources that a Premier League-style breakaway is possible, such is the strength of feeling over the £595m, five-year TV deal with Sky announced in November.

Whether such a strategy is realistic, given the Premier League has never shown any interest in forming a second tier, is debatable.

However, the mere fact the threat exists underlines the strength of feeling against the EFL.

What happened with the TV deal fallout?

Issues remain about both the manner in which the contract was agreed and the detail within it.

Championship clubs say they were not given any chance to discuss the deal and then, when they demanded Harvey delay an announcement confirming it, they were ignored.

Some clubs feel the five-year contract chronically undervalues the Championship as a product.

It has been claimed that - excluding Premier League matches involving the 'big six' - last season's fixture between Aston Villa and Leeds in December was the most watched domestic league match on Sky. Championship clubs were told the Sunday lunchtime game was watched by 1.25m.

In asking for a delay, the Championship clubs made it known they would be willing to honour financial obligations within the negotiated contract made to counterparts in League One and League Two, who, as a collective, hold the balance of power within the EFL.

They wanted the opportunity to explore other potential TV options.

However, someone with knowledge of how that contract was negotiated told the BBC that sanctioning such a delay was impossible because the outline agreement had been negotiated 12 months previously, at which point there were no alternative offers on the table.

With 25% of Championship clubs changing every year through promotion and relegation, it is felt the competition lacks the stability of the Premier League, putting it at a disadvantage when it comes to centralised negotiation.

Nevertheless, with Premier League clubs getting £3m each time they have a match on TV compared to £75,000 for second-tier clubs, the gulf between the top two leagues is enormous.

What other issues are there?

In the quest to increase revenue, one of the ideas the major clubs had was to live stream matches played outside the Saturday 14:45-17:15 blackout period on their own websites, with viewers expected to pay a subscription fee.

Although they understood, under the new deal, Sky was also free to show the same games on its red button service, the clubs felt there would be a significant difference in the number of cameras that could be used, making their broadcast more attractive.

Many clubs invested money to improve their own content, only to find Sky's interpretation of the deal differed to theirs. A source with knowledge of the contract told the BBC there was ambiguity within it, which left the EFL in no position to counter Sky's stance.

The clubs are annoyed with the EFL for this as they feel this will have a direct impact on the amount of subscribers they can reasonably expect to attract, reducing anticipated income significantly.

There is also an issue over the composition of the commercial committee that voted the TV deal through and whether four members of it were entitled to vote.

Once he is in place, it will be made clear to Parry these issues must be addressed immediately. If he fails to resolve them, a move as seismic as the one that led to the formation of the Premier League in 1992 will be back on the agenda.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49771802

‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’

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Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 21:23 - Sep 20 with 86 viewsBringBackTheRedRoom

Wasn't Rick Parry chief executive at Liverpool when those two cowboys nearly ran the club into bankruptcy??

Better start making a new voodoo doll Rotts.

‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’

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Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 21:34 - Sep 20 with 83 viewsbasilrobbiereborn

Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 21:23 - Sep 20 by BringBackTheRedRoom

Wasn't Rick Parry chief executive at Liverpool when those two cowboys nearly ran the club into bankruptcy??

Better start making a new voodoo doll Rotts.


I can't say that I am thrilled by this appointment, I would have preferred a longer spell with Jevans as caretaker, to be honest.

The first six months will make or break his tenure. What with Middlesborough, Bolton, Bury and the whole of the Championship, he has lots to worry about. Let's hope Macc, Oldham and Bristol Rovers stay on an even keel for a bit.

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Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 21:49 - Sep 20 with 82 viewsBringBackTheRedRoom

Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 21:34 - Sep 20 by basilrobbiereborn

I can't say that I am thrilled by this appointment, I would have preferred a longer spell with Jevans as caretaker, to be honest.

The first six months will make or break his tenure. What with Middlesborough, Bolton, Bury and the whole of the Championship, he has lots to worry about. Let's hope Macc, Oldham and Bristol Rovers stay on an even keel for a bit.


It ties in with the wider work BST have/are doing re Football Governance for me.

I'd add Sunderland to your list and agree Bolton are not out of the woods either.

‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’

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Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 19:25 - Sep 22 with 59 viewsspell_chekker

Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 21:49 - Sep 20 by BringBackTheRedRoom

It ties in with the wider work BST have/are doing re Football Governance for me.

I'd add Sunderland to your list and agree Bolton are not out of the woods either.


Personally, I think there's a lot to be said for an elite leaving the English system and pursuing a European league.

The big boys are now simply too good for any of the rest of us to aspire to.

I don't know Leicester dd it, but we can't ever dream of winning the league.

That is unhealthy.

Shave off the top 6 and restructure.

It'd be good for general competition and BFC.

All this ambiguiositiy re:

Euro elite league
Matches abroad
Prem 2

It would be very easy to sort out if the clubs who wanted to leave, left.

Let them leave the UK system - no deal - and then we can get on with it.

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Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 20:44 - Sep 22 with 56 viewsBringBackTheRedRoom

Championship clubs could still pursue breakaway from the EFL on 19:25 - Sep 22 by spell_chekker

Personally, I think there's a lot to be said for an elite leaving the English system and pursuing a European league.

The big boys are now simply too good for any of the rest of us to aspire to.

I don't know Leicester dd it, but we can't ever dream of winning the league.

That is unhealthy.

Shave off the top 6 and restructure.

It'd be good for general competition and BFC.

All this ambiguiositiy re:

Euro elite league
Matches abroad
Prem 2

It would be very easy to sort out if the clubs who wanted to leave, left.

Let them leave the UK system - no deal - and then we can get on with it.


Problem is Spell, the amount of sponsorship deals and TV money that would go with it. It would be a hell of a lot worse than when the ITV digital deal when pop. Same if you turned the championship into a EPL 2.

‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’

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