Paul I totally agree with everything you say. This would be the right and appropriate action.

But this will never be the case. The reason why the breakaway six did try to form a European Super League was they thought they could due the feedback and attitudes of those who they dealt with in the Premiership, Champions League and Ueafa. What they misjudged in England was the fan reaction and the prospect of political retaliation.

So the cracks will be papered over. You might get some token changes in the Chairman and Vice Chairman role in the Premiership. ln the Champions League the changes proposed by Man U will be the template and what can be pushed through in relation to that. This will be to the financial detriment of challenging Clubs in the Premiership. Ueafa will move in behind the money. A European Super League by the back door.

The only real fall out will be for the breakaway European Super League Clubs who needed the breakaway league to sustain their financial sustainability.

Actually as a Evertonian I am surprised you did not smell a rat, when the Daily Mail identified Bill as the poster boy for the good of the Premiership with a two page spread. As for Moshiri he might have regained his confidence enough to chance the next Everton AGM.

As for the Fans and Politicians the whole lot will join forces to counter any attempted changes.

Operation "carpet sweep" going on as we speak.

There will be a token gesture penalty but the status quo is a money spinner for the authorities and all that irked them was a threat to their dough which has now evaporated. We are in "nothing to see here" territory right now, forward thinking among the footballing mafia doesn't exist

Relegation will never happen. Twenty points deduction this season, thirty points deduction from the start of next season, five years European ban and £100M fine should be sufficient for these septic six clubs.

Though maybe double all that for Spurs for having the audacity to think they were entitled to be classed as one of Europeans power horses!!

Paul “...punishment (I still believe relegation is appropriate)”.

Paul, I still wonder and worry about the timing and implications of relegation. If you relegate them, you presumably have an appeals process. Appeals would presumably be internal; and then externally through the courts at (possibly) various levels.

By the time that is all complete, we’re into next season, I guess. If at that point the greedy six finally win their appeal, how do you unpick the actions you’ve taken? The three extra clubs promoted from the Championship would have to have their results voided and be “de-promoted”? With allocations of money for promoted clubs now reversed? With implications for contracts signed by players who had recently signed on for those clubs? Premier League clubs who’d played them would have to have their results voided? Arrangements would need to be made for the greedy six to now play catch-up games with the season well under way? Financial claims for any related loss of revenues?

I don’t know I’m just guessing but immediate relegation seems a can of worms.

The silence is deafening, there is a virtual media blackout on the biggest issue that has faced sport in this country ever.

The “Now it’s time to move on “ message is a raging insult to the other fourteen clubs.

This will be a can kicked down the road, and then into the long grass, if we’re not careful. There it will stay until the greedy clubs bring it back, amended, like some foul , unwanted planning application.

Next time the PR will be on point by masters of the craft. They will try to get what the want by world class crafted deception.

Unless the government and footballing powers act unequivocally to maintain the integrity of the UK football pyramid and outlaw legally any cartel-like anticompetitive practices.

I hope for the best but fear for the worst as there will be intense lobbying of all positions of power by these greedy clubs. Their tentacles will be everywhere.

I fear there will be a sordid and unacceptable compromise that will do the same damage. And furthermore this compromise will be a creeping disease and won’t rest until it has taken over the body.

The future of competitive football as we know it is still at huge risk. It will take unrelenting resolve by the government to protect it. Nothing less than legislative protection will suffice.

Lots of different threads on this so will try not to get too repetitive.

Fines that they can absorb and a big does of "nothing to see here" as they set about targeting reformation of the Champions League to push their agenda through having pretty much gotten off the hook.

The FA & UEFA are seen to have wielded their seeming power, the 12 still get to push through an agenda of some kind.

Still waiting for it to announced that the shiesters next derby is v tranmere !! Domote em big time

I’ve thought from the outset that
1] UEFA/FIFA will do absolutely nothing.
2] the EPL will wait until the end of the season before imposing modest points deductions & modest fines. This will leave 2-3 of the 6 in the Champions League next season. The others may miss out on the Europa League and the 3rd competition being introduced - but I suspect they will regard this as a blessing in disguise as these competitions are of little interest to them.
3] No chance of relegation as this risks impacting the value of the TV rights deals on which all 20 clubs depend.

I’d hope that Rob H’s suggestion of all 6 starting next season with a points deduction would happen - but I can’t see it (sadly)

As many people have said - including myself - on other threads, any drastic action will not be taken and in truth will be detrimental to the PL, including the 14 who had their say immediately after the ESL announcement.

The PL is only a national competition here in England - to the rest of the world paying for their media subscriptions, the PL is a truly international product and they want to see the so-called big 6 as much as possible.

No big 6 in the PL - could mean Ancelotti saying that's your lottie. It could mean Moshiri taking a second look at his investment, as I have said on other threads be careful what we wish for.

That is NOT to say punishment, including relegation, is not justified - I am simply saying for good reason, it won't happen.

What is required is legislation. Fortunately the English Clubs are a big enough part of this that the UK Govt has the power on its own to fix it. I would like legislation to declare certain businesses as "Community Businesses" which would restrict the power of their owners to do what they like (and this would include football clubs and perhaps some other institutions whilst we're at it).

Secondly - to make the PL more competitive the legislation needs to mandate how the UEFA competitions money is shared within the English/Welsh football pryamid - i.e. take more of the money off the CL clubs. This long term will hopefully break the whole concept of a Big 6 and their power will dilute. These clubs are only commercially successful because they win a lot and they win a lot because they have the money to do it. Reduce the money and the cycle will unwind.

It needs a structural fix - not a one off fine or even a one off relegation. And it needs legislation to do it.

Paul, thank you for your article. I am always amazed by your knowledge and analysis. I have a question : if the removal of the apex predator destroys everything below it, and assuming that is the case not only in England, how going forward as time goes by do these super league teams restock their teams with players of equal ability to those that they had when the ‘thing’ first started? In Australian Rules, for example, AFL teams are made up of players who are picked up as 17-18 year olds from “draft camps” under a somewhat complicated arrangement “draft picking” arrangement and older players are traded between clubs in an annual “draft”. Each team has a “feeder club” in the state league in which players who aren’t picked in the AFL side that week play. It is rare for a “mature age” player to be “drafted” from a state league team. The Americans have their college football and basketball systems, which are well funded, enormously popular, and of high quality from which the NFL and NBA teams draft players, and the step up isn’t that great, or at least I assume it isn’t. If, as you say, and with which I don’t take issue, the arse drops out of the EPL and domestic leagues in Europe, how are the dirty 6 et al going to manage the articulation of talent to the required level - very different situation to AFL and US?