Mark Palios has called for the introduction of an independent regulator for English football after a year which, he believes, has illustrated that the sport is no longer capable of regulating itself.
The Tranmere chairman and ex-FA chief executive, who also played over 400 games for the club, has watched on as the FA, Premier League and Football League have failed to exhibit a united front to a crisis that has threatened the very fabric of the English game.
And while he readily admits to not having supported the implementation of a new regulatory structure in the past, he believes the events of 2020 have shown why it’s now necessary.
“To my mind, it has been an absolute fiasco and whilst I was never a fan of a regulator, I believe that a regulator is probably necessary because the game has shown that it just can’t self-regulate,” he says.
“If ever there was a time for the game to get together and act in unison then this was the time – in the face of a pandemic. Actually what we saw was anything but. There has been a complete lack of leadership.
“The FA has been completely absent without leave, as far as I’m concerned. The EPL has been stumbling around and the EFL has too.
“The lack of leadership has created a vacuum and when there’s no leadership then that vacuum is filled by self-interest. You see the bickering and as a consequence, it’s very easy for the government to pick it off and say ‘you should do better’. No-one has sympathy for the game in that regard.”
While he admits that the management of football’s stakeholders is a complex business, he points to the example of cricket, as a sport which has got its approach to the pandemic right – not just for short-term survival but long-term success.
“I’ve got nothing but praise for the ECB’s executive and the board because they’ve taken a much longer-term view,” says Palios, who is also a member of the ECB’s audit and risk committee.
“They have a natural advantage as a result of owning the media rights for the national team and domestic games but they understand the longer-term view. They’re making losses but they’ve taken a supportive approach to the supporting the county cricket network.
“If you look at football then it’s fragmented. You’ve got the EPL which has the major media rights, you’ve got the FA, who have media rights and the EFL who have the same. It means you have a much more fragmented approach to dealing with the issue of the pandemic. That said, cricket has taken a far better approach than football has.”
Tranmere have found themselves in the eye of the storm, having been relegated from League One on points per game (PPG) back in the summer.
Having won three games on the trot before the season was halted – the club played their final game on March 10 – Palios was confident that League One safety would have been assured had their campaign not been curtailed.
From Tranmere’s perspective, he was also in favour of completing the season, although he respects the difficulties this would have posed some clubs.
“That was a classic abdication of leadership,” he says. “People can sympathise, but sympathy doesn’t pay the wages. They voted for a financial-based decision that put us down. That then hit us financially.
“I don’t mind jumping through hoops – it’s when someone then sets those hoops on fire that I have more of an issue.
“I hated the games behind closed doors, and I still do. It actually costs us money until we get to 4000 supporters into Prenton Park, when we might start to break even. So putting matches on, even with supporters, costs us on a cash basis
“What it does do, though, is get people back to a feeling of normality because a spectacle isn’t a spectacle without supporters there to watch it.”
In the summer, when the pandemic was at its height, Tranmere ensured that they were at the forefront of the community response, delivering 35,000 food parcels to vulnerable people across the Wirral.
Palios’s own background in finance, risk and recovery, clearly helped a club which sits in 13th place in League Two going into the Christmas fixtures.
Tranmere have found a self-help solution to the crisis. But after nine months of upheaval, there are still more questions than answers for the wider game.
Follow i sport on Facebook for more Premier League news, interviews and features
More on the Premier League
- Sam Johnstone tells Sam Cunningham why he is finally ready to become a Premier League star
- The making of Timo Werner: How his father’s motivation and ‘scary’ power meant Chelsea star was always destined for the top
- Eric Dier reveals why he stormed into the stands to confront an abusive Spurs fan
- Daniel Storey: How to lose supporters and alienate Messi, by FC Barcelona
- An apology to Man Utd’s Jesse Lingard
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/37FjLXI
Post a Comment