Town owner Marcus Evans proposed a salary cap on clubs relegated from the Premier League in order to limit the effect of increased parachute payments at a Football League meeting at Walsall yesterday. However, the proposal, one of two on the table, wasn’t voted on after intervention from the Premier League who threatened to with draw their annual solidarity payments.

Parachute payments to clubs dropping out of the Premier League are set to rise to a total of £59 million - up from the previous figure of £48 million — split over four years: £23million in the season after relegation, £18 million in the second and £9 million in each of the following two years.

Evans’s proposal was that this season’s relegated clubs have their spending on wages capped at £16 million in their first year out of the top flight, £10 million in 2014/15 and £8 million the following season.

Crystal Palace's alternative proposal was that relegated clubs wouldn’t receive an annual £2 million payment relating to TV income from the Football League.

However, plans to vote on the proposals were scrapped after Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore sent an email to the Football League an hour and a half prior to the meeting’s scheduled start at 11am threatening to withdraw solidarity payments if either was implemented.

Currently, the solidarity payments are worth an annual £2.3 million to Championship clubs, £360,000 to those in League One and £240,000 for League Two sides.

Unsurprisingly several Football League club chairmen and owners are reported to be angered by the Premier League’s interference and bullying tactics.

While the Football League hasn’t commented, the Premier League told The Guardian in a statement: "A generous solidarity offer has been made to the Football League; however if the basis on which that original offer was made materially changes, then it is reasonable to review it."

Photo: Action Images

JewellintheTown added 12:22 - May 16 Good on you Mr Evans! F*&k off Skidders-more. Simple as that really.
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AndrewPC added 12:29 - May 16 I for one would like to back BillBlue and criticise MattinLondon for his slur. If you are saying you are anti foreigner this is not racist it is xenophobia. However, taking BillBlue's remark in context it seems clear to me that he is not being xenophobic either. He wishes to point out there has been an enormous influx of foreign players into the EPL. It is legitimate to criticise this influx in so far as it is having serious negative impacts on the careers and development of home grown players. Some EPL sides field teams that have almost no UK born players in them. I for one doubt that most of the overseas players at Man City have their hearts in the club. But they love the bloated salaries.

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AbujaBlue added 12:59 - May 16 It's the 9.30am email on the morning of the meeting that gets to me, sheer bullying and intimidation. What an unpleasant man. I'm also very surprised that more media outlets haven't picked up on this yet? Are they scared of the SCUD missiles being released as well?
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chiddley added 13:17 - May 16 MattinLondon = Student
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chiddley added 13:21 - May 16 Matt in London, here are the top 3 leagues in the world with highest number of foreign players 1. Canadian Championship 75,2 % 2. Meisterrunde 65,7 % 3. Premier League 65,0 %
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EatonBlue added 13:29 - May 16 It is just a matter of time before promotion and relegation stops and the PL becomes some sort of franchised closed shop.
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Wickets added 13:34 - May 16 There is a school of thought that these new rules will force Championship clubs back to the dark ages of under the table payments and bungs!
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Guthrum added 13:53 - May 16 Shame we can't find someone to sponsor the Football League for £70m a year and stuff the "solidarity" payments.
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ernie added 13:54 - May 16 MattinLondon= pleb
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Pessimistic added 14:30 - May 16 The Premier League should change its name to something more in keeping with its objectives. How about F.C.S.L. because the fat cats super league is basically all it is these days.
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Stato added 15:43 - May 16 Although I think his suggestion is flawed I'm delighted to see that Evans has given this enough thought to put ANY idea forward. I was sceptical of him until this season but there seems to be a significant increase in his interest in all things football and Ipswich in particular. Signings have been made without fuss since even before Jewell left, the capture of Mick, Cat 2 on youth development and now this. I welcome his extra interest and think it can only bode well for our fortunes both on and off the field.

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Kikapu added 15:52 - May 16 There's always a risk of that EatonBlue. We've seen it elsewhere, but I don't think that's the case here. A far better system would be to offer, say, the playoff teams a greater payment to help them adjust financially so they are better prepared when they are promoted to the PL, as well as (or instead of) offering the demoted teams descending scale of benefits.
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Iax added 17:52 - May 16 Perhaps an investigation by the oft is due. Looks like the premier league are trying to create a monopoly
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TonythePony added 21:39 - May 16 I think the FL should tell the PL to sod off and let it exist on its own. The Football League could then merge with the Scottish, Welsh and Even Irish Leagues to form a massive British Football League. Sky would wet themselves at the chance to televise a lot of the inter Country matches and the League could hold out for real money from Sky rather than the scraps from the PL's table. I think it would freshen up domestic football too. Just a thought :o)

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BuckieBlue added 22:43 - May 16 PL blackmail and bullying. Although it sounds a though ME is a bit worried about the financial handcap it puts Town and others under. Actually just as other most promoted teams in recent years haven't been sides recently relegated from PL, I think Town can overcome the inequality and really make a go of it next season. From MM's previous comment about FFP etc it sounds as though the whole situation gives him extra motivation!

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lojd added 10:27 - May 17 This seasons PL has been boring compared to the football league, the only thing left to play for on the final day of the season is who will finish fourth, compare that to the excitement at both ends of the championship and the incredible last 5 minutes of Brentford v Scunthorpe and it seems unfair how much sky and the PL want to discourage interest in the football league from general football fans. Last year's final day excitement at Man City was a one off! What has annoyed me more than anything this season is the date (and time) of the FA cup final. This was always the last game of the season and rightly so. This year Wigan's monumental achievement was completely wrecked by having to play Arsenal 4 days later to try and stay in the PL and meant they couldn't even have a drink to celebrate. And don't even get me started on the semi finals being played at Wembley! The FA (in terms of the FA Cup) and the PL only care about money and don't care about the supporters or what's good for the game of football.

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CherryHintonBlue added 13:41 - May 17 I'd be quite happy if the Premier League closed itself off and left the Football League to do its own thing. Maybe they could come to an arrangement to ensure that a dying Premier League team could swap with an exceptionally good Football League team, by way of an annual top-versus-bottom playoff, but that'd be sufficient. To be Football League Champions would be quite enough of a target for most supporters, and it would deter the short-term financial speculators who buy into Football League teams solely in the hope that they achieve promotion and Premier League riches (which they then understandably extract from the club anyway). I desperately want to see Ipswich challenge for the title every season, but I have no interest in the promotion to the Premier League which goes with it. The current Championship brings us constantly interesting and usually exciting football, which is all I want.

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