The move could be on if a few more teams are taken over by foreign owners, it was claimed on Monday.
Such a move comes after proposals for a 39th game, which roundly seen off after the football world told the owners of Premier League sides that this was off the table.
The Premier League now has a problem. It has welcomed the riches that foreign owners bring, but with it comes dangers. Roman Abramovich was a one-off, a billionaire who genuinely loves the game and bought a club without profits in mind. The same can be said for Mohamed Al-Fayed.
But as for the other owners of Premier League sides, from the Glazers at Man Utd to the Sheikhs across Manchester at the Etihad, to Stan Kroenke in the south, why are they investing such huge sums? Sure, the likes of Glazer, Kroenke and Liverpool owner John Henry own American sports teams, so they are clearly sports people. But Henry admitted he knew nothing about Liverpool to the Guardian last week before taking them over.
As for the Sheikhs, the notion that they are actually interested in football is about as likely as us all waking up tomorrow and seeing Satan skating to work outside our front windows. I have more interest in how the molecular formation of paint causes different substances to dry faster than others than Sheikh Mansour has in the game of football. Probably.
But these are what we get in return for their billions. Endless money spinning ideas. An end to relegation would make every team in the league more valuable. And how do you decide which 20 get to stay? If Wigan go down and then they end relegation, is it fair that they are kept out? And do we really want a team like Stoke in the Premier League any longer than necessary? Clearly not. The idea that Stoke can be relegated is one which fills many football fans with joy and hope. But of course the idea that your own team can win promotion is the greatest source of joy and hope for many. Will we just cut this off? How ridiculous that would be.
Football is under attack from the billionaires. If it is not an end to relegation, or the 39th game, it will be something else. English football needs to be won back from these billionaires who blight our football. A licensing model for teams in England could be brought in if the government get their way. It is time too, and we need to ensure that billionaires seeking profits are not able to influence, change and ultimately destroy England’s favourite sport. Let’s act before it is too late.
