Can Rick Parry dust himself down from this?
The majority of the 72 EFL clubs, those he must ultimately answer to, continue to support Parry. Nigel Travis, Leyton Orient chairman, said on Tuesday that Parry “is a man who is helping to sustain British football” and it is a sentiment shared by plenty of executives and owners across the three divisions. Middlesbrough’s Steve Gibson has been another influential figure to back Parry since the weekend and there is a groundswell of opinion that the EFL is working in the best interests of clubs.
There is even a school of thought that Parry has been empowered by events of the past 72 hours. A seat has been allocated for the EFL in strategic discussions and Parry can lobby directly to the Premier League.
Contrary to that, though, is the belief Parry has weakened his position over the past four days. He circled the wagons on Sunday with written and broadcast interviews and then there was another round of media activity on Tuesday to demonstrate support for Project Big Picture but that vocal social media campaign gained little traction. One Premier League executive believes Parry’s “tactics” have backfired.
Masters, though, has insisted there will be no grudges held. “Clearly there’s some frustration a proposal that hadn’t had any input from the Premier League, from our clubs, has been pushed so hard in public,” he said. “But we don’t have a beef with the EFL, certainly not with its clubs. We want to have a good relationship with them. We’re their biggest partner. We have a historic relationship with them. So we want it to be constructive.”
The majority of the 72 EFL clubs, those he must ultimately answer to, continue to support Parry. Nigel Travis, Leyton Orient chairman, said on Tuesday that Parry “is a man who is helping to sustain British football” and it is a sentiment shared by plenty of executives and owners across the three divisions. Middlesbrough’s Steve Gibson has been another influential figure to back Parry since the weekend and there is a groundswell of opinion that the EFL is working in the best interests of clubs.
There is even a school of thought that Parry has been empowered by events of the past 72 hours. A seat has been allocated for the EFL in strategic discussions and Parry can lobby directly to the Premier League.
Contrary to that, though, is the belief Parry has weakened his position over the past four days. He circled the wagons on Sunday with written and broadcast interviews and then there was another round of media activity on Tuesday to demonstrate support for Project Big Picture but that vocal social media campaign gained little traction. One Premier League executive believes Parry’s “tactics” have backfired.
Masters, though, has insisted there will be no grudges held. “Clearly there’s some frustration a proposal that hadn’t had any input from the Premier League, from our clubs, has been pushed so hard in public,” he said. “But we don’t have a beef with the EFL, certainly not with its clubs. We want to have a good relationship with them. We’re their biggest partner. We have a historic relationship with them. So we want it to be constructive.”
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