Kieran Maguire fears for West Ham and Newcastle as Premier League chiefs stall on agreement
Kieran Maguire fears for West Ham and Newcastle United as England’s ‘big six’ stall on demands to sign up to a new owners’ charter.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the football finance expert slammed the Premier League “cartel” for their potential involvement in a change that could create “a ceiling” for ambitious clubs.
As reported by The Times‘ Martyn Ziegler (8 December), England’s ‘big six’ are yet to agree to the new charter which would commit them to only qualifying for the Champions League based on “current sporting merit”.
It comes amid a proposal from UEFA which could allow two clubs per season to qualify for Europe based on ranking and historical performances.
West Ham currently sit fourth in the Premier League table but under new potential rules, they could be leapfrogged by teams beneath them like Manchester United and Arsenal.
When asked by Football Insider for his assessment of the news Maguire said: “West Ham have made progress on the pitch as well as off it.
“There is a potential new owner coming in and new owners have ambitions for football clubs. Participation at the highest level is one of those ambitions. That is what makes it such an attractive opportunity.
“If the rules are going to be based on what clubs have done in the previous 10 years it creates a ceiling. It means any club wanting to progress, such as West Ham, Leicester or Newcastle, will find it more difficult than ever. And it is already pretty damn tough.
“We have already seen two of the ‘Sly Six’ sack their managers this season but they still occupy six out of the top seven positions in the Premier League. Only West Ham have broken into the cartel.”
In other news, Liverpool have been tipped to sign a Henderson replacement in ‘huge’ £60million-plus deal.