Preston North End glad to see the back of the European Super League proposal

A storm of protests from fans, pundits and clubs throughout football forced a humiliating climbdown by the owners of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.

PNE had voiced their disapproval on Monday, the closed-shop set-up flying in the face of competitive sport and putting the structure of English football at risk.

Reacting to the proposal falling apart, Peter Ridsdale, advisor to North End owner Trevor Hemmings, told the Lancashire Post: “I thought the idea was misguided to say the least.

“It galvanised supporters, other clubs, the football authorities, the Government.

“How they thought they could go through with it and remain part of the domestic framework, I don’t know.

“I knew the plans could fall apart but the speed it did was maybe a bit surprising.

“Football has always been about what happens on the field of play. You can’t have an infrastructure not based on winning and losing matches.

“Look at the interest in our division at the moment about who might be relegated. That is why there was a lot on our game against Derby on Tuesday.

“In competitive football there has to be the sanction that if you don’t get the results, you go down.”

The English clubs who had been involved in the ESL plans had been dubbed the ‘Big Six’.

Ridsdale said: “Who the hell decides who the Big Six are? For example, when the Premier League was formed, Everton were part of it but Manchester City weren’t.

“It is a moment in time when clubs are elite, you can’t just assume it.”

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