Charlton co-owner Charlie Methven tells West Ham and Crystal Palace to “grow up” over their stance on EFL payments.

The English football pyramid is one the oldest and most respected sporting setups in the entire world. It lays out a clear path for any team, in theory, to climb from the very bottom to the Premier League. To keep things running smoothly, the teams in the top division have helped those below financially

Unfortunately for clubs in the EFL, they are having to wait until they find out what their finances will look like going forward. This comes after the news that Premier League clubs are set to introduce a new financial system. Understandably, many have been left infuriated with the lack of support for these clubs and Charlton co-owner Charlie Methven has been particularly vocal about this.

“This is just a bunch of jargon words to paper over the cracks of they haven’t done what they said they were going to do,” he told talkSPORT.

“They told the EFL they would come back with a comprehensive offer, they told the government to come back with a deal that would be appropriate, and they failed to do so. Their communications department has had to come back with some words that will pull the wool over enough people’s eyes and kick the can down the road. It allows the clubs who are against it, to live and breathe for another day.”

At first, the former Sunderland owner was reluctant to reveal the clubs that were opposed to the idea, avoiding saying their names. “The majority of Premier League clubs are fully realistic and know this deal has to be done. It’s a minority of clubs who are against it and are holding the industry back. It’s two clubs not far from Charlton, one a little bit to the north and one a little bit to the south west. They’ve got just enough clubs to stop the industry from moving forward.”

“There are a few Premier League clubs that are holding the industry back and are driving the rest of the industry mad for only thinking of their own short-term, narrow self-interest. Frankly, everything else is just noise.”

However, when he was asked who the clubs were (even though it could easily be guessed) he stated that it is “Palace and West Ham are leaders of this King Canute style movement. It’s not yet a matter of public record of which clubs they’ve persuaded to be in their corner.”

“If you speak to executives from other clubs in the Premier League, they are almost as frustrated as we are. They know because they see a bigger strategic vision of what will happen with the public regulator. It’s probably more likely to end up with a scenario they dread, which is reformation of the parachute payments, which would make a difference to these guys.”

“Grow up. Remember that these clubs, the clubs they run, were very recently football league members and the fact that in a game of musical chairs they are in the seats they are currently at. It doesn’t mean that at some point that their clubs won’t be back in the football league.”

Obviously it is vital that Premier League clubs do all they can to keep the football pyramid intact but, at the same time, there is also the argument that the Irons have to do what’s best for them. Whether it’s morally right or not is a different matter, but West Ham have every right to do what benefits them over everyone else.