goodfootballerornot

Watching a Championship game is like going back in time, some 15 or so years, and seeing the Premier League as it was then, sort of. The quality of the pitches is mostly as bad as it was back then and the level of fitness looks comparable. I guess that a lot of fans say they prefer the lower leagues is because they can see that an ordinary, reasonably fit, bloke could probably play to that standard without too much trouble, or they at least believe its possible. Anyone who watches the Premiere League knows that’s not the case there. Your not going to get a situation where a Sunday League player could be found and whisked off to the Premier League to make an immediate impact now. It takes years of dedication and consistent fitness training to even be able to get on the pitch.  I struggle to think how many new, upcoming players, are actually signed from the Championship. It seems that unless your in a Premier League youth team your unlikely to get signed by a top team once your over 20.

Talk of the disparity between the leagues has led to the promotion payment and parachute payoffs, the effect seems to have been somewhat positive at least, but hasn’t really made the two leagues more equal. For promoted teams to compete they undoubtedly need more cash but how can you entice better players to play in a lower league once demoted? Its difficult to say the least, but the Championship should at least be a proving ground for younger players rather than just where older players who can’t hack it go. There is also a fairly substantial disparity between the top and bottom of the League. Wishful thinking and banging on about the good old days doesn’t change the fact that to have a chance of being more competitive the top divisions need to spread the resources less thinly and the only way of doing that is to cut some teams. Yes, yes I know we have a great heritage and tradition which maintains four whole divisions, but please shut up now. No amount of polishing or history can change the fact that Leagues one and two are turds not diamonds. The fact is that Leagues one and two are a separate entity to all intents and purposes and certainly do not play to a standard that matches with the Championship, let alone the Premiere League. If you want to maintain the tradition then the lower divisions need to be amateur and forget the pretence of professional football down there.

The Championship needs to cut down to 20 teams and the Premiere League needs to pass more cash downwards or be restricted on what they have to spend. The only way to change the balance is to insist that clubs only work with the money they earn and pass more to the Championship. A central fund for pitch maintenace would be a good place to start, its not 1980 any more people, the muddy sand tracks that are passed off as pitches are a joke today, even some Premiere League teams struggle. Keeping the teams to only being able to spend what they earn would certainly put an end to the billionaire plaything, but would cause some serious upheavals. If reports are half accurate Chelsea were right on the brink of bankruptcy before Abramovhich turned up, West Ham would not be in the top flight now thats for sure. You could of course allow an initial cash injection by a new owner to help teams along. Man City have effectivly been operating under those terms this season, without unbalencing the league either.

Nothing which is effective is going to be universally popular, either with clubs or fans. Maybe the current status quo is ok, but I dont think so.