Why the Relegation of Premiership Regulars Could Mean Great Things for the Football League
As big clubs fall to small leagues and terrestrial television has its eye on the Championship, this could spark a common interest in foreign investors that could well bridge the gap between the English Premiership and Championship.
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Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Southampton, Charlton, Leeds, Bradford, MK Dons, all fallen giants trying to get up, but for some to no avail. Or is it to no avail? The presence of these big clubs in small leagues may actually add to the success of English football.
With the sorry demise of some of England’s biggest teams comes the not so sorry smile of the Football League. Next season’s appearance of Premiership veterans Newcastle and Middlesbrough in the Championship coupled with the fall of Southampton, Charlton and Norwich to League One could well mean that we are in for one of the most competitive and glamorous Football League seasons ever.
What’s more is that the BBC have finally decided to show some live Championship games, which means that anybody with a TV licence will be able to see live English league football next season. The presence of big clubs and terrestrial television coverage combined means that there will be more eyes than ever on the Football League. As a result it could well be possible that the Football League uses this extra exposure as a stepping stone to more commercial interest. This in turn could mean more international interest in Football League teams, which could finally see the financial gap between the Premiership and the Football League drawing closer.
As it stands the Championship is currently the sixth most profitable league in the world. Clearly there is already a foundation set for the big investors to swoop in. This has in fact already happened with teams like QPR, who were bought out by multi-millionaires in 2007. The impact of the up and coming season could tip this slowly emerging trend into more of a common place. Football League clubs are certainly cheaper than Premier League clubs so the risk factor is lower, whilst increased popularity and interest in the Football League would mean a raise in profile for the buyer and a better chance of making a sell on profit. The repercussions however may not necessarily be a good thing.
If the arrival of higher profile clubs in the Championship and League One combined with terrestrial television exposure does spark the Football League into an owners playground, it could result in a new gap opening up between the Championship and League One and Two. Just like the Premier League, as more money comes in, the financial worth of players and their salaries takes a jump. This is because players are a necessity for success and as more money is batted around there will be more clashes for the quality players. Whilst this is manageable for the clubs with rich owners, it will ruin those clubs without financial backing. What could follow is a Darwin style survival of the richest, where only clubs with wealthy owners can make it in the Championship and a big gap forms between the lower divisions. Ironically this kind of situation is exactly what happened to create a financial gap between the Premier League and Championship in the first place, except with television revenue. Now it seems success for the Football League could mean that gap moving back a league.
Is this a bad thing? On one hand English football will be more competitive and quality than ever. On the other however it can put clubs in sticky financial situations, where they become stuck if they don’t have an owner or if an owner pulls out leaving a club to fend for itself. On top of this you have the crazy player salaries and transfer fees expanding to another division and preventing any smaller clubs from signing good players. It could mean the extinction of some clubs that can’t keep up. For those that do find success however the good times may well roll as Premiership teams are kept on their toes by the uprising of those that have spent so many years behind them.
If the last few years have shown us anything about football it is that anything can happen. Next season’s Football League could be a landmark season for English lower division football. At the least it will be a very interesting one to follow.
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