The luxuries of Championship Football

Amidst a day of talk concerning hundred-million-pound takeovers and player signings, and Arab businessmen deciding which of four clubs to pursue an 'interest' in, it gave one miniscule football fan, in the grand scheme of things, the chance to take stock and look at the wider view of the English game; the general direction of its development, and my club's participation in it.

I can't imagine supporting a club without any financial boundaries. It's one of the challenges that makes Football such a vibrant, interesting game. Just as the implementation of video replays and 'fifth officials', for instance, would remove something from football, leaving the game more robotic and far less debate-provoking. And that's precisely why I love the way my club is run. We've got enough money to get by, as we broke our record transfer by £750k in July, and have spent when required for as long as I can remember. But there are constraints to both our stature and financial clout. But that's such an integral part of the game, that we sift through the shortlists until we find the required players to add to Sir Johnson's "golf bag" for the right price. Providing they possess the Johnson attitude, of course.

I wouldn't much like to support a club with serious difficulty with cashflow, either. The Colchester route, winning promotion on the back of countless free-signings and minuscule crowds, is a very creditable achievement, but, no intentional disrespect, the amount of dross that passed through their squad until they found the winning formula is something that would really grate me. But, of course, clubs like this are great for football, and while there is nothing less satisfying than being overtaken again by a club who've spent a pittance, it adds further to the debate on both sides. And after all, the Free Agent market is one of the great things about lower league Football, picking up a discarded rough diamond and seeing him prosper and flourish.

Enough gushing about The Championship, there is a real danger that this era we seem to be entering could backfire horrendously in the future. A major talking point everywhere in football is how it's becoming less accessible to the working class in this country. And with Abramovic, the Premiership's first real big-buyer, charging over £50 for the privilege of watching a Champions League match at Stamford Bridge, what is to become of Football should all 20 clubs receive this kind of investment? It's not only people who don't know what they're talking about who say that there's too much money in Football. Mr Al-Fahim, for all his good intention, I'm sure, arrived at Manchester City on Monday and had broken the British transfer record within hours, without even a care for Robinho to pass a medical first. That, for me, spells immense danger. £32.5 Million is barely small change to the investors who are casting their beady eyes ever increasingly on the Premier League. And it's not as though those clubs with less stature are out of reach; one of Al-Fahim's first words as to why he chose Manchester City was that he wanted a 'challenge'.

And with increased spending, the ever-increasing void between Premiership and Championship could double overnight. The world's elite could soon be flocking to the Premiership, turning it into even more of an elite league, and widening the gulf with The Football League so much further than the dangerous levels it has already reached.

Things are not looking good for Football, in my eyes. The Premier League and The FA could surely find it within their jurisdiction to do something about this, if there are signs of this attitude getting out of control. Football clubs are not meant to be the plaything of a multi-billionaire, they're immensely complicated structures that need due care and attention, as highlighted by the Keegan saga this week, and somewhere there needs to be concsious thought as to the good of football. Not that the PL or FA would ever look beyond money as the means of success.

Comments

[Richard Martin]

Wait until they rich blokes get bored or ill, and the money disappears overnight. Then City, Chelsea and the others will be well and truly in the mire. Gretna, anyone?