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Championship players still have a very lucrative career which means there are plenty of solid professionals on their way down the career ladder and plenty of young talent on their way up.
This phenomenon is exemplified most notably by the relatively recent trend of Premier sides loaning out their fresh young talent to lower league clubs to gain experience instead of playing them in fairly pointless reserve or youth league games devoid of the urgency and passion of a Championship or even League one fixture where the power and pace is frenetic and where learning to ride roughshod and hold off tough challenges proves vital experience for young talent learning the ropes and the tricks of the trade defensive work-horse midfielders use to nullify talent that may have flair, a deft touch and ability but lacks the robustness to thrive as a professional.
Careers can wither and die as quick as the hype surrounding a professional is built however and the history of \english football is littered with the names of once promising talent who after a promising burst into the first team of a Premier League side were destined to languish in the lower leagues for the rest of their careers.
Andros Townsend for instance was loaned out at three or four different clubs before attracting plaudits in a pitifully plundering QPR side last season where he stood out amongst a squad of journeymen pros and mercenaries on inflated salaries proving money spent in January is rarely well spent.
Even the quality of Conference football is very high. The FA Cup is a good leveller and very often the difference between an amateur and professional is consistency and that crucial ingredient of a touch of class or talent that can turn a game in a moment with a cutting through ball, free-kick or side-step that sets them apart from their counterparts.
Most amateurs in the Conference have all the basic attributes of a Premier League player. Even to make it as a semi-pro you'll have to have achieved a very high standard in your career at youth and county level to cut it at a Conference club. Commitment is a major factor too.
A physically robust and efficient player can carve out an excellent career whilst usually the best players at youth level will often fade into mediocrity due to the usual temptations of teenage youth which make them too unreliable by the time they reach their peak which is why there are often some stunning performances in one off Cup ties when talented players work themselves up for a big cup tie but lack the mental commitment to raise their game to that level on a consistent basis.
Tim Sherwood was a mediocre player until his 20's but robust physicality and a rigid fitness regime combined with a basic grasp of the basic tenets of being a defender or work-horse midfielder is a very achievable goal for those willing to put in the effort and commitment.
Players with natural talent however are rare, which is why the Premier League teams have that added touch of class lacking in the lower leagues.
However I think the Premier League is on the wane, currently going through what the Italian League went through in the 90's. Overly defensive mindsets in teams with ten men behind the ball facing top class teams dependent on mercenary pros who can often go missing from week to week before playing the odd game where they'll suddenly burst into life.
City are the best team talent wise for instance, but a workmanlike Manchester United side beat them to the title with ease last season. Aguero however is an amazing talent and looked unplayable against a lumbering Spurs defence last Sunday.
Chelsea again, on paper should cruise games like Basel but Basel's work ethic and effective performances as a collective unit who look like a team rather than a team sheet of star names have now achieved two well deserved victories against Chelsea as well as knocking out Spurs in the quarter Final of the Europa League last season.
The Premier League, like the Italian league was in the 90's has just become a routine passage for world class payers whoare overpaid and often go through the motions rather than playing with real intent.
I disagree, the league is very competitive right now, the expansion of the USA market is going very well, and the current table leader is playing some of the most brilliant, exciting football of any team in UEFA right now.
I disagree, the league is very competitive right now, the expansion of the USA market is going very well, and the current table leader is playing some of the most brilliant, exciting football of any team in UEFA right now.
The Spurs v Man United game was a good match today actually and yeah I agree that Arsenal will probably win the Premier league this season.
But watch out for the resurgent Manchester clubs, they're coming to getcha
Any English Championship (2nd division) club would be mid-table or higher in any top league in Europe except the Bundesliga. A good site to compare is European leagues and cup competitions | Transfermarkt where they estimate the transfer value of each player and of each team if they were to sell all their players.
The big difference between the Premier league and Championship is team depth. The Championship has some really good players who start for national teams but when you get into the 2nd 11 is where the talent really drops off. Also teams at the Championship always have the problem of Premier teams wanting to buy their top players and unlike the Premier league, Championship teams get scraps for TV money. So when a Premier league team comes calling to buy your player for 5 million pounds, you probably are going to sell.
In League One and Two, outside one or two players, most players are making a living but just that. Like working at Sears or Walmart. You will see some incredible football at these levels though but everything from the stands to fanbases take a big nose dive.
5th tier of English football is National League - mostly professional clubs these days but those players often have to find day jobs and/or double up with other duties like pitch and stadium maintenance.
MLS in the states is about equal to League One in England in talent with one or two over the hill Premier league stars mixed in. In a full season, both the Premier league and Championship league in England would clobber them.
This part flashed by me once more. By this, do you mean the gap between the Championship and league 1 is greater than that between Premier and Championship; less of a gap; or same?
Because of the fluidity of the pro/rel system it means that the 'gap' between leagues is unlikely to change much over the years.
The Championship is by far the hardest league to make a profit in. To be competitive for promotion to the Premier League, you have to run at a financial loss with player salaries vs income, so it's gamble.
Plus teams that are demoted from the Premier League get huge parachute payments (tens of millions of pounds) which gives them a big advantage unless they are burdened with debt from Premier league salaries.
Or you can be a team like Norwich or Queen Park Rangers who yo-yos from the Premier League to the Championship because they won't spend money on salaries to be competitive in the Premier League but use parachute money to keep their current players thus are near the top of the Championship.
The Championship is by far the hardest league to make a profit in. To be competitive for promotion to the Premier League, you have to run at a financial loss with player salaries vs income, so it's gamble.
Plus teams that are demoted from the Premier League get huge parachute payments (tens of millions of pounds) which gives them a big advantage unless they are burdened with debt from Premier league salaries.
Or you can be a team like Norwich or Queen Park Rangers who yo-yos from the Premier League to the Championship because they won't spend money on salaries to be competitive in the Premier League but use parachute money to keep their current players thus are near the top of the Championship.
Or you could do what Leicester did and simply build a Premier League winning team at a price you can afford?
Or you could do what Leicester did and simply build a Premier League winning team at a price you can afford?
Would that it were so simple. In today's footballing world, Leicester is a complete aberration (unfortunately). I wouldn't bank on their success being replicable.
Would that it were so simple. In today's footballing world, Leicester is a complete aberration (unfortunately). I wouldn't bank on their success being replicable.
Nobody said it was simple, its happened before Leicester and it will happen again.
Nobody said it was simple, its happened before Leicester and it will happen again.
It happened exactly once (Nottingham Forest in the late seventies). Twice in forty years (three times if you count Blackburn who spent hand over fist in their one title-winning season) is hardly the portend for "it will happen again".
It happened exactly once (Nottingham Forest in the late seventies). Twice in forty years (three times if you count Blackburn who spent hand over fist in their one title-winning season) is hardly the portend for "it will happen again".
English football goes back way before the 1970's it was a hundred years old by then! It WILL happen again all the while there is pro/rel, could be next year, could be 5 years, could be 10.
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