After yesterday’s Blackburn v Barnsley match a very frustrated Keith Hill blamed the difference between his Barnsley side losing the match 2-1 on the parachute payment money used to fund the Blackburn team, in particular Jordan Rhodes. Sour grapes or not? This made me think, so I scanned the Championship table to see what other teams have the parachute advantage. Obviously Wolves and Bolton also share the magical 4 years whereas Blackpool and Birmingham still have 3 years to go. However you also have Burnley and Hull with 2 and even Boro have this final year to go. So that’s 8 teams with Sky funding. Of the remainder a number of teams have rich backers: Massives, Forest, Watford, Leicester, Cardiff, Udders and Brighton. Even Bristol City despite low crowds can afford Baldock. So that leaves Palace, Millwall, Derby, Ipswich, Barnsley, Leeds, Peterboro and us in a league of our own. As salary levels go I’m not sure where we line up but when we were competing with Peterboro for Wilson I think that does give some idea although Fuller does negate this to a certain extent. Never more so does it seem to me that the fabled Premier League 2 has come into play. Is it good for the league, I’m not so sure. I do remember Olly being very upset about it when he was Plymouth manager playing Charlton but now would he turn it down? Looking at the crowds so far this season I would think that of the teams with money we can match most of them for filling a ground with the exception of Brighton/Wolves/Brum/Cardiff/Massives/forest/Hull. So whereas in the 90s we struggled to match teams in the Championship due to attendances creating less resources, we now struggle due to this inbalance of funds. So if we do finish outside the bottom 3, and I think we will, it will be a great achievement.
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As you say, in the longer term it will create eight or so yoyo clubs who survive on parachute payments and/or a rich man's largesse, and the poor scratching around on the floor for scraps, clubs like us.
What's the answer ? The rich(ish) will get richer and the poor will go under