To be fair to PL clubs, they are handicapped. They have to include a contingent of home grown English players in their squads. The players coming through the English coaching system are still mostly shit compared to the players coming through the coaching systems in the other CL countries.
And that's because clubs were using so many foreign players, especially when compared to teams in other leagues.
So there may be a homegrown rule, but there are still fewer Englishmen playing in the the top tier than there are Spaniards in Spain's, Germans in Germany's etc.
Whilst blog hopping to double check some stuff I saw this: "From around 2002 to 2010, Germany invested approximately €520 million into its youth development system".
In Germany the DFB (their FA) who really run the game, took it by the scruff of the neck after the 2000 low point for German football. One of the things they did was make it mandatory for Bundesliga clubs to invest in an academy. I think the investment level was £1m, and at that time was not a small sum, as the Bundesliga then wasn't attracting big TV money. And what was the result? The terrifying continuous production line of young talent which ensures that I will probably never again see England beat Germany in a competitive match.
So let's not talk about the PL being handicapped, except by the greed of their owners.
@Uboat David Dein is one of the architects of this shitfest. I couldn't have attended that. I'd have been thrown out after losing my rag. I think Kevin Miles of the FSF wanted to throw me out of the Supporters Summit in Manchester for airing my views along these lines, but he could see I wasn't alone. But apparently it had been years since anyone had pointed to the elephant in the room at such a gathering, and people like Kevin Miles get too close to the black heart of power. That's part of the problem. They've got the national supporter groups in a headlock.
He said, 'Put your hands up of you've got SkySports'. About a third of the room put their hands up and he looked absolutely staggered. He really assumed all football fans would have it. Then a bloke asked if it was progress that most kids couldn't afford to go to games or watch them live on tv and he got quite arsey and started blathering on about it being the best league in the world.
Really wish the Premier League would completely break away from the rest of the Football League.
The twenty clubs in the Division at the time (even if that includes Crystal Palace and Millwall) can just go away, have their own sole League and do whatever they want, hopefully it'll result in people getting bored with no Domestic Cup competitions and no relegation etc. and it'll slowly just wilt away and die.
The Championship can then become the top tier of English Football which can be properly controlled by the FA.
The Premier League can even keep European Qualification yet please just go away now!!
I said this back in '92 FA, when the whole shitfest was first touted by the uber-wanker Dein. I even wrote to him to suggest exactly what happened would happen, and he replied with a smug "just you wait and see" type reply. I am so annoyed I didn't keep that correspondence. I still hope for the day when they get told to stuff it.
I do think it's time for fans of lower league teams - especially crisis clubs like us - to unite in a more official way under one banner against the EFL and PL.
With a set of aims to make league football stable and sustainable. As it just gets more and more ridiculous. We need to put the same amount of pressure on them as CARD and the rest put on Roland.
Really wish the Premier League would completely break away from the rest of the Football League.
The twenty clubs in the Division at the time (even if that includes Crystal Palace and Millwall) can just go away, have their own sole League and do whatever they want, hopefully it'll result in people getting bored with no Domestic Cup competitions and no relegation etc. and it'll slowly just wilt away and die.
The Championship can then become the top tier of English Football which can be properly controlled by the FA.
The Premier League can even keep European Qualification yet please just go away now!!
All the evidence from the American sports would suggest that it wouldn't wither and die though.
You are comparing a tin of paint with an elephant though KHA.
The draft system keeps the US sports scene (relatively) competitive, there is absolutely no structure in place in Britain to mirror that, at all.
They split into mini leagues to add another level to the competition - psychology comes into play, being 5th in a league of 5 somehow does not seem as bad as 22nd in a league of 22.
They move clubs on a whim to areas where they think they can maximise revenue, and people buy into it. Most fans are of a Roland Duchatalet mindset, not a Seb mindset.
The sheer number of people in the US and the distances involved create a very different dynamic. Glory hunters from Basingstoke can still justify their spineless support of Liverpool by popping up there a few times a season, SF Giants "fans" in Albany really don't get to do that.
In the PL the richest clubs will get the best players, always. The poorest clubs will get the rest, and will always be at the arse end of the league. Avoiding relegation is an achievement, and keeps the season alive for clubs struggling at the bottom, it keeps games competitive and it keeps supporters interested. How long will clubs like Palace and Bournemouth (or indeed us, were we in such esteemed company) keep selling out stadia when the best they can aspire to is 18th in a 20 team league?
There will be the EPL cup, where the same 20 teams play each other, and inevitably the same four or five clubs will still win that 95% of the time...
The top clubs are never going to distribute the cash evenly over the 20 clubs to maintain an element of competition, claiming that they need the best to compete in Europe, but ultimately it'll be greed. Even if they see the writing on the wall, the owners will just milk it for all it's worth as it goes down the pan, after all money is all most of them are interested in, or at least, it comes in front of their "love" for football.
The Premier League are threatening to withdraw their money if Accrington etc. dont like it but... Would that be such a bad thing? - The clubs all live within their means because of the Premier League money that they receive but if taken away surely it'll be a case of... You cant afford it, dont spend it
By telling the Premier League to go do one you might get another situation like when ITV Sport went bust but after a few years of nearly every club going into administration they recovered... At least if that happened again they wouldnt have the ridiculous rules which state that the Premier League can cherry pick Academy kids which has meant some clubs have even closed their Academies!!
Just feel sometimes as though the Premier League feel as though they can get away with the scaremongering threats because they know the EFL clubs will back down against them - I'd love to see someone calling their bluff or even just sticking two fingers up at them!!
To be fair to PL clubs, they are handicapped. They have to include a contingent of home grown English players in their squads. The players coming through the English coaching system are still mostly shit compared to the players coming through the coaching systems in the other CL countries.
And that's because clubs were using so many foreign players, especially when compared to teams in other leagues.
So there may be a homegrown rule, but there are still fewer Englishmen playing in the the top tier than there are Spaniards in Spain's, Germans in Germany's etc.
Whilst blog hopping to double check some stuff I saw this: "From around 2002 to 2010, Germany invested approximately €520 million into its youth development system".
In Germany the DFB (their FA) who really run the game, took it by the scruff of the neck after the 2000 low point for German football. One of the things they did was make it mandatory for Bundesliga clubs to invest in an academy. I think the investment level was £1m, and at that time was not a small sum, as the Bundesliga then wasn't attracting big TV money. And what was the result? The terrifying continuous production line of young talent which ensures that I will probably never again see England beat Germany in a competitive match.
So let's not talk about the PL being handicapped, except by the greed of their owners.
@Uboat David Dein is one of the architects of this shitfest. I couldn't have attended that. I'd have been thrown out after losing my rag. I think Kevin Miles of the FSF wanted to throw me out of the Supporters Summit in Manchester for airing my views along these lines, but he could see I wasn't alone. But apparently it had been years since anyone had pointed to the elephant in the room at such a gathering, and people like Kevin Miles get too close to the black heart of power. That's part of the problem. They've got the national supporter groups in a headlock.
This so true, and the best German clubs generally beat the best English clubs so their approach isn't harming them football wise.
The Premier League are threatening to withdraw their money if Accrington etc. dont like it but... Would that be such a bad thing? - The clubs all live within their means because of the Premier League money that they receive but if taken away surely it'll be a case of... You cant afford it, dont spend it
By telling the Premier League to go do one you might get another situation like when ITV Sport went bust but after a few years of nearly every club going into administration they recovered... At least if that happened again they wouldnt have the ridiculous rules which state that the Premier League can cherry pick Academy kids which has meant some clubs have even closed their Academies!!
Just feel sometimes as though the Premier League feel as though they can get away with the scaremongering threats because they know the EFL clubs will back down against them - I'd love to see someone calling their bluff or even just sticking two fingers up at them!!
In any event, the answer is in the EFL's own hands. Simply turn round to the PL and say okay we're not taking any more of the young players (that you've previously tapped up anyway) or any of the sub-standards on loan. You keep them on your books. See how your academies do on recruitment when young players realise they'll never get a game for a first team anywhere in England or Wales.
The Premier League are threatening to withdraw their money if Accrington etc. dont like it but... Would that be such a bad thing? - The clubs all live within their means because of the Premier League money that they receive but if taken away surely it'll be a case of... You cant afford it, dont spend it
By telling the Premier League to go do one you might get another situation like when ITV Sport went bust but after a few years of nearly every club going into administration they recovered... At least if that happened again they wouldnt have the ridiculous rules which state that the Premier League can cherry pick Academy kids which has meant some clubs have even closed their Academies!!
Just feel sometimes as though the Premier League feel as though they can get away with the scaremongering threats because they know the EFL clubs will back down against them - I'd love to see someone calling their bluff or even just sticking two fingers up at them!!
In any event, the answer is in the EFL's own hands. Simply turn round to the PL and say okay we're not taking any more of the young players (that you've previously tapped up anyway) or any of the sub-standards on loan. You keep them on your books. See how your academies do on recruitment when young players realise they'll never get a game for a first team anywhere in England or Wales.
Very true... Although the likes of Chelsea have proven that they've already sent their kids abroad (Vitesse etc.) on loan deals so will simply do that rather than send them to the lower leagues.
On the other hand the likes of Accrington | Yeovil wont be able to afford to buy anyone so will be forced to create / use their Academy.
The Premier League are threatening to withdraw their money if Accrington etc. dont like it but... Would that be such a bad thing? - The clubs all live within their means because of the Premier League money that they receive but if taken away surely it'll be a case of... You cant afford it, dont spend it
By telling the Premier League to go do one you might get another situation like when ITV Sport went bust but after a few years of nearly every club going into administration they recovered... At least if that happened again they wouldnt have the ridiculous rules which state that the Premier League can cherry pick Academy kids which has meant some clubs have even closed their Academies!!
Just feel sometimes as though the Premier League feel as though they can get away with the scaremongering threats because they know the EFL clubs will back down against them - I'd love to see someone calling their bluff or even just sticking two fingers up at them!!
In any event, the answer is in the EFL's own hands. Simply turn round to the PL and say okay we're not taking any more of the young players (that you've previously tapped up anyway) or any of the sub-standards on loan. You keep them on your books. See how your academies do on recruitment when young players realise they'll never get a game for a first team anywhere in England or Wales.
Wouldn't work unfortunately. Scotland, Holland, Belgium and France are all a short flight/train/drive away (depending on the English club), and clubs have already shown they're not shy about loaning young players overseas (just look at Chelsea!)
I've been thinking about this since the BBC ran with the story and I think the only way this can be addressed would be from Government intervention. Maybe they should make all football matches to be accessible on free to air channels like they do with Wimbledon. Or introduce a new tax for TV revenues over a certain level and then share that money with the EFL clubs.
Nearly fell of my chair laughing at the idea that this government would do anything to so blatantly oppose their lord and master.
The Premier League (and frankly all live TV sport) has peaked and will be on a downward path going forward - the idea of sitting down at a set time to watch a game for two hours is anathema to most young people today, and this is already being seen in the UK viewing figures which are down sharply for the very first time.
People will increasingly get their fill of Premier League football in the form of short YouTube style snippets of goals/key moments - as a form of content, this has value of course but nothing like the amounts previously paid for rights by Sky, BT etc. where it was used as a loss leader to drive subscription growth.
Until now there has been a tailwind behind the overall Premier League 'project' which has meant the big say six clubs have been happy to subsidise the other fourteen (as well as the relegated teams etc.). If my scenario plays out as I expect, I'd anticipate a 'land grab' and an increasing likelihood of some sort of breakaway which brings the end to the Premier League as we know it today.
Really wish the Premier League would completely break away from the rest of the Football League.
The twenty clubs in the Division at the time (even if that includes Crystal Palace and Millwall) can just go away, have their own sole League and do whatever they want, hopefully it'll result in people getting bored with no Domestic Cup competitions and no relegation etc. and it'll slowly just wilt away and die.
The Championship can then become the top tier of English Football which can be properly controlled by the FA.
The Premier League can even keep European Qualification yet please just go away now!!
All the evidence from the American sports would suggest that it wouldn't wither and die though.
You are comparing a tin of paint with an elephant though KHA.
The draft system keeps the US sports scene (relatively) competitive, there is absolutely no structure in place in Britain to mirror that, at all.
They split into mini leagues to add another level to the competition - psychology comes into play, being 5th in a league of 5 somehow does not seem as bad as 22nd in a league of 22.
They move clubs on a whim to areas where they think they can maximise revenue, and people buy into it. Most fans are of a Roland Duchatalet mindset, not a Seb mindset.
The sheer number of people in the US and the distances involved create a very different dynamic. Glory hunters from Basingstoke can still justify their spineless support of Liverpool by popping up there a few times a season, SF Giants "fans" in Albany really don't get to do that.
In the PL the richest clubs will get the best players, always. The poorest clubs will get the rest, and will always be at the arse end of the league. Avoiding relegation is an achievement, and keeps the season alive for clubs struggling at the bottom, it keeps games competitive and it keeps supporters interested. How long will clubs like Palace and Bournemouth (or indeed us, were we in such esteemed company) keep selling out stadia when the best they can aspire to is 18th in a 20 team league?
There will be the EPL cup, where the same 20 teams play each other, and inevitably the same four or five clubs will still win that 95% of the time...
The top clubs are never going to distribute the cash evenly over the 20 clubs to maintain an element of competition, claiming that they need the best to compete in Europe, but ultimately it'll be greed. Even if they see the writing on the wall, the owners will just milk it for all it's worth as it goes down the pan, after all money is all most of them are interested in, or at least, it comes in front of their "love" for football.
I knew most of that, but not all of it.
The point I was making though is that the US have several different sports that have what is effectively a closed shop for new entrants - they don't have any automatic relegation for the 'worst' placed teams.
I agree that they are not, exactly, or even at all, alike but they do seem to have successful competitions without anything like the EFL below them.
In reality the lack of a relegation will make for less interest at the bottom of the table but, let's not kid ourselves, virtually no one cares about that anyway. I will be watching Palace play Hull this weekend as I would love Hull to beat them, as I hate Palace, but when I thought they were safe I completely lost interest in the bottom of the Premier League. The interest will be, as always, at the top of the table.
This season Sky seem to have managed to get the top four challengers on TV for every game in the run in. That is, pretty much, all anyone cares about. If the Premier broke away they would still be able to command the top TV audiences when they show the top teams - especially when they play each other. You are right, though, that the gap between the top sides and the rest would grow, but it's doing that anyway.
The 'threat' by the EFL to break away is not real though as there is little or no interest in the EFL. On Sunday, last week, there were three live games on and none of them showed Newcastle who ultimately went on to win the Championship. Even if we could get teams to care about winning the Championship, which I doubt, it would end up being as predictable as the Premier League. Once the top sides in the Championship stop being promoted they will just go on to share it out between a small group. What has made the top of the Championship interesting has been the playoffs but once there is a winner, and nothing else, there will be no interest in the Championship for most of the sides as soon as they can't finish first. Realistically the EFL won't be given places in any European competitions so 2nd would be as good as 4th from bottom.
Your last paragraph, though, is the one that sums up the Premier League the best. It is, pretty much, exactly how the FAPL works now. The teams at the top take more money, sell out every game and they don't care about the teams at the bottom. They just need someone to play. They don't care who that is, or how much money they have, or how full their stadia are, they are just fodder to be beaten on the weekends that they don't play the other big teams.
Maybe it is two separate facts that the US team sports thrive without a promotion/relegation set up, and the Premier League would be successful without the EFL, but I'm convinced that it would be. I believe that Kodi will be a much bigger threat to the FAPL than the EFL walking away - all be it that I can't see the latter either.
Yes I agree about Kodi, but not the PL stuff. As you say the big boys need teams to play, I cannot see it being sustained or successful when there are four teams of Harlem Globetrotters and 16 teams of New Jersey Allstars. Eventually no-one is going to support the NJA, almost no-one will want to follow cannon fodder, support drops off when teams keep losing, and if there's nothing to play for vis-à-vis relegation, what's the point? The Sky faves will have no-one to play, except each other, over and over and over and over...
I forgot to add for the Football League to work (in my utopia) from day one all income would have to be spread evenly between 72 clubs. Including advertising revenue and sponsorship. The only thing the clubs would keep is matchday income. I think it would take time, but (along with the Kodi situation) there would be clubs at the bottom of the PL asking to rejoin the FL...
The Premier League are threatening to withdraw their money if Accrington etc. dont like it but... Would that be such a bad thing? - The clubs all live within their means because of the Premier League money that they receive but if taken away surely it'll be a case of... You cant afford it, dont spend it
By telling the Premier League to go do one you might get another situation like when ITV Sport went bust but after a few years of nearly every club going into administration they recovered... At least if that happened again they wouldnt have the ridiculous rules which state that the Premier League can cherry pick Academy kids which has meant some clubs have even closed their Academies!!
Just feel sometimes as though the Premier League feel as though they can get away with the scaremongering threats because they know the EFL clubs will back down against them - I'd love to see someone calling their bluff or even just sticking two fingers up at them!!
In any event, the answer is in the EFL's own hands. Simply turn round to the PL and say okay we're not taking any more of the young players (that you've previously tapped up anyway) or any of the sub-standards on loan. You keep them on your books. See how your academies do on recruitment when young players realise they'll never get a game for a first team anywhere in England or Wales.
Wouldn't work unfortunately. Scotland, Holland, Belgium and France are all a short flight/train/drive away (depending on the English club), and clubs have already shown they're not shy about loaning young players overseas (just look at Chelsea!)
Not everyone is happy about working overseas though. And in any event, who is to say that will still even be an option post-brexit? That leaves Scotland......
The Premier League are threatening to withdraw their money if Accrington etc. dont like it but... Would that be such a bad thing? - The clubs all live within their means because of the Premier League money that they receive but if taken away surely it'll be a case of... You cant afford it, dont spend it
By telling the Premier League to go do one you might get another situation like when ITV Sport went bust but after a few years of nearly every club going into administration they recovered... At least if that happened again they wouldnt have the ridiculous rules which state that the Premier League can cherry pick Academy kids which has meant some clubs have even closed their Academies!!
Just feel sometimes as though the Premier League feel as though they can get away with the scaremongering threats because they know the EFL clubs will back down against them - I'd love to see someone calling their bluff or even just sticking two fingers up at them!!
In any event, the answer is in the EFL's own hands. Simply turn round to the PL and say okay we're not taking any more of the young players (that you've previously tapped up anyway) or any of the sub-standards on loan. You keep them on your books. See how your academies do on recruitment when young players realise they'll never get a game for a first team anywhere in England or Wales.
Wouldn't work unfortunately. Scotland, Holland, Belgium and France are all a short flight/train/drive away (depending on the English club), and clubs have already shown they're not shy about loaning young players overseas (just look at Chelsea!)
Not everyone is happy about working overseas though. And in any event, who is to say that will still even be an option post-brexit? That leaves Scotland......
It would be nice to see the fans groups - Supporters Direct and particularly the FSF -coming out in support too. But they won't. And you know why? Because the FAPL make donations to them both. Not enough for them to survive, but SD especially are in dire straits financially since the Co-op Bank, previously a key funder, itself fell on hard times. It's "shut up" money, like the donations oligarchs make to both major political parties, claiming that they are 'supporting democracy'.
But of course, the individual Trusts can get together. We have already proved that over the Olympic Stadium. I am going to contact them and see if we can make a joint statement.
any luck on this Prague?
I saw the headline in the daily mail about this yesterday... "Accrington at it again" basically the thrust of the article is like the PL, they should be grateful for their lot and keep their mouths shut.
It would be nice to see the fans groups - Supporters Direct and particularly the FSF -coming out in support too. But they won't. And you know why? Because the FAPL make donations to them both. Not enough for them to survive, but SD especially are in dire straits financially since the Co-op Bank, previously a key funder, itself fell on hard times. It's "shut up" money, like the donations oligarchs make to both major political parties, claiming that they are 'supporting democracy'.
But of course, the individual Trusts can get together. We have already proved that over the Olympic Stadium. I am going to contact them and see if we can make a joint statement.
any luck on this Prague?
I saw the headline in the daily mail about this yesterday... "Accrington at it again" basically the thrust of the article is like the PL, they should be grateful for their lot and keep their mouths shut.
Yes, a very interesting discussion has kicked off in resposne to a mail I sent on Wed evening. In summary, several Trust reps were ready to share my blind rage. But Duncan Drasdo of MUST is an elder statesman of football activism, and knows more than I will ever learn. He responded along the lines of "yes,agree, but lets think carefully about what we want to achieve and how we can do that". This was the kind of advice that served well both the Olympic Stadium campaign and the Valley Party. Being bloody angry is a the driver, but it is not the goal.
I think there will definitely be a statement of support to and for Andy Holt. We need a little more time to work out a more strategic move on the overall issue of the FAPL.
Finally I decided to reach out to the other Trusts because i was pleasantly surprised how my rant in this thread above seemed to strike a chord. It made me think that maybe, with all the shit that is going on at so many clubs, fans have reached a tipping point. So, thanks to all who expressed their agreement.
There is a simple answer to this, stop supporting Sky and BT, how many on this thread do not subscribe to either?
Most comments very good, especially the suggestion that top half dozen Showbiz clubs couldn't give a toss about the rest. Every year all you need to do is perm any three of 12 or 13 teams to be relegated, to be replaced by three new tossers.
Comments
With a set of aims to make league football stable and sustainable. As it just gets more and more ridiculous. We need to put the same amount of pressure on them as CARD and the rest put on Roland.
The draft system keeps the US sports scene (relatively) competitive, there is absolutely no structure in place in Britain to mirror that, at all.
They split into mini leagues to add another level to the competition - psychology comes into play, being 5th in a league of 5 somehow does not seem as bad as 22nd in a league of 22.
They move clubs on a whim to areas where they think they can maximise revenue, and people buy into it. Most fans are of a Roland Duchatalet mindset, not a Seb mindset.
The sheer number of people in the US and the distances involved create a very different dynamic. Glory hunters from Basingstoke can still justify their spineless support of Liverpool by popping up there a few times a season, SF Giants "fans" in Albany really don't get to do that.
In the PL the richest clubs will get the best players, always. The poorest clubs will get the rest, and will always be at the arse end of the league. Avoiding relegation is an achievement, and keeps the season alive for clubs struggling at the bottom, it keeps games competitive and it keeps supporters interested. How long will clubs like Palace and Bournemouth (or indeed us, were we in such esteemed company) keep selling out stadia when the best they can aspire to is 18th in a 20 team league?
There will be the EPL cup, where the same 20 teams play each other, and inevitably the same four or five clubs will still win that 95% of the time...
The top clubs are never going to distribute the cash evenly over the 20 clubs to maintain an element of competition, claiming that they need the best to compete in Europe, but ultimately it'll be greed. Even if they see the writing on the wall, the owners will just milk it for all it's worth as it goes down the pan, after all money is all most of them are interested in, or at least, it comes in front of their "love" for football.
By telling the Premier League to go do one you might get another situation like when ITV Sport went bust but after a few years of nearly every club going into administration they recovered... At least if that happened again they wouldnt have the ridiculous rules which state that the Premier League can cherry pick Academy kids which has meant some clubs have even closed their Academies!!
Just feel sometimes as though the Premier League feel as though they can get away with the scaremongering threats because they know the EFL clubs will back down against them - I'd love to see someone calling their bluff or even just sticking two fingers up at them!!
On the other hand the likes of Accrington | Yeovil wont be able to afford to buy anyone so will be forced to create / use their Academy.
People will increasingly get their fill of Premier League football in the form of short YouTube style snippets of goals/key moments - as a form of content, this has value of course but nothing like the amounts previously paid for rights by Sky, BT etc. where it was used as a loss leader to drive subscription growth.
Until now there has been a tailwind behind the overall Premier League 'project' which has meant the big say six clubs have been happy to subsidise the other fourteen (as well as the relegated teams etc.). If my scenario plays out as I expect, I'd anticipate a 'land grab' and an increasing likelihood of some sort of breakaway which brings the end to the Premier League as we know it today.
The point I was making though is that the US have several different sports that have what is effectively a closed shop for new entrants - they don't have any automatic relegation for the 'worst' placed teams.
I agree that they are not, exactly, or even at all, alike but they do seem to have successful competitions without anything like the EFL below them.
In reality the lack of a relegation will make for less interest at the bottom of the table but, let's not kid ourselves, virtually no one cares about that anyway. I will be watching Palace play Hull this weekend as I would love Hull to beat them, as I hate Palace, but when I thought they were safe I completely lost interest in the bottom of the Premier League. The interest will be, as always, at the top of the table.
This season Sky seem to have managed to get the top four challengers on TV for every game in the run in. That is, pretty much, all anyone cares about. If the Premier broke away they would still be able to command the top TV audiences when they show the top teams - especially when they play each other. You are right, though, that the gap between the top sides and the rest would grow, but it's doing that anyway.
The 'threat' by the EFL to break away is not real though as there is little or no interest in the EFL. On Sunday, last week, there were three live games on and none of them showed Newcastle who ultimately went on to win the Championship. Even if we could get teams to care about winning the Championship, which I doubt, it would end up being as predictable as the Premier League. Once the top sides in the Championship stop being promoted they will just go on to share it out between a small group. What has made the top of the Championship interesting has been the playoffs but once there is a winner, and nothing else, there will be no interest in the Championship for most of the sides as soon as they can't finish first. Realistically the EFL won't be given places in any European competitions so 2nd would be as good as 4th from bottom.
Your last paragraph, though, is the one that sums up the Premier League the best. It is, pretty much, exactly how the FAPL works now. The teams at the top take more money, sell out every game and they don't care about the teams at the bottom. They just need someone to play. They don't care who that is, or how much money they have, or how full their stadia are, they are just fodder to be beaten on the weekends that they don't play the other big teams.
Maybe it is two separate facts that the US team sports thrive without a promotion/relegation set up, and the Premier League would be successful without the EFL, but I'm convinced that it would be. I believe that Kodi will be a much bigger threat to the FAPL than the EFL walking away - all be it that I can't see the latter either.
I forgot to add for the Football League to work (in my utopia) from day one all income would have to be spread evenly between 72 clubs. Including advertising revenue and sponsorship. The only thing the clubs would keep is matchday income. I think it would take time, but (along with the Kodi situation) there would be clubs at the bottom of the PL asking to rejoin the FL...
We shall have to agree to differ KHA.
That leaves Scotland......
I saw the headline in the daily mail about this yesterday... "Accrington at it again" basically the thrust of the article is like the PL, they should be grateful for their lot and keep their mouths shut.
I think there will definitely be a statement of support to and for Andy Holt. We need a little more time to work out a more strategic move on the overall issue of the FAPL.
Finally I decided to reach out to the other Trusts because i was pleasantly surprised how my rant in this thread above seemed to strike a chord. It made me think that maybe, with all the shit that is going on at so many clubs, fans have reached a tipping point. So, thanks to all who expressed their agreement.
Most comments very good, especially the suggestion that top half dozen Showbiz clubs couldn't give a toss about the rest. Every year all you need to do is perm any three of 12 or 13 teams to be relegated, to be replaced by three new tossers.