The Championship...its no laughing matter

I never cease to be amazed at the cache of the Premier League.  When I go away on holiday to the Far East, all the locals have Manchester United or Arsenal shirts.  Premier clubs have their own official shops in certain holiday locations.  For certain big matches such as Liverpool v Chelsea the TV stations organise fan zones with large screens in parks and plazas and catch the reaction of the locals all decked out in the latest kit.

Last Stop at the Valley for this Season

While the Premier League gets all the plaudits (and fair play to them for their clever marketing which to some extent does benefit all clubs in England) I don’t believe it’s the best league in the world or even England

For me it must be the Championship.  This is the tightest and most combative league I have ever witnessed.  On the last day of the season, twelve (ie half) of the teams had something to play for.  Once the dust had settled, there were only 14 points between Leicester, the lowest play off qualifier and Peterboro, the highest team to drop down to League one.

As I have said previously, the Championship is no respecter of history or previous form.  Relegated Peterborough have done the double over champions Cardiff and Wolves have been relegated again after dropping into this league last year.  One only has to look at the number of clubs that have tasted the top league that are now in this division to show how tough it is.

Why is this so?  Finances must play some part, although I’m not sure I have figured out how.  Teams dropping down from the Premier League have parachute payments which in theory should help them maintain their squad but very few teams seem to manage to bounce back immediately.

I remember when Charlton first dropped down from the Premier league nothing changed, the team stayed the same and there were no drastic cut backs.  The result was an immediate promotion.  That was of course in a prior time and with the money now involved in the Premier League and the need to invest to secure top status I believe that this is unfortunately no longer possible.

Certain small teams have had their sugar daddy that has taken on a lower league team and brought them up through the ranks, witness Fulham who I believe have been one of the more successful at this route.  It doesn’t always worked though (or as quickly as one would have liked) for many teams.  Both Leicester and Forest have found it tricky but it looks like things are potentially now working out for them.

The Championship also consists of a mixture of hungry youths and experienced former Premier league players, that you don’t find elsewhere.  Limited budgets mean that Championship teams have to nuture their home grown talent and rely on their academy teams or scouting networks.  The other thing the Championship does is give those youngsters a much earlier chance whereas their Premier counterparts are much more cautious given the higher stakes.  The Championship also benefits from loans from the premier clubs from both the senior and youth academies.  Does anyone remember Charlton youth Sean Mcginty that went to Manchester United?  I thought that would be the last we would ever see of him as he got lost within the Red’s youth and reserve system.  Yet he has been out on loan now to a number of league one sides and I believe is now currently helping out Tranmere Rovers.  He is still young and has plenty to look forward to.  On the other hand a couple of his contempories have now had Championship experience.  I doubt Casey Palmer will get much of a look over the next couple of years after his move to Chelsea unless he too goes out on loan.

Despite the analysis by the pundits every Saturday evening I do not believe that the quality of the refereeing plays any part as its a level playing field for us all.

Valley Faithfull: See you next Season!

So what do you think?  Am I on the right lines or talking complete garbage?  Let me know your thoughts, as I’d be interested to know and would like to do a follow up piece with other views.

At the Valley, Chris Powell gave a very eloquent end of season speech yesterday in which he singled out the fact that we had finished in the top half of the Championship effectively with our league one side.  Despite a disappointing start we’ve had value for money from a close knit team and the away supporters especially have been rewarded for their loyalty.

With QPR dropping down and with a bit of luck Brentford being promoted we Charlton supporters will have plenty of London derbies to look forward to next year and I can’t wait for the Championship again!