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The Football League has more to offer English soccer fans than the Premier League
Results so far:
| Agree | 47% | 216 votes | Total: 464 votes | |
| Disagree | 53% | 248 votes |
Agree
by Chris Allen
Created on: May 21, 2010 Last Updated: September 18, 2010
Kevin Keegan once said that the Premier League was at risk of becoming the most boring and predictable league in the world. While this is not the case, (the Premiership remains one of the most enjoyable and lucrative leagues) if it is pure excitement, unpredictability and value for money you're after, then the football league is the undisputed champion!
At the beginning of every single season, when predictions are made as to what positions each club will occupy come early May, the predictions for the Premier League look roughly the same every year, and are usually pretty accurate. Most predictions are pretty similar to everybody else's predictions and are not far from what actually happens. The Championship however is so much more complex. Before every season, each prediction can be completely different to what some other "expert" predicted, so the general consensus is "we don't have a clue what will happen!". And come the end of the season, the actual table looks like what nobody predicted. And that's good. It's what people get interested in things for. If you knew exactly how your life would plan out, it would seem nowhere near as interesting (once you'd stopped having a fit over knowing when you will die obviously).
While the Championship may not have the quality of players we see in the Premier League, the wealth of talent (mostly young, British talent too) is incredible. A lot of Championship clubs would fit in no problem in most of the top leagues around Europe, and the interest is evidently there, as the Coca Cola Championship has the fourth highest average attendance of any European league, trumping Serie A and Ligue 1. This of course has a lot to do with ticket prices. On average, they are considerably less than you would be expected to pay to see a Premier League game, though the smaller clubs in the Premier League don't enforce to big a difference.
Another reason for the massive level of excitement around the football league is the play off system. Agree or, as I do, disagree with the concept there is no denying that they have huge entertainment value. Take this season's for example. Cardiff and Leicester went to penalties (always a fantastic spectacle) after a great comeback was dramatically halted, and Blackpool, against the odds, put Forest to the sword. Form goes out the window and this seems to set players free, as they play under different circumstances to what they have grown accustomed to.
Okay. I know that given the choice, anybody would rather their club be in the Premier League than the Championship, purely because it spells progress, and the ludicrous sums of money on offer are not to be sniffed out. That said, for a neutral, the thrills and spills of the Championship can not be topped.
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Disagree
by Matthew Adams
Created on: June 07, 2008 Last Updated: June 09, 2008
Since the Premiership split with the Football League in 1992, comparisons between the two tiers of English football have always been made. For me, it is only really worth comparing the top Football League division to the Premiership.
Quite honestly, looking below that at teams in the 2nd and 3rd division is not worthwhile. Look at the football, for the most part it is poor quality with lots of long balls and more of a testing ground for younger players. Likewise, the stadiums and facilities on offer aren't really worth mentioning in the same breath as the Premiership.
So, what of the top Football League division then? Because of teams being relegated from the Premiership, some of the money generated there does trickle down into the division and the top teams can boast stadiums that are of Premiership quality, and some good players. For the most part, though, this is only confined to the higher echelons of the division, with teams like Wolves. And comparing the best stadiums in the football league to Old Trafford and The Emirates, 60,000 plus all seat stadiums with some of the best facilities in England, there isn't really a contest there.
Likewise, Premiership matches tend to be a sell-out. Aside from what this tells you about how the fans feel about it, it also provides much greater atmosphere. Old Trafford may not have the most passionate supporters, but 75,000 fans will invariably generate more noise than, say, 18,000 at Cardiff City regardless.
Most obviously, the main draw of the Premiership is the fact that it is the top division in England. Top in terms of the best quality football in England, and the world, is played within this league. The best teams, not only in the country, but in the Europe compete in it every season, boasting players of the calibre of: Ronaldo, Fabregas, Shevchenko, Torres, Lampard, Rooney etc. It might be more expensive, but the higher price of watching the best talent in the country is worth it.
And from a commercial perspective, the Premiership obviously has much more to offer football clubs than the top Football League division. The TV coverage and revenue generated is far greater, in addition to the potential to qualify for European competition. Heck that is, after all, the main reason why the football league clubs want to be in the Premiership!
Premiership football has always been entertaining, fast-paced and still offers a good chance for newly promoted clubs to do okay. True, a lot of promoted teams do get relegated. But equally other promoted teams, through good management, have been able to stay in the league and consolidate. It may not be easy, but through good management they can make it. Bolton and Manchester City have done better at this.
So no the Football League does not have more to offer than the Premier League, the Premiership is not only the best league in England but it is also one of the strongest in Europe. With the tip-top of quality foreign and English players alike, in addition to world-class stadiums like Old Trafford and the Emirates, better atmosphere and greater commercial prospects it may actually be that the Premiership has more to offer than the Football League.
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