The standard of football between the two divisions has improved vastly over the last several seasons and this season sees the quality of the Championship as good as it ever has been. In defence of these players, there is of course a higher standard of football despite the dip in margin. For example, strikers are up against better teams and while they might have got 10 chances per game in the Football League, they may only get the odd few in the Prem.

So what unfortunate ten make my top ten list of players who are Championship rather than Premier League quality? Find out below…

Click on Routledge below to see the Top TEN

The narrow minded attitude of the BBC has sparked plenty of criticism over the past month or so as two Football League Shows over the Christmas period were cancelled, suggesting that the show could be scrapped altogether. Rumours were flying about on social networking sites but it is still unclear whether the 72 football league clubs’ supporters will be able to watch action from their teams.

The BBC claim it is in negotiations over whether to recommission the Football League Show, which is in the final year of a three-year contract, but whether they are successful is still to be seen as the Premier League is once again showing its distance between the rest.

A BBC spokeswoman made a statement on the recent cancellations: “The Boxing Day and 2^nd January fixtures are outside our contractual obligations,” she said. “Many factors come into play when planning the busy Christmas schedules and we were unable to schedule a programme for New Year’s Eve. To address the shortfall, we will be doing an additional programme later in the season.”

Football League Show host Manish Bhasin attempted to squash any rumours that his show will be no longer after this season is finished.

“Budget decision I’m afraid … but all the goals will be online on the BBC Football website,” he said on Twitter “The FLS has NOT been scrapped! It’s on till May and who knows maybe even longer … but …”

Whatever the decision come May, the nonchalant decision to not show crucial fixtures for waiting fans is a clear sign that the BBC have more interest in the Premier League than ever. The gap between the top two divisions in England is widely thought not to be a great deal in footballing terms, but financially and in people’s priorities it is now huge.

The funding for the Championship sides is decreasing consistently and clubs falling from the top division are finding it harder and harder to compete at the lower level due to financial restrictions and a shock to the system.

It is staggering to think that the Championship, League One and League Two clubs get so little TV time but yet I am confident that West Ham, Birmingham City, Southampton and possibly Cardiff City would not look out of place in the declining Premier League this season. The parachute payments are a ticking time bomb for clubs such as Blackpool who will take a long time to match the heights of Premier League football last season and without excellent owners will have that debt for a long time.

The Football League Show will return this weekend even though the BBC claim that this weeks’ Carling Cup games were more important than the Football League in recent weeks, but the timing of the show usually passes midnight and not all supporters will be able to watch it which once again shows priorities that are not welcomed in modern day football. I am interested in all levels of English football, not just the top 20 teams so why should I not be able to watch the rest because the BBC feel it is less important.

Do you think the Football League Show is worth keeping on? Let me know on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard

This new deal has reduced the amount paid to Football League clubs from £88 million to £65 million. As part of this agreement, clubs relegated from the Premier League will now receive £48 million in parachute payments over four years instead of £16 million a year for two years as they received previously.

Looking back, the concerns of the lower league clubs at the time were understandable. Already this season we have witnessed the financial clout of the likes of Leicester City who have spent vast amounts of money in comparison to some of the smaller teams in the teams like Coventry and Watford, who both have financial problems.

The fact that a team relegated from the Premier League now receives £48 million while a team going in the opposite direction to League One will actually lose £3.7 million shows the sort of disparity that exists between the two leagues. This makes it extremely difficult for the relegated team to bounce straight back unless they actually have the financial aptitude as Norwich and Leicester showed. It will be even harder for the smaller teams to get back into the Championship but much easier for teams coming down to get out it.

The difference in central payments in the Championship and League One is already substantial. The television and solidarity payments that come into the football league are split 80 per cent Championship, 12 per cent League One and eight per cent League Two. Although the money the other two leagues receive has increased, it is nothing in comparison with that of the Championship.

Every year, we hear about clubs spending beyond their means to remain in or try to reach the promise land of the Premier League before seeing them go into financial trouble when this does not materialise. What is the Premier League doing to prevent this situation apart from giving them even more of an incentive to spend with the fall-back of parachute payments?

How long will it be until there are two separate tiers of English football, where promotion and relegation does not exist? We seem to be going more and more towards the American example of the franchise system where Television and money completely dominate the game.

It would seem that Premier League Two is not too far off.

This could lead to the death of the traditional English football clubs and the game outside of the top two divisions. The loyal fans would probably remain at these clubs but would the money still come in from the richer elite leagues? If this was divide was to take place, the long-term future of lower league football clubs outside the top two divisions would be very bleak indeed.

Follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney for more thoughts and views about the beautiful game.

Left with no matches to report on, and out of ideas on how to re-spin Cesc Fabregas transfer news, they wrote instead on the horror of not being able to attend matches. Replete with a picture of him looking suitably disgusted, Henry Winter was FORCED to pay £25 to watch Nottingham Forest play, and the sporting world held its breath.

Winter and others (such as Sam Wallace at the Independent), argued that this was bad news for all fans of football. Winter argued that “newspapers, whether in print, online or via Twitter, keep fanning the flames of supporters’ interest in clubs.”

“On Sunday morning they will turn to their newspapers for a neutral’s verdict to find an absence of match reports.

“…the report is part of the match-day experience, fans’ reading up on the game, agreeing or disagreeing. I could spend an hour or more a day dealing with tweets, emails and letters sparked by a report of the previous night’s match.”

Sam Wallace said:

“But without us, and the other members of our dysfunctional press family, who is left? The answer is, the clubs’ own media. I have nothing against the website and TV personnel of our clubs, many of whom started life on our side of the fence and are very capable journalists. But are we sure the clubs are going to strive to give us the real, inside, uncomfortable story on their organisations?”

“…..I fear that my industry is getting elbowed out of the way by certain wealthy clubs who dislike not being in total control. I fear that some of these young men and women may end up in a ghastly PR-version of journalism where their questions are restricted.”

“…..I do not believe any football fan thinks that the clubs’ curtailing of press freedom is something to be celebrated.”

Thankfully a deal was struck just in time for the start of the Premier League, a brand that cannot be damaged at any time, or else the world would shift on its axis.

And this was good news for all concerned. Yes?

As already mentioned, when the ban kicked in it covered the Championship and below. But for fans of non-Premier league teams, the question is this? Was there a huge chasm in your life last weekend, a sense that something was missing, that you weren’t as up-to-date and educated with the goings-on of your football team? Or was it business as usual? Probably the latter.

When I was very young, before the days of Premiership football, live steaming, Super Sundays and message boards, I relied on newspaper match reports. Their words shaped much of how I thought about teams and players. Only when I became a regular attendee did I realised what drivel was being written.

Ok, not drivel – but I realised that people were seeing games very differently to how I was, and the match reports were nothing more than opinion pieces much of the time. Many a time you can watch a match with a friend and see things in a totally different way. Your man of the match is someone your friend thought was terrible. Even with 100 slow-mos and multiple angles you’ll still get wildly different opinions on whether an incident was a penalty, or a red card or a dive.

The most reliable of match reports was often the Football Pink, because it was a match report that simply reported what had happened, rather than trying to crowbar in a particular angle or agenda, and without some sub-editor’s misleading headline. On the downside, it did have a tendency to suddenly end after 67 minutes.

In the modern world of access-all-areas, how much do we need match reports? I never read them as one way or the other I will have seen the match, and so don’t need someone else to summarise it for me, but that’s just a personal choice. Sunday papers are known to sell better during the football season, so it seems their coverage is important to many. You may have seen a match, but when your new signing has scored a hat trick on his debut, you may want to read every match report possible. But if you support a small, lower-league club, there will be little of interest in  antional newspaper anyway.

But Winter’s theory that fans’ interests in their clubs is kept burning brightly by the press is laughable in the extreme. I, like millions of others, have supported my team for decades, and I managed to do it just fine without having to read newspapers to gee me up.

The problem journalists have is that their reputation is besmirched by the minority. Fans have become tired by lies, false rumours, sensationalizing of minor events, and perceived agendas and injustices. This used to be the style of the tabloids alone, but is is depressing how many broadsheet reporters have been reduced to spreading tittle-tattle and speculation. In the world of 24-hour news, there is not enough proper news to go around. When under 20% of transfer rumours turn out to be true, then it is hard to believe anything you read.

According to journalists, Wesley Sneijder has joined Manchester United five times, the first time being over a month ago. He has joined Manchester City twice. He has snubbed City twice too, United have ended their interest three times, terms have been agreed four times, and a fee agreed five times. Nasri signed for Manchester City three weeks ago, but then he was staying at Arsenal, this all coming after United had closed in on his signing, then he has since signed again four times, and the latest news is he will sign again once more later this week (for City).

Sam Wallace is probably right in saying the recent dispute is fuelled partly by the desire of clubs to have more control on the release of information, and more power in deciding what stays behind closed doors. The new tradition of players to tweet information will only have increased their paranoia. But the newspapers do not help themselves by writing critically of clubs – often it is deserved of course, but it is no surprise trust breaks down with clubs.

And journalists alone do not have access to breaking news. Twitter will break any story instantly, with or without journalists, and will spread malicious rumours in much the same way. The age of instant news has also put great doubt over the newspapers themselves. Exclusives are no longer the domain of the morning paper, as by then most people will already know the story. Add to this that agents and the truthful “in-the-knowers” can keep fans up to date with transfer stories, and that plenty of normal fans have an inside line to clubs, and what are reporters providing that’s unique? What’s more, quality bloggers like the Swiss Ramble have no constraints on space, and no deadlines.

Even Joey Barton, in a week of tweeting Nietzsche, the musings of Wittgenstein and calling Brian Woolnough a nugget, found time to say that the press won’t exist in ten years’ time. Wishful thinking on his behalf, but you can see the logic of his point.

What football journalists do have is contacts and access to areas we normal fans don’t (Old Trafford excepted). They get interviews with players and managers, get briefed on stories and get into press conferences. They have plenty of worth in what they can tell us. With experience comes relationships with those in the game, which bring sinsight and information that might not otherwise be known.
And many write excellently of course, such as Martin Samuel, Daniel Taylor or the financial investigations of David Conn. Quality football “writers” are plentiful (see also Jonathan Wilson). But this is more about the need for reporters rather than writers.

Times have changed, and the way news is reported has entered a new era that has made many old methods redundant. Newspapers have faced difficult times for decades, and the football journalists are no different, as they are no longer the sole bearers of news. Increasingly they know that times have changed, and have looked to branch out, be it appearing on radio shows, podcasts, or nibbling on a croissant on the Sunday Supplement panel. There will always be a role for sports reporting in newspapers in this country, but in future, it may well be less about exclusives and more about fulfilling a much broader media role. The competiiton for them is now huge, but they still have a vital role to play.

An exciting new era for youth football begins this evening, with the Next Gen series kicking off. It is an international tournament, with 16 of the worlds best clubs showcasing their stars of the future in an exciting knockout competition. The likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester City, and Celtic are all featuring in the inaugural challenging 6 month international competition. In light of the competition, should the FA look to set up an elite Premier League for the academy sides rather than the regional Premier Academy Leagues which currently exist?

Next Gen is hailed as the new era in competitive football, providing competition on a level that isn’t seen through the regional Premier Leagues. Players will be able to test themselves against world class opposition players trained and nurtured by the best sides in Europe, which can only be of benefit for youth development in this country. It’s a unique opportunity for youth players to experience all aspects of a competitive, large international tournament, including adapting to an unfamiliar style of play, prolonged periods of travel and two match weeks, which are more likely to help them transition into the first team, than the current Premier Academy Leagues, with its lack of competitiveness, as well as its constraints and restrictions.

Unlike playing in the reserves or the Premier Academy League, Next Gen will stretch players, and this is likely to improve their play. Many promising young academy graduates haven’t been provided with enough consistent high quality challenges in the regional leagues, so it could help more to reach senior levels, but more needs to be done on the domestic front to improve the standards of youth football.

Aside from the FA Youth Cup, English youngsters don’t really have enough competitive games, in order for them to frequently test themselves. The Premier Academy League is made up of 40 clubs currently split into four regional leagues, 2 southern and 2 northern, meaning the best sides may only play each other once over the season or not at all, this format lacks that competitive edge for players to be able to benefit from it. Youth football in this country has been stagnant, and now is the time for long overdue progressive ideas to make the difference.

Should the FA do away with the regional leagues and set up one elite Premier Academy League for the best academy’s in the country? It would perhaps provide a greater competitive edge, if there was one elite league and the matches week in week out were of a higher standard. If the best academy’s are playing against similar opposition, then this is likely to increase competitiveness and standards. Playing against similar level opposition on a consistent basis is likely to improve the youth development in this country.

However, there are some problems associated with making a single elite Premier Academy League. It is likely to widen the gulf between the Premier League elite teams and the rest. This could pose a big problem to the smaller academies, with restrictions and constraints on travel and rules lifted, they could find themselves forced out of being able to compete on that level with the cash rich Premier League sides. It could potentially go the other way and kill youth development in the country with smaller clubs in different regions missing out, and subsequently the talent in the local area slipping through the net. Academies could also become more elitist, and it could encourage young players to join bigger clubs, with clubs like Crewe, Huddersfield, and Mk Dons missing out. However, small the academy, they serve to fulfil the potential of local talent around the community, so to wipe this out would be a travesty.

The majority of these players are plying their trade in the very competitive Championship which this season includes a number of big clubs and promises to be an exciting league this season. The better quality in England’s second tier promises to create more top class players that could soon try their luck in the Premier League. Below the Championship there is still plenty of potential in the League One and Two, though these future stars may take slightly longer to make their big break.

There is obviously no guarantee that players who impress below the Premier League can make it at the top but the Football League system is creating talents for the future that are being snapped up (just look at how Bayern Munich somehow ended up in Tranmere to buy Dale Jennings). With transfer fees rising beyond many smaller Premier League club’s reach, the lower leagues are proving to be a fantastic place to buy an exciting talent for a reasonably small fee. But who will follow Danny Graham, Chris Eagles, Anthony Pilkington and Connor Wickham out of the Football League and into the Premier League?

Click on Tom Cairney to see the 10 players that have Premier scouts sniffing

Goldstone Ground, 1976

At the weekend Brighton & Hove Albion ended a stressful and nomadic 14-year period without a home to call their own since leaving the Goldstone Ground in 1997. They officially opened their stadium at the Amex Stadium at Falmer by playing Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly in front of a packed house, who were treated to a 5-goal thriller. But what happened to their old ground, and the many others that clubs have left for pastures new over the past couple of decades? Well the answer is often rather predictable, and at the same time rather depressing. Goldstone Ground- Brighton, until 1997.

The ground was sold by the board, who were trying to clear the club’s mounting debts in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, although no alternative football ground had been lined up, and without consulting the fans, who not surprisingly revolted strongly. It was sold to property developers and it has since been redeveloped as a retail park, where fans can reminisce over a Whopper with cheese.

Maine Road being demolished

Maine Road- Manchester City until 2003.

Highbuey being demolished

Highbury- Arsenal until 2006

Again we see a move to plusher surroundings (though Highbury was hardly a dump) as development and an increase in capacity was not really viable in their existing ground, especially considering the East Stand was a listed building. As of 2010, Arsenal Stadium was redeveloped and converted into flats in a project known as “Highbury Square”, a scheme that had 711 properties built on the site. The exteriors of the listed Art Deco East Stand and the matching West Stand were preserved and incorporated into the new developments, while the rest of the stands’ structures were removed, and the pitch became a communal garden. The famous clock found its way to the new stadium, whilst all the flats sold out rather quickly.

Plough Lane

Plough Lane- Wimbledon until 1991

I think you can guess by now what happened to this site, eventually. Following the publication of the post-Hillsborough Taylor Report in 1990, that led to all-seater stadia, Wimbledon’s board decided that Plough Lane could not be redeveloped to meet the new standards, and as a result a ground share at Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace was the result. Their last game was ironically against Palace, where 10,002 spectators saw them lose 3–0, before swarming onto the pitch to bid farewell to the ground. The ground continued to be used for reserve games for both clubs until 1998, when Sam Hammam sold the ground to Safeway. Local opposition prevented a supermarket though, and the site was sold on to a property developer, and flats were eventually built a few years ago. Following lobbying by Wimbledon supporters, the development agreed to adopt a Wimbledon Football Club theme, with the entire site named “Reynolds Gate” after former player Eddie Reynolds. The six individual blocks making up the development were named Bassett House, Batsford House, Cork House, Lawrie House, Reed House and Stannard House.

Burnden Park- Bolton until 1997

Another move to a modern stadium, but a sad move for the fans as ever, having served the team for 102 years. Like Plough Lane, the club’s board thought it too costly to convert the ground into an all-seater stadium, deciding a move was the better option. Burnden Park itself fell into disrepair, with demolition not taking place until two years after the last match had been played, but eventually redevelopment occurred, and it is now the site of a small retail park.

Ayresome Park

Ayresome Park- Middlesbrough until 1995

Opened in 1903, closed in 1995, demolished in 1997. Familiar themes resulted in a move to a new, shiny stadium (the largest built in England at the time since Maine Road 72 years earlier). In the middle of a residential area, and with the need to make the stadium all-seater, the board’s desire for a bigger capacity forced a move. The ground was used for training for a year, then demolished and eventually it became the site of…….a housing estate of course.

Roker Park – Sunderland until 1997 Home to Sunderland for a century, their last season ended in relegation, and Roker Park was used as….well you know the rest. The streets were named Promotion Close, Clockstand Close, Goalmouth Close, Midfield Drive, Turnstile Mews and Roker Park Close.

Statue outside housing estate.

The Baseball Ground- Derby until 1997

Useless fact: The Baseball Ground was once used for an international match: England beat Ireland 2-1 in a British Home Championship match on February 11, 1911.Named as it was because it was first used for baseball games, insufficient capacity did for this ground, and 18 months before their last game there, plans were announced of a move to a new stadium, Derby playing their last game in 1997. The ground was redeveloped into a theme park and animal sanctuary for pandas and lemmings – no not really, it was turned into a housing estate.

Above are just a few rather random examples. But elsewhere the themes continue around the country.

The Den, which Millwall left in 1993 is now houses and flats.

Reading’s Elm Park, last used in 1998, was another ground considered unsuitable for conversion to all seats, and is now of course a housing estate.

The Dell, home to Southampton until 2001 (it was situated in a dell, hence the name), opened in 1898, and is now a housing estate. Apartment blocks on the site bear the names of former Southampton players. A dell is a small wooded hollow by the way.

Hull’s Boothferry Park, opened in 1946, closed in 2002, was only demolished finally last year – there are no houses yet!

Wigan’s old ground however, Springfield Park now has many houses, and one road named after an old player. Their new stadium now has a stand named after the old ground, following a fan campaign.

Oxford United’s old ground, the Manor Ground has a unique use now – it is the site of a private hospital.

Leicester’s Filbert Street, closed in 2002, is accommodation for students, along Lineker Street.

Feethams

Darlington’s Feethams, closed in 2003, was demolished in 2006, and there are inevitable plans now for housing.

The same goes for Shrewsbury’s Gay Meadow, which closed in 2007, and for Colchester’s Layer Road site, which last saw football in 2008. The only link to its past will be a central grassed area. So after all that, credit to Chesterfield, who left Saltergate last year, but for the foreseeable future will allow use of the ground by the community.

Stoke’s Victoria Ground bucks the trend, remaining undeveloped 14 years after its last match in 1997. Prior to demolition it was thought to be the oldest operational league ground in the world.

Morecambe’s Christie Park is now the site of a supermarket. Rotherham’s ground should be used by the town’s rugby team. Coventry‘s Highfield Road site? Housing. And the list goes on and on……

Any plot of land in this country is a valuable commodity of course, so it is no surprise that many grounds have ended up being used for housing, in a country that does not have enough. For many sites, the only link to the past is in the naming of streets and buildings. The occasional statue perhaps, the odd emblem from the past, but mostly the grounds remain only in our memories, photos and stories. It is sad, but a sign of the times. The need for greater capacities whilst eradicating terracing has forced many clubs to move to new sites. It would have been easier to list the clubs that haven’t moved – they are a dying breed, and the numbers will only get smaller. And the trend seems to often be that the old grounds that nestled amongst the terraces of the working class will be replaced by endless out-of-town stadia. This is the price of progress.

Over the last few days, the media has widely reported that West Ham United had returned with an improved offer for Long, however it once again failed to meet Reading’s valuation. Yesterday’s Daily Mail indicated that Liverpool were now a surprise contender in signing the Irish international, having watched him recently in a friendly.

Reading may be willing to do business with the Premier League giants as manager Brian McDermott revealed he will not stand in the way if Long wants to join a Premier League side: ‘If a Premier League club comes in and we decide the deal is right and Shane wants to go there’s nothing we can do,’ he told Sky Sports.

Newcastle, West Brom and Everton are also said to be interested in Long but a move to Anfield would be tough to turn down for the 24-year old, who scored 28 goals last season.

It was thought the Hammers initially offered Reading £5 million, with £3 million coming in add-ons, however it is understood Reading wanted a guaranteed £7 million – a price West Ham are reluctant to go to, as the player only has one year remaining on his contract. New West Ham boss Sam Allardyce looks desperate to capture the 24-year old and is thought to have returned with an offer approaching Reading’s valuation.

With rumours that some Premier League clubs are sniffing round the Republic of Ireland striker, including West Brom and even Liverpool, Reading may decide to hold out for a better offer.

There are only six teams in the league who have not had previous experience in the Premier League and there are number of sides that have had long-term spells in the top-flight and will be looking to return there this season.

The likes of former double European Cup winner’s Nottingham Forest, Leeds United with their intensive history and recently relegated West Ham are all clubs associated with the higher echelons of the English game, not the second tier.

These sorts of clubs are capable of attracting high-profile managerial names such as former England manager’s Sven Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren who will both be looking to set their career back on the right-path with Leicester City and Nottingham Forest respectively.

West Ham’s new man at the helm, Sam Allardyce is a highly regarded manager in the lower regions of the Premier League and probably one of the main reasons why both Bolton and Blackburn are now established clubs in the Premier League. Although the football under ‘Big Sam’ won’t be that pretty, I don’t think Hammers fans will mind if come the end of the campaign they are back in the top tier of English football.

Then you have the other relegated teams, Birmingham City and Blackpool who will both be hoping for an instant return to the Premier League. Birmingham have recovered from losing Alex McLeish to rivals Villa by appointing Chris Houghton as boss. Houghton did an excellent job taking Newcastle back to the Premier League at the first time of asking and Birmingham fans will be hoping he can repeat his magic at St Andrews this term. Blackpool may have lost key men in Charlie Adam, David Vaughan and DJ Campbell but under Ian Holloway they still stand a chance of challenging this year and also have the benefit of parachute payments to help them achieve an quick return.

Leicester City look like title contenders after their summer spending and they have made a statement of intent with their high-quality signings. They have strengthened an already established team and I would not be surprised if it didn’t pay off with a promotion season under Sven.

Another team who could be in with a shout are Reading who will still be picking themselves up from the disappointment of their playoff final defeat to Swansea but the success of their season may hang on keeping last year’s squad together.

Other clubs who will be disappointed not to be involved in the playoffs in May are Burnley who under Eddie Howe look a good bet to have a better campaign after a transition season last term. The list goes on of teams who will be in with a reasonable chance of competing for the playoffs.

Add teams like Hull City, Bristol City, Cardiff City, Milwall, Portsmouth and Watford to the equation and you can see just how tough it will be this year, with all these outfits looking for a place in the higher reaches of the league.

Then you have to consider the three promoted teams who all have plenty of cash to spend after winning promotion from League One. Southampton look an outside bet for playoffs under the leadership of Nigel Adkins as do Brighton who will be in a new home with over 18,000 season ticket holders. Both could well upset the odds this season and repeat Norwich’s trick of a double promotion.

The new Championship season is set to one of the most competitive ever and it will be hard to predict the winner in any game making it very difficult for even the biggest of teams. I expect to see a few of these major teams disappointed at the end of the year and trying to pick out of any of the teams that will finish in the playoffs is a bit of lottery, a lottery worth an estimated £90m to the victor. I can’t wait for it to kick off now!