Cod Almighty | Diary

Something's gotta give

15 November 2018

Thunderdiary writes: It is not that long ago that the thought of Town being in the top division of English football wasn't a crazy one. As we rocketed up the leagues using Buckleyfuel there was a real chance of making that leap around 1994-95, playing great football and being frustrated by home draws – a compliment that teams wanted to stop us playing. Buckley then put us on the fringes of the play-offs after the Wembley double season and it didn't seem odd or out of place.

But the game was getting stretched. The chasm between the Premier League and the Football League was yawning and growing ever greater. You might have seen the odd 'smaller' club go up, but the likes of Hull and Cardiff had moved stadiums and had big investment.

The gap now is insurmountable. West Brom received over £94m from broadcasting last year after finishing bottom on the Premier League. Town earned just over £1m. In other words, at that same rate, Town would earn what WBA received this year in 2114. Just like the Pontoon penalty area, it's a very uneven playing field.

And yet, it's football. We love it (sometimes). It gets us out of the house, gives us some sense of community and identity, and provides us with glistening memories and a sense of purpose. And that romantic notion, mixed in with a decent chance of a cup run, is fine – until you realise that the Premier League clubs have voted in favour of giving a person £5m because they're leaving their job. A job that already pays £2.5m a year.

I'm sure departing CEO Richard Scudamore really needs that golden handshake, but imagine if those 20 clubs distributed that £5m through the 72 clubs of the Football League (making £70,000 each) or just the third and fourth divisions (£104,000 each), or to non-League, or whatever actually keeps the football world turning.

Of course, we all know that ultimately this is the status quo – there will be a gap which gets bigger. Clubs like Town can only stare up wistfully, paint the Main Stand bogs, and crack on with delivering moderate football to 3,500 people who know how football really works.