The Agony & The Ecstasy by Richard Foster

Author:Richard Foster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ockley Books
Published: 2015-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

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ABROAD AND BEYOND

One of the most endearing, and indeed most enduring, features of English football is the breadth of its appeal throughout all four divisions. The popularity of the lower tiers was bolstered and maintained by the introduction of the Play-Offs as middle-ranking clubs were rescued from mid-table mediocrity to become possible promotion challengers. This trend continued well after the arrival of the Premier League and the resilience of the lower leagues has been equally impressive over the twenty-odd years since. There was considerable apprehension that with the concentration of attention, and power, on the Premier League the Football League would wither and die. This has proved to be far from the truth as illustrated by its inherent strength in continuing to attract crowds of which many top leagues would be proud. The English Championship, for example, has regularly been the fourth-best-attended league in Europe for over a decade. After the German Bundesliga (13.8 million), the Premier League and Spanish Primera Liga (11.5million) no other league has pulled in more spectators than the second tier of English football. Even Italy’s Serie A, which used to be the doyen of European football, has slipped down to 8.9 million, still some 200,000 below the Championship.

Additionally, at the third tier of English football, League One’s aggregate attendance of four million proves at least as popular as any other second tier league in the world apart from 2. Bundesliga. For example, Italy’s second division, Serie B, produced an average crowd for 2013/14 of 5,577, well below League One’s 7,488, which was on a par with Spain’s Segunda Division figure of 7,778. Whilst the Premier League will always be the headline act, the other divisions serve as a key support and fully justify their existence in their enduring resilience.

The lasting strength and attraction of football outside the more glamourous, moneyed top tier is a distinctive feature of the English game. In its strength of depth, English football knows no parallel. No other country can get close to emulating England in sustaining ninety-two full-time clubs across four divisions. The Play-Offs have played a critical part in underpinning this success by stimulating more widespread interest than was previously there and sustaining interest in a season right through to the final day. Undoubtedly, there are some cracks in the system as illustrated by a whole string of clubs that have entered administration in the last five years or so through poor financial management and have fallen foul of the league such as Portsmouth, Palace, Leeds and Southampton. The most recent club to go into administration were Coventry City which put paid to their chances of making their Play-Offs debut in 2013/14. But despite their various trials and tribulations, a couple of these clubs have survived financial meltdown and have arguably come out stronger for the experience. Even taking into consideration some of the casualties, the principle of a fully functioning, dynamic league of four divisions is still very much alive; which is an impressive and unique achievement. Even the much-vaunted German league only boasts fifty-six professional clubs across three divisions.

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