Championship is more competitive than Premier League

[loyalblade95]

Might be an odd point I'm going to make to show that the Championship is more competitive (and frankly better) than the Premier League, which anyone who has watched championship football will usually say that it is more competitive than the Premier League.

From 1992 to 2024, only 7 teams (out of 51 teams) have won the Premier League, with Liverpool, Leicester and Blackburn winning 1 title each, while both Manchester clubs have 21 titles between them.

That might be considered competitive to these top clubs but for the rest of us it isn't competitive in the slightest.

Compare that with the championship/first division in that same amount of time, there have been 20 different teams to win the league, with Sunderland having the most titles at 4 with Newcastle and Norwich have 3 each, everyone else has either got 1 or 2 titles each, granted there will have been more different teams in the championship over the years.

Rather ironic really that the fans of these top clubs resented this European Super League, yet with the money being spent by these top teams, they've created a super league at the top of the Premier League (only without anyone from Europe) as most of the premier league cannot compete with them money wise.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Football in any country at any standard is more competitive the lower down the pyramid you go.

That's just sport.

 

[b1ade4life]

Championship there's never a dead cert on a coupon..... That's the fact

 

[Sheffsteel]

The inequality doesn't appear to be having any negative effect on the Premier league.
The English top flight has never been as popular both in England and around the world.

One could argue that it can't keep growing, at some stage there's going to be boom followed by bust
but I remember the media and fans predicting this kind of demise back in 2000 and since then it's grown even bigger and stronger.

Admission prices are really high but demand is still incredibly high and if anything, it's increasing.
For example Man Utd have a season ticket waiting list of 30K and plan to build a 100,000 capacity stadium.
Even smaller clubs like Leicester and Nottingham Forest have 10K season ticket weighting list and plan to expand their stadia to 40K ish.

 

[petcharlie]

The inequality doesn't appear to be having any negative effect on the Premier league.
The English top flight has never been as popular both in England and around the world.

One could argue that it can't keep growing, at some stage there's going to be boom followed by bust
but I remember the media and fans predicting this kind of demise back in 2000 and since then it's grown even bigger and stronger.

Admission prices are really high but demand is still incredibly high and if anything, it's increasing.
For example Man Utd have a season ticket waiting list of 30K and plan to build a 100,000 capacity stadium.
Even smaller clubs like Leicester and Nottingham Forest have 10K season ticket weighting list and plan to expand their stadia to 40K ish.

Thats true but i can not understand it. The prem is getting like the Scottish top league ,very predictable and I personally find it a bit boring . Same old clubs fighting it out at the top year in year out . Same old clubs fighting it out at the bottom plus the promoted ones . Thirty odd passes before they reach the half way line plus all the actors and cheats VAR and dodgy decisions ,rule changing to help the money clubs like having being able to change more than half the starting team half way through a match bringing on another 250 millions worth on talent on while poorer teams have to make do with Academy products . No much prefer the Championship and all the blood and guts that go with it plus a much more level playing field with most teams having a realistic chance of some success .

 

[riselikeasalmon]

Championship there's never a dead cert on a coupon..... That's the fact

I wish you had told me that on Friday, I’d have left West Brom off my acca

 

[coaxingstar71]

When we were promoted in 2019, I genuinely thought we'd be ok in the Prem and of course I was right. Even since then, I think the gap has widened, not only between the top teams in the Prem and the rest, but now between the also-rans in the Prem, such as Fulham, Palace and Everton and the top teams in the Champ. I think that there will be more and more promoted teams coming straight back down because they cannot compete, financially, with the teams at the lower end of the Prem. I think it will be a long time until another team achieves what we did in our first season.

I'd say there's a good chance that at least 2 of the promoted teams from last season, will come straight back down.
In 2022-23, Fulham, Bournemouth and Forest all managed to stay up but I think this will be an exception.

 

[loyalblade95]

The money being spent in the Premier League has increased dramatically in these last few years, specifically last season as you had both Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo being sold between Premier League clubs for £100 million+ fees, that's more than most clubs will spend on multiple players in a full season.

When I found out that only 7 different teams out of 51 had actually won the Premier League, I looked up how many teams had won the championship in that same amount of time, it was harder to find out how many teams had been in the championship at that time as the records go back to the 1800's.

I was a bit shocked that the different clubs to win the Championship was nearly 3 times as many teams as the Premier League.

When I hear pundits and some football content creators on YouTube etc, go on about the Premier League being the best league in the world, I just can't agree with them as i don't think its as competitive as any of the EFL leagues where its more of a level playing field.

 

[derbysufc]

I think the aims of the smaller premier clubs is the cups
Portsmouth and Wigan during premiership years won cups
Fulham have been in Europe.
On a different note in the championship regards attendances BLACKBURN recognise they can't attract bug crowds have started giving lots of tickers out to the Asians to get them into football.

 

[loyalblade95]

I think the aims of the smaller premier clubs is the cups
Portsmouth and Wigan during premiership years won cups
Fulham have been in Europe.
On a different note in the championship regards attendances BLACKBURN recognise they can't attract bug crowds have started giving lots of tickers out to the Asians to get them into football.

Didn't Burnley get into Europe for 1 season under Dyche in the late 2010's, think they got into Europa League but went out in the group stages but might be confusing them with someone else.

 

[derbysufc]

Weat ham and villa both recently in Europe and non considered top 6 as a regular .
It's the cups now that clubs are aiming for.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

When I hear pundits and some football content creators on YouTube etc, go on about the Premier League being the best league in the world, I just can't agree with them as i don't think its as competitive as any of the EFL leagues where its more of a level playing field.

What are you meaning by best though?

More competitive doesn't equal better.

League One is more competitive than the Championship, is it better?

League Two is more competitive than League One, is it better?

 

[loyalblade95]

What are you meaning by best though?

More competitive doesn't equal better.

League One is more competitive than the Championship, is it better?

League Two is more competitive than League One, is it better?

Personally for me, the better leagues are the leagues where you get the most competition for promotion/relegation etc.

If pundits/content creators are saying the Premier League is best because the best players in the world are playing in it i can understand why they say it is better but that ever widening gulf between the teams is making it nearly impossible for anyone outside of the big 6 teams to win the league.

It's just the fact that it's the same teams at the top, mid table and relegation battles every season just gets boring and repetitive every season.

Tbh, it sounds a lot better and probably makes more sense in my head.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Personally for me, the better leagues are the leagues where you get the most competition for promotion/relegation etc.

If pundits/content creators are saying the Premier League is best because the best players in the world are playing in it i can understand why they say it is better but that ever widening gulf between the teams is making it nearly impossible for anyone outside of the big 6 teams to win the league.

It's just the fact that it's the same teams at the top, mid table and relegation battles every season just gets boring and repetitive every season.

Tbh, it sounds a lot better and probably makes more sense in my head.

People say the Premier League is the best in the world based on the quality of the football.

People want to watch the best players and teams in world football.

Fair enough if you prefer leagues that are more competitive.

But can you honestly say that you watch more League Two football than Premier League football?

If you do you're in an extremely tiny minority.

 

[loyalblade95]

People say the Premier League is the best in the world based on the quality of the football.

People want to watch the best players and teams in world football.

Fair enough if you prefer leagues that are more competitive.

But can you honestly say that you watch more League Two football than Premier League football?

If you do you're in an extremely tiny minority.

I don't watch much League 2 (unless I'm in the pub and it's on TV), I usually watch more championship and league 1, especially in the last five years, I just enjoy it more than Premier League football and I think you get more suprise/shock results.

It probably got worse last season watching us get beat every week as well as how all 3 promoted sides went straight back down, which would have been by a much worse points difference had Everton and Forest not been deducted points.

Edit: You are right about the quality of Football and that is what a lot of people want to watch.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

It probably got worse last season watching us get beat every week as well as how all 3 promoted sides went straight back down, which would have been by a much worse points difference had Everton and Forest not been deducted points.

Forest finished 17th and were only deducted four points.

They wouldn't have finished any higher without the points deduction because they were seven points behind Brentford in 16th.

 

[Carlton Blade]

Standard is worse obviously but the style tends to be more direct which can certainly be more entertaining, depending on your preferences.

Most teams in the Championship are closer in standard to Doncaster than Man City over the course of a season. The better teams only have to be slightly off their best to lose. The margin for error is slight. The best teams in the PL can have an off day and win by 2+, based purely off individual talent

 

[Blade45]

Weat ham and villa both recently in Europe and non considered top 6 as a regular .
It's the cups now that clubs are aiming for.

Good point. As an established order solidifies in the prem, European competitions are a good way of trying to break in there. Can envision Brighton and even Bournemouth trying to break into European places more regularly.

 

[Blade45]

People say the Premier League is the best in the world based on the quality of the football.

People want to watch the best players and teams in world football.

Fair enough if you prefer leagues that are more competitive.

But can you honestly say that you watch more League Two football than Premier League football?

If you do you're in an extremely tiny minority.

I think the point is the Premier League has become too condensed, it doesn't seem like Man City, Man United, Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea will ever be in trouble of being relegated. Similarly, Notts Forest, Ipswich, and Southampton will never win the title.

Compare that to the Championship, where Sunderland who are in second place right now finished in 16th place last season. Luton too, they went all the way up from the conference to the Championship, went up to the Premier League via the playoffs, and then got relegated emphatically. There just isn't the opportunity for the smaller clubs like Luton to actually establish themselves in the Premier League. Eventually, they will all go back down. The one exception to this might be Bournemouth.

And I don't think many watch more League 2 games than Premier League games other than maybe League 2 fans themselves.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I think the point is the Premier League has become too condensed, it doesn't seem like Man City, Man United, Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea will ever be in trouble of being relegated. Similarly, Notts Forest, Ipswich, and Southampton will never win the title.

It is what it is unfortunately.

I don't see how it can ever change now without a drastic reset of everything which isn't going to happen.

How would it even be possible to make the Premier League a level playing field?

I have no idea.

 

[MadDad38]

Forest finished 17th and were only deducted four points.

They wouldn't have finished any higher without the points deduction because they were seven points behind Brentford in 16th.

And also let's be honest us, Burnley and Luton stank the place out last season...........and would have done in any of the last 20. This is what bugs me when people say its a closed shop, uncompetitive and/or we'd be better off not being promoted. Yes it is if you are shite, but Brighton, Brentford, Fulham, Bournemouth have shown it is not inevitable*

*providing of course you have the resources to invest which I accept is a condition that would be doing a lot of heavy lifting in our case.

 

[Blade45]

It is what it is unfortunately.

I don't see how it can ever change now without a drastic reset of everything which isn't going to happen.

How would it even be possible to make the Premier League a level playing field?

I have no idea.

I've seen someone on facebook suggesting an American style expansion draft and teams can protect 7-8 players and the rest are 'vulnerable' to being picked by promoted teams until the promoted teams each have 22 players.

It's not a very good idea, but it is interesting.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I've seen someone on facebook suggesting an American style expansion draft and teams can protect 7-8 players and the rest are 'vulnerable' to being picked by promoted teams until the promoted teams each have 22 players.

It's not a very good idea, but it is interesting.

Looks good purely as an idea but nobody would ever agree to it.

 

[Blade45]

Looks good purely as an idea but nobody would ever agree to it.

And then other questions arise, like would promoted teams also have to surrender players? Would there be a cushion for relegated teams?

It works quite well in the US because they don't really have promotion and relegation, but if the EFL and Prem wanted to keep that, it wouldn't really work.

 

[Lama]

The conversation would be much different if Man City weren’t cheating:

There’s been 7 games winners in the last 30 years, and a further 3 different runners up. If you were take Man City’s recent dominance out of the equation, the last 10 years would have seen 6 different winners - that’s pretty competitive in my book.

Furthermore, it’s not the closed shop some people would have you believe; Brighton, Villa, West Ham, Leicester and Newcastle have all threatened the big 6 in recent years.

Yes, that’s still a mile off the competition in the championship, but it far exceeds the competition of any of the other big European Leagues.

 

[The Fox]

Better teams have more players who perform on a consistant basis- hence have more consistant results . Those at the top of the PL excel in being consistant, those in the middle less so .
Teams in the championship are less consistant generally , and so on .
If more competitive means less predictable then yes it's more competitive due to the above .
We're definitely more likely to watch a competitive game in the championship but let's not confuse this with quality .

 

[CarlMcBlade]

The inequality doesn't appear to be having any negative effect on the Premier league.
The English top flight has never been as popular both in England and around the world.

One could argue that it can't keep growing, at some stage there's going to be boom followed by bust
but I remember the media and fans predicting this kind of demise back in 2000 and since then it's grown even bigger and stronger.

Admission prices are really high but demand is still incredibly high and if anything, it's increasing.
For example Man Utd have a season ticket waiting list of 30K and plan to build a 100,000 capacity stadium.
Even smaller clubs like Leicester and Nottingham Forest have 10K season ticket weighting list and plan to expand their stadia to 40K ish.

Yes, it’s not the Premier league’s fault we didn’t strengthen the team properly the summer before last. Our short sighted approach was exposed from minute one of this Premier league debacle.

 

[petcharlie]

Better teams have more players who perform on a consistant basis- hence have more consistant results . Those at the top of the PL excel in being consistant, those in the middle less so .
Teams in the championship are less consistant generally , and so on .
If more competitive means less predictable then yes it's more competitive due to the above .
We're definitely more likely to watch a competitive game in the championship but let's not confuse this with quality .

I am not confusing quality with competitiveness but I find a match that is more competitive is more watchable and more enjoyable . I have got to the point that if i have a choice i watch the Championship . Even if the match in the prem is between teams at the top (usually the usual ones) I watch the Championship . Top teams tend to cancel each other out and do not tend to dish up entertajning fare . In the Championship results are not always so predictable and more competative

 

[The Fox]

I am not confusing quality with competitiveness but I find a match that is more competitive is more watchable and more enjoyable . I have got to the point that if i have a choice i watch the Championship . Even if the match in the prem is between teams at the top (usually the usual ones) I watch the Championship . Top teams tend to cancel each other out and do not tend to dish up entertajning fare . In the Championship results are not always so predictable and more competative

I agree , quality and entertainment don't always go hand in hand . The championship has a good mix of both whereas the PL is more predictable.
At both levels games are won often by teams who make the fewest mistakes , probably more likely to see those in the championship.

 

[WorkingtonBlade]

It is what it is unfortunately.

I don't see how it can ever change now without a drastic reset of everything which isn't going to happen.

How would it even be possible to make the Premier League a level playing field?

I have no idea.

I don’t think there’s a magic wand, but I things could reasonably be done which would move things in the right direction over time. For example:

• have every club in the league receive the same amount of money (TV/prize money) regardless of where they finish or how many of their matches are televised.
• get rid of the system whereby a big club can take a small club’s best young players for tiny compensation payments - go back to a system whereby a club can demand market price for the player (providing they’re in contract). That would help keep small clubs afloat with the occasional big pay-day and encourage clubs to invest in their youth systems.

Basically we need to get away from a system whereby the rich clubs get into a virtuous circle and just get richer and richer, while the opposite happens at the other end.

Of course, the result of introducing such a system would be the very biggest clubs would throw their toys out of the pram and go and form a super league, but personally I’m past caring. I think it would be worth it to create a fairer and more competitive league in the future, in which the rules don’t constantly have to be set up to favour a few big clubs.