Football finance expect Kieran Maguire speaks on the gap between the Premier League and Championship, ahead of the 2025/26 season.
The discussion between Second Tier podcast’s Ryan Dilks and Kieran Maguire highlights the growing financial and competitive gap between the the two tiers.
For two consecutive seasons, all three newly promoted teams have been relegated, underscoring the significant disparity in budgets and squad quality.
Even a club like Leeds, with a substantial budget for a Championship side, struggles to compete with established Premier League teams, which have had at least four seasons in the top flight.
This creates a divide where the bottom six or seven Premier League teams are at risk of relegation, particularly if they lose key players without adequate replacements.
Ryan Dilks: “Now feels as an appropriate a time as any to talk about the gap between the Premier League and the Championship Kieran because it’s back to back seasons now that all three newly promoted teams have been relegated from the Premier League.
“The gap is undoubtedly the biggest it’s ever been and is seemingly only getting bigger.
“And because we’ve had I think this will be the fourth season coming up where all 17 teams have had at least four seasons in the Prem now, the budgets are just incomparable to any team who’s coming up to the Championship, and that includes Leeds who themselves have acquired a big budget by newly promoted sanders, don’t they?
Kieran Maguire: “They do. Yes. I mean, Leeds have a fairly expensive squad, very expensive by Championship standards. It’s a case of being smart.
“And the problem with football fans is football fans don’t want their club to be smart. They want their football club to be big.
“And trying to get that psyche across, trying to say, this is going to be our strategy, is very difficult.
“But I think you’re absolutely right, Ryan. What we’ve got is what we’ve got, a 17 and a 6 and a 7. And that 6 and seven are interchangeable, and and there is a danger.
“I do think that, yeah, without wanting to get too bogged down in Premier League football, there is at least one club where I think I look at their squad and I think, well, they’ve lost their best players, and they’re not showing signs of replacing their best players, they could become embroiled in a relegation fight.
“I won’t name the club because, frankly, I just don’t need the battering on social media.”
Ryan Dilks: “I’ll do it for you. Is it Wolves?”
Kieran Maguire: “Couldn’t possibly say. But yeah. When I talk to Wolves fans, that’s the concern that that they’re expressing, that they’ve lost their two best players.
“And, yes, they had a good run towards the end of last season.
“And, yes, they still got some good players, but they probably look in a slightly weaker position.
“Brentford, if they lose a couple of their best players, Bournemouth have lost a couple of their best players as well.
“So, you know, there there could be a couple of clubs in the mix.
“I don’t expect Brentford to fall into that because Brentford are just simply too savvy in my view.
“But, yeah, Bournemouth have have spent a lot of money, but they have lost some of their big names. And you could say, well, hold on.
“You know, Brighton did the same when they lost Caicedo and McAllister and Cucurella and, Ben White and so on, and they they managed to survive.
“So it’s not easy, but it I think Wolves haven’t looked to replace, yet, and that’s what that’s what my concern lies.
“But, yeah, the bookies aren’t mugs. And the bookies, you look at the odds for Sunderland and Burnley in particular to be relegated, and those odds are very, very short.”
Three months ago, Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Roy Keane gave their thoughts on if the gap between the Premier League and Championship being too big.
They both said that the Premier League is becoming more predictable, with the same five or six teams frequently moving between the Premier League and Championship, making it harder for teams to establish long-term presence in the top tier.
He adds that there is a growing divide, driven by financial disparities and parachute payments, threatens the league’s competitive nature and the cherished promotion-relegation system.
And while stories like Luton’s rise from the National League to the Premier League are inspiring, they are increasingly rare. Ongoing negotiations and a potential regulator may help address these challenges to restore balance.
Take a look at what they had to say in the article below…
Gary Neville and Roy Keane: Is the gap between the Premier League and Championship too big?
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