Bush Baby

As broken by @DaleJohnsonBBC , Championship clubs have voted in new rules. The Championship’s new financial rules make a mockery of competitive fairness. A majority of clubs voted for them largely because so many were already at risk of breaching the existing limits or they have parachute payments - the new rules are more advantageous to those with higher revenues. My fundamental objection is that Clubs that have operated responsibly and stayed comfortably within the rules should have been given extra room moving forward as recognition for good governance. Instead, as I understand it, clubs that were millions within the limits and clubs that were on the brink of breach effectively start again from the same position. In reality, clubs that pushed hardest financially did not want sensible, well-run clubs to gain the advantage their prudence deserved. There is also a wider structural concern here. At the same time Championship clubs are voting through rules that effectively increase spending power for larger clubs, League One clubs have voted for tighter restrictions. The divisions are moving in completely opposite directions. That risks creating an even greater cliff edge between League One and the Championship — similar to the gap that already exists between the Championship and the Premier League. For promoted clubs, particularly smaller ones, competing sustainably becomes harder and harder. That is not a healthy pyramid. It is a system drifting further away from competitive balance. bbc.co.uk/sport/football…