May 2007, Derby County win promotion to the Premier League at the expense of West Bromwich Albion. Fast forward 10 months and Derby are relegation certainties, while Albion are pushing for promotion and returningto Wembley as FA Cup semi-finalists.
That set me wondering whether promotion is worth the subsequent suffering. Could losing out on a place among the elite be a blessing in disguise for Championship clubs?
I have to declare an interest here. I’m a lifelong Crystal Palace fan, albeit a rather lapsed one these days. Palace are the classic yo-yo team -promotion to the Premier League followed invariably by instant demotion. So another late push for promotion via the play-offs this year? Maybe not.
The Premier League brings clubs a lot more money — and parachute payments for a couple of years after relegation. There is also the thrill ofseeing your team in action at Old Trafford or Anfield.
But for clubs like Derby - with only one league win all season - the euphoria of last May must seem like a distant dream.
Could Bristol City, Stoke City or maybe Hull City survive in the Premier League if they get there this spring. And would promotion be worth it for them and their fans- whatever the next season brings?
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I guess the trouble with not wanting that elusive promotion to the Premiership means an acceptance of the status quo and, while the world would probably be a better place if we could all be happy with what we already have, complacency always seems a bit boring. I suspect the main reason football supporters of the potential yo-yo teams want that chance of glory is because they hope that their team can be the one to break the mould; the one that can hold it’s own alongside the big boys of the Prem. But how many actually can (and do)?
- Posted by Mark Franklin