Image with permission from ‘LlyrJ’ via Wiki Commons
For all the criticism that modern English football seems to have received in recent times, there is one thing that it possesses, which is undeniably better than any other nation; the Championship and the lower leagues.
The final-day of the Championship was quite simply incredible; right up until the final moments of the season, there was still promotion and relegation positions on the line. It was thrilling and the reasons for that are mostly due to how immensely competitive the division is. From top to bottom, there is never an easy game; just look at Peterborough United — they beat Champions Cardiff City on both occasions yet lost the fixtures vs bottom side Barnsley. In fact, Peterborough can be used for another example regarding the level of competition this season. They finished with 54 points, which would almost always keep them up. But this season, that was simply not enough. There was a mere 14 points difference from sixth to 22nd.
The Championship is the fourth most-watched league in the world. English football is fortunate to possess a brilliantly entertaining alternative to it’s top-flight with the play-offs providing one of the highlights on the football calendar. No other nation is really able to challenge this. Spain’s Segunda Division contains both Real Madrid and Barcelona‘s reserve teams and is slightly mundane. Whilst any other alternatives that come to mind could perhaps be France’s Ligue 2, where some quality players have begun their careers, but really there are no lower leagues that seriously attract such attention as England’s do.
You can go even lower down the ladder of English football and still arguably find a league that provides entertainment. League One has, and still does, contain sides with famous and prestigious histories, which is a similar situation in the Championship with the likes of Nottingham Forrest, who are former European Cup winners.
People have openly and strongly criticized the lack of tradition in the Premier League recently, especially the treatment of fans, using the Bundesliga as a comparison. But if you do go lower down the Football League, you can still find those clubs who provide standing areas, or that allow for further fan involvement. It’s a factor not picked up on that in England, there is near enough a local professional club in every town or city; where as in Germany, the lower leagues contain various reserve sides.
But more importantly perhaps, is that although English football may currently lack the quality in it’s top division that other European nations have, or that there is a concern regards financial morality, what cannot be understated is that from the Premier League to League 2, there is entertainment throughout that stands up there with the very best in the world. The Premier League is the most watched League in the world, with (as mentioned before) the Championship being the fourth most. They provide twists and turns that stem from a long tradition and passion in the game that may not be always evident in the stands as it is at the likes of Bourrisa Dortmund. Clearly, they have an effect on what attracts people to the sport in the first place; entertainment of the sport itself.
Stowe Gregory is an English featured Soccer and Sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him or tweet on Twitter @stowegregory. Or add to circles on Google +
You can read about his piece on ‘The appeal of Borrussia Dortmund’ here.
