Bolton's canny thoughts of Premier League Division 2

The gap in finances between the Premier League and Championship is turning into a chasm and increasingly the clubs that have finances suggesting that they will finish below tenth are favouring a Premier League Division 2. This new second division is most prominently pursued by Bolton's Phil Gartside. And although Bolton have been in the top flight for 9 consecutive seasons now - no mean feat - the club is not benefiting in any way from the riches of the Premier League.

As pointed out in The Guardian yesterday Wanderers' parent company, Burnden Leisure, made £59m last year, a huge turnover at the Reebok Stadium for a provincial town football club, yet paid wages of £40.9m and lost £13.2m.

If a club without major transfer expenses with a long unbroken spell in the top flight is losing money hand over fist, it is little wonder that Hull, West Ham, Portsmouth and others are struggling financially. The fear that all the clubs below the elite have is relegation and all drift into ever increasing debt to avoid it. Although there are parachute payments for a couple of years this is not always a life saver.

Many people suggest that the only survival strategy is to build a promoted team carefully, avoid excessive extra wage costs when promoted and then live within your means. But it is a brave manager that doesn't try to buy his way out of trouble and a strong owner who is prepared to accept relegation as a progressive policy. Reading followed this model and but for some cruel luck at the end of the second season in the top flight may have succeeded. But a couple of years on the manager has gone along with most of that team and with the parachute payments fading into memory the team struggles against relegation in the Championship. Ditto Derby; never mind Sheffield United, Coventry, Leicester etc.

The alternative suggestion is to spend the money and gamble - as Bolton and Portsmouth have done. Relegation can be even more disastrous in those circumstances - as Leeds, Southampton and others have found.

Unless the clubs vote for some kind of wages and costs cap predicated on non-TV income turnover (ie based on the supporters rather than the more volatile TV revenue) there is no 'safe' financial strategy for the majority of Premier League sides - whatever the balance of spending or saving. The Premier League Division 2 idea is one that will spread the riches to two divisions of clubs and turn the clock back to before the 'Greed League' was formed. Bolton choose to sweeten this deal by suggesting that Rangers and Celtic bring their massive away support to the table - but will that be enough?

To be fair even this veneer of increased wealth distribution is better than the current parachute system that fails to protect relegated clubs financially and yet means that they are often too strong for the Championship as a result. The top two in the Championship were relegated from the Premier League last season (with Middlesbrough not too far behind) - but any teams that fail to bounce back straight away are hamstrung by a wage bill and facilities that cripple them once the parachute fails to open. Recent Premier League sides like Derby and Reading are in relegation trouble and clubs with previously unbroken long top flight records like Leeds, Charlton and Southampton have been dumped even further down the pyramid.

If Premier League Division 2 allows a more even spread of cash through the top 36-40 teams and means that clubs can be run more realistically because top flight relegation becomes less of a financial disaster then football can only benefit. No-one wants to see good clubs like Portsmouth unable to pay wages and there is always the possibility that a Premier League side could go bust. The politics of bringing Rangers and Celtic into the mix are a different matter; but the whole package could be a godsend for a club like Bolton.

The only fly in the ointment is the 'more even spread of cash' aspect - as there are some very big clubs that have no fear of the status quo and will try to vote down this proposal. This proposal is not the 'turkeys-voting-for-Christmas' proposal that many people wrongly assume, it is a proposal that should cushion the blow of relegation which is ultimately inevitable for most Premier League clubs. The bigger clubs are more likely to object but it is at least more amenable than a 39th game (remember that?).