BIG BOYS SHOULD FOCUS ON BATTLE TO GO UP...
I CAN’T understand why so many Championship clubs are kicking off about the £595m TV deal the EFL have signed with Sky.
The figures are astronomical and, for me, it’s free money. You’re getting £3m before you’ve kicked a ball or sold your image rights.
For a club like Rotherham, that’s probably half their playing budget. That’s why I don’t think you’ll see many lower-end clubs making too much noise.
With the bigger ones, it’s a feeling of entitlement. The likes of Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Leeds – they’ve touched the Premier League and almost expect big money.
It comes from a certain standard of living, like ex-players. You retire, the money dries up. Instead of eating out three times a week, it’s only one.
And instead of getting a costa every morning, you buy a plastic cup and make your own coffee at home.
We’re told the Championship is the fourth-most popular league in Europe, it’s bigger than this or that. But if that’s the case, why does nobody but Sky want to buy the rights?
I believe the deal is in and around the best that chief executive Shaun Harvey could negotiate.
I’m sure he’s worked his nuts off to get that money. The big boys kicking up a stink would be better off saving their energy and focussing on maximising their resources to get into the Premier League.