Has the football league ever had it so good?

The new football league season kicks off today and fan of the teams in the lower divisions of English football must be licking their lips at the opponents they will face.

In the Championship, Newcastle and Middlesborough will be the big scalps of the season. Teams like Peterborough and Blackpool must be so pleased to be able to say that they are in the same division as these massive football clubs. It is only a few years since Kevin Keegan’s famous, ‘I would love it if we beat them rant’ at Alex Ferguson, when it looked as if Newcastle United would be Premier League champions. Middlesborough themselves were playing in Europe only a handful of seasons ago.

A league including other big clubs such as with Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Derby, Bristol City, West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday is sure to rouse the fans. Clubs that could all make a case for deserving to be in the Premiership for the size of their fan bases, will be sure to throw up a lot of interesting match-ups and fierce rivalries in the coming weeks. It looks like it could be one of the best Championship seasons in years.

Yet it is not just the Championship that now has all the big non-Premier League teams. League One can now boast an wonderful line up of once great clubs. Playing in the third tier of English football this season are most notably, Leeds United, Norwich City, Southampton and Charlton. All of whom have played in the Premier League within the last five years. Leeds United of course made the semi final of the Champions League in 2001 but since then have infamously collapsed into relative obscurity in League One.

Even League Two has hit the headlines in recent weeks. Although not boasting the same array of big clubs, the oldest club in the world Notts County have just signed up Sven Goran Eriksson as director of football. Eriksson is one of the highest profile managers in the world and arguably one of the best. With new rich Arab owners Notts County could be a club to watch in the next few seasons as they look to climb from the fourth league to the top.

Whatever happens it looks as if it will be a very exciting season this year.

The Problem With Manchester City, Originally Published December 4, 2008

So you are a club who lose your last game of the season 8-1 against Middlesborough. Your manager has just been fired despite getting the club into Europe for the first time in five years. The club’s owner, who may be arrested for corruption, has expressed a desire to sell your club and your captain has voiced huge discontent at the whole situation.

This was Manchester City seven months ago. The club was in disarray and the future looked bleak for their fans.

When highly regarded young manager Mark Hughes was hired the mood was lifted slightly. But there were still rumblings from skeptical fans who thought Hughes would not encourage his players to play good football. Hughes is a manager who was focused on physical aggression and assertiveness from his players during his time at Blackburn.

There was some light at the end of the tunnel though when Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited completed a takeover of Manchester City. This instantly made the club the richest in the world. Sadly, the deal was made on the transfer deadline day and the club only managed to sign one player Robinho who was previously on the verge of signing for Chelsea. This was a huge coup for the club and broke the British transfer record costing £32.5 million.

So, with a renewed confidence around the club the new season started but Man City have not set the league alight. They are currently hovering just two points above the relegation zone with nearly half the season gone.

With the transfer window opening again at the start of next month the press and the fans are already buzzing with transfer rumours. Sky Sports News reported yesterday that Man City had offered £128 million for Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Iker Casillas. A ludicrous amount perhaps but it is certainly money that the owners can afford to spend in abundance.

The problem is that Man City do not have the pulling power of the big four. They will struggle to attract the huge names they have been linked with such as Kaka and Messi because of the lower prestige of the club. Okay, they did sign Robinho from under Chelsea’s nose but the fact remains that money is not everything in football. Yes, it counts for a lot but Casillas has apparently rejected Man City and many of the big players will follow suit. The club is still considered to be a smaller club than the Premier League’s famous ‘big four’ of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. It is unlikely that players will reject the chance to play in the Champions League to play in the UEFA Cup for City.

It is hard to see how they can break into and establish themselves in the top four with such a high standard of football being set by the ‘big four’. The Man City revolution is not likely to have a big impact for a few seasons yet.

So maybe City should set their sights lower down. The huge European clubs will not sell their best players. Perhaps the likes of Lazio’s Pandev and Werder Bremen’s Diego should be main and realistic targets. It seems a waste of time chasing after players at the top clubs such as Barcelona and AC Milan. There are still great players with huge potential playing for smaller European Clubs.

Who knows if the owners are willing to be patient? Maybe they will get fed up without Champions League football and will sell the club on again. Only time will tell, but City fans should be a bit cautious in their glee. The future may not be as bright as the fans hope, they may not be challenging for the title even with the huge cash injection.