Just 4 weeks...

I got my Crystal Palace season ticket, or as there more profesionally known, access cards, for the season 2009/10 this week and I can almost taste the start of the season.

Of course, for some of the other Palace fans, and fans of all clubs for that matter, the season has already begun, with them visiting America for the America tour, and going to the Boreham Wood away match. I thoroughly enjoyed the Americans bigging up Palace as "one of the greatest clubs in the world." Yup...

This has got me thinking. Some people say that the Championship is the fourth best league in the world, behind the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. If this is true, which I believe it is, as it is where you find the real fans, why is the money involved so small? Because it is so heavily overshadowed by the Premier League. FA Cup games are, financially, some of the biggest games going for the lower clubs like Cambridge Utd, or the recently promoted Burton Albion. Last year I was told that when Havant & Waterlooville played Liverpool in the 4th Round of the FA Cup a few years back they made more money than all the other clubs in their league. Put together. This is because more people wanted to see this historic event. As a result of more people watching, it also meant any half-decent players of theirs got snapped up by League 2, League 1 and maybe even Championship clubs, meaning their chances of promotion into these leagues is slimmer. It's a vicious cycle, because without this money the clubs struggle to survive.

Some of my friends, and fans of other clubs are still wondering what the season ahead has in store for them. I know many people who support clubs heavily in debt and on the brink of going into administration, myself being one of them should the rumours going around the CPFC BBS and Holmesdale.net fans forums be true. I also know of many players playing for lower clubs, and I really hope they are still paid and fully employed when the final ball is kicked in May.

My first home Championship game of the season will be at Selhurst Park to watch Palace take on Plymouth. It will be very interesting to see what the fans and pundits make of both Palace's and Plymouth's prospects, Plymouth a team who normally struggle for survival, Palace a team who should be challenging for promotion, but last year finished in roughly the same place.

I enjoy taking part in friendly bets with mates over who will go up, and I said first and foremost Reading will go straight back up, as did all my friends taking part. We were all wrong, but only just. After spending a season in and out of the automatic promotion spots, Reading ended up making it no further than the Play-Off semis, and I thought this was Palace's year, with NW at the helm, but after a good start to the season, we slipped away, so do we stand more chance this season of going up than Middlesbrough, Newcastle and West Brom, the teams who have just been relegated from the Premier League?

I started and finished the last Championship

season at the Selhurst Park; an opening day win over Swansea and the last day draw by a desperate Sheff Utd team. In August, the Eagles walked through the tunnel to the sound of "Glad All Over" looking bold and confident; in May they were tired and wanting the season to end with a run of just by a run of just one win in their last 10 games.

That they survived was down to their brilliant start to the season, and some lucky wins against Swansea and Doncaster.

The next game after Palace play Plymouth, I am going to watch Palace at home to Newcastle; and for the first midweek game I am off to Loftus Road to watch QPR v Palace.

I have never been to Loftus Road before, and am looking forward to the occasion, as it is as close as Palace will get to a rivals match this year following the recent relegations of Charlton, Millwall and Brightom.

So, as the new season fast approaches, I'm off to the CPFC Eagles - Nike club shop, or superstore as it's been rebranded, to buy the new shirt so I'm ready for the new season!

Gibbo

A new generation of football clubs

First Chelsea. Then QPR. Then Man City. Now Real Madrid have a ridiculous amount of money to spend, and are doing so without thinking twice. Back in 2003, when Roman Ambramovich bought Chelsea, high transfer fees were thought of at around £10m. Now however, due to the amazing influx of money injected into football, it seems almost anything is possible, proved by Real Madrid when they broke the world transfer record TWICE in the same week. They paid around £69m for Kaka, before paying £80,000,000 for Cristiano Ronaldo.
This huge spending begs the question: what about the other clubs?

Clubs such as Fulham have never been renowned for huge spending, and more of a family club, and yet they did far better than Man City last year, and are in a different league to QPR. Quite literally.

Is this a sign that money and wealth isn't imperative to do well? I don't think it is. It is only a matter of time before all the clubs without super rich owners start to struggle. In a way it already has, following last years 'mini league battle' towards the end of the 08/09 Premier League season.

Two things could be done about this.

There has been much talk of the best teams in each country going of and forming a completely different 'Super League'. At the end of each season, the worst two clubs from each country of the Super League and the top two of the remaining clubs that played in the highest national league that season play in a mini competition over three days, like the Wembley Cup, and the winner and runner-up play in the Super League the next season. Still with me? The old teams then return and play in their countries for a year, and if at the top of their country, will get their chance to play in the Super League again.

For example, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool would go from England. At the end of the season, assuming Arsenal and Chelsea do worst out of the 4, would return to England to play in the Super League England Cup against the top 2 clubs from that years Premier League. The runner up and winner of this plays in the Super League the following year. The losers play in the Premier League. Simples.

But this is, I think the best bit. Clubs in the Super League, CANNOT sign players on loan or permanently from clubs not inside the Super League. But clubs outside the Super League can sign players from clubs in the Super League. Good isn't it?

The other option is a budget cap, like the one proposed in F1. But that's a bit boring isn't it?

Gibbo