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“Gary Neville and Ian Wright Speak Out on £100m Challenge Facing Championship Clubs”
Premier League-Championship Gap Worries Wright and Neville as Relegation Trend Continues
Ian Wright and Gary Neville have both expressed concern over the growing divide between the Premier League and the Championship, especially as promoted clubs continue to struggle to stay up.
This season could mark the second consecutive year where all three newly promoted sides are relegated. Southampton have already dropped, while Leicester City face a must-win game against Liverpool to delay their own relegation. Ipswich Town also look likely to go down.
With Sunderland pushing for promotion via the play-offs—currently sitting fourth in the Championship—questions arise about whether they, or any promoted side, can truly compete in the top flight.
On The Overlap podcast, Ian Wright didn’t hold back: “We should be absolutely worried. Seventeen Premier League clubs are consistently getting richer because three weaker clubs keep coming in, and going back down. Teams like Villa, Brighton, Fulham, Brentford, Bournemouth—they’re all improving, while promoted clubs can’t keep up.”
Wright pointed out that even underperforming Premier League teams face little danger: “Look at Wolves—they’ve had a poor season but never looked like going down.”
Gary Neville echoed the sentiment, highlighting not just sporting challenges but financial ones: “We’ve talked for years about the financial gulf. A team like Nottingham Forest spent over £100 million after coming up. But if you get relegated, you’re stuck with those wages. Even with parachute payments, the financial risk is huge.”
Neville added: “Some clubs are so afraid of going under that they don’t fully invest when they get promoted. They play it safe, hoping to survive, but the gap is just getting wider.”
Coventry City owner Doug King recently shared similar concerns. At a fan forum (via CoventryLive), he emphasized how parachute payments distort competition in the Championship.
“Right now, the club is losing £5-6 million a year at the EBITDA level,” King said, referring to the financial measure that evaluates profitability before operational costs like taxes and depreciation.
He continued, “To be competitive in this league under the current parachute payment system requires a financially unsustainable model—unless the owner is willing to absorb the losses.”
King expressed hope that the upcoming football regulation bill will bring change: “We need more fair distribution of funds from the Premier League and a reassessment of parachute payments, which currently give relegated clubs an overwhelming advantage.”
