Recently Oxford United took on Ipswich Town in the Championship. During the coverage of the match, a graphic appeared on the screen which sent social media into vigorous debate.
The graphic displayed the estimated amounts that both clubs had spent during the summer transfer window. Ipswich spent the second most in the division with an estimated £54.2m.
Meanwhile, Oxford spent the fifth least with an estimated £2m.
Why Did It Cause So Much Debate?
Well, one of the reasons is it begs the question, how are teams like Oxford supposed to compete with teams that are able to spend nearly thirty times what they can. Some argue that this is natural given the fact that Ipswich were playing in the Premier League last season and Oxford were only promoted to the second tier two seasons ago.
This is somewhat understandable. Relegated clubs are almost always going to have an advantage over the teams in the new league they find themselves in.
But does it have to be this extreme? Many would argue that this gulf in spending ability has contributed to a rise in ‘yoyo’ clubs that we have seen in recent years.
Teams like Southampton and Burnley, who are too good for the Championship but not cut out for the Premier League. It could be suggested that this is just the way that football is going, with the sport being more about money than it ever has been.
Will we soon see a similar thing in League One and beyond? We are already seeing a less extreme version of this in the National League.
Due to their only being two promotion spots up for grabs; you basically have to spend a lot of money to earn promotion. This only makes it more difficult for the smaller teams in the league to compete.
On The Other Hand
It is worth noting that the graphic did not consider player sales. For example, Southampton spent an estimated £57.4m during the summer, the most out of anyone in the division.
But they made far more than that when they sold the likes of Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling. So, if they made so much money from player sales, why shouldn’t they be able to spend big?
