There's more to life than the Premier League

Those of you who know me will realise I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I also care very much about the way football is portrayed.

And I am sick and tired with the Premier League dominance over the rest. The Premier League was formed in 1992 as a breakaway from the old traditional Football League structure. Greedy clubs wanted more money. They have certainly got that - at the expense of the rest.

Things have really come to a head now. Sky and Setanta's petty rivalry has also become a Football League v Premier League war. Sky screen Football League matches at the same time as Setanta's coverage of Premier League matches. To most neutral fans, there really is no choice over which game to watch - and once again the Football League becomes marginalised.

Things got worse this week. Sky's coverage of the "title race" (even thought it was already won in February, Paddy Power told me) meant that they clashed the Manchester derby and Bury v Shrewsbury in the League Two play-off semi-final. It would be interesting to note the viewing figures.

Tonight sees Newcastle v Middlesbrough in a pivotal Premier League relegation battle on Setanta, while Sheffield United v Preston on Sky is of similar importance at the top of the Championship (or Football League Division Two in old money). Living in Preston, I expect most pubs to show the Tyne-Tees derbv ahead of coverage of their local team. Which just about sums up the way the Premier League has completely changed the football landscape.

The ludicrous talk about forming a second Premier League, muted by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside, is also utterly bizarre. Why not have a four division Football League, splitting TV money more fairly and more organised?

And as pointed out by my former lecturer Charlie Lambert, historical records about players are being forgotten about. Charlie says: "Before last Saturday's match between Everton and Tottenham we were all informed that if the current Everton keeper, Tim Howard, kept a clean sheet he would set a new Premier League record of 16 shut-outs in one season for the
club."

Like Charlie, I couldn't care less about that statistic. Football existed long before Sky and the Premier League and will continue long after Premier League fans get bored with their matches every week (I can count the number of genuinely exciting PL matches I've seen this season on one hand).

The best league in the world? Do me a favour.