The Premier League could learn from NFL's attitude to money

How about this for a radical idea? Ready?

The Premier League is only as strong as its weakest team.

Fancy another one? Okay, no problem.

Any team gaining a competitive advantage through money is a bad thing for the Premier League.

If this sounds like socialist hogwash, then think again. These two principles underpin the philosophy of the world's most successful sports league, America's NFL [National Football League]. It may be football played by men using their hands, but as far as I can tell that's the only daft thing about it.

Compared to the NFL, the Premier is like the Wild West. Mind you, compared to the Wild West, the Premier League is like the Wild West.

Despite occasional upsets, the PL is essentially a boring league. The reason it is a boring league is because the top four clubs have become a virtual cartel. This season there is an outside chance that Aston Villa will crash the party, and this is seen as a significant development.

When did it become acceptable that a team finishing fourth in the 'greatest football league in the world' counts as headline news?

I happen to think the Premier League would be a much better place were it to offer more competition. I also think it wouldn't hurt - at least it wouldn't hurt the majority of teams and supporters - were the PL to adopt some of the NFL's ideals.

First thing: salary cap. There should be a limit on the amount of money each team can spend. I'm not necessarily suggesting that each team's limit should be the same as the others, but the notion that certain teams can distort the market in the manner that Chelsea and Manchester are able to is just not on. Pegging wages to a percentage of a club's income would be a good place to start. And 50% would not be a bad figure.

Second thing: Television revenue should be split equally between all clubs, regardless of how many times each team is featured on national television. Because Manchester United are on the telly more times than, say, Sunderland means that they get more money than Sunderland. Thus they get stronger, which means they're appeal expands yet further, meaning more demand for them to be on television.

And on it goes.

I realise, of course, that there is much chance of these ideas being adopted by a short-sighted, greedy Premier League, an institution that yearns for the approval of its most powerful members, as there is of Wayne Bridge actually doing something to earn the seventy odd thousand pounds that he trousers each week.

But still, I thought it was worth a mention.

Because at the moment, the truth is this: the Premier League may have the best stadiums, the best players, the best managers and the most coverage of any organisation in football - but as it stands, the Championship is a more interesting league when it comes to the competitive game.