Do Derby County and Middlesbrough represent a wider problem at the top of the Championship?

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Every club in the Championship has the sole aim of getting promoted to the Premier League, but for some clubs, such as Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby, the pressure is much higher. This pressure comes equally from the fans as well as the owners’ expectations and the money spent in order to make a promotion push.

The 2015/16 season, though, seems to be more special, if only because of the new deal put in place by Sky for £5.1 billion in TV rights for Premier League clubs in the 2016/17 campaign. This TV deal means that even if a team is relegated in 20^th place from the Premier League in the 2016/17 season, they could receive as much as £100 million.

It is no wonder many teams are investing heavily this season.

If we take a look at some of the top contenders and spenders in the Championship this season, Derby are ahead of any other club in the division with roughly £20-25 million paid in the summer transfer window. Middlesbrough are 2^nd with £15 million and Sheffield Wednesday 3^rd with £9 million.

Since then, both Wednesday and Middlesbrough have invested further in the January transfer window, with Boro bringing in Jordan Rhodes for an estimated £9 million and Wednesday making permanent signings of Gary Hooper and Jack Hunt for roughly £5 million.

The risks involved in investing heavily in a Premier League push put pressure on both the manager and players which is further exacerbated by the owners’ expectations.

The fortunes of Derby and Sheffield Wednesday have been slightly different this season. Both had new managers at the start of the campaign with Carlos Carvalhal at Sheffield Wednesday and Peter Clement at Derby.

Carvalhal has done a good job at handling the pressure of investment at Wednesday who currently sit 5^th on a good run of form. The pressure at Derby though recently reared its head with Derby sitting 6^th in the league after a good start to the season, they are currently on a bad run of form going 7 games without a win which has resulted in manager Paul Clement being sacked, after just eight months in charge.

On the other side of the spectrum are Middlesbrough, who hired Aitor Karanka as manager in 2o13 and have since built a team capable of challenging for promotion. Owner Steven Gibson has allowed Karanka both time and money to build a team and they currently sit 2^nd in the Championship with a game in hand over Hull.

This kind of ownership system seems to allow more freedom and tends to bring less pressure on managers which allows them time to build a squad over a few seasons rather than the pressure of just one.

However, is it right that the buck stops with the managers and players? Or is there a bigger issue at stake here where owners and fans are expecting too much after investment? We see many managers come and go as the expectations rises too high after investment, but is it really as simple as it all seems?

As we see owners put themselves and clubs at risk of the financial fair play rules and possibility of a transfer embargo. Further, the possibility of debt increases and the pressure falls on the owners and investors’ shoulders.

Investment in Championship clubs is rising each year as many owners look at short term investment for long term financial gain and, according to a BDO study, only 12% of Championship clubs look set to make a profit this season.

It seems that this sort of investment puts pressure on the owner to recoup money invested and due to this pressure knee jerk reactions such as sacking managers occur. Sacking managers, though, brings its own pressures as the owner possibly risks more investment in a new manager and potentially causing instability within the team.

As we have seen in recent years, many clubs have gotten into trouble with financial stability. Teams such as Bolton and Leeds from trying to make it to the big time. So, together with the new TV deal and the riches of the Premier League, as well as the parachute payments from relegated teams, many championship clubs are putting themselves at risk, not just of potential debt, but also financial fair play.

Will this create a domino effect in the future with owners trying for the riches but slowly drowning in debt? Does it mean more Championship managers fail the pressure test and fall at the last hurdle of gaining promotion to the Premier League? As only three clubs can be promoted many club owners and fans will be left disappointed and vying once again for that elusive successful Championship campaign.

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