'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Not many people outside of England follow a lot of their football except the top division - the Premier League. The Championship probably is still the most glamorous second division there could ever be, and clubs like Aston Villa, Reading, Fulham, Hull City, Sunderland, etc. do have quite a large fanbase outside the nation. But as one goes lower and lower down the divisions, the more "dull and weary" it gets, with the lack of glitz clearly showing.
The money involved in football today is simply astonishing. Without it, I dare say, football would be as big as it is today. Sure, the sport would still be loved, and fans would still turn up to fill the seats, but the stardom associated with it will be evidently absent, and one cannot deny that.
PSG have slaughtered the record books in the recently concluded transfer window, pushing Paul Pogba (the world's most expensive player before the window started) to second place. He was then pushed further down to third place by Barcelona - who signed Ousmane Dembele. He didn't even end up finishing top 3. Kylian Mbappe's transfer to PSG denied him a place on the podium. All in the space of one transfer window.
"They're ruining football!". Such has been heard on a number of occasions in the past 15 years. Real Madrid were known for investing heavily, in hope of creating the 'Galacticos'. Roman Abramovich and Chelsea made big signings with big fees a 'trend'.
Sheikh Mansour and his Manchester City takeover included a bunch of players with massive price tags. And the latest, Nasser Al-Khelaifi and PSG, seem to have doubled every players' price with their lunacy.
The price inflation in the market is palpable, and one cannot not feel the heat of it. However, it is not PSG, or Manchester City who are raising eyebrows in England. Instead, the Englishmen have been left concerned by a team who are unlikely to give any sort of competition to the likes of PSG for years to come. Having said that, they're also unlikely to give any competition to Swindon Town either, so how exactly are they "ruining football"?
Billericay Town, who are a non-league club, are currently in the seventh division of English football - the Isthmian Premier League. It is a known tradition in England for the non-leagues to be used as a place to nurture young talent for the higher divisions, but it seems Billericay Town don't have time for that.
Imagine former Premier League regulars in the seventh division. Now, check out Billericay Town's team roster. Voila! It just turned into reality. It all does seem like a financially powered fairy tale when you see the likes of Jermaine Pennant, Jamie O'Hara, and Paul Konchesky in their ranks. Let's not forget that these players were once in clubs like Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Arsenal.
The football club is owned by local millionaire Glenn Tamplin, and believe it or not, he is also their manager. They weren't formed yesterday though. They're older than most clubs we're familiar with today, having been formed as early as in 1880. The owner dreams of league two football in half a decade, and though it sounds somewhat surreal, Tamplin means business. He's shelling out £20,000 each week on wages, and that fact alone has baffled people all across England, who swear by the traditions of grassroots football. Angered by the investment, opposition fans taunted the owners by chanting "What a waste of money!" when they failed to win promotion last season. Billericay are out in full force this season though, smashing every club that comes their way. The opposition fans are rarely heard anymore.
Tamplin insists that it's all for a good cause, and that no one earns in excess of £1000 a week. Tamplin cites the example of Bournemouth and their staggering rise to the first division in ten years, and believes Billericay could do something of that kind. The man is surely ambitious, but he brings in a laudable amount of passion with it, and one has to take him seriously.
Billericay were languishing in mid-table when Glenn Tamplin took over, and they now look certain to earn promotion this season. Whether he's ruining football or not, is one's personal opinion, but Tamplin is a man on a mission, and Billericay Town are a club trying to do the undone. It has come at a cost, though, with the club's proceedings looked down upon by most, but they don't seem to care...
Are they really ruining non-league football, or is it a fair sign of ambition?
