Saints face Coventry City at St Mary's on Saturday knowing that they will be chasing their biggest ever financial prize.

If Saints win on Saturday against Coventry then the Club will see more money pore into its coffers than ever before and the difference financially between promotion and staying in the Championship is simply light years apart. Prior to the premier league the gap between the old First and second divisions financialy was negligible, it was a level playing field, meaning that clubs found their level depending on how well run they were and the size of their support etc, now a team can get lucky for a season and punch above its weight, but have to spend all its newly aquired millions doing so, resulting in major problems when it cant shift overpaid average players when relegated, Saints had this problem and the list of other is getting longer each year.

Some would say our do or die game against Manchester United in 2005 had as much at stake, but they would be wrong, on this occasion there is a lot more to win and a hell of a lot more to lose, back then defeat did cost us big money but we had the parachute payments to soften the blow, this game on Saturday and the play offs should the unthinkable happen is a lot more of a winner takes all, loser takes nothing game than back in 2005.

So the calculators will be out in the Saints boardroom, quite simply till the division we will be playing in is known, financial budgets cannot be drawn up, win on Saturday and multi millions will be guaranteed to flow into the club over the next few seasons, even if we were to be relegated, fail to get promotion and its back to running the club under stringent clearly defined financial constraints as most Championship clubs have to do.

The realisation of these financial implicatiions perhaps points to where football has been going wrong over the past decade, the rich clubs are getting richer and the poor clubs poorer, whilst Im all for the top clubs earning the lions share, I cant help thinking that until the difference between finishing bottom of the Premier and top of the Championship is a lot lot smaller, then football as we know it does not have a lot of chance of survival in this country, yes money isnt the be all and end all and football's problems stretch far more reaching than that, but unless big changes in the way money is distributed are made then I fear for the game we all love.

Photo: Action Images

BlackRod added 15:40 - Apr 25 I have to say agree with this. Things were much better when the players lived in the terraced houses next to the ground and earned 6d a week. They say this new fangled satellite thing is to blame, but I don't think it will catch on. Can't see why the rich should get richer in the football world when there's total equality everwhere else and poverty has been abolished.

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Whatsforpud added 17:04 - Apr 25 The FA, under the authority of FIFA, should have put a lid on unaffordable spending years ago. I think most people would have agreed to the abolition of the maximum wage, but over the years expenditure has got out of hand. Regarding wages (and I assume the playing/coaching side of a club accounts for most of it), that should not be more than an agreed percentage of income, that is income only from ticketing, media revenue, commercial sales etc. but not owners' money. Players attracting the higher crowds and TV would fairly earn more than those who don't. The business of buying and selling of players often has a short term effect, as opposed to building of a stadium or a training ground. I believe clubs should only be able to buy if they have that money, and can pay up front. That might have the tendency to reduce player prices as well. We are beginning to lose count of the number of clubs that have gone into administration. Ordinary businesses go under, but most football clubs somehow cling on. It seems that no longer can clubs be trusted to run their own finances sensibly, as it is a results business, and there is constant pressure to get to the top. It seems the only answer I'm afraid, is greater regulation and monitoring, if football clubs are to be there for future generations to enjoy.

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eusebio added 17:20 - Apr 25 I likes your style Mr BlackRod
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