I don't have a great solution, but one of the other major structural issues with the game right now is the financial disparity between tiers (i.e. CL-PL vs non-CL-PL vs Football League).
Getting relegated out of the PL (or failing to qualify for the CL if you are a big club) blows a huge hole in a club's finances because the disparity in TV money is so stark. At the lower levels, that leads to clubs flirting with bankruptcy. At the higher level it leads to things like the Super League proposal and Liverpool apparently having an Official Watch Partner until yesterday (or Man U having Official everythings), seeking stable revenue that isn't linked to finishing position. Those huge revenue gaps also aren't entirely based on merit--there is enough randomness that you can't say the team that finished 4th is genuinely better than the team in 5th, or that the team in 17th is genuinely better than 18th. The system pins the stability of clubs to the inherent randomness of sport in a way that none of the clubs, big or small, seem comfortable with.
Increased revenue sharing would be the obvious way forward. So far, those proposals have come tied to increased oligarchy as well. Does anyone have a brilliant suggestion that would give us one without the other?
Getting relegated out of the PL (or failing to qualify for the CL if you are a big club) blows a huge hole in a club's finances because the disparity in TV money is so stark. At the lower levels, that leads to clubs flirting with bankruptcy. At the higher level it leads to things like the Super League proposal and Liverpool apparently having an Official Watch Partner until yesterday (or Man U having Official everythings), seeking stable revenue that isn't linked to finishing position. Those huge revenue gaps also aren't entirely based on merit--there is enough randomness that you can't say the team that finished 4th is genuinely better than the team in 5th, or that the team in 17th is genuinely better than 18th. The system pins the stability of clubs to the inherent randomness of sport in a way that none of the clubs, big or small, seem comfortable with.
Increased revenue sharing would be the obvious way forward. So far, those proposals have come tied to increased oligarchy as well. Does anyone have a brilliant suggestion that would give us one without the other?