Championship should be 'easier' with powerhouses winning promotion, argues Hull City chairman Acun Ilicali

There is good news for fans of Hull City, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Wednesday next season – the Championship is going to get easier.

That, at least, is the view of Hull owner/chairman Acun Ilicali.

Whether you agree with him or not, all five White Rose clubs should have realistic hopes of being in promotion picture if they can have a good summer in the transfer market, which officially opens on Friday.

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Hull and Middlesbrough narrowly missed the play-offs as the former ran out of inspiration, the latter time. Boro stuck to the plan, handing Michael Carrick a new contract this week, the Tigers aim to ramp things up after unveiling Tim Walter, the German coach behind “heart attack football”, on Tuesday.

Leeds made it to the play-offs, although it was hardly cause for celebration having been in the automatic promotion picture for most of the campaign. They were beaten by Southampton in the final.

The Owls hit play-off form once they finally got going after a woeful first four months, and have got manager Danny Rohl's autograph on a new contract that will allow him his first pre-season in charge of a club. That feels like a massive coup.

Sheffield United have a big rebuilding job to do after a dreadful relegation from the Premier League, but it at least means they have the considerable help of parachute payments above them. Given their track record in that regard in recent years it would be unwise to bank on it, but they could even have new owners, with a group of American said to be in advanced talks.

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Most importantly, Ilicali expects the level of competition to drop a touch after a season where, for the first time since 1998, a team (Leeds) won 90 points without it bringing automatic promotion.

CONFIDENCE: Hull City owner/chairman Acun Ilicali (waving)CONFIDENCE: Hull City owner/chairman Acun Ilicali (waving)
CONFIDENCE: Hull City owner/chairman Acun Ilicali (waving)

Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton, all of whom have played in Europe this century, are out of next season’s equation – the Foxes going headlong into investigations about over-spending.

In their place come the badly-bruised Blades, managerless Burnley and a Luton Town side who were punching well above their weight to get into the Premier League.

"For sure (it will be) easier, I think, because it was almost like the Premier League last season," says Hull's chairman when asked how expects the second tier to be in 2024-25.

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"I was shocked, how could it be possible for a team to come up from League One into the Premier League direct (as Ipswich have)? I really appreciated Ipswich's success.

POWERHOUSES: Southampton and Leicester City won promotion from last season's ChampionshipPOWERHOUSES: Southampton and Leicester City won promotion from last season's Championship
POWERHOUSES: Southampton and Leicester City won promotion from last season's Championship

"But the three teams who came down (from the top division in 2023), Leeds United had so many years in the Premier League, Leicester City former champions and Southampton – those three budgets were so crazy we knew it was not possible to pass their budgets."

Such matters are a concern to Ilicali – frustrated he can only pump "£14m or £15m" of his own money into the Tigers this summer because of financial fair play regulations – and every other club not lucky enough to receive a parachute payment. Watford and Norwich City's came to an end last season.

The Blades are due around £44m next season to cushion the blow of falling off the Premier League gravy train, Leeds around £36m. Hull and co expect to get somewhere in the region of £15m under the Football League's new television deal.

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But the parachute is only part of it. How long clubs have spent in the top division should be a big factor too.

UNFAIR FIGHT: Leeds United and Hull City are in different financial leagues - but the same divisionUNFAIR FIGHT: Leeds United and Hull City are in different financial leagues - but the same division
UNFAIR FIGHT: Leeds United and Hull City are in different financial leagues - but the same division

Leicester wisely reinvested £100m from their nine-year stint in the Premier League – including one in the Champions League – in one of the best training grounds in the country.

"When teams have so many years in the Premier League their squad becomes stronger and stronger with the money," argues Ilicali. "So a team with 10 years of history in the Premier League is not the same as a team with two years' history because in 10 years they could maybe invest £600m or £800m in the squad maybe and another team only £300m or £400m.

"Of course Luton Town are a successful team but I don't feel like they're like the other teams. Sheffield United are like our brothers but that type of team being around is not so difficult."

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Leeds had three consecutive Premier League season before relegation, Southampton 11. Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton were all relegated one year after promotion.

Still, "easier" is not the same as "easy", as the five Yorkshire clubs will no doubt quickly discover.

Leeds will have to sell players to comply with financial fair play, the parachutes will not avoid the need for cost-cutting at Bramall Lane, and Hull may also have to sacrifice a key player or two to fund the reinforcements they want as they look to remodel the squad for Walter.

With only one season out of the last 15 in the top division, Middlesbrough are no longer the moneybags club they once were.

It has the makings of another exciting Championship season, but one Yorkshire's clubs can go into more optimistic.

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