Norwich and Sheffield United cannot try to survive in the Prem on the cheap
Daniel Farke and Chris Wilder have done brilliant jobs to lead their clubs to promotion but they need to take things onto a new level in the top flight next season
IF I can offer promoted Norwich and Sheffield United one piece of advice — don’t try to survive in the Premier League on the cheap.
Yes, Bournemouth managed it four years ago, magnificently in the light of average attendances.
But in Eddie Howe, they had a manager of remarkable ability who had no other way than to build gradually and hope for the best.
Norwich’s Daniel Farke and Chris Wilder of Sheffield United have proved outstanding in the Championship — arguably the most competitive league in the country.
My clubs have been there a few times, nervously edging our way back up through the play-offs.
Farke has certainly re-nourished Delia Smith’s club.
The Canaries, once the essence of a British team, now have seven German players and a largely German management staff. It is not true that Delia feeds the squad on bratwurst . . .
She and co-owner husband Michael Wynn-Jones became the major shareholders no less than 23 years ago and have plenty of Premier League experience.
CRITICAL IMPORTANCE
They know Farke needs all the support they can give and, although this amounts to much more than cash for transfers and contracts, these are of critical importance.
Yes, Bournemouth have stayed up on a relatively small budget while Fulham spent £113million last summer after coming up and lasted a season.
But generally, you must concentrate on trying to buy the best players you can afford — as Wolves did last season.
West Ham have done well because we have rich Hammers supporters as owners and a 60,000 capacity stadium. That is roughly twice what Carrow Road or Bramall Lane can hold.
The Blades remain English to the bone, with no fewer than 19 on the current playing staff and a home-grown boss in Wilder, 51.
A few years ago a poll suggested that Blades fans, on average, think about football 110 times a day — making them the most dedicated in the country.
Now it’s Wilder’s job to make their dreams come true next season. And while I’m sure he’d like to pick an all-Yorkshire team if he could, he’ll need to stretch his horizons further, or another one-term tenure in the Prem beckons.
United’s style is pleasingly watchable but much too dependent on 33-year-old Billy Sharp for cutting edge.
The same is true of Norwich whose leading scorer is a Finn, Teemu Pukki, 29, with 28 in all competitions. Sharp boasts 24.
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There is little chance they will be so prolific next season and the clubs’ scouts will join every other side in Europe in scouring the globe for strikers capable of scoring a dozen and more a season.
The price of one alone can blow a decent hole in £100m. And then there is the challenge keeping out Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Co.
Welcome to the toughest league in the world . . .