Gary Neville writes a piece in today's Telegraph outlining the decline in football in the North (excluding Manchester City). He could have extended his hypothesis further (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/11891430/The-north-is-being-cut-adrift-in-English-football-and-I-fear-the-damage-may-be-permanent.html).
What has happened to Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sunderland, the Sheffield clubs, Middlesbro, Wigan, Bolton, Blackburn, Blackpool, Barnsley, Hull, Bradford, Preston etc?
And further down the chain, all of the following Northern clubs are no longer in top four leagues - Stockport County, Chester, Halifax, Darlington, Wrexham, Macclesfield, Barrow, Tranmere, Scarborough, Southport...
... to be replaced by Barnet, Burton, Dagenham, Wycombe, Stevenage, Yeovil.
Stretching further, what has happened to Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and the Dundee clubs?
Class War, that's what.
The centralisation of power and finance in the south of England has resulted in a shift in power in English football and a corresponding decline in the Scottish game as teams with relatively little history march up the league ladder often under very rogue bookmaking and offshore ownership structures.
Brighton, Brentford, Watford, Bournemouth, Swansea, Milton Keynes Dons, Reading, Cardiff, Southampton, Norwich, Crystal Palace etc are a new elite.
And where were Chelsea prior to oligarchical inputs?
On the weekend of the Catalan Independence vote, Jeremy Corbyn and the SNP should patch up their differences and seek devolution for the North and Scotland.
Leave the City of London Bullingdon Boy Bestialities Behind.
And where should the border be drawn?
In my opinion, just North of Bet365's Stoke City.
