Premier League faces parachute payments problem summed up by Fulham and Norwich

Fulham and Norwich City have become ships passing in the night. It was March 2018 when these clubs of similar stature last faced each other and that is becoming a problem far beyond West London and Norfolk, with consequences reaching far above and below in the pyramid.

Marco Silva, the latest Fulham head coach to guide the club back to the top flight, has already optimistically explained why next season will be different at Craven Cottage, even if he will not divorce from the exciting style that has broken records in their latest promotion. Vice-chairman Tony Khan, who oversees recruitment, has already spoken of the yo-yo club becoming a yo club.

At Norwich, Dean Smith will be expected to continue the pattern of bouncing back straight away with a squad that has become familiar with success and failure in equal measure, even if it is fair to ask questions of sporting director Stuart Webber’s recruitment approach last year.

Then there is Watford, straight back down to the second tier with their fate all but sealed before Christmas, and Bournemouth, back up after two years with a squad that cost £125m in a division where a couple of sides were assembled for about 1% of that number.

The financial realities of a broken system indicate that these clubs are trapped on a hamster wheel that is becoming harder to come off as those more established in the Premier League pull away and the Championship’s sub-elite find their own passage to prosperity blocked.

For many the blame predominantly rests with parachute payments, a system designed to smooth the transition and soften the blow for relegated clubs, but it is merely the base ingredient to a complex dish.

“If teams are coming down from the Premier League, they might get