Too good for the Championship, not quite good enough for the Premier League – it’s the defining trait of clubs such as Norwich City and Fulham FC, who spend their seasons either struggling to cling onto the relegation battle, or cruising their way to a largely uncontested Championship title.

These ‘yo-yo’ clubs, as they are fondly termed, aren’t a natural fit in either of England’s top two divisions, and the inevitability of their dominance in what could, and should, be some of the most riveting rivalries in football is damaging to the game and disheartening to many clubs – themselves included.

Chris Winn, UCFB football finance academic and former Deloitte consultant, explains in an interview with The Mirror the flawed finances that lie behind this never-ending cycle, and why a fairer system would create a fairer, and a more exciting, game for all.

Here, he summarises the problems with parachute payments and the astonishing lack of change implemented in the latest review of the system…

If teams are coming down from the Premier League, they might get £43m from the first year parachute alone. That’s usually more than all non-parachute recipients will generate across all their revenue streams in a season.

In the Premier League the correlation is so much higher than in the Championship historically, so the promoted clubs have a choice to spend to stay up or hold back so if relegated arrive back in the Championship in the best possible position to compete again. Usually clubs take the latter option to consolidate if they end up relegated.

Somewhat disappointingly [the review] sat on the fence, saying it was up to the Premier League and EFL to sort [parachute payments] between themselves and if they can’t then the independent regulator should be there as a moderator or decision maker.

No action has been taken. There’s no tangible suggestion within the review and it could be some time before we have anything on the table because even a suggestion of a fairer system… if you’re coming up with a fairer mechanism to make it more evenly distributed then what were parachutes raison d'etre? To soften Premier League relegation.

Obligatory or enhanced levels of relegation causes might be a better option to soften the blow and remove the need for parachute payments in the first place. But relegation clauses have a practical care aspect. It’s easier said than done because some players might not want to sign a contract with a mandatory reduction on their wage levels if relegated.