Former Aston Villa player turned pundit Stan Collymore has never been far away from controversy, not on the pitch and certainly not since he's retired.

This week he's waded into the debate about TV money, expressing his disgust at Championship teams including Leeds and more opposing the £500m deal agreed with the EFL.

It isn't his strong language that should be getting pulses racing, but his opinions around the quality of the product on offer in the Championship and below.

He said: "What the clubs, who are demanding more, are essentially saying is that they should better rewarded for failure, which is being in the second tier. They're wrong. They should earn second-tier money - until they prove themselves worthy of Premier League money by getting back up there."

He also called the Football League a 'second, third and fourth rate product' in his rant, which poses the question; is the Championship a second rate product? Are the clubs wrong to demand a bigger slice of the TV money?

Or is Stan Collymore way off the mark with his blinkered views of life outside the Premier league? Our experts discuss.

Alfie Burns

You can see the point Collymore is making, but it is incredibly narrow-minded.

The money dished out from the TV deals means there is a big gulf in class between the top-flight and the Football League, which isn’t fair at all.

You’ve only got to look at the personnel the likes of Stoke and West Brom can afford to see the difference. For me, Championship clubs are well within their rights to question the deal. Their division is undervalued.

 

Jay Taylor

I wholeheartedly agree with Stan Collymore’s comments - it is greed first and foremost but he has a point when saying more money is just rewarding failure.

Derby, Aston Villa and Leeds are three clubs stuck in their own purgatory that is the Championship and being compensated for being a mainstay in a division their fans feel they are above is distasteful.

The reward for promotion is football at a higher level and the financial rewards that go with it.

Until such time as any of those club, and any of the other 21 in the division prove they are good enough to get promoted and get the monetary injection that goes with a rise up the leagues, then they should shut up and focus on trying to get there rather than crying over the money they get because they think they are bigger and better.

 

Louie Chandler

To an extent.

He is spot on that they should obviously not earn as much as the Premier League clubs and the money earned from top-flight football is a huge part of the incentive to win promotion.

But at the same time, they have every right to ask for more money if they believe it is warranted.

 

Gary Hutchinson

I usually don't mind a controversial comment or two, but whether the basis of his argument is correct or not is irrelevant. His comments are offensive, not only to the clubs in the Championship but lower down too.

How dare he label Championship football a failure. My team, Lincoln City, have spent a decade at that level during their existence, does that mean they're lifelong failures?

Also, the product on display in the Championship is as exciting as anywhere in Europe at present. any one of ten teams could win the division and the players are, in some cases, showcasing talents that would grace any Sky TV coverage of Crystal Palace and Huddersfield.