If you want a sense of where English football might be heading, fire up Paramount+ on Friday afternoon. Already dubbed the "Hollywood Derby," Birmingham City's visit to Wrexham has established itself as the premier clash of boardrooms and brands. In the red corner: Deadpool and United Airlines. In the blue: the greatest quarterback of them all. There'll be games at Old Trafford and the Santiago Bernabeu that lack the star wattage of the Racecourse Ground.

That is not a fact that is universally popular across the English footballing pyramid. Both Wrexham, bought by actors Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds in 2020, and Birmingham City, who three years later were taken over by a consortium that included seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and appeared to take its name from the family "Peaky Blinders," have enjoyed extraordinary success in recent years. Indeed, last season they shared the top two spots in League One; both have settled into the Championship relatively effectively and a win for either side might serve to establish them as playoff contenders in the months ahead.

On field results certainly prompt envious glances but there are also those who question whether the English Football League loses its much prized...