There was a time less than a decade ago when some foreign owners new to the Premier League discussed divorcing themselves from the rest of the football pyramid. They thought it would be rather nice if there was no such thing as relegation.
The plan never got off the ground. The Football Association would have final veto and were not impressed. The danger, such as it was, quickly passed.
Nevertheless, as the game in this country now looks to an uncertain future post-Covid-19, many of those with seats in the millionaires' club of the top division are entitled to feel more separated than ever from those staring upwards from the Championship.