Once upon a time there was talk of scrapping relegation, but now the top flight should consider expanding it.

Ten years ago, Premier League chairmen publicly talked about creating a closed shop, where promotion and relegation are scrapped completely. Many believed that the only missing piece of the puzzle was the promotion of Leeds United, which would have led to the top flight having nearly all the biggest brands in English football in one place.

Now, such a suggestion is unthinkable, because a closed-shop Premier League would leave the richest league in Europe stuck with the likes of Burnley, Middlesbrough, Watford, Bournemouth, Hull, Swansea and Stoke forever.

If anything, the influx of TV money has worked too well in making the league more competitive. With Watford, and Bournemouth easily staying up last season and Burnley almost certain to do the same this season, along with probably Middlesbrough, any promoted club that adopts a common sense approach should not be relegated.

The exception this year is Hull City, who are every inch a crisis club, with a threadbare squad and widespread supporter unrest.

Given the size of the clubs currently in the Premier League, an extra relegation place has never been an easier sell. Let’s not pretend that Mr Scudamore and friends wouldn’t like to see Newcastle and Aston Villa, along with potentially Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds, back in the top flight at the earliest possible opportunity.

But what’s in it for the Premier League’s smaller clubs? Surely they would be turkeys voting for Christmas by approving an extra relegation place. Well, not exactly.

The reality is, for everyone who isn’t a fan of the top six or a promoted club, the Premier League isn’t much of a spectacle at the moment.

Talking to fans of Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds, Brighton, Fulham and many other clubs in the Championship promotion race, they are generally very pleased with the direction their clubs are heading in. But, fans of teams like Watford, Crystal Palace, Stoke and, until recently, West Brom, who these Championship clubs aspire to be, are restless.

They see their teams play awful football, aspiring to do nothing other than stay in the league for a further season and earn another £120m. To get promoted is a triumph, to stay up on the last day is a triumph, to get to Europe is a triumph, but everything in between is just boring. Stoke will effectively play a four-month season this campaign. They’re safe, they’re out of the FA Cup and they’re not going to Europe, so they might as well just go on holiday now.

A fourth relegation place will give the vast majority of teams something to play for, which will also make for more entertaining races for the title and Champions League spots, and increase ticket sales towards the end of the season, as the top sides take on teams fighting for their lives.

The increased risk of relegation would be offset by the increased opportunity of promotion. Looking at the likes of Fulham, Bolton and Blackburn, middle-sized Premier League clubs tend to take a long time to return to their former glory if they are relegated after a long period in the top flight.

That fact creates a vicious circle where clubs spend big to stay in the Premier League knowing relegation could spell doom, and when they finally do get relegated they are left crippled with debt and unable to compete for a return to the top tier.

With a better chance of promotion if they go down, teams fighting relegation might just hold off on that big money, club-crippling January purchase and make more sensible decisions to preserve their long-term futures.

The gap between the bottom of the Premier League and the top of the Championship has never been narrower, so there should be no concerns about a reduction in the quality of the top flight as a result of the introduction of an extra relegation spot, but the spectacle would be so much better.