Charlton’s stuttering start to the 2013/14 campaign was blamed on lack of investment by many, but is it as simple as that?

If used wisely, money is obviously  a very useful asset to have, but it is not essential.

Equally, a large budget does not guarantee success. Alan Pardew spent plenty of money reshaping the Addicks following their relegation from the Premier League but failed to be successful.

Players such as Luke Varney, Izale McLeod, Chris Iwelumo, Jose Semedo, Zheng Zhi and Yassin Mouatoukil were all high earners, some also costing seven figure transfer fees to bring to the club.

Charlton’s parachute payments should have given them an advantage in the two years following relegation. Instead, they were relegated to League One at the end of their second season in the Championship.

Leicester and Burnley were runaway leaders at the top of the Championship table this season, leaving the more fancied relegated Premier League teams trailing in their wake.

Reading narrowly failed to make the play-offs, while Wigan were eliminated in the play-off semi-final by big spending Queens Park Rangers. Harry Redknapp’s team face a far from easy game against Derby, which they must win to regain their top-flight status.

Rangers rely heavily on the goals of Charlie Austin. Their dip in form coincided with Austin’s absence with a shoulder injury.

Ironically, Austin was recruited from Burnley at the beginning of the season but it was the Clarets who won automatic promotion.

Team spirit and good coaching are a potent combination for a team to have. Sean Dyche had his troops superbly drilled all season.

Wolves, under former Millwall manager Kenny Jackett, arrested their slump by winning the League One title with a record number of points.

Wolves, despite their parachute money, suffered consecutive relegations from the Premier League and Championship.

Possibly the greatest example of money not being everything is Athletico Madrid.

In Spain, clubs negotiate individual television deals. Naturally, Real Madrid and Barcelona receive sums that dwarf what the other clubs earn.

Athletico needed to avoid defeat on Saturday to clinch La Liga. They were allocated just 473 tickets for the clash at the Nou Camp, lost Diego Costa to injury early on, went a goal down but were good enough to come back and tale the point they needed against Barcelona.

Things could get even better for Athletico. On Saturday, they face city rivals, Real Madrid, in the final of the Champions League.

Diego Simeone’s team will fancy their chances against the richest club in the world and the Athletico squad cost less than Queens Park Rangers’ to assemble.

Lack of funds, compared to some of their rivals, should not be viewed negatively by Charlton fans, there are plenty of low budget success stories in football.