The Premiership: Greatest in The World Or the Most Boring?

I have just been reading an article by one of our new writers about who can break the top four monopoly of the Premiership. They are in for a big shock if they ever really think another club can make a dent in the current regime.

It isn't football that is the problem but the Premier League which has ruined English football. The money that it generates for the top clubs is ridiculous and although some of it is distributed down to the Football League to teams in the lower divisions it is designed so the top clubs can retain their preeminence.

You only have to look at the teams that have won the Premiership in its first 16 seasons of existence. Only four teams have won it. Manchester United 10 times, Arsenal three times, Chelsea twice, and in the early days Blackburn Rovers once.

Now if you look at the 20-years before the emergence of the Premiership, Liverpool won the title 11 times, Arsenal twice, Everton twice, Leeds twice, Derby, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa once each.

Eight teams in total.

Now as you can see there was a major team of dominance during that time frame as well in Liverpool Football Club but the mix was different.

The runners up tell just as much about English football as anything. Arsenal were runners up four times, Manchester United and Chelsea three times, Newcastle United twice, and Aston Villa and Blackburn just once each during the Premiership years.

Before the Premiership yet again more variety in teams were involved in the championship race. Liverpool as the dominant team of the period were runners up seven times, Manchester United three times, Ipswich Town twice, Arsenal once along with Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Queens Park Rangers, Watford, Everton, and finally Southampton.

Now the fact that each generation or so generates great teams is with out question. From the turn of the 21st Century it has been Manchester United before them through the 80's and 90's it was Liverpool.

The 70's which is arguably one of the best periods of English football was a great mix. That era saw the dawn of the great Liverpool side that also ruled over Europe.

The 60's were the domain of Manchester United, the 50's Wolverhampton Wanderers, the 40's well we won't go there. In the 30's Arsenal ruled the roost, in the 20's it was Huddersfield Town, etc etc.

That one team is usually dominant is invariably because of a great managers rather than the actual teams. Sir. Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Liverpool's Paisley and Shankly. Brian Clough at both Nottingham Forest and Derby County in the 70's. In the 1960's Manchester United were under Sir Matt Busby, Wolves were marshaled by Stan Cullis, Arsenal by Herbert Chapman but before he moved south to Arsenal he took Huddersfield Town to three Football League Championships.

Now the Premiership has not changed the dominance of particular teams and that will always happen but what it has done is reduced it to a race for the super wealthy teams. The only teams that can keep up with the Manchester United or Arsenal's of this world are ones that have rich benefactors.

Chelsea were a good mid-table team that were bought by a mega-rich oligarch from Russia and overnight they were challenging for the Premier League title. That is the only way to break into the top of the table party a

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Vote Now! - Author Poll

Is the Premiership the.............

Results - Author Poll

Is the Premiership the.............

• Greatest?

  77.1%

• most Boring?

  22.9%
• Total votes: 35

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