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

nymore. Manchester City are currently trying this very same route with mixed results. Would Chelsea ever have won a title without Mr Abramovich as their owner? It is very doubtful.

For fans of teams like Hull City (my team), Spurs, Fulham etc. will we ever reach the zenith of English football? Probably not in this era of super rich clubs and the Premier League that is a closed shop to any team other than the top four.

The saddest part of this is that when other European leagues have for much of their pasts been two or three horse races the English top tier has been a mixed bag of teams vying for the title. In England 23 different clubs have won the title. In Italy it is 17 with an overall dominance of Juventus, AC Milan, and Internationale.

In Spain it is only nine different teams with Real Madrid and Barcelona the dominant teams.

This demonstrates that instead of improving the game for the better with more competition the Premiership has diluted the game into a set of mini leagues within the Premiership. There is the top four of five with includes Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, plus a super rich benefactor club or two.

Then the second tier of the Premiership is the teams that may be able to get a UEFA Cup spot, then followed by the relegation fodder mini league that will 99% of the time be fighting it out for survival.

If our Bleacher friend who wrote Cracking the Premier League's Big Four seriously thinks that Everton, Villa, Spurs or Fulham can do it, they are sadly mistaken. Manchester City are the only team that have a chance of cracking the big four but to have a dynasty such as Liverpool's or Manchester United's takes years to build and nurture.

Manchester City could do a Chelsea and buy on recent successes but unlike Chelsea who were flirting with UEFA Cup football under Matthew Harding, Manchester City have gone from one misadventure to another. 

They never gave Keegan a chance so he jumped ship (as Keegan always does when the going gets tough), Pearce was sacrificed for Eriksson, who was sacrificed for Hughes.

Successful teams need stability, at least on this occasion Manchester City have not sacked Mark Hughes just because he struggled to construct a team out of his primadonnas and wanabe's.

Maybe, if Hughes is given time he could make the top four the top five but I seriously doubt it. If anything the top four will just change to a different top four with Manchester City replacing Chelsea; as Abramovich gets tired of bankrolling an unsuccessful team.

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