Here’s another in the series of feature articles from James on whether the increasing money in to the premier league will breakup the top 6
Will the increasing money into the Premier League break up the top 6 and make the league more competitive?
Barring Manchester United’s current misfortunes, a quick look at the top of the current Premier League table reveals a very familiar picture. With Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Totten-ham and Arsenal packed together in the top five, it seems that it’s business as usual in the most-watched sports league in the world. Even with Man Utd’s poor start they are still 7th in the league.
But whilst the success of these iconic teams has brought plenty of money into the English league, it has also accidentally made Premier League football a little predictable. Whilst Leicester City’s shock win of the Premier League title in the 2015/16 proved that anything could happen, such events are probably just the exception to the rule.
There have been attempts made to redress the balance as the so-called ‘Big 6’ of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham pull away from the rest of the league. In particular, a plan to increase the share of Premier League television revenue to smaller clubs fell through in 2017, and whilst Everton once poised a threat to break the Big 6, the challenge never really materialised.
Unfortunately, it’s still a fact that money rules in the Premier League, and you only have to look at the fortunes of low-spending Newcastle United and Huddersfield Town to realise that large amounts of cash have to be spent in order to survive in the top level of English football.
Wolves are one of the surprises of the 2018/19 season, and the newly promoted side have made little attempt to hide the fact that it’s the spending of their executive chairman, Jeff Shi, who got them in such a strong position in the Premier League table. The billionaire club owner, quickly made big money signings of the likes of Portuguese star, Ruben Neves, and the canny businessman has managed to give this much-loved club a whole new lease of life. This has made their introduction into the premier league more successful but they are still in 11th position some 8 points behind Arsenal in 5th.
The behind-the-scenes deals of Premier League clubs aren’t the most attractive elements of modern football, but they are essential for the success of each team. You only have to look at the boardroom fiascos at St James’ Park to see how even a legendary side like Newcastle United could be brought down thanks to a lack of funds for the transfer market.
As a result sponsorships matter more than ever for the success of a Premier League team. Many of the clubs in the higher levels of English football are sponsored by a variety of the online casino sites featured at the gaming comparison resource CasinoCowboy.com and successfully courting the financial clout of these companies is essential to the survival of top-level clubs.
Whilst Fulham could only earn £3 million from their shirt sponsorship by the online gambling site, Dafabet, Manchester United managed to pick up £47 million through having the Chevrolet logo emblazoned on their club shirts. All of which shows why the big 6 could once again prove to be incredibly difficult to break up.
Follow us on twitter and facebook for article updates and news
Geek League links and details
Enter PIN: 8367679
League PIN is SGDKX9Y3
