We are now entering a new world of football, aren’t we? No more can a six year old child predict a scoreline at ease. The playing field has finally been leveled. I sit up a little more these days when I see the big four play the lesser sides. The gap has narrowed.
Birmingham have been on fire this season! Having gone on a 13 game unbeaten streak, that includes draws against Liverpool Chelsea and Man United. Clearly they’re one to watch out for. Bankrolled by their new Honk Kong owners, the club is finally seeing success after years of relegation dog-fights and championship stints.
But what really is making an impact on clubs like Tottenham, Aston Villa, Birmingham, Fulham etc. is the excellent management system in place. Harry Redknapp, Martin O’Neill, Alex Mcleish and Roy Hodgson have been outstanding managers thus far.
A lot of us also believe that its just the top 4 that’s getting weaker and weaker. Arsenal losing Hleb and Flamini, Liverpool losing Xabi Alonso, Manchester United losing Ronaldo. Well that’s not entirely the case. What’s really happening is, that the lesser sides are only getting stronger and stronger. A maverick like attitude is being adopted by the ‘pretenders’ as I like to call them. Theres no more respect for the elite. Every game is worth 3 points now. And look at the Big 4 squads. They still have at least 2 world class players playing in every position.
But the real winner here is Football. That dominating era is no more. We’re witnessing the dawn of an era where the term ‘The Big 4’ is history and the term ‘The Big 8’ may be in the rising.
English Football is getting more and more interesting. Sure, you may still bet your life savings on either Chelsea United or Arsenal winning the league this season.
But how about you bet on that happening 3-4 seasons later.
But how about you bet on that happening 3-4 seasons later.
Exactly! I didn’t think you would.
footballs the winner i guess...nice shit....tc..
ReplyDeletefootball is the loser..... any crap club can be taken over by a rich tycoon and their fortunes can be changed overnight... thats such a shame... clubs such as united and arsenal have built good squads over the years rather than just splashing the cash and gettin a good squad overnight...
ReplyDeletefootball will never be the same again....
u got it point blank abhishek..
ReplyDeletesince pre-season we have been seeing the
rise of clubs outside the big 4..
and with the reduced fire power of the big 4 due to sale of players i c games getting a lot more interesting and unpredictable.. and romesh, clubs like united and chelsea have amazing spending power and in the last 8 years have had a HUGE financial edge over the rest of the clubs.. now its interesting to c whether they can actually leverage the great squad they have built(as you pointed out) to show themselves as great and the others as "crap"(as again pointed out by you again).
great read.
Romesh, fair enough. Money is indeed taking over football today. But look at the big picture, its raising the standard as well.
ReplyDeleteAlso, post 1992, Manchester United began 'marketing' the club around the world, which at the time seemed immoral just like how we're judging the takeovers today, but it probably explains why its the most supported club around the world today.
Also, like you said, Man United have built a decent squad over the past few years but they've splashed the cash as well. Rooney 30m, Berbatov 30m, Ferdinand 30m, Anderson 18m, etc.
Now this may not have been overnight, but how is that any different from being so.
Fact of the matter is, Money brings you success.
Manchester City would be pleased to hear that.
Gaurav, nice to know you liked the article ;)
nice article man..
ReplyDelete@romesh
how does football lose if it is in fact getting more exciting??..the same clubs cant rule forever..and this is really gonna test every top club and manager..id say bring on the competition..
@ iyer
it takes a lot more than money to buy you success in football thats for certain..look at madrid..are they any better of than last year..look at city their squad on paper is as good as any top team..they just win a few big games but when it comes down to it..they cant get results week in week out..dude look at spurs man..how much have they spent in the last couple of years..once you have a well established team and the fact that you are a "team" thats what makes a massive difference..
True. But what's being overlooked today is time. Investments need to be given time. You cannot expect immediate results. Niki's point on City not grinding results week in - week out is well noted, but its only their 'first' season. Its a new squad, new manager, new faces.
ReplyDeleteA 'team' cannot be built overnight. Consistency relies on familiarity. The statement speaks for itself. Let the players settle in first.
Having said that, Tottenham really do baffle me.
I feel their misery all started when they made that terrible decision to sack Martin Jol.
Im glad to finally see them at 4th place this time of the season. They'v been massive underachievers over the last few years.
Like you said, they'v definitely got the squad to achieve and more importantly...have the right manager now. Juande Ramos was a joke anyway.
true... United alsoo lost tevez, which adds to their woes...also causing much trouble to them in the United City Clashes....
ReplyDeletetottenham, man city , birmingham these three have really improved... and tottenham have got the right manager for their team.. who said tottenham are not an able team? they defeated wigan 9-1 away, a win that will go down in premier league history..
Hey Anay, nice to know i have a young readership as well ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd since u mentioned it, read what Niki has to say about clubs like Man City and Spurs. They perform well against the bigger sides but they just don't seem to be grinding out results week in- week out. Thats the difference between them and the title.