Can you hear that? Listen closely. If you’re lucky you might just be able to catch the slow demise of top flight football in England.
Over the course of the last decade or longer, the Premier League has modelled itself as a league being divided by a distinct top four.
With the progression of the more recent seasons, what was once a four horse race is now shaping up as a top ten challenge.
This is not to say that a new king will be crowned any time soon, but now there are numerous contenders to the throne all waiting on an opportunity to, in the near future, stamp their authority on the game.
In Australia, for many years you could excuse people for guessing there were only four participants in the Barclays premier league.
One team has made a claim to be the fifth.
Manchester City, armed with a billionaire owner and the backing of footballing critics, started the year flaunting their money in a desperate attempt to break the barrier separating the top four from the rest of the league.
Many will argue the gap has already been narrowed down to a history, and is based no longer on current form. On paper, the possibility to succeed surely warrants Manchester City a temporary visa in top flight football in England.
Fantasy owners can vouch for that with Man City filling a number of teams around the internet, with the likes of Burnley, Stoke and Wolverhampton being dealt the ‘who?’ card.
So what qualifies a team for top flight status?
A history that can shame every opposing team, an arrogant fan base, a stadium that can span beyond the field of vision with an attached cost in figures you or I will never be able to pronounce in pounds or dollars, and finally, a feel for the economic concept ‘if we’ve got it, spend it’.
For years football’s die-hards have rallied with the claim ‘if you’re not with us, you’re nobody’. The support base of English football has quickly become a game of advertising and persuasion.
While off the field fans still enjoy a beer or 16 and display vocal support whilst constantly rejecting the use of seats, on the field the rise of those other Premier league clubs whose names evade me, has begun.
The science behind this change in English football is simple, as the clichéd saying goes ‘all great things come to an end’. Football is not exempt from that theory.
Dutchy18
Roar Rookie
Yes, they still have table position and a number of good results in European tournements, this i am not doubting. What i am suggesting is that its far closer in terms of competative matches. In years gone Man Utd, Chelsea, liverpool and Arsenal have gone through nearly unscaved, this year in the Premierleague as well as many Cups, they have seen far improved opposition, this you cannot argue, i do watch the majority of games and have done for years, i just dont think you understand the point im trying to make.
subrasub
Guest
Oh please, by seasons end Chelsea, Man utd, and Arsenal wil have made at least the 1/4 finals of the champions league and will have fought out a tough race for 3 domestic titles: Premier league, Carling cup and the FA cup. Yes it remains to be seen who out of Man city, Spurs, Villa and liverpool will claim a berth in the champions league but it is the later club Liverpool's poor form so far this season that has allowed the improved form of the above contenders to grab some attention over the big 4, which in turn may lead to others believing english footballs top echelon of teams suffering a slide. I think you need to make contentious judgements such as this at seasons end or at least during the penultimate stages of the season because your going to look like a fool. Dont mean to insult you but u need to get ur facts right
Stoffy
Roar Rookie
Apologies about the misleading heading. I am merely trying to say that the dominance of the top four is no longer as such.
Lu
Guest
Agreed that this article needs to be retitled "English football’s "Big Four's" fall from fame". The EPL is by far one of the strongest, better marketed, most watched and supported leagues in the world. If anything it gets stronger and stronger by the day. Proof is the strong showing in both Champions league and Europa League. The emergence of the mid table teams in the EPL makes it an even better competition. The Big Four could now be the big 6-8? Look at La Liga where Barca and Real pulled away from the rest of the league in its 3rd week and Serie A, no one will over take Inter will they? Germany's Bundesliga is good, but can the average football fan name at 4 teams? We're not going to even start with French and Portuguese leagues.. For shear availability, news and entertainment.. you can't beat the EPL.
Brian
Guest
Yeah same here. In the unlikely event that Milan & Inter beat their UCL opponent maybe he could re-write
Chook
Guest
I dont get what you are talking about? I think you might be confusing fame with success. Paris Hilton is famous no successful. Who's that tw*t from Argentina? Who's that money grabbing whore? Carlos Tevez is his name, And he hasn't got a brain, And he won't be winning trophies any more... http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/manchester_united-chants/whos-that-twat-from-argentina-tevez-song/ and why not for a laugh http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/manchester_united-chants/park-park-wherever-you-may-be/
Phil E Buster
Guest
I guess we all have to start somewhere
Shayxin
Guest
Surely a less-dominant big four would serve to STRENGTHEN, not weaken, the Premier League. Having seven or eight clubs fighting for fifth place, and the rest flghting relegation, is not a good thing and the more competition there is, the better. Look at the Bundesliga these days - are you telling me competition is a bad thing? And if you're looking at the teams which might be breaking into the top four this year, why did you only mention the club which is coming sixth? Besides three of the big four, Aston Villa and Tottenham both sit above Man City.
Roger Rational
Guest
Eh?
Roger
Guest
The title is misleading since the point of this article is about the Premier League becoming more tightly contested (which itself is a mirage, the top four will reassert themselves in the near future). I was expecting an article about the decline in quality of the Premier League compared to the Primera Liga, with the rise of Barcelona and the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo cited as evidence.
Mxjosh
Roar Rookie
I disagree entirely a very poor article in my opinion. What prroof is there that English football is falling from fame? sure the top four may not be as strong as they have been and the chase for fourth place is tightly contested this year doesnt mean anything. One 'poor' year for the top 4 doesnt mean a fall for english football