World Cup Corner

Premiership clubs are being supported by a rush of takeovers and investment which does not appear to be slowing down any time soon. This results in increased competition from the Premiership. The Big 4 has led the Premiership for the past several seasons after a long stint of Arsenal and Manchester United reigning together. The competition at the top of the Premiership is competitive to be sure, but it has not reach the cut throat level that the Italian and Spanish top divisions face. It is interesting to note that the current four leaders along with four other teams are the only English clubs that have participated in the Champions League as it is formatted today. The other four teams include Leeds United, Newcastle, Blackburn, and Everton.

With the threat of the Big 4 being broken up fans are unhappy simply because they feel that it is not the teams fault for being successful and they should not be penalized just because the other clubs have not managed to be as successful as they are.

Therefore, it looks as if the Big 4 will be challenged to see if they have what it takes to remain at the top. Major investments have resulted in other teams shooting up the ladder and providing some serious competition.

Of course a club needs good players and a great coach in order to win and a cash infusion can help them achieve that. There are plenty of billionaires and millionaires out there willing to invest their money in these teams to help them have a similar outcome as Chelsea.

The major investments being made are not for a consolation prize or just any random appearance in the Cup Final. These investments are being made for the team to go to the top.
Examples include Man City and Newcastle, clubs with new owners, which are all inspired and motivated to move in and break up the Big 4. There are quite a few other teams that are not ready to compete with the Big 4 although they have aspirations to be at that point one day. Right now they may be good enough to compete for the UEFA Cup, but if things go the way they have planned they will be prepared to challenge the Big 4 in no time. These tams include Blackburn Rovers, Portsmouth, Bolton, Birmingham City, and Middlesbrough. Nobody anticipates these teams to be much competition at the moment However, one good season is all it takes to push one of these teams closer to the top and closer to breaking up the Big 4. There are 20 different teams that make up the Premiership and very few of them will simply be focused on survival.

Of course, while all these teams are focused on breaking up the Big 4 these four teams are not sitting still waiting for another team to knock them out of their standing. So, for change to occur the other teams need to work harder and smarter and find the weaknesses of the Big 4 teams in order to sneak in and disrupt the long standing top four teams.

Currently Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal are focused on increasing their talented players and developing the talent that already exists on the teams. Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal enjoy being at the top and plan on staying there despite the up and coming competition. However, with so many teams vying for a space in the Big 4 it seems likely that at least one team will get it right and accomplish just that. There is no way to predict when this will happen although it is likely as early as next season. The one thing for sure is the Big 4 should expect more competition than ever and if they are not very careful one of the up and coming teams will knock them off their pedestal. This means the Premiership should anticipate more exciting games and more competition this season and for the foreseeable future.