Throughout the 2000s, Arsenal, Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea dominated the Premier League’s top four spots.
Arsene Wenger’s Gunners and Sir Alex Ferguson’s United battled to win the title a combined five times between 1999 and 2004. Chelsea, led by Russian money from Roman Abramovich, disrupted the status quo with back-to-back title wins in 2004/05 and 2005/06. Meanwhile, Liverpool was a top-four regular, notching fourth place or better eight times in the 2000s.
All eras end though, and the emergence of Manchester City and Tottenham in the 2010s saw the traditional “Big 4” expand into the Premier League’s “Big 6.”
However, growing competition and City’s dominance under Pep Guardiola’s rule has seen the Premier League landscape shift once more. It may therefore be time to ditch the “Big 6” reference in this ultra-competitive age of elite soccer.
Growing Competition for the Premier League’s “Big 6”
Since 2020, the Premier League’s top six have become more varied year on year. During the 2010s, teams outside this group of elite clubs broke into the top six Premier League places on just five occasions. Moreover, Everton was the only side outside of the group to achieve this feat twice.
However, several teams have broken into higher positions during the 2020s. Leicester, Aston Villa, Brighton, Newcastle and West Ham have all disrupted the traditional club’s control over the leading six positions.
More unusual is that these teams have not spent fortunes to break into the top six. Previously, it was the biggest spenders that usually finished towards the top. When Chelsea won the Premier League between 2004 and 2006, it spent nearly $300 million across the two seasons. It was nearly double the amount from the next biggest spender, Liverpool ($112 million).
Since 2020, five of the traditional “Big 6” have been among the biggest spenders in the Premier League. Yet only Manchester City has capitalized…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/will-the-premier-leagues-big-6-ever-bounce-back/
Author : Alex Waite
Publish date : 2024-09-10 17:28:50
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