It’s a prediction that’s trotted out by journalists, pundits and managers every August; there will be less of a gap between the top teams and the rest. However, this year it looks like it will be truer than ever, thanks to a record £5.14bn TV deal struck in February.
Only three of the top seven recorded victories over the weekend and only one of those victories was convincing. Apart from City, who looked determined to banish the demons of last season’s mediocrity, none of the established ‘top teams’ looked particularly dominant. Chelsea dropping points at home to Swansea had nothing to do with medical professionals. Instead, it was partly down to a continuation of the sluggishness which we saw in the Community Shield but mainly to a simultaneously resilient and creative display from Swansea. Jefferson Montero and new signing André Ayew looked particularly impressive. He had a great impact; adequately facing up to the formidable pairing of Fabregas and Matic in the centre of the park and even getting on the scoresheet. According to André’s father his brother Jordan, recently signed by Aston Villa, is even better. André Ayew reportedly received a staggering £5m signing on fee, admittedly this was all Swansea paid as he came in on a free transfer. However this is indicative of a new financial clout that will see ‘mid-table’ Premier League teams competing for, and securing, some serious international talent, ahead of supposedly better, poorer European teams. To find further evidence of this you only have to look at the recent arrival of Xherdan Shaqiri at Stoke, who, according to reports, captured the former Inter and Bayern midfielder by offering him twice as much as their direct rivals for the signing; Schalke. Salomon Rondon moving from Zenit to West Brom, Angelo Ogbonna from Juventus to West Ham, the list goes on.
“But won't all this be negated by the big clubs spending even larger sums?” Probably not. The fact of the matter is that the difference in quality between the players signing for the top four and those signing for clubs lower down is closing all the time. As evidenced by the top teams constantly cherry picking players from below, such as Schneiderlin and Benteke both making their moves up the table this summer. Also, there are only so many players that the likes of City and United can buy, leaving many quality players available, like the Wijnaldums and Affelays of this world. New Crystal Palace signing Yohan Cabaye was being courted by the likes of Arsenal just 12 months ago before he went to PSG and, at the age of 29, is hardly over the hill. Granted there are extenuating circumstances in the shape of former manager Alan Pardew, but a top quality France international is a serious coup for a club like Palace.
The reason for all this cash lies in the distribution structure of the TV deal. 95% of the total £5.14bn will go to premier league clubs over the course of three years. Half of this will be evenly distributed among the 20 clubs, 25% spread among the clubs based on league positions and the final 25% allocated depending on how many times the club appears on television. And this is all before overseas rights are taken into account. The final figure could top £100m per club, depending on the aforementioned variables. When comparing this with the reported £35m that Spanish giants Valencia receive, it's not hard to see why so much European talent is flocking to British shores.
All this leads to a potentially more open playing field. That’s not to say that there won't still be an established top four comprising Arsenal, Chelsea, City and United; this will probably still happen. What it does mean is that, not only is top four less untouchable, but week on week we will have more entertaining matches and there will be no ‘dead rubbers’, as there are perceived to be in other leagues.
Only three of the top seven recorded victories over the weekend and only one of those victories was convincing. Apart from City, who looked determined to banish the demons of last season’s mediocrity, none of the established ‘top teams’ looked particularly dominant. Chelsea dropping points at home to Swansea had nothing to do with medical professionals. Instead, it was partly down to a continuation of the sluggishness which we saw in the Community Shield but mainly to a simultaneously resilient and creative display from Swansea. Jefferson Montero and new signing André Ayew looked particularly impressive. He had a great impact; adequately facing up to the formidable pairing of Fabregas and Matic in the centre of the park and even getting on the scoresheet. According to André’s father his brother Jordan, recently signed by Aston Villa, is even better. André Ayew reportedly received a staggering £5m signing on fee, admittedly this was all Swansea paid as he came in on a free transfer. However this is indicative of a new financial clout that will see ‘mid-table’ Premier League teams competing for, and securing, some serious international talent, ahead of supposedly better, poorer European teams. To find further evidence of this you only have to look at the recent arrival of Xherdan Shaqiri at Stoke, who, according to reports, captured the former Inter and Bayern midfielder by offering him twice as much as their direct rivals for the signing; Schalke. Salomon Rondon moving from Zenit to West Brom, Angelo Ogbonna from Juventus to West Ham, the list goes on.
“But won't all this be negated by the big clubs spending even larger sums?” Probably not. The fact of the matter is that the difference in quality between the players signing for the top four and those signing for clubs lower down is closing all the time. As evidenced by the top teams constantly cherry picking players from below, such as Schneiderlin and Benteke both making their moves up the table this summer. Also, there are only so many players that the likes of City and United can buy, leaving many quality players available, like the Wijnaldums and Affelays of this world. New Crystal Palace signing Yohan Cabaye was being courted by the likes of Arsenal just 12 months ago before he went to PSG and, at the age of 29, is hardly over the hill. Granted there are extenuating circumstances in the shape of former manager Alan Pardew, but a top quality France international is a serious coup for a club like Palace.
The reason for all this cash lies in the distribution structure of the TV deal. 95% of the total £5.14bn will go to premier league clubs over the course of three years. Half of this will be evenly distributed among the 20 clubs, 25% spread among the clubs based on league positions and the final 25% allocated depending on how many times the club appears on television. And this is all before overseas rights are taken into account. The final figure could top £100m per club, depending on the aforementioned variables. When comparing this with the reported £35m that Spanish giants Valencia receive, it's not hard to see why so much European talent is flocking to British shores.
All this leads to a potentially more open playing field. That’s not to say that there won't still be an established top four comprising Arsenal, Chelsea, City and United; this will probably still happen. What it does mean is that, not only is top four less untouchable, but week on week we will have more entertaining matches and there will be no ‘dead rubbers’, as there are perceived to be in other leagues.
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