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| photo by A National Acrobat | via PhotoRee | ||
Ed is back, with an analysis that (for once) is hard to argue with:
There’s a campy ‘80s hit by a band called the Thompson Twins that begins:
If you were here, I could deceive you,
And if you were here, you would believe
Well, “campy” is a bit negative; it’s actually a cute little tune that can be tough to get out of your head once you start to hum it or whistle it or whatever. But it pretty much sums up what we’re being sold these days by the media about the EPL. “Oh” they say, “it’s no longer a Big Four, it’s now a Big Six.” Or, “there’s really six teams at least fighting for the top spots in this league.” Well, sorry folks, but as much as the EPL’s going to be exciting this year, it’s really turned into a league of two.
Yep. First there’s Manchester City. As the grandmother of a friend of mine used to say, “Rich or Poor, it’s good to have money.” And I think that sums up where City’s at right now.
City have an annual payroll of something like £100MM. Wow. People keep speaking of the number of talented players on their bench, and how wastefully they’ve spent. Well, perhaps that’s part true, but City brass has been pretty clear that they’re looking to have two top tier players at every position on the field. This gives them depth over a very long season, and it gives them the ability to put the guy in form into the rotation, and bench the guy who just isn’t getting it done for some reason or another. This strategy is expensive. However, it’s also very calculated and effective. It’s kind of like the Terminator showing up at the doorstep of every person named “Sarah Conner.” In the end, you know you’ll get your guy.
