The new foreign owners who are parking their private jets next to English Premier League grounds appear to be disembarking with ambitions to match their millions.
The reality is that while every multi-millionaire suitor and his neatly groomed dog have their sights set on Champions League football, their ambitions are surely set to fall flat.
I want this club to get into the Champions League and become internationally recognised, says Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung of his adopted Birmingham City, the recently promoted club who enjoyed a modest 1950s European record in the invitational Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
“It is difficult to do everything in the first year but within three years I expect to be right up there,” is the vision new Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has for a club who have at least won a European trophy, albeit 37 years ago.
New City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson agrees, proclaiming, We are not Chelsea yet, but I hope we will be in the future.
Down south, Craig Bellamy reckons Icelandic-backed West Ham will be pushing for Champions League football in the future”, the same claim uttered by Kieran Richardson when presented to the media at Irish-run Sunderland.
Yet the new chairmen seem to be overlooking one major stumbling block as Englands top four have been enjoying a near monopoly of Champions League qualification and continue to spend big to protect it.
Can anyone other than perhaps Tottenham threaten their grip over the next season or two? Surely the very best a West Ham or a City can hope for is a fleeting window of Champions League hope in an off-year for one of the big boys.
Padraic Halpin, London
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3 comments so far
wow nice, so the top 4 in 3yrs time will be West Ham, Man City, Sunderland and Birmingham haha
- Posted by Five TimesIt’d be nice to have a bit of a change, though, wouldn’t it? Id Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal would have the good grace to sod off and join a European Super League we could all get on with supporting properly competitive football. I’ve always had a soft spot for Man City.
- Posted by LondonAgreed. As it stands the imperious top four are making the Premier League horribly predictable, and despite the title racing going close to the wire last year, it was one of the most boring seasons in recent memory. I’m all for change, hoping Martin Jol can provide it.
- Posted by Padraic Halpin