For those who didn't see it last year, The Beautiful Game is a column about one of my favorite sports and the most popular sport in the world: professional soccer. Last semester, I dealt with issues ranging from the Champions League to the development of the MLS, and everything in between. One of the great things about soccer is that it always provides fresh storylines. Accordingly, this week, I'll be writing on probably the most-well known foreign league to Americans, the English Premier League (EPL); more specifically, I'll discuss how it has turned into a two-horse race.
One of the things I always appreciated about the EPL was its ability to entertain, week in and week out. Sure, there were always only four teams (Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea) that had a shot at the title, but even so, you could turn on Fox Soccer Channel on a Saturday or Sunday morning and be pretty much guaranteed to see a back-and-forth battle no matter who was playing.
Now, it seems, the EPL has turned into the twin brother of the Spanish La Liga, with two teams dominating at the top, a host of other title wannabes that settle into the upper half of the table and the rest of the (financially insolvent) clubs scuffling to avoid relegation. But it is the dominance of Manchester United and Manchester City this season that is the most worrying trend for several reasons.
To be sure, Manchester United has always been a top team in the Premier League, so their place at the top of the table is not surprising. In fact, in the EPL era (1992-2011), the Red Devils have never failed to finish in the top three of the league, a remarkable record. They truly are the New York Yankees of soccer.
But this season, that dominance has been taken to a new level. Man. U. has posted a perfect record of 15 points in its first five matches, scoring 21 times along the way, with Wayne Rooney alone notching nine tallies. Meanwhile, Manchester City, having invested over $500 million in transfers over the last three seasons, sits in second with 13 points, 17 goals scored and an equally dominant air about them. United's 3-1 victory over Chelsea this weekend only served to highlight the obvious: the Manchester clubs are the bullies on the EPL schoolyard, and everyone else is being made to fall in line.
Some might ask, why is this a problem? The best teams should be at the top. But the issue lies in the fact that it has become almost impossible for other clubs to challenge the Mancunians. Of the other top teams, Arsenal is having well-documented struggles, Chelsea is rebuilding and Liverpool doesn't have the quality to contend for a title. For the rest of the teams, the challenge is to avoid relegation since they have so little to aim for. And especially with Manchester United and City buying up the promising young players of other clubs (Ashley Young, Phil Jones, James Milner and Chris Smalling, just to name a few), there's not much hope in the near future, either.
So where does that leave us? Frankly, I would be shocked to see any club not from Manchester in the top two by the end of the season; the Red Devils and the Citizens are simply too deep and too overwhelming.
As for the future, I can really see a Manchester dynasty on the horizon: the possibilities are literally endless for the Mancunians. Unfortunately, that leaves the rest of the clubs in the lurch, but that's soccer for you nowadays; the big and the powerful dominate, leaving little room for anybody else.
