Premier League big six benefiting more from managers than money

The Premier League big six are dominating the league this season. Is that down to money or an unusually good crop of managers?

Never before have three teams made it this far into a Premier League season without suffering defeat. The points tally of 90 is the highest ever accumulated by three sides after 12 fixtures. The top five have won 19 of the 20 games they’ve played against the bottom five, while after 11 fixtures five clubs had seven points or fewer for the first time in Premier League history. Never before has English soccer’s great divide been so stark.

A new precedent is being set by the Premier League’s elite. Manchester City won the title with a record points haul last season and are on track to come close to, or better, that tally this season. Manchester United finished second last term with a total of 81 points. Going on points per game averages, four teams are set to achieve a higher tally in 2018-19.

Everywhere you look, there are signs of the Premier League’s gross imbalance. The self-proclaimed most competitive league in the world is at risk of losing its unique selling point, the appeal that has, over the past decade or so, turned it into the most watched, most lucrative division on the planet.

For many, this is just a manifestation of the financial landscape of the modern game. Earlier this year, the Premier League’s top six — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, City, United and Spurs — won a battle to be paid a greater share of the league’s international TV rights. This is on top of the financial advantage they already hold through their perennial participation in European competition, be it the Champions or the Europa League.

But it’s too simplistic, too convenient, to conclude that the divide that has formed between the best and the rest is solely down to money. What we’re witnessing now is a triumph of coaching. It’s separating out the Premier League, with Pep Guardiola and Mark Hughes at either end of the spectrum.

Never before has the Premier League boasted so many top tier managers. In Manchester, there’s Guardiola and Jose Mourinho. Jurgen Klopp is at Liverpool, while Mauricio Pochettino has turned himself into a managerial giant over four years at Spurs. Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri hasn’t been at this level for long, but his work at Napoli speaks for itself.

Even Unai Emery, perhaps the least proven of the top six contingent, is a multiple Europa League winner and former Paris Saint-Germain boss. He coached Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar last season.

Each of these six managers has made their mark on their respective clubs, even the toiling Mourinho. They have a level of control that is seldom afforded to managers at that level of the game. Look at how Guardiola has been free to mould City in the way he pleases as opposed to the constraints placed on managers at other elite clubs like Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Of course, the counter argument could be made that the Premier League’s elite have only been able to hire the best managers through their financial clout, but there’s more to their dominance than just the ability to spend more on players. The financial divide has, after all, existed in the English game for years. It’s only now, though, that the gulf seems completely and utterly unbridgeable.

Some will point out that despite this divide, the Premier League is still more competitive than the majority of Europe’s big leagues. In Germany, Bayern Munich have won six league titles on the spin. In Italy, Juventus are on course for eight straight Scudettos. In France, PSG have won five of the last six Ligue 1 championships.

Indeed, the Premier League title race could still provide great drama and excitement this season, with Liverpool and even Chelsea much closer to City than United ever were last season. But that doesn’t mean the Premier League is necessarily competitive. In fact, it’s never been less competitive. Money is, of course, a factor here, but certainly not the only factor.