Does Money Guarantee Success In Football?

After Manchester City rose to fame by being taken over by Arab Billionaires and won the league last season with an entirely different squad to that of 10 years ago, it begs the question - Does money guarantee success?

I have compiled a table which details each club that is currently in the Premier League and it's net spend. For the less economically knowledgeable, this is basically how much a club has spent - how much a club has received. (Both of these are in terms of transfers). This table has taken into account the last 20 years and goes back all the way to the 1992/1993 season. I have filled in the clubs who have make a loss in red and those who have ended up making a profit in green. I have also ranked each club in terms of their net spend so the club with the highest net spend and the biggest loss is rank 20 (Chelsea) and the club with the biggest profit and lowest net spend is rank 1 (Norwich).

The first thing that stands out is that both Norwich and Reading have ended up receiving more money for selling players than they have spent to buy them. In this day and age I think this it quite an achievement. A special mention to Swansea who narrowly missed out and have a net spend of £0.6m.

The main focus of this article was to analyse whether by a club spending huge amounts of money on players they would be guaranteed to enjoy success.

Arsenal ranked an impressive 6th in the table. Although Arsenal haven't won a trophy for the last 8 years, I would still class them as a successful club as they qualify for the Champions League each year (Just about!) and in the 1990's were successful and this table takes into account that period don't forget. So after spending just £21.9m I would say Arsenal are a perfect example of how you can be successful without spending huge amounts.

On the other hand you have the huge spenders in Chelsea and Manchester City who unsurprisingly ranked 20th and 19th respectively. If you consider Chelsea with their net spend of  £595m you would say they have been fairly successful in the last 20 years. However if you compare them to Manchester United who have a net spend of less than half of Chelsea's then you would say they are nowhere near them. United have been mainly dominant over the last 20 years however they have done so without spending hugely like Chelsea and they have been more successful in my opinion.

You could however look at the other end of the spectrum and consider Reading for example who had a profit with a net spend of -£3.4m. Although their spending has been admirable in the last 20 years, you could say that this has limited them. They haven't been at all successful and are only sporadically in the Premier League. Their lack of spending has meant they haven't been able to compete with other teams and sadly, this argues for the fact that money buys success. 

In conclusion I would have to say yes and no in answer to the question, 'Does money guarantee success?'. My reason for this is simple, it definitely guarantees success, but only to a certain extent. Although Man City have seen a rise in their fortunes recently, they aren't dominating the English game like the figures say they should be, they trail United who have a much better net spend, the same can be said for Chelsea. The argument on the other side is that although Arsenal are punching above their weight for their net spend and I classed them as successful, they are a level below the other big spending clubs and I feel that if they fail to match other clubs' spending then they could be a club in decline from what they once were.

What do you think, does money guarantee success in football? Tell us in the comments section below!

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Liverpool - What's Going On?

When Liverpool sacked club legend Kenny Dalglish and replaced him with Brendan Rodgers, many had high hopes for the Merseyside club. However, since then, success has been few and far between with Liverpool sitting in a 10th position full of mediocrity and averageness. One of the most inconsistent teams in the league have been loitering around mid-table all season - so - What is going on?

December has summed Liverpool up perfectly really, with 2 impressive wins followed by extremely disappointing defeats by both Aston Villa and Stoke. They went to East London and somewhat fortuitously came away with 3 points in a strange game that included 2 own goals. Following this they returned to Merseyside full of confidence only to be outclassed by a weak Aston Villa team who were destroyed by Chelsea a week later in an 8-0 thrashing. Liverpool never looked good in their 3-1 defeat to Villa and they weren't, baffling considering they had just got an away victory against an impressive newly promoted side the week before. 

After the Villa defeat they picked themselves up and blew Fulham away with a 4-0 win. They looked like a quality side that day and played some brilliant football, Gerrard was at his best, orchestrating the midfield. This win would imply that the Villa defeat was simply a blip and they had finally found their stride. However, it wasn't to be as they crashed to a 3-1 defeat at Stoke in which they looked weak and were easily second best. 

Brendan Rodgers came in and changed things. He wanted a shake up in the club and that was what he got. He completely reshuffled the style of football and replaced it with his free flowing style that was so easy on the eye and evident at former club Swansea. I think this is what Liverpool are struggling with, they haven't been able to adapt yet and I'm not sure the style of play suits them, it seems like it has been forced through but it is not working. He has currently led his Liverpool side to 25 points in 19 games, the same as one of his predecessors Roy Hodgson managed before he was sacked, this is a massive indication of how badly they're under performing.

When I saw Liverpool take on West Ham, there were parts of the game where they were definitely the better team and created good chances but they were definitely not when they attempted 'the passing game'. It looked unnatural and like they were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole when they unnecessarily took goal kicks and free kicks short. When they tried to build up a move slowly with some nice passing and long possession they got themselves into trouble, West Ham hurried them and forced them into mistakes. Liverpool looked best when they counter attacked and broke quickly with their pace and the 'on the floor direct' football seemed to work best for them. Another thing that I noticed was Glen Johnson out of position, he was excellent going forward and had the beating of Matt Jarvis, causing terror all game, however the same cannot be said for his defending and I think he should be given a go at right midfield as he was very effective when he got forward.

It doesn't take a genius to see and realise that it isn't working for Liverpool, for the big club they are, they cannot be this inconsistent, they need some results and for them I feel it is really important they win their next 2 games as after that they face Manchester United, Arsenal and an in form Norwich side who have been very impressive lately. Rodgers should in my opinion stop trying to force his players to play like he wants them to and perhaps let them play how they play best. 

It is no secret that Liverpool were caught short in the Summer with their transfer dealings and I think they should and will move quickly to sign a new striker to accompany and back up Luis Suarez. In my opinion they should push Johnson forward to right midfield and bring in a new right back or perhaps some youngsters from the youth system which seems to be churning out some good little players at the moment. 

In conclusion I think that Liverpool need to settle and find their rhythm or change their style, if one of these doesn't happen soon then I fear that this mid-table mediocrity will continue for them and fans will be greeted by the same inconsistency that has been there all season so far.

What do you think is going wrong at Liverpool? Tell us below!

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Is The Premier League Already a 2 Horse Race?

With the 2 Manchester clubs already sitting pretty at the top of the league over Christmas and at the time of writing, the closest teams being 9 points behind, it begs the question - Is it already set up to be a two horse race between the Manchester clubs for the title this year?


In terms of quality of squad then it doesn't get much better than the stars of the Etihad. Their team is full of world class players week in week out, they're rarely affected by injuries as they have such incredible strength in depth. Players like James Milner, Javi Garcia and Scott Sinclair often find themselves left of that long Manchester City bench and this is a testament to how much quality Man City have to choose from. In my opinion, this is their biggest asset by far and they owe it to their billionaire owners. 


If you look at the squad of Manchester United you would be no where near as impressed. Admittedly it still eclipses many in the league but not a patch on City's, they're definitely punching above their weight and I believe they owe that to their manager. Sir Alex Ferguson is excellent at getting the best out of his players. When Jonny Evans began to break into the Untied first team, he was nothing special but since then he has got better and better every season and is now easily one of their strongest centre backs. Young Rafael is still a bit erratic at times but he can have these games were he is just unplayable, another who is improving year on year. 

If you compare the squads of the two Manchester clubs to that of their chasing pack then I think they have it better than all but Chelsea and Tottenham. Chelsea have class throughout their team after spending big in the Summer and Tottenham have a strong, quick side who love to attack but can't defend well. I think that Chelsea will be the nearest competitors of the the Manc clubs with Tottenham having a massive defensive problem and being almost wholly reliant on Gareth Bale at times and Arsenal being far too inconsistent. 

I would say that what gives the two Northern side the advantage is their ability to come out of games with points when they don't play well. Many have said that this is the hallmark of a good team for years now and I fully agree with it. When United were dominant and won the title numerous times in a row a few years ago, many picked out their ability to nick a result and this is what gave them their dominance. You can't play well every game but if you can limit your damages then you will do better than those who don't and United were brilliant at this. Manchester United have earned 11 points from goals scored in the last 10 minutes of matches this season, showing just how good they are at playing until the end.

For years now United have been known for scoring goals late on and also coming from behind to win games. Now it seems to be City who are doing this and with their last gasp victory against a resilient Reading side, United will be worried. City have managed to start doing what United have been doing for years. They have an even better record for this season with them earning 12 points from goals scored after 80 minutes this season. Sir Alex Ferguson will not enjoy reading this stat!

Personally I think what has set the Manc clubs apart from their chasers is how well their players know how to grind out a result and they have both shown this time and time again this season. However United managed to show City how it was done recently in the derby with an RVP free kick in injury time. City will have to wait until April 6th to try and get their revenge on United in what will be a crucial derby in deciding what colour the ribbons on the trophy are this season.

In conclusion, I feel that it is already a two horse race and clubs may come close to the Manc clubs at times but not close enough to worry or trouble them. History maybe suggests that the title will go to the Manchester club who can score the most late goals, who knows?

Do you think it will be a 2 horse race for the title and if so who will win? Tell us in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!