Paint it Blue

I almost did it. If you read last week’s article, you may have sensed that I was trying to jinx Manchester City as they vied to clinch the Premier League title against Queens Park Rangers. And wow, was I close. City pulled off the most historically ridiculous comeback in English soccer, setting off a storm in the soccer world. If you were one of the lucky few who got up early Sunday (9 am is early for me, ok?) to watch, then you know exactly what I am talking about.

As a Manchester United fan, this was a tough pill to swallow. It was made even tougher by watching the United players celebrate before having their faces turn to terror when the City score was displayed in the stadium (thanks for showing that scene a million times, by the way). For City fans, it must have been jubilation. Their side had not won a title since the 1960s (!) and they have had to sit there year after year as the other team in the city competed for silverware.

Now that a team other than United, Chelsea, or Arsenal have won the title (Blackburn won it once, but that’s irrelevant), what does this mean for English soccer? One of the main criticisms of the Premier League has been this obvious lack of parity. City finally broke that spell and now we will see a bunch of new teams winning and expelling the big name clubs from the top, right? Wrong. Under new ownership, City spent and spent and spent to bring in top tier players and was able to buy their way to a title. Admittedly, it has worked for my beloved United and others, but it made me sad to see a new team win their first title in a similar fashion.

What I take away from this season as a positive, besides the most spectacular finish since Oklahoma-Boise State, is that Tottenham and Newcastle were able to remain in the top five throughout the season. While Newcastle choked their Champions League spot away near the end, both teams showed that it is possible to fight against the top squads and stay respectable. I would love to see this trend continue in the future in the face of increased spending from the previously established teams.

While I offer my congratulations to Manchester City on a season well played (threw up in my mouth a little there), I hope that the trend of lower-budget teams competing continues. City deserved this title as they played their hearts out and beat United when it counted, so I have to concede they were the better team this season. However, I hope this summer brings strong acquisitions to the smaller clubs so that next season’s race is more than just a highly paid Manchester derby.