The Best League In The World Or Simply A Two Horse Race

There have been plenty of twists and turns in the 2021/22 Premier League campaign, but one of the least surprising developments as the season slowly draws to a close is that there has been no surprise package causing a storm and troubling the big boys in the way that Leicester City unexpectedly achieved back in 2015/16.

Most fans, irrespective of natural club colours, will express no surprise at all at seeing Manchester City sat in top spot with Liverpool following closely in second place as we move through the month of March. The chasing pack below them by quite a big margin of points are also incredibly obvious - Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and then we have West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.

But again, the Premier League continues to be a two horse race and although other sides continue to build quite steadily as you look to the future, it does feel that there needs to be a certain alignment of stars - much akin to Leicester's success again - before the duopoly faces a new serious challenger. And even then, should another side achieve an unexpected breakthrough and make a proper run for the title, given the relative investments, it's highly unlikely that the success could be sustained, added to the extra distraction of European commitments that can often cost sides on the domestic front.

The Premier League might consider itself to be the best or most competitive division in the world, but the reality is even the so called Sky Big Six are not six genuine title contenders and as I type, with a 13 point gap from first place to third and then almost a 25 point gap down to sixth place, for all the passion and the love of the beautiful game in this country, there's a very good argument for the lack of competitive mix.

The usual names continue to spend big in the hopes of improving their chances, but as of yet the gap doesn't seem to be closing. Manchester United don't seem to be right off the pitch in their set up and Chelsea now presumably have issues moving forward as well. Spurs and Arsenal seem miles off it these days and it's probably too soon for Aston Villa to make an impact despite their recent spending, and football is still waiting to see how the takeover of Newcastle United might change things when their new owners have a chance to truly open their never ending chequebook.

Whether it does change in the future or not, remains to be seen, and in some senses it could actually depend on what the future holds for both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, but what isn't in doubt is the huge draw the game will continue to be for viewers around the globe.

Written by Alan Spencer