Premier League: Is the era of the 'Big Six' coming to an end?
One of the most memorable stories of the Premier League era was Leicester City upsetting the odds to win the title in the 2015-16 season. It captured the imagination of football fans everywhere, because it seemed so difficult for anyone outside the 'Big Six' to get even close to being champions.
But it seemed as though it was destined to be a one-off as, for the following three seasons, the 'Big Six' locked down the top positions once more. Indeed, the gap between them and the rest was bigger than ever, with the smallest deficit between seventh and sixth place during those three seasons being eight points.
Between 2010-11 and 2018-19, the so-called 'Big Six' finished in those leading positions five times. They also finished in the top seven twice and top eight once.
In only one of the six seasons since have they all finished in the top six, with Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brighton in those places at some point. Tottenham, in particular, have struggled and ended one place above the relegation zone in each of the past two campaigns and are currently second bottom on three points after failing to win any of their first six games.
This season, albeit early days, Manchester United are in 13th spot and Liverpool ninth. Since 2021-22, Chelsea and United have finished out of the top six twice, while Spurs have missed out three times - twice finishing 17th.
Five of the top six places have gone to clubs not in the traditional six in the past three years - the same as the previous eight years combined. One reason for the end of their dominance as a collective is because other clubs have closed the financial gap.
Newcastle are an example following a £305m takeover led by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in 2021. They went from finishing 11th in 2021-22 to fourth in the following campaign and then fifth two seasons later.
Meanwhile, others, like Brighton, have leaned into data and smart recruitment to help them close the gap. The Seagulls have an impressive record of buying promising talent for low prices before selling them on for significant fees.
In 2021 they signed 19-year-old Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Independiente del Valle for £4m and sold him two years later to Chelsea in a deal a worth £115m - a British record at the time. They also signed Marc Cucurella for £15m and sold him to Chelsea for £62m and brought in Alexis Mac Allister for £7m before selling him to Liverpool for a deal worth £55m.