Last one in, turn out the lights

It would be difficult to place a finger on the moment when everyone started talking about the “big four”, but what is certain is that almost simultaneously there was born a desire to see the exclusive club broken wide open. The “ABUs” of ten years ago have seen their ranks swelled by the neutral “ABTBFs” – “anyone but the big four”.

Various clubs have been considered possible rivals, including Newcastle United (fifth in Abramovich’s first year in charge of Chelsea following on from third the previous year) but especially Spurs (fifth in 2005-6 and again in 2006-7) and Everton, who not only finished fifth last season, but were also the last team to finish among the “big four”, in 2004-5 (fourth).

However, a glance at the table now shows both Spurs and Newcastle in a position where they look likely to be engaged in a relegation dogfight come the end of the season – anyone can start the season with a couple of bad results, but in the case of both of these clubs there does not appear to be a solution on the horizon. Everton have been hovering just below the last European spot, but the points margin is starting to open up and the team does not give the impression of having the consistency to bridge that gap.

As for the rest of the potential challengers, clubs like Portsmouth, Man City, Bolton, Blackburn, West Ham, Middlesbrough and even Southampton have played in the UEFA cup since Abramovich took over at Chelsea and started pouring money into the club. European football means more money and therefore the opportunity to try at least to narrow the financial gap between the “best” and the rest. Look at Man City and Blackburn now. And look at Southampton.

So the excitement surrounding Aston Villa’s performances this season is more than understandable. At last there appears to be a club that can break the hegemony at the top.

LAST ONE OUT, TURN OUT THE LIGHTS

Since Martin O’Neill took over at Villa Park in August 2006 he has taken the club from sixteenth to eleventh to sixth and the UEFA Cup (via the Intertoto Cup). In O’Neill’s first season in charge they finished eleventh thanks to their seventeen drawn games; if only three of those stalemates had been turned into victories they could have been in the UEFA Cup.

Again last season, they drew far too many games (twelve), and only three draws turned into victories would have seen them take the automatic UEFA Cup spot. This season, however, in spite of drawing five games at home already, they are not just floating hopefully around sixth place but rather they have driven a stake right through the heart of the “big four”. They currently lie fourth, and in five games against the “big four” they have lost only once.

Of those five matches, they have also drawn three – there’s those draws again – but last season they lost four times and won only once against the “big four”. Just as the final league positions of the last three seasons have shown, that is the key to Martin O’Neill’s management of the team – gradual, sustainable and realistic improvement.

Now they are in the Champions’ League places and look likely to stay there. But what does that mean for the rest of the table – has the “big four” become the “big five”, and if that is the case, does that mean that all the automatic European places will be sewn up for the foreseeable future?

LOSING BALLAST

I’d love to see both O’Neill and Villa do well, but not to the detriment of all the other clubs, and I imagine the “ABTBFs” who want to see Villa break into that group, by their very nature would hate to see another exclusive group formed instead (except for the Villa fans, obviously!). It would be far better to see one club drop away to leave a bit of breathing space – but which club should that be?

Which team has taken least advantage of their time at the top and has the least to show for their privileged exclusivity? Which team should forfeit their position and give someone else a chance?

Obviously not Manchester United. In spite of the criticism levelled at Sir Alex Ferguson because of his relationship with referees and other figures of authority, there is no denying he is an excellent manager, by the far the most successful in football. His team’s answer to Chelsea’s new dominance of the domestic game was one F.A. Cup, a League Cup and consecutive league titles, and – crucially – the ability to translate domestic success into a European trophy.

What about Chelsea? I have no sympathy for the reactionaries who resent a new kid on the block – who wants a dictatorship in football? Why preserve the stuffy old guard when you can breathe some fresh air into a system? The fact that their success has been bought with big money is irrelevant – are the other clubs charities? Has everybody forgotten Parma and Villarreal? Anyway, two league titles, one F.A. Cup and two League Cups are probably the reason for the resentment.

A definite candidate to be removed from an undeserved privileged perch is Liverpool. Granted, they won the Champions League in 2005 when AC Milan threw the match in the second half, but apart from that they are living on past glories. Their response to being classed as one of the “big four” has been one F.A. Cup. They have hung around the top end of the table for nigh on twenty years now without ever appearing to justify their position.

However, even Liverpool, with their ragged reputation, almost look like a small team trying to break into the rich boys’ party. Arsenal have painted a self-portrait of football aristocracy with extremely elegant but ultimately narcissistic play, well-kept but rather secretive accounts and a manager whose nickname is “The Professor”. This self-created image has given the impression of a club trying to hold the riff-raff at arm’s length, and has done nothing to endear neutral fans to their cause.

And at the end of the day, Arsenal must undoubtedly be the team which has least fulfilled its own promise. Over a period of ten years they seemed to be leading up to greatness without ever actually arriving. When they reached the Champions’ League final in 2006 it seemed that they had finally arrived at the gates of legend, but they couldn’t find their way in, and since then they have even lost sight of the gates.

Ten years of a manager widely regarded as being a football genius have given three league titles – but five times they were second-best. They may have a few more F.A. Cups, they were only second-best in the only League Cup final they have reached in that time, and second-best in their only Champions’ League final. And since Abramovich made Chelsea “big”, they have won just two trophies, both domestic.

It is time they climbed down from their perch and allowed somebody else the chance to be second-best. Step up Aston Villa.