theHotHead wrote:Angelito, are you saying all 3 factors are required or any one of 3?
I agree with factor one and three, don't agree with factor 2. Every league has examples where teams won their league without being a money club. What we need is a competent manager and some shrewd purchases. I think Lokonga and Tomi are great examples, get us a good CF and DM and our starting team would be a match for any, 2 or 3 more key additions would make the squad stronger and its that we need to mount a title challenge.
One of the three.
City, for example, fulfills both criteria. Liverpool fulfils one of them. They don't have unlimited resources. Chelsea, at this stage, fulfils two.
A great manager and dedicated, visionary people leading clubs works wonders. Bayern, for example, have the financial muscle but they have a terrific set of directors. So, even if they hire decent managers, it ends up working for them.
On a different note, it is possible to win the League without the financial monopoly. However, it's difficult and rare in today's times. Dortmund, Atleti (13/14), and Leicester are the only clubs that have pulled it off. Today, you could consider Atleti a financial giant as well. They're superb in selling players and reinvesting in the squad.
Otherwise, a great manager with smart people upstairs could pull a rabbit out of the hat. But they won't dominate like United did, Chelsea did for a while, or City have been doing this past decade.
Case in point: Klopp's Liverpool. They lost the league with 97 points. That's insanity. City's galactic spending gave them that extra push. Liverpool benefited from selling Coutinho but they do not have the unlimited spending power of a City.
Ultimately, the club's hierarchy sets objectives. Arsenal don't seem to be interested in challenging for titles again. The goal is UCL football. If it happens, so much the better. But I can't see Arsenal's directors going gung-ho for the league title.
That's the reason they were eager to sign-up for the super league. The club would be earning £200m in participation fees alone.
That's also why I think the directors here are banking on UCL's new rule for qualification starting 2024. It gives them a shortcut without having to deal with ambitious managers or those driven by success.