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Does club dominance matter?

Bill Shankly was once asked what was the greatest team in the world? His answer was, of course, Liverpool. And what is the second greatest team? Liverpool Reserves. If that was the case, the resultant league would be rather strange.

Liverpool fans are justifiably celebrating the excellence of their current team. But is the dominance of Liverpool and Manchester City good for the game as a whole? Or does it make the Premier League 'product' less attractive?

Tony Cascarino argues in The Times this morning that the Premier League is increasingly looking like Scotland ten years ago when Celtic and Rangers were dominant - and arguably that became boring except for the fans of these two clubs. (As it so happens, Celtic and Rangers are currently well ahead of the third placed club, so perhaps the natural order north of the border is being restored).

Cascarino argues: 'We are blinded by the long-established view that the Premier League is the hardest and most competitive league in the world. It is actually one of the easiest.'

Cascarino somewhat controversially continues: 'The table has a slightly artificial look, with City only two points ahead of Leicester having lost some bad games earlier in the season. But the gulf between City and Liverpool and the rest is enormous - as they showed last season as well. Unless something drastic happens, there will only be two winners of this league for the next five years.'

Of course, one could argue that both Arsenal and Manchester United are going through long and painful transitions. Chelsea are still in the mix, while Tottenham Hotspur have been hit by injuries. But you can see where Cascarino is coming from.

But does it matter in terms of the attractiveness of the competition as a whole? There is a literature on this, albeit much of it concerned with whether football falls foul of competition law (probably yes, as a cartel, but it usually can negotiate a way out).

In Spain Barcelona and Real Madrid have dominated La Liga (they currently occupy the top two places). But has it hit the global appeal of Spanish football? Probably rather the contrary. 'Followers' want to see world class players competing against each other which is why some top clubs keep pushing for a European Super League. Whether that is good for the average fan who goes to matches is another matter.

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