Is the only way to win a title by buying it?

By: Martyn | July 14th, 2008

With fans either constantly clamouring for the next big-name foreign signing, or demanding that more young local products are brought through ’cause ‘they know what it means to wear this shirt’, this got me wondering – and a lack of sleep got me typing – whether the only way to now win a title is by buying one. Does the risky nature involved in this mean therefore, Ridsdale and co. are right to constantly adopt a cautious approach?

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As the Premier League shield continues its residence in the Manchester United trophy room, some disgruntled followers of football still find it difficult to truly herald the Red Devils as champions. The most common reason for this is an accusation that is offered annually come the close of Round 38 fixtures: The winner has ‘bought’ the title.

Such an accusation is based on the following: one team has spent the most money on the best talent, and as such, no praise should be forthcoming as there is nothing majestic or brilliant about merely splashing the cash. But to what extent is it possible to buy the dusting and polishing rights to the league trophy, and did Manchester United do just this last time out?

Looking back on recent winners of the Premier League, it’s hard to immediately discredit allegations of teams buying the league title. Jack Walker’s Blackburn Rovers, and the Roman Abrahamovich financed Chelsea certainly seem to make it resplendently clear that yes, you can buy the title.

Tevez, Nani, and Anderson were costly Manchester United purchases last summer, to name but three. One look at their summer receipts in comparison to those of say, Reading’s, makes for an imbalanced viewing. Likewise, Ferdinand, Brown, and Carrick have all recently signed lucrative new contracts, the type other clubs could not afford to hand to players.

It could also be that buying a title is not just monopolised by the wealthiest of Premier League clubs. In the three divisions immediately below the Premier League, West Bromwich Albion, Swansea City, and Milton Keynes Dons topped the standings. Unsurprisingly, all three were big, if not the biggest spenders in their respective leagues.

Similar situations ensue in other European countries too. Lyon and Bayern Munich spring to mind. The former, not content with their live-in league top spot for so many seasons, think little of buying big and stifling the competition in the process. The recent acquisition of Jean II Makoun from Lille is testament to this. As for the Bavarian giants, their vast expenditure at the end of a dreadful campaign last season was justified by the champagne bottles the caretaker was left to clean out in May, the morning after the night before.

In the 06/07 season, Internazionale (largely benefiting already from the Calciopoli punishments of course), purchased a number of key players from demoted Juventus to ensure that the league became 19 participants merely vying for positions 2 – 20. Even just next door to England, The New Saints (this season’s Llanelli coup aside) effectively stockpiled as much talent as they could to dominate the Welsh league for years, and for a while, were the only club who could afford to offer players full-time deals.

However, perhaps these are somewhat superficial and rash judgements. Sure, it’s easy to identify a trend, but buying the most expensive clothes does not make you the best dresser.

Alas, is there really any other way for a team to win a title in this day and age? Every fan hankers after seeing a successful team of 11 players all born in the shadow of the stadium. Arsenal have not spent as much as their 3 neighbours in the Premier League’s big 4, as Arsene Wenger has insisted upon giving some of the club’s youth products their chance. Unfortunately, Arsene’s faith led to a spectacular collapse on two fronts as the season drew to a close, and fans lamenting the much esteemed leader’s reluctance to splash the cash.

Regardless, the vast majority of Arsenal’s youth products are hardly plucked from the parks of North London. They’ve done their bit to hoard in all of the world’s young talent, be they Ivorian or Spanish, Mexican or Danish. Most recently, Wenger soothed his raw-talent-buying sweet tooth by paying £5m for Cardiff City’s 17-year-old Welsh Cake Aaron Ramsey. Indeed, such behaviour has riled Palermo president Maurizo Zamparini, who labelled English clubs ‘pirates’. But as an international brand and business, is there much wrong with Arsenal embracing globalisation on all fronts?

Should a squad largely comprising of players from the Arsenal youth academy ever reach fruition and deliver on the silverware front, perhaps the final nail in the coffin will be signalled for local teams for local players, as the powerful clubs and their megalomaniac backers will buy players to win the title in years to come, as well as in the immediate season.

Ultimately, Manchester United spent a lot of hard cash to get their carnivorous paws on the Premier League silver last season, and it is to a very high extent that money buys you what it is you crave. Iberian-blooded, Real Madrid-courting winkers aren’t dropped into the training ground by storks, after all. Nevertheless, the wily old mind of Sir Alex Ferguson, key local-born products of the United youth system (Scholes, Brown, and Mancunian in all but birth certificate, Ryan Giggs), a great team spirit, stern defending and disciplined, tactically spot-on football also played their part in the triumph of the Red half of Manchester. As their rivals spent big, Manchester United did the same, but at the same time, ensured that a team was concocted. Spending big but clever is the name of the game, although as the cliché goes, there’s no I in team.