On Forbes: Manchester City - The Ultimate Triumph of the Wealthy Benefactor Model

44 Years In The Making

What a crazy finish yesterday to perhaps the craziest season in Premier League history.  I know it wouldn't be nearly as exciting without the end-of-season story lines, but there is a part of me that wishes that the Premier League would kick all 10 matches off at the same time every weekend.

Personally, I was glued to the Arsenal/WBA and Manchester City/QPR matches.  I like to watch the front runners and see how they handle the pressure.  In both cases both front runners had momentary lapses of concentration that led to a sinking doubt that they might not pull it off.  In both cases the frontrunners were able to turn things around and get the wins they desperately needed to seal their fates for next season.  So it will definitely be Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal heading back to the Champions League with either Spurs or Chelsea in tow.

As an Arsenal fan without much hatred for our cross town rivals, I've thought all of about two minutes as to which outcome I would prefer in next weekend's Champions League final.  My conclusion is that the drama associated with a Chelsea loss in this year's final and subsequent failure to make next season's tournament would produce a far more interesting story line than Spurs being left out for the second year in a row.  Therefore, in a final in which I don't have a dog in the fight I am going to be a mild Bayern fan.

Before I move on to what this post really is about, a congratulations is in order for the players and staff of Manchester City.  It's never as easy as buying the best players and paying them the best wages in the league.  Plenty have tried such an approach before, and many have failed.  Winning the Premier League is much harder than that, and City deserves to be congratulated for their great accomplishment under immense pressure all season long.

However, yesterday's outcome in the Premier League did set off immediate accusations that City bought the title, with counter accusations that United's been doing the same since the start of the Premier League era.  I decided to provide some analysis at my Forbes blog to help answer that question with some numbers courtesy of the TPI.  Have a look to understand why I believe Manchester City's title represents the ultimate triumph of the wealthy benefactor model that both they and Chelsea have followed to championship glory.