Does the Premier League 'Big Six' still exist?

- Published

For years the Premier League has had a defined 'Big Six', comprised of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

They were not just the sides who often dominated the top positions in the table, but also had the biggest fanbase, most financial clout and were usually the league's most successful sides.

But that has not been in the case in more recent seasons.

In the last couple of years Tottenham and Manchester United have found themselves fighting at the wrong end of the table, while teams like Aston Villa, Brentford and Brighton have been battling at the top.

Meanwhile, Manchester City - the top-flight's dominant side over the past decade - are facing a period of uncertainty after the club was recently found guilty of breaching financial rules over nine years.

The 'Big Six' remains in financial terms, with City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea all inside the top 10 of highest revenue generating clubs in world football. , external

But is the era of the traditional 'Big Six' on the field at an end?

From Leicester fairytale to recent struggles

One of the most memorable stories of the Premier League era was Leicester City upsetting the odds to win the title in the 2015-16 season.

It captured the imagination of football fans everywhere, because it seemed so difficult for anyone outside the 'Big Six' to get even close to being champions.

But it seemed as though it was destined to be a one-off as, for the following three seasons, the 'Big Six' locked down the top positions once more.

Indeed, the gap between them and the rest was bigger than ever, with the smallest deficit between seventh and sixth place during those three seasons being eight points.

Between 2010-11 and 2018-19, the so-called 'Big Six' finished in those leading positions five times. They also finished in the top seven twice and top eight once.

But things changed after that.

In only one of the six seasons since have they all finished in the top six, with Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brighton in those places at some point.

Tottenham, in particular, have struggled and ended one place above the relegation zone in each of the past two campaigns and are currently second bottom on three points after failing to win any of their first six games.

This season, albeit early days, Manchester United are in 13th spot and Liverpool ninth. Since 2021-22, Chelsea and United have finished out of the top six twice, while Spurs have missed out three times - twice finishing 17th.

Five of the top six places have gone to clubs not in the traditional six in the past three years - the same as the previous eight years combined.

Other clubs have got richer and smarter

One reason for the end of their dominance as a collective is because other clubs have closed the financial gap.

Newcastle are an example following a £305m takeover led by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in 2021.

They went from finishing 11th in 2021-22 to fourth in the following campaign and then fifth two seasons later.

Meanwhile, others, like Brighton, have leaned into data and smart recruitment to help them close the gap.

The Seagulls have an impressive record of buying promising talent for low prices before selling them on for significant fees.

In 2021 they signed 19-year-old Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Independiente del Valle for £4m and sold him two years later to Chelsea in a deal a worth £115m - a British record at the time. They also signed Marc Cucurella for £15m and sold him to Chelsea for £62m and brought in Alexis Mac Allister for £7m before selling him to Liverpool for a deal worth £55m.

"Our recruitment strategy and philosophy has been something that we've built on over a long period of time now," sporting director Mike Cave told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"The data element of it gets a lot of attention because going back a few years it was quite novel in comparison to some other clubs.

"Really it's just a component of a bigger process that goes on. It's an important component, it helps us to identify talent from around the world in quite an efficient way which allows us to move quickly in what is a really competitive transfer market."

Lack of continuity proves costly

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, Manchester United have struggled to get close to the success they enjoyed under the 26-year reign of the legendary Scot.

The 20-time top-flight champions have had a high turnover of head coaches in recent years in an effort to find the winning formula and since the start of the 2020-21 season they have had four different permanent managers.

But they are not alone in this high amount of chopping and changing - and not even the worst.

In the same period, Chelsea have had seven different people in charge on a permanent basis, while Tottenham have had six as they too have tried to find a way to challenge for trophies.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have shown patience can pay dividends by giving Mikel Arteta - appointed in 2019 - time to build a squad that resulted in the Gunners ending their 22-year wait for a Premier League title last season.

Isn't change always the way?

The 'Big Six' hasn't always been a thing in the Premier League, so an evolution of what it is and who they are was always likely to happen.

Indeed, when the league was first formed back in 1992 there was a 'Big Five' of Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham - clubs who were seen at the time as the ones with the biggest fanbase and financial power.

That evolved into a 'Big Two' during the late 1990s and early 2000s as Manchester United and Arsenal dominated, before expanding to a 'Big Four' as Chelsea and Liverpool regularly finished in the top four.

The 2010-11 season was the first time in English league history where the top six was made up of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.

It was then repeated in 2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 as the 'Big Six' became known for what it is now.

Arguably the most open the top division has ever been was in the 1960s, when Burnley, Tottenham, Ipswich, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Leeds all won league titles.

While it still feels that a Premier League winner is likely to come from one of the 'Big Six' sides, we are moving away from the concept of the top six being exclusively those sides - with it now being four years since they all finished in those positions.

Currently, Brighton, Brentford and Everton all find themselves in the top six and, while there is still a lot of football to be played this season, the top end of the division seems as open as it has ever been - and that can only be a good thing, right?