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Money talks in football, with reams of evidence that the more you spend on wages, the better you perform.
That’s why, using soccernomics theory, Manchester City and Chelsea, who meet on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, should be vying with each other for the title this season, rather than trying merely to stay inside the top four.
City’s wage bill, for the first time, is on course this season to be the biggest in the Premier League. In 2009-10, it was £133m for all staff and is expected to climb this season to around £165m, give or take a few million. Bonuses (or not) will alter that total.
Over at Chelsea, the total club bill for 2009-10 was £172m including bonuses for the Double, but with squad cuts last summer, it will fall, probably closer to £160m for 2010-11. Again, bonuses (or not) will change things.
What is certain is that City and Chelsea will be the No1 and No2 payers in the Premier League this season, as will be verified when the numbers become available late in 2011 or early next year.
So City should, economically speaking, be making a serious tilt for this season’s Premier League. Chelsea are in their eighth season of Abramovich patronage and were title winners from season two. City are in their third season of Mansour patronage.
As our first table shows, there is a strong relationship between wage bills and success. In essence, the biggest spenders win or challenge and those who spend least go down.
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