“The history of the balance of power in football can arguably be understood by one simple factor; money. For all the talk of the ‘glory game’ and clubs defying the odds, sustained success has overwhelmingly correlated to club wealth, a trend dating back to the early twentieth century with such figures as John Henry Davies of Manchester United and Sir Henry Norris of Fulham and Arsenal. Both took clubs from near extinction to the top of the First Division. Money is not an automatic guarantee of success of course – the history of the game is littered with those who’ve crashed and burned trying to raise themselves to the level of the game’s elite but failed, thanks to toxic combinations of ill fortune and bad management. But for sustained success money has always been a vital factor, a trend the wealth trap of the Premier League had only succeeded in exaggerating.” thetwounfortunates