“Jamie Carragher was right. There is a food chain in English and European football. The biggest, richest clubs are in a league of their own — not quite literally, despite their best efforts. Even for those just outside that elite, it is a very different existence, preying on those further down the chain, trying to find ways to survive, thrive and in some cases, once in a while, to challenge and threaten that hierarchy, mindful of the risks that come with doing so. Some will say it was ever thus, in football as in nature. But it has never been like this. Over the course of the Champions League era, various factors — UEFA’s financial distribution model, the way global commercial trends have maximised biggest brands, the introduction of regulations that restrict external investment — have combined to create huge inequalities both between and within leagues. The financial divides that have opened up are almost impossible to bridge. …”
NYT/ATH

There are very few reasons for Unai Emery to leave Aston Villa for Manchester United
“On Sunday afternoon, shortly before 4.30, Unai Emery will leave the tunnel at Old Trafford and walk along the touchline towards the bench. Will he glance around the grand old stadium – faded and leaking though it may be in parts – and think that he could have a part in restoring the club to former glories? Will he look at the home bench and imagine himself sitting there – or perhaps more plausibly, scuttling up and down in front of it – as the first Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to land a league title? …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson