In August 2008, a year after Barclay's became the title sponsors for the English Premier League, the football league was renamed as the "Barclay's Premier League", or the BPL; as it is more popularly known. In the same year, two clubs started a new journey in the league, namely, Manchester City and Stoke City.
Manchester City had just been taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group, which promised huge cash-inflow into the club coffers. On the other hand, Stoke City had just been promoted from the 1st division of English football. Manchester City have spent around ₤400 million in the last 3 seasons to move to the top of the league, while Stoke City have quietly made their way to the top half of the table. The two teams seem to be completely disconnected, but a closer view reflects on how these two teams have provided; two significantly different models in building a football club.
Manchester City, have splurged the cash to get the best players from different European leagues, in its attempt to reach the pinnacle of BPL. The owners have broken all records in the transfer markets, year-after-year, to assemble a squad which boasts of the cream of European football. Robinho, Carlos Tevez, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, being just a few names from this star studded line up. The depth in the squad is highlighted by the fact that in the Carling Cup 2011 quarter-final against Arsenal, when Manager Roberto Mancini decided to rest 10 first team players; even the second-string team had players who could walk into their respective national teams, on any given day.
While it is admirable to have so many stars in one team, it can be argued that Manchester City is trying to cover up for a weak academy structure. The club can rarely boast of a single player in the first-choice team, on a regular basis, who has graduated from the club's academy. Also, with so much money being offered, players have started throwing tantrums at the manager; which we can never imagine happening to Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger.
On the other hand, Stoke City has taken steady steps since being promoted to the top flight of English football in 2008. Manager Tony Pulis has built a squad which has many players coming in from the club's academy and a few signings to strengthen the squad. The club signings have been very moderate, ₤60 million, since 2008. The club seems to have a realistic plan in place, to reach the pinnacle of English football and challenge the Big Four. While the club tried to avoid relegation in its first season, it built its squad to earn a place in the top half of the Premier League. Last year, the club qualified for the Europa League by finishing 8th in the league table. The club has built a strong culture and has established its supremacy at its home ground. The Britannia Stadium is a fortress of Stoke City, where even the teams like Arsenal and Manchester United have had tough outings. Simultaneously, the club has improved its away form also.
In an interesting match up, Manchester City and Stoke City came face-to-face in the final of FA Cup in 2010-11 season. Though Manchester City ran out 1-0 winners to lift the trophy, the spirit and effort shown by Stoke City in this match, made it a hard earned win for Manchester City. A team valued at billions was challenged by a team built over years of hard work and planning.
Both the models of building football clubs, have met with success as of now. While Manchester City are at the top of the Premier League standings in the 2011-12 season till now, Stoke City have qualified for the knock out stages of Europa League; and continue to be in the top half of the Premier League table. It's in the long run, that we'll see, which school of thought, pays higher and lasting dividends.
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