As the Premiership has evolved over the past 14 years or so, it has become increasingly apparent that it has developed into three small leagues within one.

At the top we have an elite six clubs that seem to have established themselves as winners; then there’s the “going nowhere” middle eight; and at the bottom the “struggling six”  battling to keep clear of the trap door. And the same old teams are appearing in one of the three groups on a regular basis.

The Top Six don’t need much explanation. In effect, they are a Top Four plus any two from three or four other regular wannabees trying to muscle in on the cartel and get their noses in the money trough.

'While Sven-Goran Eriksson is doing his best to spend Thaksin Shinawatra’s millions, his tactical nous is on a level with that of my missus'


But let’s have a look at this three-tier Premiership and see if you agree with the clubs I have selected to fill the slots this coming season. Let me say right at the start that this in no way is an attempt to predict the final standings - and the clubs are in no particular order.

TOP SIX ELITE:
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have every right to be called elite because between them they’ve snaffled just about every trophy available in recent years. They have the stadia, they have the financial clout, they have the best managers and they certainly have the cream of the playing crop.

On the strength of two successive top-five finishes, Spurs have every right to lay claim to one of the two remaining places and they’ve certainly been bitten by the buying bug. Their fans are convinced they can actually dislodge one of the Top Four, but I’m happy to sit back and watch. Everton, Aston Villa and Newcastle will be fighting for the sixth place and I fancy Villa manager Martin O’Neill has been shrewd in the transfer market with the signing of  West Ham pair Nigel Reo-Coker and Marlon Harewood. Villa in sixth for me.

GOING NOWHERE:
These are the clubs that are perhaps happy to simply be in there rubbing shoulders with the big boys, picking up a few millions in TV money and final League placing. These are clubs with average crowds, average funds and limited ambition, minding their own business and not making a nuisance of themselves. These are my eight - and I stress they are in no particular order: Everton, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Sunderland and West Ham.

With the exception of West Ham and Newcastle, none of these clubs have shown a genuine desire to buy their way into the top echelon. The biggest spenders have been Newcastle (£5.8m for Joey Barton); Portsmouth (£7m for Sulley Ali Muntari); Middlesbrough (£7m for Jonathan Woodgate); Everton (£4m for Phil Jagielka); and Sunderland (£5m for Michael Chopra, £2.5m for Greg Halford and Kieran Richardson). Newcastle don't really deserve to be in there, but right now they are not good enough to worry the top six.

Bolton and Blackburn have picked up a few nondescript  players for undisclosed fees. West Ham, on the other hand, have tried to make up for the loss of Reo-Coker, Harewood and the pending departure of Carlos Tevez by bringing in Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker at £7m each and Julien Faubert for £6m.

STRUGGLING SIX:
That leaves Birmingham City, Derby County, Fulham, Manchester City, Reading and Wigan Athletic to fight it out for another season in the Premiership. Now while Sven-Goran Eriksson is doing his best to spend Thaksin Shinawatra’s millions, his tactical nous is on a level with that of my missus. But I don’t think City will go down. Birmingham and Derby will struggle under the stigma of promotion from the Championship, and Fulham and Wigan only escaped the drop last season by the skin of their teeth.

So there you have it. I don’t mind you having a pop at me but I’d like to think some supporters out there might be ready to prove me wrong in writing.