around the same time they show The Relegation Of Liverpool.
Causeway Point not suitable for you? How about Jurong Point?
Actually I think you need to find some guts first before talking
big.
Joe Cole has always been something of a divisive figure
- either the future of England or another over-rated wannabe,
depending on your point of view.
After all, it was John Terry's public championing of his
club-mate that was the catalyst of the World Cup schism which split
Fabio Capello's squad in South Africa.
But as the midfielder landed in Liverpool's Swiss training base
to stir up the biggest hornets' next of the summer, the former
Chelsea man must have realised he was opening a debate that will
rumble.
By claiming that
taking up the offer the joint the
Anfield outfit was "a no-brainer because they are the biggest club
in the country" , Cole immediately raised the
hackles in SW6, at Old Trafford and round the rest of the
country.
On Merseyside, meanwhile, Cole was building a reputation
overnight, even more quickly than he was burning his Stamford
Bridges, tapping into the mindset of a club that puts so much store
on "History".
After all, on the most simple yet valuable of all criteria, Cole
was right.
Liverpool may not have won the title in 20 years, a time period
in which Sir Alex Ferguson and United have been masters of the
domestic universe on a staggering 11 occasions and equalled the
Anfield club's proud record of 18 English crowns.
But those famous five victories in the European Cup and
Champions League, the legends of Rome, Wembley, Paris and, above
all, Istanbul, have helped keep Liverpool's record of 43 major
trophies a tally that has yet to be matched.
If silverware alone is the definition of greatness, then Cole is
right. Liverpool can point to it in abundance, to 109 years of
trophy-gathering.
Yet in the modern era, where cash is king, where the accent is
on what you have achieved in the immediate past, not in the days of
yore, Cole has made himself the new Aunt Sally of the English game
- up there for everybody else to take pot-shots at.
You know, without a doubt, that Fergie will hit back with
withering contempt, even if he likes Roy Hodgson - in stark
contrast to the disdain he held towards the now-exited Rafa
Benitez.
After all, famously, the Scot's stated goal when he assumed the
Old Trafford hotseat was to "knock Liverpool off their f***ing
perch", a task he feels, with due reason, he has managed
brilliantly.
Likewise, Carlo Ancelotti, the man who let Cole go and who never
seemed to trust his ability, can point to the league table, to last
season's Double, to a club which has won three titles since 2005
and has finished above Liverpool in each of the past eight seasons
with the exception of 2008-09.
Roman Abramovich reshaped the face of football when he embarked
on a spending spree that has already reached £700million,
transforming Chelsea into a dominant, trophy-claiming behemoth,
with Cole very much in the vanguard of that movement.
At the same time there will be plenty, not least in North
London, who will argue the Blues are not the biggest club in the
capital - and, indeed, not even the second biggest.
Arsenal may not have won a trophy since 2005 but they can lay
claim to a past and not just a present, 27 major trophies going
back 80 years, and a status as the aristocrats of the national
game.
Even down the Seven Sisters Road, Spurs - the first team in the
post-War era to do the Double and first English side to win a
European trophy - are planning a 55,000-seater replacement adjacent
to White Hart Lane, confident demand for the extra seats will more
than outstrip supply, while Chelsea have abandoned plans to bulold
a new stadium or increase the capacity of Stamford Bridge.
And, of course, as Fergie knows too well, there is another,
growing force, determined to usurp the Big Four - should that now
be Big Five? - and change the game again.
UEFA's proposed new rules on "financial fair play", which will
prevent any club from spending money it does not earn, mean Sheikh
Mansour is putting everything into his plans for Manchester City
now, rather than looking for organic growth over time.
Already, in under two years since the Abu Dhabi money men took
control, City have spent a truly remarkable £267m, with plenty more
to come.
The club's ambitions are as clear as when former Chelsea chief
executive Peter Kenyon famously promised to "turn the world Blue",
to become a global superpower, the biggest of the lot.
So who can boast about their size. Mirror Sport has done its
own, not entirely scientific calculations, based on past success,
ground size, the loyalty of supporters, the value of the club and
the financial backing.
Joe Cole won't agree with us and you might not either. But even
as United pick up another accolade, the debate is only
beginning...
Martin Lipton's Big Club ratings
MANCHESTER UNITED
Major trophies: 40 (2nd) 5
Stadium capacity: 75769 (1st) 6
Fan loyalty (2nd) 5
Value of club: £1.2billion (1st) 6
Owner: Malcolm Glazer and Family £1.57billion (5th) 2
Transfer budget: £95.9m (2nd) 5
Total points: 29/36
ARSENAL
Major trophies: 27 (3rd) 4
Stadium capacity: 60391 (2nd) 5
Fan loyalty: (6th) 1
Value of club: £770m (2nd) 5
Largest shareholder: Stan Kroenke (£1.77billion) (4th) 3
Transfer budget: £25m (4th) 3
Total points: 21/36
LIVERPOOL
Major trophies: 43 (1st)
6
Stadium capacity: 45276 (4th) 3
Fan loyalty (1st) 6
Value of club: £538m (3rd) 4
Owner: Tom Hicks £800m (6th) 1
Transfer budget: £15m plus sales (6th) 1
Total points: 21/36
MANCHESTER CITY
Major trophies: 9 (6th)
1
Stadium capacity: 47405 (3rd) 4
Fan loyalty (3rd) 4
Value of club: £169m (6th) 1
Owner: Sheikh Mansour £3.2billion (2nd) 5
Transfer budget: Unlimited (1st) 6
Total points: 21/36
CHELSEA
Major trophies: 17th (joint 4th)
2.5
Stadium capacity: 42,449 (5th) 2
Fan loyalty (5th) 2
Value of club: £423m (4th) 3
Owner: Roman Abramovich, £11.1billion (1st) 6
Transfer budget: £40m (3rd) 4
Total points: 19.5/36
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Major trophies: 17
(joint 4th) 2.5
Stadium capacity: 36230 (6th) 1
Fan loyalty (4th) 3
Value of club: £243m (5th) 2
Largest shareholder: Joe Lewis £1.97billion (3rd) 4
Likely transfer budget: £20m (5th) 2
Total points: 14.5/36
