For all hype and punditry, the early proof of the Premier League 2008/9 is that money does not buy success. It can. But it doesn’t look like it for the clubs that spend big. Or for clubs that want or need instant success, one player or more is not necessarily the panacea.  Spurs and Nerwcastle fans must be wondering where it all went so badly wrong.

Tottenham are 749/1 to win the title which is rather more than a long shot and Juande Ramos has dismantled Martin Jol’s side and fielding a bunch of strangers. To add insult Jol has taken Hamburg to the top of the Bundesliga in less time than Ramos has taken to undo his good work. Rumours now link ex Chelsea boss Avram Grant to White Hart Lane? The board’s endorsement of the manager has been made public. 

Mike Ashley has money but seemingly refused  Kevin Keegan’s demands to spend big. In fact he has not  spent very much at all and that could be even worse. A new owner, bringing Keegan back even with money for a relegation dog fight looks less likely at present than a steep fast descent through the Championship to League One, a la Leeds.  In that light Roy Kinnear may not be such a bad choice for the months ahead…

Robinho could not make the difference yet for Manchester City against Liverpool on Sunday, and it is pretty unclear if Rafa Benitez’s summer spending will take Liverpool above Chelsea or Manchester United. Even at Stamford Bridge on Sunday it was interesting how far the pundits got it wrong…Villa to win 2-0 was a 40/1 shot and much touted about on radio and TV, Chelsea were a predictable boring 5/1 for the same score. But  Villa in fact have spent heavily this summer and transparently it has not made enough of a difference. Chelsea on the other hand even with more than half a team out with injury, fielded what many pre-the game had down as a second string side but preceeded to produce another masterclass in modern football. The lesson there is to start with a good manager, or preferably a great one. Or even better with four in succession- Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, maybe Avram Grant if only because the obituary on his legacy was that he didn’t mess things up, and Felipe Scolari.

Sir Alex Ferguson has also demonstrated over the years the art of buying important players and taking time to integrate them. It might have been overlooked that he has in fact spent £60million on Dimitiar Berbatov and confirming the Carlos Tevez deal this summer. Cristiano Ronaldo was a steal at £13m. Wayne Rooney was £28million. No wonder the forwards looked in good form against Blackburn. His purchases though are additions to the squad to embellish the overall play. They are not wholesale overhauls. That United forward line has been groomed through since the decision to sell Ruud Van Nistelroy in 2006.

Great teams are built on time and foresight. Arsenal are still in contention through  an investment in youth; exravagent sums spent on teenagers whom they can develop and sell on. Arsene Wenger seems to believe the brio of youth is a necessary part of successful chemistry. The great Ajax side of 1994-96 was built on that premise too.

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Fernando Torres skips past Standard Liege’s Mohamed Sarr but there were few signs last night that Rafa Benitez’s re-arranged side would be knocking at the door of the Premier League title or the later stages of the Champions League. There are good odds on Sunderland grabbing some points off them in the late fixture on Saturday too which suddenly look attractive. The £20 million Robbie Keane was substituted. Steven Gerrard was not fit enough for the 90 minutes although he added some fizz when he came on. Pepe Rainer saved a penalty and the Belgians made most of the running. Benitez’s seemingly thwarted desire to bring in Gareth Barry from Aston Villa suddenly seemed an inspired thought because this was a team without inspiration lobbing long balls up to Torres. As the TV commentary said: where was Peter Crouch? Maybe Benitez is on borrowed time, saved over the years by his luck and the sublime spirt of Gerrard. On last night’s display Tottenham could well fancy their chances of finishing above them in the league. Unlike Sir Alex Ferguson Benitez’s spending seems increasingly to be a churn without yielding real quality. A baffling selection of unknowns, promising kids who might develop better at another club where they could get first team football and only Torres as his real star buy. Torres is favourite to be top goalscorer thisyear, but who is going to provide the service?

Waving the flag - Rafa Benitez introduces Robbie Keane to Anfield

Goals win titles, but whether Robbie Keane is the missing part in the Rafa Benitez jigsaw puzzle remains to be proven. On paper Keane might score 20 goals a season, albeit so might anyone else alongside Fernando Torres. But in fact the best he managed in six years at Spurs was 16 goals in a season. Keane is also a robust player not dissimilar to Dirk Kuyt who impressed for Holland in the the Uefa European Championships. If the on/off saga of Gareth Barry’s move from Aston Villa goes through, then the summer would have seen a significant change in the Benitez thinking, opting for proven pushy Premier League performers or little known younger players he can groom. Last week he also picked up the promising French talent David Ngog who may pop in a few goals too although he might be better employed as far as the Kop is concerned creating them.

Strangely goals were not Liverpool’s major issue last season. They had the same goal difference as Chelsea who finished 11 points clear. They only scored four less than Arsenal. Admittedly they were 19 goals short on Manchester United but that was because United were showboating while Liverpool were scrapping. They are still 7/1 this morning to win the premiership.

Liverpool open the season away to Sunderland where Roy Keane has also been shipping in some proven top flight experience in the shape of Bolton’s El-Hadji Douf, the Tottenham pair Teemu Tianio and Pascal Chimbonda with more to come. Liverpool are 3/4 to win at the Stadium of Light in the late kick off on August 16. It is games like these that Liverpool need to win to get into contention but historically in recent seasons they have been slow starters.

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Each time that Rafa Benitez gets his ducks nicely in a row then that Scotsman, that Portugese, that Frenchman comes along and spoils it. And this year there is another Spaniard in town with Juande Ramos at Spurs. Each time Benetiz says he needs more money but the squabbling Americans umm and err over the cash. His great success was Fernando Torres, but he probably needs more class and the cash for David Villa would be a tantalising proposition. The trouble is the money men seem more interested in building the new Stanley Park stadium about which they now talk as if it is a leading edge football team. It could well be the world’s first 4-3-3 architectural build.

But Benitez has often bought strangely and there are conundrums to his management style. Peter Crouch is surely the foremost shock tactic attacker in the league and should be brought on with a winger to feed him on 75 minutes in every game and yet the rumours say he will be sold which could make Portsmouth with Jermain Defoe a force to be reckoned with. And then there is Steven Gerrard, to some England and Liverpool’s footballer of a generation, albeit his trophy cabinet is more naked than www.sapphicerotica.com. Is he the disrupting force that stops the others from playing? The solution of playing him up front as Torres strike partner also changes the complexion of the team.

Dirk Kuyt played tirelessly for Holland at Euro 2008 on the right and obviously would rise to the kind of fast end to end movement that Van Basten believed in rather than the slow slow Spanish style push and shove. And where in this mix does the luring of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa quite fit, unless it be to free Gerrard even more?

The Anfield faithful believes it is entitled to the Premiership title again. They are 7/1 The Anfield faithful believes that they can be champions of Euope again. The odds are 14/1. On Saturday August 16 they open the campaign at Sunderland, for once perhaps they can get off to the kind of start they need and not be looking up the table from mid September onwards. Roy Keane may have other ideas.

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