The big clubs are killing the English Premier League

Sport thrives on competition, drama and uncertainty. The English Premier League markets itself around the world based on these qualities but it is in danger of losing its competitive spirit. The reason? The gap between the big clubs and the rest is getting wider.

On Sunday Manchester City beat Southampton 6-1. There was nothing remarkable about the result, that's what we're increasingly coming to expect from City these days, especially at home. They beat Huddersfield by the same score earlier in the season; they've won 5-0 against Cardiff and Burnley.

It's true that Manchester City are an exceptional side with arguably the best coach in the world but they are not the only big boys in the Premier League playground.

UK journalist Oliver Kay did some analysis recently in The Times. He found that in the first 40 matches of the season between the big 6 - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – and the rest, the big sides had 34 victories and suffered only 3 defeats. There were 3 draws.

Those figures include Manchester United's poor start to the season in which they've sometimes appeared more like toddlers than big boys (Pogba's penalty against Everton reminded me of a baby taking its first unsteady steps).

These six teams effectively form their own mini-league at the top of the Premier League even though Bournemouth actually occupy sixth spot in the table at the moment.

Of course every league has its big guns – in Spain it's incredibly hard for the rest to compete with the resources of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Bayern Munich and Juventus have been dominant in Germany and Italy respectively of late.

What these teams have in common with the biggest teams in the EPL is consistent access to the riches of the Champions League as well as a global fan base from which they can generate revenue far from home. This helps ensure lucrative deals with sponsors.

Across Europe there is now a core of elite clubs working (loosely) together to further their own ambitions. Another thing they have in common is that they don't much care for competition.

At the behest of these clubs, the Champions League has been morphing from a competition into a cartel. The Collins dictionary defines a cartel as 'an association of similar companies or businesses that have grouped together in order to prevent competition.'

If you're not part of the cartel, you can expect access to the Champions League to get harder and harder. That's exactly what's happened over the past decade or so.

But the ambitions of the big clubs go even further. Leaked documents suggest that a further round of discussions has taken place on creating a European Super League. The only surprise to me is that there are still people who find such revelations surprising.

With the suggestion that such a league would initially not include any relegation for its founding members, British sports journalist Henry Winter described the plans as having 'no risk, no drama, no credibility.' He's right, and in response to the proposal he added, 'no thanks.'

I think many fans would agree.

Owners and CEOs are entitled (and have a responsibility) to look after their own clubs. But even from a self-interested point of view, they should be very wary of neglecting the leagues that they currently call home.

Monopolies are rarely healthy, in business or in sport. The bigger the big clubs get, the harder it is for smaller rivals to compete. But as fans, competition is what we want.

The Champions League is already compromised; the Premier League should beware and maintain its competitive edge.