Premier league make 'big six' statement that newcastle united fans will love

A new era? Damian Vidagany, Aston Villa's director of football operations, certainly thinks so. "There's not a big six anymore in England," the Spaniard declared at the

club's end of season awards last week. A quick glance at the final league table tells you as much. Newcastle and Aston Villa are in fifth and sixth respectively. Manchester United are

languishing in 15th. Spurs, the Europa League winners, are hovering above the relegation zone. Even the Premier League appear to have taken note. In fact, a feature on the top-flight's

own website suggests 'historically bad campaigns for both Man United and Spurs signal the end of the big six era as does Chelsea’s ongoing battle to retain their status alongside the

disruptors Newcastle and Aston Villa'. This season has been far from a one-off, either. Newcastle qualified for the Champions League in 2023 and Aston Villa followed suit a year later.

There has also been a clear shift in the make up of the top six as a whole. After all, in five of the eight Premier League campaigns between 2014 and 2022, each member of the so-called big

six took a spot. However, in the three years since, there has not been a single occasion where Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United occupied all of the

positions despite the huge revenues these sides boast in a PSR world. In fact, the same number of places (five) have been claimed by upstarts in the last three years as the previous eight

years combined. Newcastle won't be getting carried away, though. Eddie Howe has repeatedly stopped short of making any bold statements for a reason. "I don't know if I can

ever answer that truly because I always think it's there for us to prove," the Magpies head coach once said. "People will label teams, try and bracket them and put them in

certain groups. For me, it doesn't mean anything. Every season you have to fight for where you end up." You suspect the relentless Newcastle boss is already thinking about next

season - just a few days after the current campaign ended. _Here at ChronicleLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best NEWCASTLE UNITED coverage and analysis._ _Make sure you

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