At 6pm last night, the final whistle was blown on the English Premier League season. It was, say analysts, one of the strangest seasons in memory. Big teams have lost to opponents from the bottom of the table. Mighty Liverpool plunged to the depths and then resurrected themselves in the second half of the season. Tiny Blackpool soared up the league before coming crashing down again.
Premier League ends after dramatic season
At 6pm last night, the final whistle was blown on the English Premier League season. It was, say analysts, one of the strangest seasons in memory. Big teams have lost to opponents from the bottom of the table. Mighty Liverpool plunged to the depths and then resurrected themselves in the second half of the season. Tiny Blackpool soared up the league before coming crashing down again.
Most of all, the competition's been tight. Manchester United won the league with the lowest points total in years. West Ham came bottom with 33 points - last season that would have kept them safely above the relegation zone.
This all made for exciting viewing. But is it what we want?
It's certainly doing well as a business. With an annual income exceeding 1bn the Premier League is the richest in the world.
It is also the most watched league in the world. Matches this season were beamed into 575m homes in 211 territories around the globe, featuring a massive 90,000 hours of broadcast action.
As Steve McMahon, the former Liverpool star who is now a businessman in Singapore says: 'The television viewing figures when Liverpool or Manchester United play are six or seven hundred million - it is a global game.'
But if the world loves the Premier League, some at home are resentful. Fans of the smaller clubs point to the financial inequalities and say that only the richest clubs can ever win the league title.
Why are some richer than others? As in any business success breeds success. Involvement in the Champions League brings in millions for the top four clubs, which they use to buy better players.
And then there's the 'Sugar Daddy'. This is the super-rich businessman who decides to pour millions into their chosen club. Roman Abramovich has sunk over 700 million into Chelsea while Abu Dhabi's Sheik Mansour will quickly reach that figure at Manchester City, now the richest club in the world - due to his bank account.
Some would say this is merely cheating your way to success. Others just hope their club is the next one to attract the attention of a millionaire.
Big fish
As the season ends, it is still the rich clubs at the top and the poor clubs at the bottom. So is it really such a wonderful league?
Do we want the rich glamour clubs hogging the best players and producing amazing football like Barcelona?
Or do we want our league to be truly competitive - a competition that anyone could win, because no one has financial advantage?
Perhaps the global appeal of the Premier League is that it somehow includes both glamour and competition.
Premier League ends after dramatic season
