Flush with TV money, Premiership clubs go crazy

	The spending has reached a new level when an uproven player like Michael Chopra is worth $8 million. Christoper Lee/Getty Images

Barcelona's signing of Thierry Henry from Arsenal was taken by some as a signal that the balance of power in European soccer was shifting towards the Spanish Liga and away from the English Premiership.

Now, a few weeks down the line, it is clear that the financial muscle still lies in England. Premiership clubs, buoyed by a new TV rights deal, are spending money like there is no tomorrow.

Roy Keane, manager of newly promoted Sunderland, bemoaned a "lack of quality" players in the transfer market, insisting that he would spend serious money, but only players who were worth it. He then went and paid £4 million ($8 million) on Michael Chopra, a player who only ever scored one goal in the Premiership, and for Sunderland's deadly rivals Newcastle to boot. It was not a move to inspire confidence among supporters at a time when they are being asked to dig deeper and deeper for season tickets.

A few weeks earlier Tottenham paid Charlton £16.5 million ($33 million) for Darren Bent. That's £500,000 ($1 million) more than Barca paid for Henry. There may be doubts about Henry's long-term viability, as expressed on these pages, but at least his marketability will earn enable Barca to earn back a fair chunk of the fee irrespective of whether he performs on the pitch.

New owners with deep pockets at Newcastle, West Ham, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Man City and Portsmouth are all fueling the transfer boom. All are spending vastly greater sums than previous in preseasons.

Yet with the exception of Liverpool -- who paid the biggest fee of the summer so far in £22 million ($44 million) for Fernando Torres - none have a realistic chance of winning the Premiership title, or even of securing a place in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

The most the new investors can hope for is a UEFA Cup place. All are desperately playing catch-up with United and Chelsea.

In contrast, elsewhere in Europe, many big-name clubs, including European champions Milan, have spent next to nothing. New Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri has insisted that the club, who return to Serie A next season, will not try to match the spending of English clubs. Instead, they will concentrate on tying existing players such as Pavel Nedved and David Trezeguet to new contracts.