Judgment Day!
The day before the Premier League resumed, The Times ran a front-page column by renowned journalist Guillem Balague, with a title that immediately grabbed readers' attention.
Guillem Balague, a Catalan from Spain, has been in the football industry for over 20 years. He started as a reporter and later became a columnist for several prestigious European publications, including Spain's AS and Britain's The Times, both highly authoritative sports media outlets in their respective countries.
This made Balague one of the most sought-after columnists in European football media, and he was among the best at The Times. He gained widespread recognition after his in-depth analysis of Liverpool's Champions League triumphs in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, which he compiled into The Season on the Brink of Despair. The book became an instant hit and had a significant impact within the football world.
In his previous life, Gao Shen had read many autobiographies of coaches and players, and Balague was one of the few writers who had left a lasting impression on him. In 2012, Balague published Guardiola: Another Way to Victory, an autobiography that meticulously analyzed Pep Guardiola's past and present coaching career at Barcelona. The book caused a sensation within the industry.
In 2013, he gained exclusive access to Messi's inner circle, interviewing his coaches, friends, and family, as well as every president and head coach of Barcelona, the Argentina national team, and even traveled to Messi's hometown in Argentina to uncover his early life stories. The result was Messi: The Biography.
With two consecutive bestsellers, Balague became a major figure in football journalism.
But his influence extended beyond Spain, he had deep connections throughout British and European football. Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent, Jorge Mendes, had long been acquainted with him, and in 2015, they officially authorized him to write Ronaldo's autobiography, Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography. This book went on to win the Polish Sports Book Award in 2016.
Although Balague wasn't as globally renowned at that time as he would later become, he was already the chief columnist at The Times and a well-known figure in English football journalism. His columns had a devoted readership.
…
"The Premier League is a world of empiricism."
Balague opened his column with this statement, setting the tone for his discussion on the prevailing mindset within English football.
Empiricism wasn't just an issue in the Premier League—it was a widespread phenomenon across European football.
This so-called empiricism was riddled with various "superstitions", beliefs in scouting intuition, traditional approaches to injury management, and many other deeply ingrained customs.
One of the most prevalent beliefs was that the more experienced a head coach was, the better they would be for a team.
Take Ferguson, Wenger, and Moyes as examples.
This preference for experience was present in all major European leagues. Many clubs were biased toward hiring former professional players as managers over those who had undergone formal coaching education, believing that playing experience equated to a deeper understanding of the sport.
Balague spent considerable space explaining this reliance on empiricism in the Premier League before highlighting how Gao Shen was a complete anomaly in this environment.
At just 29 years old, with only three and a half years in the industry, he had already won two Champions League titles and numerous league and cup trophies.
From any perspective, Gao Shen did not fit the mold of what Premier League traditionalists deemed a "proper" coach.
Yet, he was currently the most successful manager in European football.
Balague pointed out that opinions on Gao Shen within the Premier League were deeply divided. Some saw him as the embodiment of football's future, a revolutionary figure shaping the sport's evolution. Others despised him, dismissing him as an opportunist who had simply mastered certain techniques and capitalized on the right opportunities to achieve success.
"I believe that no matter how much time passes, this debate will never be settled."
Balague wrote that this was an argument with no definitive resolution—no side would ever fully convince the other.
Even if Gao Shen won every possible trophy, those who disliked him would only become more entrenched in their views.
So why did Balague call this the Premier League's "Judgment Day"?
Because Manchester City was about to face Arsenal and Manchester United.
In the eyes of empiricists, Ferguson and Wenger were revered figures. These two world-class managers represented the very essence of the Premier League's coaching philosophy.
Both had enjoyed immense success, managing their clubs for decades and serving not just as head coaches but as true "football managers" who shaped their clubs' identities. They were living proof of the British footballing tradition.
Ferguson had often said that the true test of a team's Premier League title credentials came after the grueling Christmas and winter fixture schedule.
Why?
Because this period was uniquely challenging—an integral part of British football culture.
And it wasn't just football; similar traditions existed in other sports like rugby and basketball in the UK.
During Christmas, while much of the world took a holiday break, British sports competitions became even more intense.
"As they put it, when fans have time off, they can go to the stadiums and enjoy an exciting football match. That's the essence of the sport!"
For managers inexperienced in English football, coping with the brutal Christmas and winter schedule was often a nightmare.
"It's not just a physical test for the players, it's a psychological one as well!"
Ferguson's words themselves embody empiricism, yet they are undeniably rooted in fact.
Now, in the upcoming fifth and sixth rounds of the league, the most anti-"empiricism" manager in the Premier League is about to lead his squad, mocked and despised by many as they take on the most respected embodiment of that very empiricism.
This will be the first direct clash between the two sides!
Beyond the cultural implications, this matchup also carries significant weight in the league itself.
"I've spoken with many senior figures in English football, both in the media and within clubs. They all say the Premier League has grown stagnant. For years, people have been tired of discussing the so-called 'Big Four.'
"Look at Arsenal, do they even have ambition anymore? Wenger has practically told the world that Arsenal is content with mediocrity, aiming only to secure a Champions League spot and profit from finishing in the top four. And what can anyone do about it?"
"I've heard it countless times, people say the Premier League will only get interesting when we stop talking about the Big Four."
Guillem Balague argued that Chelsea once injected excitement into the league, making it more competitive, but even before their acquisition, they were already among England's stronger clubs.
Liverpool, despite its ups and downs, had remained consistently competitive.
Aside from David Moyes' Everton briefly breaking into the top four—only to be swiftly suppressed—no other Premier League club had truly disrupted the Big Four's dominance in recent years.
In fact, since the league's inception in 1992, only one club outside the Big Four had won the title, Blackburn Rovers, under Kenny Dalglish, in the 1994-95 season. Every other championship had been monopolized by the elite clubs, particularly Ferguson's Manchester United.
Since the Premier League's formation, Manchester United had claimed 11 of the 17 league titles, Arsenal had won three, and Chelsea had secured two.
Even Liverpool, the dominant force of the 1980s, had yet to lift a Premier League trophy.
Balague pointed out that since the turn of the century, only three teams outside the Big Four had qualified for the Champions League: Leeds United, which finished third in 2000; Newcastle United, which participated in the competition in the following two seasons; and Everton in 2005.
However, in 2000, the Premier League only had three Champions League spots. In 2005, Liverpool's Champions League triumph meant England was granted five spots. As for Newcastle, their decline had already set in.
In other words, over the past decade, the Big Four had effectively monopolized Champions League qualification, leaving the rest of the league without a real chance to break through.
Meanwhile, the Big Four reaped the financial rewards of consistent Champions League participation, further strengthening their financial muscle. This allowed them to poach talent from other Premier League clubs, making it nearly impossible for those teams to retain their best players.
"The Premier League has suffered under the dominance of the Big Four for far too long!"
Balague argued that Manchester City's rise presented a golden opportunity to finally shatter the stranglehold of the traditional elite.
This, he believed, was why Ferguson and Wenger had reacted so strongly at the start of the season.
And the early results proved their concerns were justified, after just four rounds, Arsenal and Manchester United had already been pushed out of the top four. The pressure was mounting.
"In the past month, I've met many people who believe that Gao Shen's arrival and Manchester City's emergence mark the beginning of a new era in the Premier League—an era defined by fierce competition."
"Arsenal can no longer count on easy Champions League qualification, and Manchester United can no longer treat the Premier League as their personal playground."
"The upcoming fifth and sixth rounds will be a full-scale showdown between the old guard and the new challengers—a true Judgment Day for the Premier League. It will test whether Manchester City has the strength to overturn the established hierarchy. It will also challenge Arsenal and Manchester United to prove whether they still deserve their place among the elite."
Balague went even further, declaring that this would be the most disruptive and highly anticipated clash since the Premier League's inception.
At the end of his column, the Spaniard took a firm stance—he was fully behind Gao Shen.
From both a footballing perspective and for the overall health of the Premier League, he believed the dominance of the Big Four needed to be broken. More teams should have the opportunity to compete for the title, making the league more exciting and unpredictable.
"There is no doubt that the next two rounds will be crucial for Gao Shen and Manchester City to prove themselves. They must deliver their best performances and, ideally, defeat these traditional giants."
Balague expressed his strong belief in Gao Shen and Manchester City.
"Ever since he took charge of Real Madrid, I knew he was no ordinary manager. He always brings surprises and shatters expectations."
"He did it at Real Madrid, he did it in Serie A, and now, in the Premier League, I have no doubt he will do the same."
"In just one week, the Premier League's power structure will undergo a seismic shift!"
"Just wait and see!"
(To be continued.)