It’s been a vintage year for Premier League conspiracies, and one of its greatest exports was that of the “Red Cartel”. Great name, not so great.

The general accusation is that three clubs who traditionally hate each other – Manchester United, Arsenal And Liverpool (one Premier League title in the last decade) – surreptitiously plotting to protect their status and stop Manchester City (six Premier League titles out of the last seven) to grow and succeed.

This is partly due to their founding influence on the structure and rules of the “Greed is Good league”, and partly due to the perceived advantages and leniency they receive from referees, financial regulations and media. This comes from rival fans who can’t really tell you how they do it, but they’re sure it’s evil.

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Right off the bat, it’s worth saying that this Cosa Nostra in the model kits is clearly not doing a very good job. City are the second richest club in the world and the most successful English club of the last decade.

Newcastle qualified for the Champions League within two years of its change of ownership. Villa Aston are leading the league stage this season. The suggestion that the rules somehow limit the success of non-cartel teams is false, regardless of point of view.

Nevertheless, on Tuesday City fans parked a billboard outside the Premier League offices displaying the insignia of the three cartel clubs – and Tottenham – under the words “Richard’s Masters”, referring to the league’s CEO, Richard Masters, and the recent case regarding the rules for associated party transactions (APT).

For all the city strong and boastful, the APT line – and the Premier League’s wider philosophical divide over its future and governance – is a very English clash between old money and new, between establishment and aspiration. The fact that Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Everton have supported City’s cause illustrates this perfectly.

This is where I say the line: there is no such thing as a red cartel. There is no conspiracy. All these clubs tried to break into the Super League alongside Manchester City and Chelsea. Every Premier League club has equal voting power, and each vote requires the support of 14 clubs.

It’s just a long story of opportune and inopportune timing, and who benefited from it at different times. This may not seem quite fair, but life isn’t.

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United, Arsenal and Liverpool were part of the ‘Big Five’ when the Premier League split. Manchester City and Chelsea were not, but both were taken over before effective financial rules were in place.

Everton were part of the big five, but failed to take advantage and now have the worst of all worlds. Newcastle is often portrayed as a victim of the rules of profitability and sustainability, but it is an example of how it is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, while allowing it to develop and grow sustainably, which that she is.

The Red Cartel talk is a consequence of supporters rallying against attempts to maintain some consistency and competitive balance in English football, as it obviously does not benefit their teams.

But unlimited money shouldn’t mean unlimited ability to ignore the rules. Enforcing this is not a conspiracy, it is simply about maintaining some semblance of sporting integrity. The Premier League cannot and must not allow all clubs to benefit from lax regulation that threatens the fabric of sport simply because some did it once.

None of this is to say that the generational wealth divide within the Premier League is not a fundamental problem, just that portraying it as something very malicious is both disingenuous and deeply unhelpful.

But as is often the case with mafias, somewhere beneath the noise, myths and distractions is the real mob.

They are within your walls. They are in your televisions. They are on your podcasts.

They try to sell you Huel and tell HILARIOUS stories about life under Sir Alex Ferguson/Arsene Wenger/Rafael Benitez. They write another book and produce another documentary exposing the inner workings of a world already exposed. They are former Arsenal, United and Liverpool players and they are, frankly, everywhere.

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If there is a real semblance of a red cartel anywhere, it is expertise. Again, there’s no grand conspiracy behind this – these players represented the most popular and successful clubs in the country long enough ago that they were retired, but there is no not long enough, they are no longer relevant. I completely understand why TV and podcast executives can’t get enough of it.

But on Aerial sports this season you’ll see a handful of Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Patrice Evra, Jamie Carragher, Jamie Redknapp, Daniel Sturridge, Ashley Young, Theo Walcott, Paul Merson, Michael Owen and Alan Smith every Saturday and Sunday, with a few additional Carras Monday.

On TNT there’s Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman. To light up TalkSport and you hear Martin Keown and ardent Arsenal fan Darren Bent.

Now, having played for a club doesn’t automatically bias these pundits, but there are more and more incremental changes in the Overton Window to expose their partisanship. Most don’t even care anymore. Keane’s career depends on it. As with the anti-Tory comics once they lost power, one wonders what Keane’s rationale would be if United started winning again.

This all comes to a head on the Overlap Podcast Network. Run by a company founded by Neville, there’s a growing number of openly biased listens for all demographics, from Twitter tacticians and football history buffs to people whose happy place is a brawl in a bar. This is Goalhanger’s “The Rest is” empire for a sport.

Their flagship show Stick to Football – featuring Neville, Ian Wright, Keane, Carragher and Jill Scott – averages over a million views on YouTube per episode and will easily surpass that figure on podcast platforms.

Apple Podcasts ranks it second among all football podcasts in the UK, behind The Rest is Football. There is no denying its popularity or ubiquity. It’s not an impossible listen, although the approach of starting each episode with five minutes of mindless warm-up talk is infuriating.

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But we must question its broader effects. The global overlay of football only reduces the scope of its content. Each book or documentary about Istanbul or the Invincibles occupies a space that could be used to tell new stories and elevate new voices. During Euro 2024ITV hosted live episodes of Overlap while using their pundits during matches.

The thriving cottage industry born out of Manchester United’s chaos only responds to demand and supply, but that doesn’t mean it really has any value other than keeping the Olympic flame of anger constantly burning .

So, at a time when there should be calmer, more nuanced and less biased voices around a Premier League that has never been more mired in conspiracy, controversy and incompetence, we find ourselves with a class of experts dominated by the loudest voices from the three countries. parties on one side in a legitimate debate.

This is by no means a cartel, but that doesn’t mean it should continue. It’s hard to overstate the impact pundits have on the national football consciousness, whether we like it or not. If you want to fight conspiracy, find people who will actually fight it.