Alan Hansen in The Daily Telegraph:
‘The season ends with one thing on everyone's minds: money. Whether Liverpool will have enough because they
will not be competing in the Champions League, how many players West Ham will have to sell to prepare for life in the First Division, and whether Leeds, with their debts of £79 million, can survive next season.This has been the season when the real weight of football's finances has shown its hand, and nowhere else more than at Leeds United. Arsenal, too, seem to be struggling under the weight of the cost of their new stadium at Ashburton Grove. Claudio Ranieri, despite Chelsea's qualification for the Champions League, will not have fortunes to spend, we are told. Only one club seem to be as strong as ever.
Manchester United have not looked better placed to continue their domination of English football since they won the Treble in 1999. Not only have they proved that their hunger and desire for success are undiminished but the teams who were once in much better positions to challenge their pre-eminence seem to have been weakened in some way or another.
With all respect to Chelsea, Liverpool would have had a much better chance of challenging United with the financial advantage that a place in the Champions League brings. For all the talk surrounding Liverpool about buying new players this summer, the one thing they will not be able to offer targets is the attraction of playing in the Champions League.
Liverpool have always been able to buy players based purely on the status of the club. But the difference between playing in the Champions League and not for an international player can be as significant as the gulf between playing in the Premiership and the First Division is for others. Add to that Liverpool's reduced financial muscle and transfers become more difficult.’