It takes a lot more than the chequebook to land those glittering trophies

Mr Marmite.. Love him, hate him, you can’t ignore him

ANYONE who says Manchester City are simply buying the title because they have spent £809million on players in five years misses the point.

Yes, City are English football’s heaviest spenders – but at least they have a slick, stylish team to show for it.

Across town, Manchester United have spent £736m over the same period, yet they are a million miles away from winning the title.

I’m not going to sit and listen to the jealousy and bitterness of rival fans who reckon the irresistible side put together by Pep Guardiola is just about the power of City’s chequebook.

There is an art to building a team and making them play in a style which reflects the manager’s philosophy.

And Pep has cracked it.

With respect to Liverpool, who are fighting hard to keep pace with the leaders, I said on the radio the other day that we might as well hand the Premier League title to City now, much as I did around this time last year.

I just can’t see anyone stopping them. When I make my score predictions each weekend, all I have to decide is whether they are going to score three, four or five. If Kevin De Bruyne is injured, it’s no problem – Bernardo Silva comes in and looks the part.

Benjamin Mendy is crocked? In comes Fabian Delph at left-back and he slots in like a hand in a glove.

Contrast the silky-smooth entertainment and the cast of players who have improved under Guardiola’s tutelage with the clanking, grinding machinery at Old Trafford. Write a list of the players who have improved at Manchester United under Jose Mourinho, for all the money they have spent since 2014, and it won’t take you long.

Look at the table comparing the top six clubs’ spending and decide for yourself who’s getting the best deal and the most bang for their bucks.

Chelsea and Arsenal have spent more than £1billion on new players in five years between them. One Everton fan rang Radio 5 Live’s 606 last weekend and grumbled words to the effect that City were just buying the title.

He should look a bit closer to home. Everton have spent £430m in five years and they will be lucky to finish in the top six.

If you want to compile a value-for-money table, try Burnley – only £115m gross expenditure on transfers in the last five years and they still made it into Europe this season.

But to win the title, you have to spend big. That’s the bottom line.

The only exception to that rule is Leicester, who produced a miracle which will probably never be repeated.

Of the so-called Big Six, Tottenham are the big overachievers. They didn’t spent a button last summer, yet a third of the way into the season they are in the Premier League’s top three and refusing to go quietly in the Champions League.

Take a bow, Mauricio Pochettino. But if Spurs are going to end that 58-year wait to be champions, money will talk loudest.

All the clubs on that list have won trophies in the last five years – except Everton and Tottenham, who spent the least – and Liverpool, who went desperately close in the Champions League last season and I think it’s only a matter of time before they win something.