Is the Premiership becoming too predictable?

Varney is not a lone dissenting voice, but is a three-horse race the best fans can hope for from a 20-team competition? Few other professional team sports would tolerate such blatant survival of the fattest.

So what can be done? The alternatives fall roughly into two camps. First, revolutionise the financial structure so money is distributed more evenly among clubs. Second, format changes with a view to generating more excitement. Dave Boyle, of fans' umbrella organisation Supporters Direct, is a strong advocate of economic restructuring, arguing the bigger clubs should make more of a contribution to the game.

He said: "The big clubs might howl and cry that it's unfair, but the choice is this - is English football about four clubs playing in Europe and getting progressively richer, or is it about something bigger, something more?"

Boyle believes in a return to a 50-50 split of gate receipts in league games, as opposed to the present system where the home clubs keep all the money. He said: "Ultimately, the bigger clubs will howl, but it's in their interests. Too much inequality will soon turn the fans off. "

Norwich chairman Roger Munby is calling for a fairer allocation of television revenue.

He said: "We should look again at the way the Premier League distribute their TV money. An increasing proportion needs to be channelled down to the Football League and for youth development.

"It would ensure a steady stream of home-grown players, benefit the less well-off clubs and help close the wealth gap."

A more radical solution would be to follow the example of other sports, such as rugby and American football, and introduce a salary cap.

Nigel Wood, chief operating officer of the Rugby Football League, claims the measure has made Super League significantly more competitive.

He said: "In the 1980s and 90s, rugby league was viewed as Wigan and 29 other clubs. Since then, we have worked hard on competitive balance because the essence of sport is unpredictability."

It has long been argued that salary caps can't work in football because they would be in breach of European Union law. The RFL have taken legal advice on the issue which says that providing the restraint is "proportionate and reasonable" then they have a defence.

They have also made alterations to their format in a bid to generate more excitement. The top six clubs qualify for end-of-season play-offs and the champion team is the one that triumphs in the Grand Final. This means, according to Wood, every season builds towards a "crescendo".

While most football fans would find it unpalatable if the club with the most points did not win the title, the same argument could be applied to the Champions League being won by teams that are not their country's domestic champions.

The play-off idea also appears to have some scope. Why not have Premier League play-offs for the last Champions League spot or the last relegation place?

Other more radical format changes could involve a points handicap for the most successful clubs or abolishing draws and settling all games via penalty shoot-outs.

Identifying the options for change is straightforward. However, getting 20 self-interested clubs to admit to the problem and then agree a course of action is a whole new ball game.