Clubs across the land have been tinkering with their squad this summer with the aim being to better last season's efforts. Champions Manchester United and runners-up Chelsea have taken contrasting approaches to the transfer market but every club while every club has taken on new recruits of some variety. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson casts his eye across this summer's changes

IN YEARS gone by, the nouveau riche used to display their wealth by purchasing paintings.

Today, they flaunt it by buying footballers.

So when the new Premiership season gets under way tomorrow, some of the world's richest boys will be watching some of the expensive toys in footballing history.

At Upton Park, Icelander Eggert Magnusson will settle into his seat to see if Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker can justify an outlay of more than £14m, while former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be wondering if a net spend of more than £25m has been enough to transform Manchester City into European contenders.

At Villa Park, American Randy Lerner will be able to assess whether a £15m investment has enabled Aston Villa to compete with a Liverpool side that has been bankrolled to the tune of more than £28m this summer by his compatriots, George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

And at Old Trafford on Sunday, representatives of the Glazer family will reflect on the effects of a £37.2m overhaul of a side that were crowned Premiership champions less than three months ago.

If money really does make the world go round, the Premiership should be spinning at breakneck pace this season.

But when the colourful carousel comes to a stop next May, will all the millions that have been thrown at it have been spent in vain?

After all, there can only be one winner, and there can only be four clubs that qualify for the money-spinning Champions League. And despite a greater spread of transfer spending than in any close season in history, initial signs suggest that the status quo could remain in place for a little while yet.

That would be good news for Manchester United fans of course, still celebrating last season's reassertion of their club's strength.

United were the best side by a distance last season, and have spent more money this summer than anyone else. Ergo, the Premiership trophy should be staying at Old Trafford.

But football doesn't work to such logical rules and, while Sir Alex Ferguson's side will start the campaign as worthy favourites, there is no guarantee that they will end it as champions.

True, they possess the strongest squad in the league and, in controversial Argentinian Carlos Tevez and England international Owen Hargreaves, they also boast two summer recruits who would improve any of their rivals.

After two years of watching Chelsea dominate the marketplace, a newly-flush Ferguson has even been able to spend more than £37m on Anderson and Nani, players he openly admits he signed to "stop others".

By that, of course, he means "to stop Chelsea", but Jose Mourinho will go into the new campaign confident that his side remain capable of putting the brakes on United's runaway success.

Interestingly, his cause could actually have been aided by Ferguson's summer spending plans. While both Tevez and Nani boast world-class credentials, their arrival will place increased pressure on Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two players who did most to wrest the title from Chelsea's grasp three months ago.

And in focusing his attention on his side's attack, Ferguson has neglected to sign adequate cover for right-back Gary Neville or much-needed competition for goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. The Dutchman might have been United's hero in the Community Shield but, at the age of 37, his powers are surely beginning to wane.

Nevertheless, United remain the side to beat because Chelsea have far greater problems to contend with and, despite their vast summer outlay, Liverpool remain something of a work in progress.

Mourinho has been relatively quiet this summer, with the £13.5m purchase of Florent Malouda representing his only cash outlay. The capture of Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim and Claudio Pizarro - all free transfers - has been astute business, but Chelsea remain over-reliant on a small number of their key performers, a situation that ultimately proved their downfall last season.

Their vulnerability could be evident this month, with skipper John Terry expected to miss the opening week and key midfielder Frank Lampard nursing a broken toe that is likely to rule him out at some stage.

It will almost certainly be apparent in January, when Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou all depart for an African Nations Cup campaign that could rule them out of Premiership action for up to a month. United, exclusively non- African, will welcome the New Year with relish.

Liverpool will be equally bullish if they find themselves within touching distance of the champions at the turn of the year but, despite Rafael Benitez breaking his club's transfer record to sign Spain international Fernando Torres, their prospects remain difficult to predict.

In Torres, Ryan Babel, Andrij Voronin and Yossi Benayoun, Benitez has signed an attacking quartet that should guarantee goals. They cannot all play at once, however, and the Liverpool boss needs to hit upon a winning formation immediately. Chasing United, as the rest of the Premiership found to their cost last season, is akin to chasing the end of the rainbow.

With the likes of Jose Reina, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard still on board, though, Liverpool should cement their position in the top four, something that cannot be said with any certainty of Arsenal.

Thierry Henry's departure has left a gaping gap at the Gunners' heart, both in terms of on-field ability and off-field demeanour.

Shorn of the Frenchman's goals, Arsenal look far from threatening up front despite the arrival of Brazil-born Croatian Eduardo Da Silva. And shorn of Henry's leadership, Arsene Wenger's side resembles a crew without a captain.

The likes of Theo Walcott, Denilson and Emmanuel Eboue will have to shoulder increased responsibility if Arsenal's Champions League place is not to be transferred a mile or so to the east because, after two years of knocking on the door, this looks like being the season when Tottenham could finally break into the European elite.

They weren't far off last term and, in splashing £16.5m on former Charlton striker Darren Bent, Martin Jol has proved that a fifth-placed finish is no longer good enough at White Hart Lane.

Bent and (Dimitar) Berbatov should form one of the most potent strike-forces in the country, while (Kevin-Prince) Boateng arrives to bolster the midfield with an exalted reputation. Throw (Gareth) Bale into the mix as well, and you have all the ingredients for a B-line to the top four.

Tottenham's continued improvement should be one of the stories of the season, but there are a host of clubs looking to gatecrash the upper echelons of the table after a summer of splashing the cash.

West Ham will surely be much improved despite the departure of Tevez, Newcastle could reclaim a UEFA place if they could only get Michael Owen fit, and, by holding on to Benni McCarthy, Blackburn have confirmed that mid-table is not the extent of their ambitions.

Manchester City could end up anywhere, but the likes of Martin Petrov, Geovanni Gomez and Elano should at least ensure that relegation is out of the question during Sven Goran Eriksson's first season as an English club boss.

The drop to the Championship is even more daunting than ever following the start of the new Sky TV deal, and a number of clubs who were safe from the drop last season could find themselves fighting for their lives.

Sam Allardyce's departure means that Bolton look to be something of a club in free-fall, while second-season syndrome could make for a number of nervy months at Reading.

Despite the retention of Ayegbeni Yakubu, Gareth Southgate is unlikely to be breathing too easily at Middlesbrough either.

Fulham - now resembling Northern Ireland in white - are likely to be in the thick of the relegation battle, while Wigan, who incredibly boast Titus Bramble as one of their flagship summer signings, already appear doomed for the drop.

That should guarantee the safety of at least one of the newly-promoted clubs and, while Roy Keane's pulling power has not proved as strong as expected, Sunderland should still be in the Premiership in 12 months' time.

The same might not be true of Birmingham or Derby, though, with the former having signed a raft of players who inspire little or no confidence and the latter having kept most of their money in their pocket despite the purchase of Wales international Robert Earnshaw.