I don't really agree. You can also draw a semi-arbitrary line in the mid-2000s, when foreign oil money suddenly made Chelsea and City rise to the top of the lea

I don't really agree. You can also draw a semi-arbitrary line in the mid-2000s, when foreign oil money suddenly made Chelsea and City rise to the top of the league. The game evolves and that always has been the case. Other leagues underwent similar transformations, but they don't make this artificial bureaucratic distinction.