"As I type this, the top four teams in the league are Bayern, Schalke, Leverkusen and Dortmund. Last year, they were Wolfsburg, Bayern, Stuttgart and Hertha. In 2008, the first four places went to Bayern, Bremen, Schalke and Hamburg. That makes nine different clubs who are or have recently been there or thereabouts. Looks like all you have to do in order to compete is just wait until it's your turn."
That's an excerpt from the incomparable Uli Hesse's latest Soccernet column, wherein he examines the strange quirks that make German football's top league - my much-beloved Bundesliga - so competitive.
No Big Fours here... it's the Big One (Bayern Munich) and a Big Revolving Roster of Others. And I suppose that's what makes it so much fun to follow: you never know who's going to be challenging for the title - and, in some cases, you never know if your team's going to compete with the top clubs or languish in the nether regions of the table.