Indeed, indeed.. good post.
It was ever thus throughout the history of the game, whether here in England or in any other country.. as Dylan put it, 'Money doesn't talk, it swears..'
The latest English manifestation has been the accretion of money and power since 1992 by The Red Filth, The Scouse Red Filth and The Tarquins, having left Everton and Spurs of the original 'Big Five' in their trail. This has only been affected by the arrival of first Chelsea and then City on the scene to challenge the privileges that hegemony had enjoyed for such a long time.
Btw, your 'landed gentry' example at the end of your post reminded me of the old Bernard Manning story about him being challenged by some 'hooray Henry' herbert to 'get off his land' when Bernard was walking in the countryside. Manning asked how he came to own the land and the herbert described generations of his forefathers fighting battles for rewards which included the very land they were standing on. 'Okay..' says Bernard 'I'll fight you for it..'
Which is precisely what City and Chelsea have done, pretty successfully too! And as we all know, those three hateful clubs and their followers who've had it all their own way for decades don't like it one little bit.
F**k 'em.
