How bad is the Premier League?

[ThunderPower_14]

Putting Villa (and probably Chelsea) aside for a minute, I think the Premier League is as healthy and exciting as it ever has been. The giants of yesteryear are stuttering a little bit and anybody can beat anybody. Clubs like Southampton and West Ham can be considered the form sides of the league.

 

For a decade we had the Sky 4 and that was that. Apart from Everton once, they finished top 4 every season and everyone else was fighting out for 5th. This year, apart from Chelsea up top, there is a lot less predictability about it.

 

Thinking about it, if Randy had taken over right now instead of in 2008, it might have been much better for us. It took the size 16 bowling ball of Man City to come through and smash up the top 4 and now if an owner came through with Lerner's initial attitude, he might actually be able to pinch that Champions League spot and catapult the club into the stratosphere.

 

It's really hard to watch as a Villa fan this year, but go Southampton, go Newcastle, go West Ham, go Swansea. Keep busting up that pack so when the worm turns for us, the glass ceiling has been smashed and maybe Aston Villa can be a big club again. Funnily enough, it's easier to visualise a series of events that would lead us to a Champions League spot now than it was the day Martin O'Neill packed his bags.

 

Bar the top few sides, La Liga isn't better. It's worse. They might have all the best players, but they all play for 2 clubs.

[maqroll]

It's still in the top 3 leagues in Europe, along with Spain and Germany.... and two English clubs just beat two German clubs this week. That said, I can't name one team in the Premier League that plays attractive football.

Edited November 27, 2014 by maqroll

[Isa]

That said, I can't name one team in the Premier League that plays attractive football.

Chelsea have this season. The likes of Southampton and Everton play decent stuff too.

[PaulC]

A bit ott. I think the premiere league is fine. Chelsea are as good a team as we have seen for a long time. We've lost Suarez and Bale but Bale was utter garbage last night. Are we judging the Premier League on how shit villa are? This is the worst Villa team since the Premier League began in my view.

Edited November 27, 2014 by PaulC

[kurtsimonw]

Well, the Premier League is the best league in the World IMO.

 

But the general theme is people will knock the Premier League for doing the same thing they praise another league for, You say Southampton being 2nd and Arsenal being out of the Champions League places as a knock for lack of quality. Yet when the same happens in say Germany or Spain, it's praised for being competitive, lesser name clubs taking down the giants. It happens in England and it's because the league is "shit".

 

As for the comments suggesting the Premier League has been shit for a "long time", I believe last year was the first season in 10 years England didn't have a European finalist, with 6 different clubs making a European final in that period. English teams generally get through to the KO stages. I think, aside from Bayern, Germany have only reached even the QFs 2 or 3 times in the past decade. Amazing quality there, right?

 

I know it's cool to knock the Premier League, but the quality is quite clearly there. I wouldn't trade it for La Liga or Bundesliga at all.

Edited November 27, 2014 by kurtsimonw

[Rodders]

I enjoy the competitiveness and random results we are getting to be honest. I think part of it is we've reached a plateau in terms of finances where there's only so much quality that more money can by, that other teams can start to compete. Chelsea aside, Man City with all their billions are not invincible, neither is Manchester United and their riidiculous summer investment ( ok the fact they couldn't be bothered with defenders is their fault ). It seems that with now, with the hegemony breaking ( experience and nous will still count heavily come next May I expect )  slightly, it shows that with reasonable sustained investment, competing for top 4 is closer ( though still exceptionally tough ) than it has been for a few years. I cannot see a top 4 club of the same 4 clubs being as set in stone as the decade of united, chelsea, arsenal, man city / liverpool era was. 

[turnbull]

As someone who grew up watching Cloughie take Derby and Forest to league titles and of course Sir Ron with the Villa, I find it sad that basically now football is all about money and is basically controlled by players, agents and rich owners, Shame, Years ago there was never talk about how much a player earned, not a whisper it just wasn't important. I guess it's just a sign of the times really. 

Now I just follow AVFC and hope our local "rivals" lose. That's about it really. I honestly don't care who wins the PL title or which team scrapes into the final Champions (that's a laugh) League place.

 

Football at the highest level is, as someone else on here as said,  broken. Probably never to be fixed.

Edited November 27, 2014 by turnbull

[Zatman]

Premier League has been poor quality for 3 or 4 seasons now. The last 3 winners have been average compared to other winners, the teams in Europe are really poor except Chelsea and most damning of all is the fact we havent got relegated in that period shows how bad some of the other teams really are

[Zatman]

 

 

The grass is always greener, isn't it?   This week in the Champions League, all four of the German sides lost and Bayern were the only team who even managed to score a goal.   On Dortmundsprechen.de (or whatever) is somebody starting a thread lamenting the quality of German football? 

 

I never watch the Bundesliga but I wish we'd follow their pricing strategy and fan ownership.

 

 

 

Me too but it can't happen, that needs to be implemented from day one and never relinquished. The horse has bolted here.

 

The Bundesliga isn't some kind of utopia though,  Bayern Munich have won 10 of the last 15 league titles (it will soon be 11 of 16) and in 8 of those 10 seasons they actually won the double (or in 2012/13, the treble) so German football is every bit as uncompetitive as everywhere else. But yeah, it's cheaper. 

 

 

Interesting fact: out of them other winners all except Wolfsburg are in the bottom 3 in Bundesliga

[safcrhys]

Its shite, the same 2-3 teams will dominate from now until eternity, with the other usual 5 or 6 hogging or floating around the European positions. I imagine its fantastic if you are a Chelsea or Manchester City fan but for the rest of us its **** crap knowing the best you can hope for every year is 8th.

Edited November 28, 2014 by safcrhys

[P3te]

As for the comments suggesting the Premier League has been shit for a "long time", I believe last year was the first season in 10 years England didn't have a European finalist, with 6 different clubs making a European final in that period. English teams generally get through to the KO stages. I think, aside from Bayern, Germany have only reached even the QFs 2 or 3 times in the past decade. Amazing quality there, right?

 

That speaks nothing to the quality of the teams outside those european spots though. The standard of football across the league, not just the megabucks guys who can afford the best in the world, is very poor

[Isa]

In my opinion, the Premier League remains the highest in terms of the standard throughout the league. The Bundesliga comes close but it lets itself down with the lack of great teams with the title a one-horse race now.

[Zatman]

In my opinion, the Premier League remains the highest in terms of the standard throughout the league. The Bundesliga comes close but it lets itself down with the lack of great teams with the title a one-horse race now.

 

I think its 2nd behind La Liga if honest. Look at amount of Spanish team that has been in Champions League or Europa League finals recently. Atletico, Real, Barcelona, Sevilla, Bilbao plus other strong teams like Villarreal, Valencia and Sociedad in recent seasons

 

Dont think any of the other leagues have that depth

[kurtsimonw]

 

As for the comments suggesting the Premier League has been shit for a "long time", I believe last year was the first season in 10 years England didn't have a European finalist, with 6 different clubs making a European final in that period. English teams generally get through to the KO stages. I think, aside from Bayern, Germany have only reached even the QFs 2 or 3 times in the past decade. Amazing quality there, right?

 

That speaks nothing to the quality of the teams outside those european spots though. The standard of football across the league, not just the megabucks guys who can afford the best in the world, is very poor

 

It does when the teams outside the European places are challenging and beating sides at the top. The likes of Saints, Swansea and West Ham. But as I said, if this was happening in Germany or Spain, it's because of good depth. When it happens here, it's due to lack of quality.

[Isa]

 

I think its 2nd behind La Liga if honest. Look at amount of Spanish team that has been in Champions League or Europa League finals recently. Atletico, Real, Barcelona, Sevilla, Bilbao plus other strong teams like Villarreal, Valencia and Sociedad in recent seasons

 

Dont think any of the other leagues have that depth

I disagree, teams like Sociedad and Bilbao making fourth sums up how poor that league has been outside of the real top teams. They never would've come anywhere near the top four in our league. This season La Liga is looking a bit more competative though admittedly.

[Biskitt]

I always wondered what the outcome would be if the Premier League teams played against teams from other European leagues that were in the same league positions in their respective leagues home and away ? Ie 1st v 1st, 10th v 10th, 15th v 15th etc. Which league would be the strongest on that basis ? Spanish perhaps ?

It's something I'd bloody love to see too

[maqroll]

1999 was the high mark for the Premier League, IMO. Slow decline ever since in a general sense of excitement and off the pitch melodrama. It also helped that Villa were still a side other teams did not overlook, we usually finished top 7, made deep cup runs, and didn't suck.

Edited December 6, 2014 by maqroll

[AXD]

The premier league is the most commercial and popular league. That's why it's easy to say it's the best, as part of the advertisement.

It's difficult to say which league is the best. Looking only at the top teams you could say Spain is the best. Look at the bottom and you would get the same garbage in germany, Spain or england. The difference between these leagues, probably the 3 top leagues, is that in england the bottom teams have the funds to buy new players, which gets fans and media all excited. In germany the clubs are more sensible with their money, so bottom teams rarely spend more than 5m on a player. In Spain, the smaller clubs are close to bankrupcy so they have to sell players and attract others for free.

So I don't think the premier league is the best when it comes to the level of football being played, but is the best in the sense that teams have the cash to significantly improve their team over a transfer period and a new season can realy be different to the previous.

[VillaChris]

 

 

I think its 2nd behind La Liga if honest. Look at amount of Spanish team that has been in Champions League or Europa League finals recently. Atletico, Real, Barcelona, Sevilla, Bilbao plus other strong teams like Villarreal, Valencia and Sociedad in recent seasons

 

Dont think any of the other leagues have that depth

I disagree, teams like Sociedad and Bilbao making fourth sums up how poor that league has been outside of the real top teams. They never would've come anywhere near the top four in our league. This season La Liga is looking a bit more competative though admittedly.

 

 

Only thing I'll say to that is when they get in they make an impact in europe e.g. Villareal reaching the SF a few years back, Sevilla winning the trophy a few times. 

 

Bit different to Hull bombing out before the group stages.

 

Went to Stoke Arsenal today. Great game but Arsenal are bang average this season. They'll still finish top 4 though as this is the worst Spurs team in 10 years and Liverpool are also in decline.

[kurtsimonw]

Villareal did make the SFs, but they're one of 4 (and the least successful) Spanish side to do so. Arsenal would probably be our "4th team" (United, Liverpool and Chelsea all won it recently) and made the final and a far more consistant than any Spanish club outside of Barca/Madrid and yet their accomplishments don't seem to get the same rave reviews as say a Dortmund or Atletico.

There's probably only Barca, Madrid, Bayern, Inter and Milan of none-English clubs that've done better than Arsenal in the CL over the past decade or so (and Milan is a push)and this is the least successful of our major 4.

Edited December 7, 2014 by kurtsimonw