The Premier League is not all it's cracked up to be...

[hampsteadclaret]

This seems to be the theme tonight on the radio post Champions League match..

I think I heard this statistic correctly [from a bloke at 'the Independent']...in the last five years the Champions League has produced 40 quarter-final teams...4 have been English teams and 17 have been from Spain...how do we explain that then?

Are our top 4-6 clubs not as good, as some think they are?

[Sidney1st]

Or are our leagues more competitive?

[JohnMac]

When you look at the 'success' of those clubs who won the Champions League against foreign opposition going back to it's inception, they were all completely outplayed.
Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool all would have been beaten out of sight on another night.

Mostly hype surrounding the Premier League and each of the top 4 get found out every year proving it is way behind Germany and Spain.

[JohnMac]

As Syd says, it has more depth but with less quality at the very top end of Europe.

Pep was obviously brought in to elevate the profile of Man City and make them Champions of Europe.

I suppose another £300m will be chucked at it now.

[DCWat]

Best league in the world..... for marketing.

[Dyched]

We nay not have the best players or sides but we have a very competitive league. That's what makes it great. Burnley vs Manchester United. Its hard to pick a winner and not just cos im a claret.

[Nonayforever]

I think overall, the PL is head & shoulders above any other league, but the top teams have been undergoing a certain amount of change in the last 5 years.

Man Utd have lost Fergie, Arsenal have been stale for the last 5 yrs, City are probably the only bright light along with Chelsea for a couple of seasons, but then change tack every other season with a different manager.

[hampsteadclaret]

- so we have a better, more competitive league but our top teams aren't as good as 'their' top teams.

That seems reasonable.

How do we catch up then..play less matches..buy better players...?

We already have some of the biggest names as coaches.

[cricketfieldclarets]

These things go in cycles.

Spanish, Italian, German, English and even Dutch have had doninant eras with success from other nations in between.

English era will come back.

I think a lot can be said for the focus on finishing fourth though. Aiming for qualification is seen as success. Successful teams especially over long periods are used to winning things. It breeds confidence and belief. Arsenal are never going to be confident in europe if they cant win anything at home.

Barca, Real, Bayern are used to winning. Its a habit. They dont feel flukey by going somewhere and winning.

Look at PSG last week. The reason they lost was belief. They didnt believe they had it in them and tried to defend from the off. It shows that they are scared and Barca took full advantage.

When united won their two more recent champions league it was in an era where they were dominant and felt good enough to go and win in europe.

[grapidianclaret]

We can catch up if we take what is left of the contact out of football, and spend more time training players to dive and cheat. We may not have had an English team win the champions league recently, but at least the game has not been completely ruined in England yet.
And yes, I know, it is headed that way in England too.

[elwaclaret]

Much preferred a good British game of league football than the boring dross they play in Europe. Sadly now its hard to tell a difference most of the time.

[Dyched]

We can easily look at last nights result and say our 15th best team is better than spains 3rd best team

[cricketfieldclarets]

Agree. The lack of physicality and tackling is pathetic. Games very soft now. And for the worse. Nothing better than seeing a proper sliding tackle. Even shoulder barging is no more.

[bfccrazy]

We can easily look at last nights result and say our 15th best team is better than spains 3rd best team

Arguably with continental tactics from some of their players which are mentioned above..... And a lot of balls breaking for them and a bit of luck as mentioned above.

[grapidianclaret]

The only physicality in the game now occurs when the ball is being "shielded" out of play.
But at least we now have all those death stares in the new game. very intimidating.

[Vegas Claret]

our teams get screwed by the Premier League and Sky with fixtures and kick off times. Teams in Spain get helped as they do in Germany and Italy with fixtures. We will not compete until that is sorted and a winter break is introduced

[KRBFC]

It helps when teams like Bayern can rest players for league games whenever they want and still walk the league with ease. The PL is the most competitive league out of all the top ones. The top clubs have faltered recently domestically not just in Europe, Man Utd since Fergie left have been stuck in transition, Arsenal stale, City in transition under Pep, Chelsea getting back on track after the horror show last season. The quality players Barca and Real have compared with the English teams is mind blowing but 2 or 3 good teams in one league doesn't make the league great imo. If Bayern win the CL is the Bundesliga considered the best most competitive league in the world for that reason alone? The top English clubs might not be all they're cracked up to be right now, although I'm not sure who "cracks them up" to be anything because I certainly didn't expect any of them to come close to winning the CL. I'm still waiting for the Milan to rise again, my favourite European side growing up. They will be back.... FORZA MILAN

[Garnerssoap]

I like it when big English teams get done in Europe

It makes me happy

[Quickenthetempo]

A couple of mentions that English clubs are in transition. Barca, Real Madrid and Bayern have had 3 managers in the last 4 years.

We have no excuses, more money than sense but we don't develop players well enough. Either our youngsters or when we bring the stars over.

[Dyched]

When Utd come to strengthening and trying to win the league they are up against
Arsenal
City
Chelsea
Liverpool
Tottenham

Those top 6 have to fight just to get in the champions league. Barca, real, Bayern don't. They know they'll be in the top 1/2 most years. Athelico or sevilla may chase barca, real. Put those 3 sides in this league and they won't be as great. We saw with barca last week and every year they come up against a good team they need to cheat to win.

[Dyched]

Arguably with continental tactics from some of their players which are mentioned above..... And a lot of balls breaking for them and a bit of luck as mentioned above.

That football. Every team has luck when they win. our 15 best team is in the quarter finals of the ucl. Imagine what this country's 12th best team could do.

[alicante claret]

I watch both PL and Spanish La Liga via TV there is no comparison in the competitive nature of the leagues or the excitement. There is no pressure of qualification for Barca or Real Madrid even at times of so called rebuilding. It is the reason the PL draws such coverage all across the world. Only Barca v Real Madrid brings any interest in bars out here,but there is interest in anything PL. My own local has a growing Clarets section, very popular with Belgians.

[KefkaClaret]

The PL is definitely the most competitive, look at Serie A and the Bundesliga. Juventus and Bayern can sign any players from their rivals. Juventus signed Higuain, Bayern signed Hummels. That would never happen in England now. The most recent was Van Persie to United and even then Arsenal were never competing for the title.

[aggi]

Distributing TV money so that the majority of it goes to the big clubs would help.

It obviously wouldn't help the league overall but it would help the big clubs grow bigger and hold the rest back. That's what the Spanish and German leagues do to a greater or lesser extent.

[Spijed]

Like or loathe them it would be slightly amusing if Leicester city won the Champions league as that would kill any argument regarding English teams in the competition.