Is this the worst premier league in recent times? United fans seem to think they are still a top side even though they have been shocking in Europe against some terrible teams, Man City are crumbling in the league and have also been shocking in Europe, Arsenal and Chelsea have not been themselves either this season and Liverpool have been nothing short of pathetic in the league. Newcastle and Spurs have done very well but IMO neither team was ever going to challenge for the title. So is it worst prem league in years or are European teams that much better at keeping the ball that even their average teams can beat the top English teams in Europe now?
Nope. League and Europe are to totally separate things. Sure we were poor in europe this season but that doesnt mean we are poor.
I think this years EPL as been poor but that is because I'm a Liverpool fan The lower teams have been beating the higher sides, there have been a lot of high scoring games and we have seen a few teams surprising people too - Norwich, Swansea and Newcastle doing so well with Liverpool, Chelsea and Villa being a lot poorer. that to me suggests that this year's competition as been anything but predictable and, IMO, that makes for a good league. If, by 'worst Premier League' you mean the inidividual team levels then, quite simply, you can only play whoever is in front of you on the day. European football can be very different to the league and it also eliminates the squad depth to a degree (ie if a team has a few key players missing, they are probably going to lose a few, but in the league those players can return to make a difference to the campaign. In europe, your already out of the competition so there is no room for error).
But if a team that are 40 points behind Real Madrid can give United a complete footballing lesson over two legs then serious questions have to asked about the standard of the Premier league. That would be the same as Real madrid getting a footballing lesson for 180mins off West Brom, do you think that would happen?
IMO, thats not the same at all because you are suggesting Man Utd:Real Madrid and A.Bilboa:WBA are at the same levels which they clearly aren't. Different styles can work against certain systems. IMO, Man Utd are beatable in the centre of the park, control the game there and you have vastly improved your chances of winning. If you have good players in the middle that are not only able to do this but are also able to keep possession meaning Man Utd can't utilise their strengths (wings and Rooney) then the Manchester club is going to struggle. IMO, Real Madrid and Barcelona are by far and away better than any team in EPL but Man Utd and Man City would more than be able to hold their own it La Liga, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal wouldn't do too badly either Edit: I should add that the English clubs are not as strong as they were a few seasons ago but I don't think the La Liga is better than EPL, it is much closer than it used to be but...
european footbal and league football are NOT totally different. sorry but they are not. european football is a barometr to measure the standards of the top clubs against an outside standard. simply oput if you calibrate a measuring device you need a standard set of slip gauges for example. this is what europe has done for english football this year and genderally speaking english football has been found wanting.... badly. That said i think we must start waking up to the fact that the premiership has seen a lot of clubs like swansea and nrowich and blackpool (slightly) and newcastle and others come up, impress, and STAY up. I'm not saying this does much but we've seen clubs who we would call reasonably big like middlesboro sink without a trace, sides like west ham etc go down. In general the more msaller less fashionable clubs there are the worse the league is too. finally... sorry but city walked the first half of the year and so did utd to some extent. Chelsea have self destructed and have to toyally rebuild. tottenham may just be doing likewise having deliberately gotten out of the europa league and still can't play for a full year... arsenal imploded twice really badly but are i nthe top 4. What we can say for sure is the top 2 are head and shoulders above the rest but the top 2 are a long way off the calibre of some other european teams... spanish clubs in general, bayern and a couple of tialian teams for sure are way better. ..................... actually its not finally. if mr UIR cannot admit that his own utd team are a shadow of thier former CL winning glory then he's deluded. they've lost a lot of quality and really need to sign 3-4 top class players to right things. Thier midfield is very obvious but the reality of wellbeck or hernandez agaisnt the top teams is not a good one, they need to sort out their right back slot and maybe even keeper. the team tat won thier last european cup had what it takes in defense and attack and the midfield was decent enough too.
Just as our league form has been different from our cup form, yet media muppets and impatient fans are talking up 'Dalglish out'. You weren't just poor, though, you were ****e. Not a high number of woodwork hits or superior but unrewarded performances, not a mitigating factor in sight, just the obvious squad erosion under the Glazers we had under Hicks and Gillett. We know what squad erosion looks like so don't piss on our shoes and tell us it's raining. But to the original point. Yes it's been a poor and dysfunctional league, which has masked Utd's failings. If more teams had a go at them like the Euro teams did instead of fearing them they'd have had more problems but grudging respect to Fergie for managing it, considering he's sucked up to the Glazers. (I actually think he's only staying on to counter the damage they're doing and he can't speak out against them because they'd just sack him.) Anyway, I think FFP is playing a big part as clubs prepare for the new rules. Our wage bill is down. Utd refuse to pay big wages. Chelsea are actually talking about a youth program, a far cry from Mourinho. Arsenal continue to have an unbreakable piggy bank.
Im suggesting that United with all the money they have and resources should be able to beat or at least compete with a mid table Spanish team every single time they play them and especially a mid table Spanish team that have a self imposed transfer embargo.
I see the logic but things are rarely that simple. Bilbao had far more motivation for those games, that's not to say UTD didn't want to win it. For the Bilbao players this was a chance to progress in a cup competition the club rarely qualifies for and prove themselves against top opposition. For UTD this was a competition that wasn't a priority against a team they have no history with. Bilbao were great though!
Of course they should but then, if everything in football worked out the way it should, Porto and Liverpool wouldn't have won the 2004 and 2005 Champions League respectively either. As I said, I think certain styles can beat certain systems. Put it another way, Swansea have out played a lot of sides this season that are currently above them in EPL. Does that make them a better side despite being lower in the league? I was always under the impression that the league table doesn't lie. I think that is an excellent point
No. Just because the mancs and Arsenal are out of the CL does not mean this is the worst premiership of recent times. We probably feel like that because we are doing so badly in it. But why are we doing so badly in it when everyone else is so crap? I think the premiership is still strong. Probably too strong if Liverpool can only be 8th on our current resources. Chelsea is still in and probaly will go on to the semifinals of the Champions league but yet is 18 points behind in the premiership. The rise of other teams like Norwich and Swansea make it particualrly interesting and teams cannot take so called weak clubs for granted. All in all, if all clubs (not just the top 4 or 6) are considered this is a strong premiership.
I had the feeling that the mancs were going through the motions and could not be arsed. Remember the red nosed scot and his captain were severely told off by UEFA /Platini for slagging it off.
All the talk about Athletico Bilbao showing up the English league is over-hyped as far as i can see. I'm a Newcastle fan, we totally stuffed Man Utd at St James Park (i watched that game and the Bilbao one and i'd say we outplayed Utd by a greater margin, but i would say that wouldn't i) and drew with them at Old Trafford - it doesn't make us a better team though.
The league table does'nt lie and neither does the Spanish league table. Bilbao are an average mid table team in Spain but when they played United over two legs they looked like the Harlem Globetrotters of football. This proves one of two things to me either the Spanish league is amazing or the prem is rubbish.
I said it before and I'll say it again, if United are crap then the rest of the PL is a disaster. That also leaves your team in total disarray.
Fair enough if that is the angle you are taking but that doesn't explain Swansea's position considering they have out playing teams above them...? Afterall, your judging A.Bilboa on two games, so why not Swansea...? You could throw Liverpool into this too considering we have outplayed a lot of sides this season but sit in eighth but I can guess the reply to that one...
Swansea are in the position they deserve because they have not put the ball in the net like us. Im not judging Bilbao over two games im looking at how they have done in the league and how they have done in Europe but lets even forget about Bilbao and talk about Basel and Benfica, if the prem league was at its best United would destroy teams like theese and City having spent the money they have cant even beat Sporting over two legs.
