Of those 3 winners, there have been 3 different teams - Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelse - and 4 different finalists - Liverpool, Arsenal, Man United (x3) and Chelsea (x2). No other nations get near these figures. Spain have had one - Barca (3). Italy have had 2 - Inter and Milan (2). And Germany have had one - Bayern, or 2 if you include this years. The 'best league in the world' isn't purely based on the best 1 or 2 teams anyway. We have 5/6 great sides in one league, as well as some of the most exciting and end-to-end games with great tempo, hence the Premier Leagues incredible worldwide popularity.
But when was the last time an English team went into the competition as favourites? As you say, there are 5/6 'great' sides in this league. Only really United have looked like a good bet to win it in the last decade or so. The last 8 years, out of the 4 sides, how many have qualified for the knock out rounds? Last 16? Quarters? Semis?
What does it matter if you're favourites or not? Leicester have been favourites for promotion these last couple of years, would you rather that or have been 16th favourite (or whatever we were) and have gone up? So we've had 8 finalists and 3 winners yet only United have ever looked a good bet to win it? I don't know all the exact stats but I'd guess we'd still be the best of any nation.
We are never favourites, but how often do the favourites win? It means nothing going in to the competition as favourites, as I bet Bayern will next year but I don't think they'll win it again.
Same here, they play much better football. For all Bayern's plaudits I though their tactic against Barca was 'kick the **** out of Messi and Iniesta'. Fair enough it worked, but I prefer Dortmund.
Nah, Proschwitz is a cut above, we'll do very well to keep him this year. He'll surely be after Champions league like Bale.
Being favourties for the Champions League is a bit different for the Championship. We both know that just about every club out of the 24 can win the league, same can't be said for Europe. Did Liverpool look a good bet? Did Chelsea look a good bet? No. I'd bet we've not been in the last 8 years (a random number of years you chose to fit your argument) I was thinking more since the United vs Chelsea game. We've been in 3 finals, two for United one for Chelsea. United were comfortably outclassed in their games and Chelsea scraped it via the skin of their teeth. Suppose the main thing is the present day. All of the Spanish and 3 of the German sides qualified for the knockout rounds. City and Chelsea (the winners) din't manage it and United and Arsenal didn't make it past the next game (think i'm right in saying that). Sides like Malaga, Galatasaray and PSG made it further than any English side this season.
The point is, being favourites means **** all. I did think Chelsea looked a good bet actually, hence why I bet on them. Pick whatever recent figure you like (other than just this season) and the English sides have done well. Don't look to me, look at the Champions League coefficients, we're top. To say we've been 'outclassed' when we have clearly been the most represented nation in Europe is obviously bullshit.
Anyone can have a crap year one year, how did Bayern and Dortmund do last year? Yet they're the 2 finalists this year, we've been for the most part, consistently very good.
Forgot about that. Still lost at their own ground to a team that started with Bosingwa and Ryan Bertrand though.
