I have just witnessed one of the best displays for a long time by Bilbao who can only get players who are Basque SO VERY RESTICTIVE they put on an awesome display and 5-1 would not have flatered them a team to watch for the future or one to raid by the big boys wouldn,t mind half thier team even if their strikers were in the Billy Paynter mould mising a host of chances I wish I could watch it again Oh and they played our friends from the west!
Loved that game, was like watching a classic Leeds United performance at Elland Road. Fantastic atmosphere, great football, never gave the scum an inch, tracked players all over the shop getting tackles and blocks in. Brilliant.
The game has yet again showed the real truth about the EPL, it's over rated by the sports media in England.
A joy to watch, the Spanish sides look superb. As Boab says the Premier League has been shown up to be the over hyped pile of **** it is. Man City are losing too, oh dear!!
I'm not sure the PL is so overrated. Sure, Barcelona and Real are unquestionably the best teams in the world, but this is one of the weakest scum teams I've seen in a while and it's a miracle they're top of the league. The Pl is stronger throughout the league than La Liga IMO and it's more competitive and unpredictable. I would still rate the PL as a whole above La Liga.
La Liga only ever has the same two teams in it for the title, and throughout a given season there's no competition between those two, one team just runs away with it. The PL isn't much better, however, where the 2 teams going for the title are never the same two teams, one is always manchester united. The competition comes in the form of the sheer number of teams fighting for the 4th Champion's League spot (or 3rd occasionally) and for the Europa League spot.
I think you've said it all regarding the Scum, still the top of the league but extremely average, there's at least 6 or 7 teams in La Liga who would outclass them, maybe more. La Liga bar far the best,
But I don't really think the scum are the best team in the PL. I'd say Man City, Spurs and possibly Chelski and Arsenal are better than them. It's luck and Ferguson that are keeping them at the top of the table.
The teams you mention are probably better on their day but unfortunately they tend to have a lot of off days too. Look at Spurs how they've slumped in form. Scum do the things they need to even if they are lucky with it. Consistent is the word. I hate them with a passion but you make your own luck and they do it very well. Obviously having Howard Webb on the payroll helps too.
La Liga is by far the best league in Europe, Bilbao are only 7th and yet outclassed, outplayed and outpassed the scum in both legs, reigning English Champions and current league leaders. Spanish football is a joy to watch. Bilbao's squad was assembled on a shoestring, and it gives hope to clubs like ourselves that it's not a closed shop to all but the wealthiest clubs, and that a successful academy is essential in order to compete with the elite. If Bilbao can do it, I'm sure as hell Leeds United can.
Inspiring, but Bilbao will never win the league with Barca and Real Madrid becoming increasingly further away from the rest of the league.
I agree that Spanish teams are overall technically better, and that superiority has counted a lot this week. But if the Spanish league is really so much betterthan the EPL, how come the third placed team, Valencia, just rolled over and died against an indifferent Chelsea (5th or 6th EPL)? Could it be that the situation is more complex than some like to make out?
I think the top half of la liga is very strong, but the teams at the bottom are awful. I mean how many times do teams in the prem lose 7 or 8-0?. In la liga it happens every other week!
Hmm, I think in the last 2 or 3 years La Liga has taken over as the best league in the world. Admittedly if you were to play last v last then I think the english team would win every time but the top 8 in La Liga are so much better than the top 8 in the prem IMO
I'm pretty sure the likes of Blackburn, Wolves, Wigan and Bolton would lose 7 or 8-0 if they were to play teams of the calibre of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao on a regular basis. The Neanderthal, chest-thumping, typically English Stuart Pearce style of football belongs in the Dark Ages. Fine if you want blood and thunder, gung-ho passion with end to end football, but ultimately it fails when confronted with technically superior, tactically astute yet beautifully simple football that the Spanish teams play. Football for the purists.
Is it not possible that we're all overreacting to Bilbao a bit and they might have just played out of their skins? As was pointed out 3rd place Valencia rolled over against a struggling Chelsea. One result doesn't change the fact that, apart from Real and Barca, the PL is generally stronger IMO.
No they wouldnt because they would be organised and get men behind the ball. When i watch la liga i often see bottom teams trying to play open expansive football and getting completely mullered!
Maybe there is a slight overreaction however you can't argue that the premier league is gradually getting weaker, this Man United team has got to be the weakest team for at least a decade probably longer, same goes with Arsenal. Chelsea's team is one of the weakest for about 4 or 5 years, Man City's and Spurs are better this year but they still can't be more consistent than a horribly bad Man United team. As soon as you step out of the top 5 you have Liverpool and Newcastle who are utter ****e. The Prem is going downhill
