Is the Premier League getting stronger or weaker?

Whilst I agree with you to some extent DL, Scott Parker plays the position a little differently than Makelele did, who was the archetypal water-carrier.
The Frenchman's game was less dynamic and he didn't want to see as much of the ball, but he was more disciplined and read the game perfectly.
Real Madrid made an enormous mistake when they let him go and compounded it the following season by letting Cambiasso's contract run out.

Sandro's game seems to be somewhere between the two and he has a physicality that both lack(ed), paired with the odd bit of Brazilian flair.
If he can keep improving at the rate that he has since he broke into the side, then he'll be our best kept secret for a very short time.

 

Parker's crap. 3rd highest interception rate, 3rd highest successful tackles, 89% passing accuracy all last season. The previous season he only won one player of the year award.

DL you might not have rated Parker while he was with you but it's ridiculously blinkered not to rate the lad with how well he's playing now.

 

I don't really see how you compare Makele and Parker, CM got a nosebleed stepping one foot over the halfway line, and how many goals did he score DL?...long standing joke as I recall! Parker has broke forward all his career, he kept the Spammers up with his goals one year...not really sounding like Makele is it?? More like Essien's style perhaps.

 

I think what DL is trying to say by this thread is that Chelsea are weaker in the PL.

And it's a fair point- no Carvalho, Makelele, Essien or Drogba and Cech, Terry, Cole and Lampard not the force they were back in the mid 2000s.

Defeinitely weaker.

 

And where do these players come from? Stronger leagues with more quality in them.

Mata, Silva and Cazorla are seen as the 3 best playmakers in the PL, Aguero also a star striker for City. They came from teams that were nowhere near even challenging for the title in their respective leagues but would walk into any PL XI.

Similarly Dembele came from the Belgian League. Bale is the only British player that could hold a candle to some of the elite PL players.

4-5 years ago English players i.e Terry, Ferdinand, Lampard, Gerrard, Cole and the "golden generation" which were produced by the PL were still amongst the league's better players that isn't the case now and our La Liga, Eredivisie, La Liga and Ligue 1 products look so much better than what we have.

 

Stats can tell you a lot of things though YV. Ross Turnbull has a CL winners medal, Hilario kept a clean sheet against Barcelona, Phil Jagielka and John Terry have never conceded a goal as GK.

It's just my opinion but I think Dembele and Sandro are far far superior players to Parker, IMO Parker is an extremely limited and one dimensional footballer but its just my opinion. I have no reason to be blinkered at all, I hugely rate Sandro and Dembele and always have done.

The fact that Berbatov's talent was never truly appreciated (other than by Spurs and now Fulham fans) and portrayed as lazy whilst Parker is extremely limited but portrayed as a more desirable footballer to have in your team is why England as a nation will never improve not produce the kind of players we should do given the resources at our disposal.

 

So are Man Utd. The only team that is significantly stronger than they were 5 years ago is City.

 

That wasn't difficult.

 

Good to see 9th placed Championship side completely dominating, beating and outplaying a Newcastle who finished 5th last season and currently represent us in the Europa League

Prem is getting so much stronger

 

A Newcastle side in 15th, 2 points clear of the relegation zone, who've won 2 games in their last 15 and literally have their entire first XI missing?
Has it come to this, DL?

 

you would not very good odds on hose two swapping divisions next year

 

Ipswich represented us in the UEFA Cup and Birmingham too.

You'd have more of a point talking about Brighton beating Newcastle last season, when they were a top 6 side who still got beaten by Championship side. Thing is there are always cupsets, it's why the competition's worth watching.

 

The Radio commenteters just said that Brighton were Favorites to win this,before the game began

 

Twice in a row PNP. Brighton also beat them last season when Newcastle finished 5th. As Freud would say there is no such thing as coincidence.

West Ham with pretty much the same squad they had last year in the Championship are midtable. There is not much in it between the Championship and lower/midtable end of the PL nowadays. Back in the day that wouldn't have been the case. The Hull, Birmingham and even Blackpool sides that went down would have toppled almost any team in the Championship routinely IMO.

 

Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005, yet they lost to Burnley in the FA Cup 3rd round. It's a completely irrelevant indicator for league strength, DL.

West Ham signed 10 players in the summer and had a very easy start to the season, which allowed them to get into a decent flow and pick up a lot of points.
They didn't face a top 8 side from the previous season until their loss to Arsenal in October and then only picked up 5 points in the next two months, mainly from beating your lot.

 

I take it your on the "other side" PNP.

Be honest would you be surprised if any Championship side beat a non-top 7 + Liverpool side?

 

I'm one of those that disagrees with the two options, DL. It's neither stronger nor weaker, overall.

The Championship's probably a stronger league than it has been in the past, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a 'shock' involving a team from that division.
Brighton were the bookies' favourites today and they don't go wrong very often.

 

I voted stronger, because we're now 3rd and above Arsenal and Chelsea

 

....

 

If QPR manage to stay up this season I don't see how anyone could say the league is stronger