As the 2012/13 season draws to a close, I have an overwelming sense that we're about to embark on a new and very different era in football based on some big changes: - The retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson after 27 years at the helm of Manchester United and the appointment of David Moyes, himself at Everton for 11 years. - The retirement of former England players David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher. - The sacking of Roberto Mancini, Manchester City's most succesful manager in modern times. - The proposed return of 'The Special One', Jose Mourinho to Chelsea. - The promotion of Cardiff City to the Premier League. Making the 2013/14 season the first ever time two clubs from Wales will compete in the highest tier of English football. - Portsmouth in the 4th tier of English football for the first time in 33 years. - Bournemouth in the 2nd tier of English football for only the second time in their history. - The introduction of goal-line technology in the Premier League for the 2013/14 season. - The FA's introduction of an automatic 5 match ban for players found to be using racial abuse. - The resurrection of German dominated European football. - The growth in popularity of the high-pressing game, utilised best by German sides, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich (see above). - The death of tica-taca football demonstrated by Bayern Munich's complete demolition of Barcelona in the 2012/13 Champions League semi-finals. (See both points above). The biggest change: - A new chairman, new owners or perhaps both at Southampton FC?
I don't know about a new era, but there have been a lot of changes. A new era would be something like 5 points for a win and 2 for a draw. Or BSkyB going out of business. Now that would be fun.
To be honest this could be the start of a barren spell for English football. I think we have just seen the worst Premier League season in history, which is great for teams like ourselves trying to re-establish themselves in the top flight. You only have to look at the FA cup final, well done to Wigan, to see how poor a team that is second in the country played and this was not the only time; Chelsea have been abject too at times.
Well, it is often said if things don't change they will stay the same as they are. If things do change they will be different, that's life.
That's possibly true. This season has actually been a fairly competitive one, in the PL. It hasn't been reflected in the points, but I can't honestly say that the matches have been one-sided. One has felt that even the lowliest sides had a half-decent chance against the best, and that it was merely those players who could turn a match - the RVP and Bale types who made much of the difference. It's a good thing really. I've been sick and tired that the PL runs for just 4 clubs. In the Championship, the league clearly runs for every club. There is no fodder there. If you go on a good run it's entirely possible for your club to succeed. Go on a bad run, and you can do a Wolves. No club is sacred and that's the way it should be.
I think it's very early to make judgements like these, on the evidence of essentially 2 games. Barcelona have still comfortably won the Spanish league, and who's to say that with a fully fit Messi, Puyol et al, they wouldn't have beaten Bayern? Similarly, Real can consider themselves a little unlucky to have lost to a very good Dortmund team which probably (sadly) won't be as competitive next season. The only real conclusion you can draw is that Bayern are on the up.
Monaco are in Ligue 2! I know they've got promotion and a lot of money but it's a bit early to put them in the powerhouse category. And apart from those two there's no money in French football. I don't see France becoming a club football powerhouse at all.
German football has been growing steadily for the last decade. The country is now full of very successful footballing academies, some of which are up there with the best in the world; Dortmund and Leverkusen are two prime examples. The ability of these players coming through the academies is quite clear to see as well. The national team is now littered with very talented young players and Dortmund in particular seem to have a train-load of academy graduates coming through every year, the vast majority of these are very talented when compared to equivalent numbers of players coming through other clubs in Europe. Players in Germany are now trained as real athletes, using the most advanced science and technology. Fitness, stamina and conditioning are all absolute premiums. As well as that, every graduate player has the high-pressing, high-tempo, quick passing game programmed into them before they've even stepped on to a pitch. The country is miles ahead of any nation in Europe when it comes to preparing these players for the future. They've been doing this for the last decade and people have only just sat up a noticed. And back to your original point, this season sees the 3rd Champions League final in 4 years for Bayern Munich. We have also witnessed the way in which Dortmund have dispatched the likes Ajax, Manchester City and Real Madrid this season which you can only admire, particularly when you realise the average age of their squad is below 25. Also, l would not suggest that a 4-1 home victory for Dortmund against Madrid was down to luck - That's a ridiculous notion. Madrid's victory at the Bernabeu was hardly convincing either. I also wouldn't suggest that Puyol and Messi would have made that much difference to Barca's chances against Bayern when you consider that Bayern didn't just beat them, they smashed them 7-0 on aggregate. In my opinion, the changing of the guard has happened.
Yes they are doing an excellent job, and they have started to get results now. That doesn't make them automatically the dominant force in European football. Spain have been doing what Germany are now doing for longer and have won the last World Cup and the last two European Championships. What have Germany won? I'm not in any way diminishing them, they have as good a chance as anyone at winning the next World Cup, but in the context of Spain's recent dominance of European football, they have a long way to go. As for the clubs, Bayern and Dortmund have done very well. Bayern will continue to do so, whether Dortmund can maintain their current level is another matter. One top-tier team does not domination make. You're really misunderstanding me here. I didn't say Dortmund's victory was down to luck, I said Real could consider themselves unlucky. Given another minute to play they may well have won the tie, and Dortmund relied on some favourable refereeing against Malaga to even get to the semi-final. As for Bayern, yes they comprehensively beat a poor Barcelona side. But Bayern were fortunate to win the first leg by that margin, and it owed a lot to some catastrophic defending by Barcelona. For long periods the game was very even with Barcelona dominating possession but unable to create clear chances. With Messi and Puyol firing on all cylinders that result would almost certainly have been different. The second leg is an unreliable barometer because of the circumstances. Barça had to commit so much to stand any chance of a result, so they left themselves open to the counter, in a one-off game they would never have lost 3-0 at home. This is not to belittle Bayern's achievement, they played with supreme confidence and they took their chances, but you cannot say that 7-0 is a fair reflection of the relative strengths of those two teams. Very well, my opinion is that given the reasons I've outlined, it's premature to jump to this conclusion.
Its still.....almost... just about a bunch of blokes trying to kick a ball into a net. The whole circus around the game is what's changed the most and sadly appears to dominate "new fans" view on the game, players and who to like or dislike. I still love the game, but I love it less than I did.
There isn't one dominant force in football and there never has been, though the media would love to have you believe otherwise. We've had a few years where Barcelona were a little bit better than anyone else, but still beatable, and we've seen Spain win three international tournaments in a row, which is very impressive but it certainly wasn't easy for them. Now we've got Bayern who are arguably the best club in Europe right now, but are still in close competition with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Dortmund, Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Juventus, PSG and it'd be a tough game for them against any of those teams. I agree with GBS that French domestic football is on the rise - I do think Monaco will challenge for the title next season and qualify for the Champions League. PSG will obviously be right in there, and let's not forget Marseille and Lyon. France will join England, Spain, Germany and Italy as countries whose clubs always have a realistic shot at winning the Champions League.
Profound and true. A significant amount of supporters don't what it was like before the whole circus began. Perhaps only Beddy really knows.
Wait on. Some of us are of Beddy vintage! For me, the Premier League is a vast improvement on the old 1960's and '70s First Division. There really were some dreadful games. The way referees now protect skilful players has helped, but we cannot ignore the fact that the arrival of some top players from around the world has enhanced the game. I do think that things are evening themselves up a little in the Prem, and that games are a little less predictable, which must be good.
