After both Manchester clubs lost last night many people are saying the standard of the PL is way behind its fellow competitors. I would agree to a certain extent, certainly technically its inferior to the top European leagues although it is more competitive than the likes of La Liega. So why (if it is) do you feel it is slipping in standard compared to the rest of Europe or is it just a cycle and our turn on top has gone. Too much money spent on players who don't care enough? Poor management of the league Lower coaching and training standards? Instead filling gaps with an expensive quick fix from abroad instead of putting in the hours improving what is there. Arrogance of fans/players/managers that we are the best Poor grass routes level coaching and facilities Media hype I suspect sadly a combination of most which really should be addressed if we are to achieve national and international success I feel in many ways Norwich's success this season has been due to spending lots of time and effort improving the players we have or have purchased relatively cheaply as we can't just go and get an expensive quick fix type of player. Along with the attitude of players and staff which has been top draw, ignoring media hype and behaving in a professional manner OTBC
The technical side of football doesn't bother me. The FA can have as many schools of excellence as it likes but fundementally we always have and always will prefer to play football our way. As a culture, we like to see the ball go forward at the earliest opportunity and we aren't fussy how. There's nothing wrong with that. Its a method or system. From the mid 70's to the Heysel aftermath, there was no one to touch us in Europe club wise so the Spanish style or Dutch total game or German patience was not winning, we were. Since then with the influx of foreign coaches and players, we are told our style is crude, lacks skill and flair and is outdated. And we believe them! Nonsense. England go out and tap it about trying to imitate Spain etc and they can't do it. And they don't really want to do it. The side that has done the best in that era is ManU and they are quite happy to play a british style and be successful with it. Chelsea were at their best when their midfiled was relentless and poured forward. Man City haven't really got the best players anyway so thats why they don't dominate. Take away Yaya and they aren't so good. Our success is based on giving the players credit for their ability, the realisation that they are good players, their adaptability to the managers tactical changes and the tactic of taking it to the opposition. No secret there. And to be quite honest, the longer it goes on, the less inclined I am to worry about England or european club success.
the top two teams of a few years ago, arsenal and united, are now just a shadow of those great teams, most of the starting 11 for them now would have been lucky to make the bench ten years ago. we are, at the moment, very second best to the top spanish teams. and italian as well, probably, so we are just about the third best/most skillfull league in europe, but still the most exciting to watch.
I agree with the style of play. We are England so why can't we play with our own style for the players we have. Instead it is believed the only way to gain success is through the 'Spanish model' of short passing. They do this because they are a small but technically good side. We will never have success playing this way. In many ways playing a slightly more direct English style could prove very successful against sides like Spain who are not used to it
There's absolutely no point trying to emulate somebody else's style of play if the lads are not comfortable playing that way. Think back to the last world cup, Germany annihilated us by playing with their typical fluidity and ruthlessness. They didn't feel the need to try the Spain/Swansealona tippy-tappy style and it will stand them in very good stead in the Euros this summer - I can see them winning it. Good post ^^ Redruth
What a stupid question! Of course there has been a demise in the PL! Even you have been doing well in it...!
I am not sure that the EPL has completely gone to the dogs but pretty much all of the top clubs are in a period of transition this season. Chelsea are getting old together and cannot stick with a manager and so consequently have a disjointed squad and Man City are buying strong individuals but struggling to form them into a cohesive unit. Man U are a very young side (OK except for Giggs/Scholes) but looking at the players they have on the books I can only see them getting much stronger in the years to come (although they do need a decent playmaker). Arsenal sold two of their top players in the Summer and were not able to replace them with the same quality although Wenger is bringing some decent young players through the ranks. If Abramovich gets his cheque book out Chelski will be stronger next season, Man U and Aresenal's youngsters will get more experience and maybe Man City will play more like a team I can see whoever gets in from England going a lot further next season (although that is hardly a high benchmark) The other point to bear in mind is that in the past five years the English clubs have been up against Barcelona who are possibly the best club side in the past 30 years, arguably having three of the best five players in the world in their team at the same time. Had they not been so good then I suspect Man U would have at least one more Champions' League trophy in the cabinet and possibly other English clubs may have also won more. Regardless of European results I do think that the most entertaining football is played in England and as long as this continues then the cash will come in and the clubs will be able to afford the top players and thereby keep progressing in Europe.
I feel views such as this are one of the biggest problems with our game and lack of international success. I hate football being described as a 'product' http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17303941
The problem is that our national side are only average, and have been for a long while. It doesn't seem to matter who's in charge, English (Venables) etc Foreign (Earwigson/Crapello) we just aren't good enough or are incapable of adapting to change. I have a colleague who's a Man U supporter and he keeps saying that this is the worst team they've had for years, which is unusal for one of them as they all seem to have specs supplied by Fergie! ILD OTBC
i agree with the man utd supporter! i think this is the worst united team they've had since the late 80s. the premier league has taken precedent over the international side for the past two decades and so its no surprise that we have a weak england side. personally i couldn't care less how weak the premier league as a whole is, so long as my club are doing well in it! i watched the liverpool v arsenal 1989 title decider on espn classic the other day. it was a real eye opener to watch the full 90 minutes of the two best teams in the country 23 years ago, and let me tell you, the football played by both sides was truly dreadful. both teams played direct football - it wasn't pretty at all. the football we watch today is far more pleasing on the eye. if you get the chance to watch it do so - you may be surprised by how much better it is now. so it is definitely weaker than it was 5 years ago but its still better than it used to be.
the football we watch today is far more pleasing on the eye. if you get the chance to watch it do so - you may be surprised by how much better it is now. Sorry Man of Steel definitely disagree.
redruth - i was surprised myself but honestly, if you get the chance, check out some of the football from the 80s - it was dire. i'm not saying football as a whole is better today - i'm saying that its easier on the eye nowadays.
You get some pretty dire stuff today tbh. Take our game last Saturday for instance Most of the time back in the day, Liverpool played some great stuff and so did Spurs. Mind you, if I was a neutral sitting at home watching the 1985 Milk Cup Final, I would have switched off. Absolutely dreadful game but we won and that was all that mattered
we haven't had many poor quality matches though. stoke was ghastly but overall the standard has been quite high. not as high as the last time we were up but still high. its just not as high as spain or italy and germany maybe at the moment. i only started going in the late 80s so can't really comment on the decade but it was just watching that match - they also showed the 88 cup final which was awful football from both wimbledon and liverpool - and it made me think that it just wasn't as good as i remember! a bit like 'The A Team' and 'The Dukes of Hazard'
a bit like 'The A Team' and 'The Dukes of Hazard' 'The A Team', that takes me back. Did you realise that no-one was ever hurt or killed in any episode despite all of the shootouts and mega explosions ? As Mikey would say, FACT
i used to love both programmes but watched both fairly recently and they were total crap! i was gutted and still am to be honest...
