Is the Premier League getting stronger or weaker?

This is a battle I've been having with Notso for weeks now and instead of it spilling on to threads I thought it would be well placed to discuss on here the cases for both.

Personally, I think the league is much weaker this year.

My main arguments are as follows:

- I strongly believe that all of the teams that were relegated last season would have stayed up in this current campaign.

- Norwich. I mean no disrespect to NCFC when I say this but behind Barcelona guess who had the longest unbeaten sequence in Europe? Not United, City or Chelsea, you guessed it Norwich. With all due respect Norwich were favourites for the drop pre-season.

- English clubs consistently performing poorly in the Champions League.

- Lack of quality sides - Arsenal (who have fallen by admission), Chelsea, City, United, Spurs, Liverpool and Everton for me there is a compelling lack of quality in the league. When we aren't playing any of the aforementioned home or away I feel confident of a win. In previous seasons you could always rely on a Hull, Blackburn, Wolves giving you a tough game. In the 3 seasons Wolves were in the PL I think they beat all of Chelsea, Spurs, City, United, Liverpool. My point is that you could always expect a tough game. The Reading v Arsenal; Villa v Spurs for me were reminiscent of the Barca days under Riijkard (or even know) when winning away from home was a formality against lower half sides. Even the biggest Chelsea hater would concede that a 10/12-0 scoreline against Villa would not have flattered us, in the same way Spurs winning 8-0 today would not have flattered them.

- Lack of draws in the PL - I remember when the PL peaked around 07, when the teams around each other played there was loads of draws. Lack of draws to suggests to me matches aren't as competitive, this combined with the abnormal goal differences.

So yeah, anyway that's my argument. Eager to see what Notso and co have to say

 

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These are for anyone wishing to pick this thread up.

 

For me, the difference is that the PL, with few exceptions like stoke, has forgotten how to defend. It's why we are doing so relatively poorly in Europe. It also seems that anybody can beat anybody on the day. We lost to Wigan, Chelsea lost to The Spammers etc.

Take yesterday, for example. Even if Newcastle had gone 2 or 3 up against Utd, I still would have fancied Utd to win.

 

Overall, I think the PL continues to get stronger.

Firstly, the PL continues to attract quality players from all over the world in increasingly large numbers. Many mid table teams, who would have relied on journeymen British pros in the past, with the odd Z list overseas player, now have some very good players- Michu at Swansea, Odemwingie at WBA, Kone at Wigan. These teams are much stronger as a result.

Secondly, the wealth of the PL means that all the teams are able to have strength in depth. Teams are rarely forced to field inexperienced players. Most games are very competitive. Most teams can cope with the absence of players through injury or suspension. Even the lesser teams can rotate their squads. Aston Villa are perhaps the exception at present and look how they are suffering!

Thirdly, the resources available also mean that the PL has more and better managers, coaches and back up staff. Players are fitter, stronger, better looked after (diet, medical treatment etc), better trained and generally better prepared. Even the lesser teams have all the top facilities available to them now.

You might argue that this has not been a vintage season for defending so far and that all the top sides have looked a lot more vulnerable in that area, but often that has been due to the quality of the forward play of the opposition. The likes of WBA, Wigan, Swansea and Norwich have been able to abandon the tactic of backs-to-the-wall defending in favour of expansive attacking play. They have been able to do this because they have good quality players.

 

Neither? Weaker at the top, but stronger further down.

 

As Luke and PNP have pointed out this is not a black and white issue. Individually some teams have strengthened but it could be argued that Arsenal and Man U are slightly weaker than a few seasons ago. Overall strength in depth in the league has improved and as a result it's even more interesting than before. It's very difficult to access objectively, look for example at the paper strength of the QPR squad, paper it is. Look at City they have to be under performing don't they? Are Man U. and Chelsea under performing? Spurs in transition with the loss of two major players and largely unimpressive are still up there, but look at the points!

Better or worse I am not sure but for certain it's closer.

 

This x100. Even when Villa went 2-0 up against United with 30 minutes to go I still felt 100% sure United would win. 10 or even 5 years ago a better Villa side would have seen out that result against a better United side. Similarly with Reading v Arsenal, once Arsenal pulled a goal back to make it 4-1 I was still absolutely sure Arsenal would win. Once again, 5 years ago a stronger Reading side would have seen out that result against a stronger Arsenal side.

 

Streaker

I agree, the top teams aren't so good and there are far more middling teams who can beat anyone on their day. DL might think it's a bad thing but I think it's excellent and far better for entertainment than La Liga.

 

Well, there's enough comments here saying what I said weeks ago, so no need to repeat myself.

Try again DL!

 

Disagree!

 

Whats new!

 

Pretty much what i typed before my phone crashed! Also lets not forget managers are under performing, mancini is wrecking citys title challenge and teams such as stoke, west brom and everton have improved.

The league lost world class talent like VDV, Modric & Drogba but overall i view the league table being tighter as certain teams have improved.

Is it any easier to get 4th? get into europe? fight off relegation? catch the league leaders? i wouldnt say so.

 

To me it seems a bit snobby to suggest that the league is weaker. I recall the days when Spurs and Chelsea were like the Norwich's and Swansea's of today. As in capable on their day of giving anybody a match.. Spurs have definitely improved as a team as have Chelsea and teams like Norwich also have. So we are stronger and so are they. I'd like to think these teams have 'caught up' as oppose to thinking the likes of United, Arsenal have declined.

Maybe the toy that was the PL and to win a medal has been replaced by a desire to play football. So all the players that would go to the guaranteed medal winners, even to sit on the bench, would much rather join the likes of Spurs, Everton etc...and so the domino effect goes on...with the likes of Norwich getting the same type of players we would be getting 10 years ago or so.

I'd say the rest have got stronger due to this...the top teams think they are declining because everybody doesn't think joining them is the best move.

It's all about relativity this one. If your used to buying trophies and offering players the world, yet this alone is not enough nowadays them your bound to think things have gone downhill. Whilst the rest of us for once get a chance to compete as we'll...at last.

 

The whistle?

 

Stoke City have the best defence in Europe, which either says a lot about Stoke's defence - or a hell of a lot about the attack of everyone they've been playing this season.

I go for the latter.

 

How can our league be weaker simply because smaller teams have improved with the benefit of better coaching and nutrition? I don't buy into that, at all. The league is stronger, as is patently obvious from the fact that so many English teams have got through to the knock-out stages in the CL and Europa League. There are not many teams in world football that would be able to deal with the likes of Bale, RVP, Tevez, Fellani, or powerful and physically strong teams such as Stoke. Look at the conditioning that top world players have to go through before they are fit enough to play in our league. That's because our league has everything - skill, pace, hard-tackling, and a mixture and variety of different tactical systems. Those attributes point to the strength of our league, not any weakness.

 

It depends how you look at it. If you mean has the PL gotten stronger, as in more teams are now in contention for the top places, then yes, it has. But if you mean in comparison to overall standards viz a viz the major European sides, then No, it's weaker.
For me this was plainly clear in the way that most of our top sides have found themselves outplayed, and unceremoniously dumped out of European competition.

 

Excellent point.

Stoke have only conceded 4 at home this season and Everton, City, Arsenal , Liverpool and Newcastle have all been there. Chelsea and Spurs could only muster a goal between them yet United score 4 against them in one game. Something not right with the potency in front of goal for other teams. There is a real lack of quality strikers in the Premier League.

 

So as soon as a team like norwich or stoke go on a great run in terms of wins or having a great defensive record, then that suggests the league has become weaker and we have a lack of quality strikers? as essentially thats what you're basing your view around

 

Yes, pretty much. Norwich shouldn't be going on unbeaten runs as long as Barca, with all due respect to them they are an average side not Arsenal's Invincibles