Classic what makes a league average?
The Prem has one of the highest average attendance records over the world, it has for the last few years. The only league to beat it on the front is the Bundesliga, the Spanish league is way off being top and the Italian league is a non-starter from the bootlegging.
The Premiership had most players that were in the WC playing football week in week out, this is mearly a coincidence???
How many strikers find it hard to score in the Prem, Forlan is the greatest example, couldn't hit a barn door at Man U but went to Spain and became top scorer in his first season.
At nearly half way through the the current European campaigns from the co-efficient rankings England have 6 teams sitting in the top ten.
England has produced more winners of oe both the Cl/European cup(4) and UEFA cup(7) than any other nation, producing 10 different winners in total.
In the last 3 campaigns England have had 4 occasions of a team making it to the final including 2 finalists and 1 winner. Compared to 3 Spanish and 2 Italian. Three different teams compared to one from Italy. The UEFA cup has also been decent with a finalist last year to add.
The country rankings also don't lie, we are in with a shout of taking first this season but will at least be third with an eventual close race.
So lets take it down to actual teams winning the league. Compared to the "big three" on current form it has more chance of a selection of 3/4 teams winning it.If you think that any team other than Barca or Real will win the Spanish title in the next few years you are very naive. Sure the teams at the top will make a fight of it but they will fall away at the end.I shall give more credit towards Serie A but I still think over the next few years only 2/3 (at a push) will be capable of taking the title.
If you seriously call your self a football fan ( and take away the usually "Celtic" paranoia) you would at least be able to give a response that the Premiership is "distinctly average". You can't give credit to anything English, I know its not you fault, mummy and daddy and even the grandparents have told you all about the bad enemy that is south of the border. Its something that will never leave your nature, I know you excuse is always the English arrogance media blah blah blah( now which I will agree with that its poor but you still base your argument on this when ever this sort of subject pops up) so it gives you an inability to give credit where its due. I don't want to say that the Premiership is the "best" league, this is an arguemnt that can never be solved, but it is one of the most entertaining, most watched and produces soem of the best football available.
Cloud, I'm sure the stats you've posted are true, but if at the end of the day I don't think the level of football played in the EPL is as good as in Spain or Italy, then why are they relevant?
Real Madrid haven't won the league in three years. Since the turn of the century, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia have each won it twice. Aside from Blackburn in one season, before Abramovich no one but Arsenal or Man Utd won the Premiership in the twelve seasons since it's renaming from the old Division One. Spain is a more competitive league, and to say only Barca or Madrid will win it in the coming years is very naive on
your part. If anything, Italy has been dominated by Milan and Juve, so why you give it more credit than La Liga is puzzling.
As for players who couldn't succeed in England but made it elsewhere, well that's completely down to each individual's character and style of play. Thierry Henry couldn't make it in Italy yet he's been the top scorer in the EPL for three out of the last four seasons. Crespo was hardly a success in England, but he's pretty well-suited to Serie A, Shevchenko is possibly following him in that mould too. Some people can't settle in another culture, or adapt to how a league plays. It's a bit daft to simply offer up Forlan as an example, and thus declare the EPL is a tougher league to play in. :roll:
In two posts previously, I've stated the EPL has four very good teams, that's about as much credit as I think it deserves. The Premiership is one of the top three yes, that I agree on, so perhaps "distinctly average" wasn't the best term to use. I meant that in terms of competition, even a fan of the league can't argue it's been a long time since there was a decent title race.
Why would I be anti-English just for the sake of it? Anyone who knows me would also know you're talking through your shiter here. And your media reference is just daft, you say I always use this to be anti-English, yet you actually agree with me. :eh:
Diego, for the self-proclaimed biggest club in the world, an all-time total of two EC/CL wins is paltry, and your last was approaching eight years ago. You're just pissed because we did it first. :mrgreen:
Who said we think we're Barcelona or Milan? You're an eejit, because no one did. The only thing I've heard Celtic fans say which is along those lines is Celtic Park is one of the toughest places to play on a European night, and that is spot on.
And we'll see if you make it on matchday 6, you have to be favourites but it's nice to see you're not counting your chickens, taking qualification for granted, etc. I mean, Benfica didn't eliminate then-holders Liverpool at Anfield last year, and they didn't even knock your own team out or anything. :roll: