Is the PL the strongest league in the world?

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

There should be a new term for stereotyping leagues, like 'leaguisim'

Bayern haven't taken a player from Dortmund for almost 3 years now, and aren't likely to in the future. It's a lazy generalization of the league, quite the opposite has happened in the last few years where the BL has seen it's best talents actually go abroad than Bayern buying them (Sane, KDB, Dembele). And it doesn't seem as if it will change as Sancho will also likely move abroad while Brandt is rumoured to be going to Dortmund, Bayern in the meantime have been buying from abroad (Lucas Hernandez for 65 MP).

So Germany have 2 teams on the league that could win the league, and yet it’s still Bayern who will win the league for the SEVENTH year in a row... wow that’s competitive!

The point remains that Bayern can pick off the better players from their league to strengthen themselves. There is no strength in depth beyond the top two teams. That’s clearly not a strong league.

 

[charlenefan]

Let me put it this way if it is (the strongest league in the world) then it's due to the other leagues coming down to our level not us overtaking them

Back in and around 2008 it really was the best league in the world, you had us, Chelsea, Liverpool and even Arsenal packed with WC players (ok Arsenal less so) now the top 2 have a 24 point lead over 3rd place and the team one place (and 1 point) back from that has lost 13 times this season.

I guess La Liga has been a two team league and still considered the best though

 

[hasanejaz88]

So Germany have 2 teams on the league that could win the league, and yet it’s still Bayern who will win the league for the SEVENTH year in a row... wow that’s competitive!

The point remains that Bayern can pick off the better players from their league to strengthen themselves. There is no strength in depth beyond the top two teams. That’s clearly not a strong league.

The point you're forgetting is that during the time the premier league had multiple winners (2012 - 2017), it was performing its worst in European competitions.

League competitiveness has nothing to do with the overall quality of the league when you compare them to European counterparts. Spanish football was at its peak in Europe when Real and Barca were dominating.

 

[Green_Red]

Youd have to say this season English teams are the best in Europe. This season only though. Next year they could all be knocked out in the group stages.

 

[adexkola]

No, la liga is so so strong that Barça, Madrid and Atlético have not been able to hold the pace of two competitions.
Every game in la liga is a final and anyone can beat you.
There is no time to think about KO tournaments, which do not represent reality and where the luck factor prevails.

yes!

 

[JPRouve]

This season the PL top 6 is the best in the world. You can then divide the top 6 in two parts who are comparatively better than their equivalents. The rest of the league isn't better though and that's almost always the case.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

This season the PL top 6 is the best in the world. You can then divide the Top 6 in two parts who are comparatively better than their equivalents. The rest of the league isn't better though and that's almost always the case.

So you don't think that Wolves, Leicester, Watford and Everton are better than their counterparts in Spain and Italy?

 

[JPRouve]

So you don't think that Wolves, Leicester, Watford and Everton are better than their counterparts in Spain and Italy?

No, I don't.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

No, I don't.

I'd say they are. I think Wolves will put in a good run in the Europa next season and any of the sides I mentioned would do the same.

 

[Reapersoul20]

It makes sense that the PL is the strongest league in the world - sure the English have been dominating international football for over 60 years now. Not a single trophy that hasn't come home yet.

 

[Pink Moon]

Probably. It's the richest so it stands to reason it would be. Where no mark teams like Bournemouth or Brighton can go out and spend 30 million a player, their continental counterparts simply cannot.

Although I have to say that once you get outside of the top 6 in England the standard drops off a cliff. Sky have done an outstanding job marketing it.

 

[Casanova85]

I'd say that City, Liverpool and the Spurs currently are what Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal were in the '00s

So:

 

[JPRouve]

Probably. It's the richest so it stands to reason it would be. Where no mark teams like Bournemouth or Brighton can go out and spend 30 million a player, their continental counterparts simply cannot.

Although I have to say that once you get outside of the top 6 in England the standard drops off a cliff. Sky have done an outstanding job marketing it.

The continental counterparts don't need to spend 30m on these players, they produce them for cheap every year. These aren't good players.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Exactly the same as the excuses PL fans used to make when it wasn't doing well.

I know hence I'm asking just how pathetic those excuses were back in the day.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Probably. It's the richest so it stands to reason it would be. Where no mark teams like Bournemouth or Brighton can go out and spend 30 million a player, their continental counterparts simply cannot.

Although I have to say that once you get outside of the top 6 in England the standard drops off a cliff. Sky have done an outstanding job marketing it.

I just don't think this is true. The Wolves, Leicester, Watford and Everton mini league beneath the top 6 has some very good sides. I'd expect them to strengthen this summer too.

 

[debunkology]

I dont think we have three teams as good as athletico, real and barca over a season... that said if you were to pick 18 teams for a european super league Id guess 1/3rd would be from the PL...
depends how you judge it but I guess the most standardised way would be on UEFA coefficients
https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient
Barca still top this year so far
Spain top 4 out of the last 5 years
if you take the CL even with the all uk Final this year spain will still have won 4 of the last 5 and have had 5 of the last 10 finalists (england will win 1 with 3 finalists and italy wit 2 final appearances)
UEFA cup still quite open for who gets to the final but spain have won 3 or the last 4 as it stands with 6 of the last 8 finalists
So I think the premier league will need to deliver in a similar way to this year over the next couple of years to be seen in the eyes of most as the best league (that said if the madrid rebuild takes time and with messi againg its certainly a possibility)

Yes and No.

I've never thought that Real Madrid and Barcelona's dominance in Europe is an indication of how strong La Liga is as a whole. They are also the only two Spanish clubs EVER to win the Europes top competition. Atletico Madrid are the only other club to have reached the final. Them 2 clubs are vastly responsible for Spain's high co'efficient.

Meanwhile Tottenham are Englands 8th club to have reached a European Cup Final, and Manchester City will probably make that 9 within the coming years. If Tottenham win the ECL, they'll become the sixth English club to be crowned European Champions.

Also, English clubs have constantly fielded their reserves in the Europa League until UEFA decided to hand the winners a CL spot. When Sam Allardyce was Everton manager, he didn't even bother to turn up for a Europa League game and instead sent his assistant out.

Having said that, overall I think the top 4 leagues in the world are relatively the same in terms of level of play.

 

[sun_tzu]

Yes and No.

I've never thought that Real Madrid and Barcelona's dominance in Europe is an indication of how strong La Liga is as a whole. They are also the only two Spanish clubs EVER to win the Europes top competition. Atletico Madrid are the only other club to have reached the final. Them 2 clubs are vastly responsible for Spain's high co'efficient.

.

pretty sure Valencia reached back to back finals around 2000 / 2001 - think they only lost on pens to bayern...
generally agree with your point though

 

[Charles Miller]

Its like the NBA to other Basket leagues.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

pretty sure Valencia reached back to back finals around 2000 / 2001 - think they only lost on pens to bayern...
generally agree with your point though

Its not entirely true in recent times. Look at 15/16. Spanish sides were winning nearly every game they played in that season, in the CL and EL. I don't think England can match that points total this season.

https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/#/yr/2019

 

[Nines]

Definitely looked that way this season as on a whole the league has been someway behind La Liga in terms of recent history. The money factor will always play a part and it feels as though it has raised the whole league to improve in all sections with managers, players, facilities etc. You do also have to factor in the "big" clubs from other countries being off this season, PSG/Bayern/Juve/Real/Barca all being somewhat a level below their standards. Hard to put a finger on it really as the PL teams have been fairly "lucky" this season too.

 

[adexkola]

Its like the NBA to other Basket leagues.

It's not, by the way.

 

[adexkola]

I know hence I'm asking just how pathetic those excuses were back in the day.

Really pathetic, as @Wumminator can tell you.

 

[Siorac]

Second to Spain in terms of player quality. And the spanish teams have dominated Europe for a long period before this season. But there is not a league in the World with such a formidable top 8. Even Leicester and Wolves can beat you on their day

And yet the top two will get 98 and 97 points, respectively (well I hope the top team will get 98 points). After the champions got a 100 points last year.

 

[Sir Scott McToMinay]

And yet the top two will get 98 and 97 points, respectively (well I hope the top team will get 98 points). After the champions got a 100 points last year.

Madrid won the league with 121 points back in 11-12 when the La Liga was the bees knees.
Barcelona had 114 point the same season.
You ask who came third? That was Valencia, on 59 points.

 

[Siorac]

Madrid won the league with 121 points back in 11-12 when the La Liga was the bees knees.
Barcelona had 114 point the same season.
You ask who came third? That was Valencia, on 59 points.

Real Madrid have been rumoured to enjoy the government's backing back in the Franco days but even then there was no way to get 121 points out of a maximum of 114.

Those are goals scored stats. The actual points totals were 100 and 91. (And Valencia had 61 points).

 

[Sir Scott McToMinay]

Real Madrid have been rumoured to enjoy the government's backing back in the Franco days but even then there was no way to get 121 points out of a maximum of 114.

Those are goals scored stats. The actual points totals were 100 and 91. (And Valencia had 61 points).

Gee you’re right, but still.
Massive gap there between second and third.

 

[adexkola]

Probably. It's the richest so it stands to reason it would be. Where no mark teams like Bournemouth or Brighton can go out and spend 30 million a player, their continental counterparts simply cannot.

Although I have to say that once you get outside of the top 6 in England the standard drops off a cliff. Sky have done an outstanding job marketing it.

They really have, kudos to them. It's true this season of course, but even 5 years ago it was the same guff. Broken clock right twice a day and all that.

 

[Siorac]

Gee you’re right, but still.
Massive gap there between second and third.

There is a massive gap between second and third in the Premier League right now (also, in 2011, Valencia finished third with 71 points, in 2013, Atlético finished third with 76 points - not unlike the current points totals of Chelsea/Spurs).

But yeah, overall the current Premier League top 6 is probably stronger than any other league's top 6 - after all, it'll likely be an all-English EL and CL final, too. But clearly, not "anyone can beat anyone on their day" - the vast majority of teams clearly can't beat Manchester City, for example.

 

[Charles Miller]

It's not, by the way.

Ok if you are here to challenge my hyperbole powers i'll say the truth: its like the NBA compared with the national Basket league of Andorra.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Ok if you are here to challenge my hyperbole powers i'll say the truth: its like the NBA compared with the national Basket league of Andorra.

I agree. All other baskets are irrelevant.

 

[Rozay]

Easily the strongest now. The league has always been more competitive than most, but the top level teams were stronger elsewhere than the best PL teams. Now Barcelona, PSG, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Juventus - who will all win their leagues this year, have all been beaten by PL sides. Then if you look a bit deeper, Napoli, Valencia (are on the brink) also losing to English sides.

Messi and Ronaldo have provided an advantage that simply can’t be matched by other sides, but that’s almost done now, and then they will be truly done.

 

[stubie]

The question has been answered

I was hoping Serie A would have been back at the top of the tree by now

 

[Charles Miller]

I agree. All other baskets are irrelevant.

Its not only irrelevant, its unwatchable for neutrals. I can watch Everton vs Newcastle for sure, or Wolves vs Leicester. But i doubt any sane person can prove empirically be able to watch 2 La Liga games on a row(not involving barca/Madrid).

 

[Inter Yer Nan]

Slowly over time Europe's big three leagues have gotten less and less competitive overall IMO. Remember in Spain you had a couple of points separating 3-4 places and about 4 genuine title challengers every year? Same for Serie A and the Premier League has had some periods of ultra competitiveness but now there's been huge gaps from 1st to 2nd the last two seasons and now 2nd and 3rd. It's getting top heavy just like the other leagues.

I think based off this season you'd have to say the Premier League is the strongest because the results are there. More than likely 4/4 of the European finalists are English and the best English team and (hopefully) defending champions for two years straight aren't in either final. It's more than likely the next couple of seasons we'll see 2 or 3 semi-finalists in the Champions League as the English clubs seem to be on the the up and Real Madrid miss Ronaldo and Barca will soon see Messi come down to human level and Atletico have it hard trying to maintain and up their level, the Italian teams don't have the financial backing and PSG don't face the necessary competition to get battle tested. English teams in general have deeper pockets and the best managers gravitate to the league due to less politics and more money. You've got absolutely 3 of the top 5 managers in world football today in England and I think that number would become 4 before it goes to 2.

 

[Acheron]

No, la liga is so so strong that Barça, Madrid and Atlético have not been able to hold the pace of two competitions.
Every game in la liga is a final and anyone can beat you.
There is no time to think about KO tournaments, which do not represent reality and where the luck factor prevails.

Yeah, I mean Real Madrid won back to back to back UCL but struggled a lot this seaons on La Liga. That speaks volume about how harder the spanish league is.

 

[adexkola]

Slowly over time Europe's big three leagues have gotten less and less competitive overall IMO. Remember in Spain you had a couple of points separating 3-4 places and about 4 genuine title challengers every year? Same for Serie A and the Premier League has had some periods of ultra competitiveness but now there's been huge gaps from 1st to 2nd the last two seasons and now 2nd and 3rd. It's getting top heavy just like the other leagues.

I think based off this season you'd have to say the Premier League is the strongest because the results are there. More than likely 4/4 of the European finalists are English and the best English team and (hopefully) defending champions for two years straight aren't in either final. It's more than likely the next couple of seasons we'll see 2 or 3 semi-finalists in the Champions League as the English clubs seem to be on the the up and Real Madrid miss Ronaldo and Barca will soon see Messi come down to human level and Atletico have it hard trying to maintain and up their level, the Italian teams don't have the financial backing and PSG don't face the necessary competition to get battle tested. English teams in general have deeper pockets and the best managers gravitate to the league due to less politics and more money. You've got absolutely 3 of the top 5 managers in world football today in England and I think that number would become 4 before it goes to 2.

When was that?

 

[Inter Yer Nan]

When was that?

Almost every year until the mid 2000's. In the 1990's Barca won on the last day three times due to Real losing (twice to Tenerife) and Deportivo drawing, Valencia won it twice in 2002 & 2004, Deportivo won one of the most thrilling and competitive campaigns of any European season in 2000 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999–2000_La_Liga), you had near misses for Sevilla and Sociedad in years they led for large portions, Atletico's win in 1996 with Valencia in 2nd.

Between 1999-2002 there was a different winner each year as four different clubs won it. Go back to 1996 and there was 5 different clubs that won it with only two clubs winning it twice.

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ctable-league-deportivo-barcelona-real-madrid

 

[debunkology]

Yeah, I mean Real Madrid won back to back to back UCL but struggled a lot this seaons on La Liga. That speaks volume about how harder the spanish league is.

When Real Madrid won the CL in 2016, they finished on 90 points in La Liga and came 2nd.
When they won the CL in 2017, they finished on 93 points in La Liga and were Champions.

If you call finishing 3rd a "struggle" for Real Madrid, which is what they did last season. Then Liverpool reached the final last season and finished 4th in the Premier League. Tottenham could very well win the CL this season and finish 4th. Chelsea were the last English club to win the Champions League and they finished 6th that season.

Swings and roundabouts as they say.

 

[Camilo]

We're told that, but of course we're told that. I'm sure the Spanish, German, Italian leagues all have a big opinion of themselves too.

Objectively, when you watch the EPL, there's a lot of shit football on show. Really poor technique, really poor ability, really poor tactics.

 

[Giggsyking]

The fact that real madrid is so shit yet still manage to secure UCL spot tells you everything about that league