La Liga - 2015/2016

[K2K]

I said a few weeks in this ago in this thread that la liga was a piss poor league because of the stupidly high scorelines and was shot down but come on....

Since then Barca have won 5-1, 4-0 and 6-0.

Real Madrid have also hit 7 in a match during that time too

How can anyone even try denying it. The teams are defeated before they even get to the stadium.

Real played Liverpool at Anfield just two seasons ago and were 3-0 up by half time.

Barely broke a sweat in the second half of that game.

Yes, the scores in La liga tend to get lopsided, but you are putting normal players against players that make a great case for being amongst the greatest of all time. That's a problem for La liga. Its not that the smaller teams are weak (see their Europa league perfomances), its just the big teams are far too strong.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Lots of teams in la liga are terrible defensively, in a way its also because lots of the teams play on the front foot and aim not just to win matches but to out play the opposition, regardless of how good that team is. I wouldn't say the league is piss poor, however there isn't a respectable midtable. Fantastic teams leading the way, good teams after them but from 8th place down, the teams are really mediocre.

 

[prarek]

Remember also Ronaldo was single handedly destroying teams in the premier league. Suarez also did the same and so did Bale. Imagine a combination of 2-3 of those players. How many midtable/small premier league teams do you think can handle them? They couldn't even handle one of them ffs.

 

[kouroux]

Remember also Ronaldo was single handedly destroying teams in the premier league. Suarez also did the same and so did Bale. Imagine a combination of 2-3 of those players. How many midtable/small premier league teams do you think can handle them? They couldn't even handle one of them ffs.

It's like certain people purposely shut some parts of their memories down.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I said a few weeks in this ago in this thread that la liga was a piss poor league because of the stupidly high scorelines and was shot down but come on....

Since then Barca have won 5-1, 4-0 and 6-0.

Real Madrid have also hit 7 in a match during that time too

How can anyone even try denying it. The teams are defeated before they even get to the stadium.

Two points.

Firstly, you have to account for Madrid and Barca, in terms of ability being streets ahead of their PL counterparts. They really are super teams in that regard. Barca are the best team around but even Madrid have Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema, backed up by some of the best attacking midfielders in the sport, and Modric, the best CM around.

Secondly, the nature of the league plays it's part. Losing by 3 and losing by 6 to these teams actually has no impact on a smaller side, as their head to head against their rivals is what counts. And then maybe there's a culture in La liga of trying to play on the front foot and show class rather than sitting back and soaking up pressure.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Lots of teams in la liga are terrible defensively, in a way its also because lots of the teams play on the front foot and aim not just to win matches but to out play the opposition, regardless of how good that team is. I wouldn't say the league is piss poor, however there isn't a respectable midtable. Fantastic teams leading the way, good teams after them but from 8th place down, the teams are really mediocre.

How is there not? I wouldn't say I'm an expert on La Liga but the standard of the mid table sides looks very good to me. They're just made to look worse by the elite teams at the top. They may not spend as much as their PL counterparts but they seem to make up for it by their technical skill and cohesiveness. Las Palmas for example are battling relegation but have looked very impressive at times in the games I've seen.

 

[prarek]

It's like certain people purposely shut some parts of their memories down.

Exactly. It wasn't so long ago that Suarez and Bale were making fools out of the mid-table teams in premier league. And they weren't even playing for the best team in the league then, Manchester City(nevermind Real Madrid and Barcelona who both beat City). Put Suarez and Bale in Barca and Real Madrid with much better teammates and add Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and Benzema to the attack. Those mid-table premier league teams wouldn't have faced anything like that. I find it hard to believe they could do better than their spanish counterparts. If they couldn't handle Suarez at Liverpool and Bale at Spurs there is no way they can handle Suarez at Barca with Messi+Neymar and Bale at Real Madrid with Ronalo+Benzema.

 

[jojojo]

Today's the day the Valencians have their derby. This year it's bottom of La Liga Vs mid-table.

Now the thing is, the Noon kickoff could have some really odd effects today. Traditionally, because Las Fallas is just getting rolling in earnest, the fans and the players will arrive with hangovers. Serious partygoers will have taken the 8am Desperta (wake up fireworks) as an instruction to go to bed. So don't be surprised if the atmosphere is a little odd. Or indeed if the stadium empties at halftime if the score isn't looking too good - they're heading to the town hall square for the Mascleta show. Claro.

Levante start with:
Mariño; Lerma, Medjani, Feddal, Juanfran; Verdú, Simao, Verza, Morales; Rossi y Deyverson
V
Valencia's
Alves; Cancelo, Mustafi, Abdennour, Siqueira; Javi Fuego, Parejo, André Gomes; Feghouli, Piatti y Alcácer

Bon Festes.

 

[jojojo]

Feghouli misses a good chance for Valencia, or Marino makes a really good save, depending on how you look at it.

 

[Skorenzy]

Lots of teams in la liga are terrible defensively, in a way its also because lots of the teams play on the front foot and aim not just to win matches but to out play the opposition, regardless of how good that team is. I wouldn't say the league is piss poor, however there isn't a respectable midtable. Fantastic teams leading the way, good teams after them but from 8th place down, the teams are really mediocre.

It's just not the case... It's not even that long ago that teams like Atlético, Sevilla and Valencia would qualify to Europe and then the next season would finish outside the European places -- this season again with Valencia after coming 4th last season. Each season there's a couple of mid-table teams who are capable of "stealing" the European places even down to the CL places, ie. Málaga in 11/12, Real Sociedad in 12/13 and Athletic in 13/14 respectively.

Celta have gone increasingly close each season under first Lucho and then Berrizzo, and are looking good if they can finally stabilise in the latter part of the season for once (currently in 5th, level on points with Sevilla but ahead on H2H record). Teams like Mallorca, Osasuna, Getafe, Levante and Betis have all qualified to European places since 2009 -- two of those are currently in Segunda, another got relegated and promoted back in the meantime and the remaining two are looking set for the drop this season. (Mallorca weren't allowed in by UEFA and Getafe didn't get past the group stage, but Levante and Betis both made the rounds of 16 in the Europa League; Málaga were a breath away from reaching the CL SF).

What happened to Villarreal in 2011/12 is another example of the very competitive backbone of La Liga -- can't remember anything like that ever happening in the PL, even with Chelsea's mind-boggingly horrible season they're still comfortably mid-table -- in fact, they're closer to a European place (7pts) than the drop (15pts).

 

[RooneyLegend]

Abdennour has been pretty disappointing this season.

 

[jojojo]

The biggest problem for clubs outside La Liga's top three is usually their thin squads - quality first teams but maybe a real stepdown to the squad places. The usual pattern is a club finishes top 4/6, drawing attention to their key players, and the club then get raided by the top 3 in Spain or abroad.

Hence they spend the next season rebuilding and why there are currently no real safe bets for top 6, other than the big three. However there are usually at least one or two teams coming to their peak, through careful recruitment and management, which is part of why the Spanish clubs do so well in the Europa.

Of course money counts and it's true that for most Spanish clubs the Holy Grail is to get hold of enough money not to have to sell their stars after a good season. It's not a weak mid-table. There are always good teams in there, on the rise or in decline, it's just that a lot of the clubs occupying those places can suddenly take a step up as a couple of players reach their peaks or collapse as they lose a couple of key men.

 

[prateik]

Rossi scores

 

[jojojo]

Rossi scores for Levante. 1-0

 

[Needham]

Quality here is really average and like someone said on another thread lower half Prem clubs could handle them.

 

[RooneyLegend]

The sick-note still has it.

 

[jojojo]

Quality here is really average and like someone said on another thread lower half Prem clubs could handle them.

You're watching 10th place Valencia Vs 20th place Levante. It is a bottom half match.

 

[Needham]

You're watching 10th place Valencia Vs 20th place Levante.

Yeah I know

 

[Summit]

@jojojo what is Neville's record like now at Valencia? I haven't kept track.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

This thread suffers from a serious amount of uninformed idiots.

 

[Xaviesta]

@jojojo what is Neville's record like now at Valencia? I haven't kept track.

You probably want his record in terms of wins/draws/losses, but I'll give you his record in two words: not good.

 

[Summit]

You probably want his record in terms of wins/draws/losses, but I'll give you his record in two words: not good.

still shite then? Thought he'd turned a corner, as it has gone quiet about him on social media.

 

[Xaviesta]

still shite then? Thought he'd turned a corner, as it has gone quiet about him on social media.

Yup, they lost twice at San Mames against Bilbao in the last few weeks. Their wins under Neville have come against teams they ought to beat.

 

[Needham]

This thread suffers from a serious amount of uninformed idiots.

Uninformed how?

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Uninformed how?

Not you. I disagree with your opinion but at least you watch the matches you're passing comments on.

 

[jojojo]

still shite then? Thought he'd turned a corner, as it has gone quiet about him on social media.

Well he finally won a couple of Liga games and he appointed a new assistant coach to help him out. Which took the pressure off. At least it stopped the heading to relegation run they were on.

They lost their Europa away (to Athletic) 1-0, which means they're still in with a chance at the Mestalla - in theory. Losing to Levante isn't exactly a surprise though, which is kind of worrying.

 

[Damien]

still shite then? Thought he'd turned a corner, as it has gone quiet about him on social media.

P: 25
W: 9
D: 7
L: 9
Win %: 36
GF: 37
GA: 34
GD: +3

Form in last 5 games: WLWLL

 

[Cheesy]

Didn't know this was a derby.

Had no idea Levante were from Valencia.

 

[Needham]

Not you. I disagree with your opinion but at least you watch the matches you're passing comments on.

Watching this I reckon -apart from Villa and McClaren Newcastle- every Prem team could deal with both these teams.

 

[Šjor Bepo]

Rossi
Another talent ruined by injuries, such a shame

 

[Summit]

Well he finally won a couple of Liga games and he appointed a new assistant coach to help him out. Which took the pressure off. At least it stopped the heading to relegation run they were on.

They lost their Europa away (to Athletic) 1-0, which means they're still in with a chance at the Mestalla. Losing to Levante isn't exactly a surprise, which is kind of worrying.

P: 25
W: 9
D: 7
L: 9
Win %: 36
GF: 37
GA: 34
GD: +3

Form in last 5 games: WLWLL

Cheers for that. Not looking good at all for him.

 

[Damien]

Didn't know this was a derby.

Had no idea Levante were from Valencia.

Didn't you know what Levante's crest looked like? Near identical to Valencia's.

 

[Cheesy]

Didn't you know what Levante's crest looked like? Near identical to Valencia's.

True...had never made the connection.

It's not as bad as when I realised Spurs were known as such because of 'Hotspur'.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Watching this I reckon -apart from Villa and McClaren Newcastle- every Prem team could deal with both these teams.

I doubt it, the premier league is at an all time low. We'll never know though and it's been/being covered in another thread anyway.

 

[RooneyLegend]

This is pathetic by Valencia's players. Gary should sell the whole lot if he's around by the summer.

 

[Cheesy]

This is pathetic by Valencia's players. Gary should sell the whole lot if he's around by the summer.

Would be shocked if that's the case.

 

[shaggy]

Valencia have been complete garbage

 

[bubbles_]

Valencia look terrible. Every pass goes astray when they get near the box, every shot fluffed etc

 

[Summit]

Valencia look terrible. Every pass goes astray when they get near the box, every shot fluffed etc

It's like watching United init?

 

[jojojo]

Ridiculously offside