The relative strength of the Premier League

JPRouve

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:lol:



Oh, apologies. Do you know who Sevilla's best player is?
Is it still Krychowiak or did Banega raised his game again, Iborra isn't bad too, basically the bench.
 

Wumminator

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Lmao. You're right guys you lot know so much about football since you can talk about Sevilla, I mustn't watch any football at all.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, the superior attitude because you watch a top league now and then.
 

bucky

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Lmao. You're right guys you lot know so much about football since you can talk about Sevilla, I mustn't watch any football at all.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, the superior attitude because you watch a top league now and then.
I was genuinely asking if you know, who Sevilla's best player is. It wasn't to mock you.
 

Kostur

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Lmao. You're right guys you lot know so much about football since you can talk about Sevilla, I mustn't watch any football at all.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, the superior attitude because you watch a top league now and then.
You can't count to 11, it's fair if people treat you as clueless, nevermind after reading your posts which even enhance the feeling.
 

prarek

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It's an extremely flawed line of logic that if you don't have your top names in the league thrashing everyone else, it is a poor league.

Someone mentioned that it is no surprise that the level of increased competition in the PL makes it the most viewed league in the world, despite the giants playing in other leagues. I doubt all of that is due to the supa dupa PL marketing. It's good that no points are guaranteed, and that Leicester can take advantage of the laxness of other teams and be top. Long may that continue.

Disclaimer: I do think the general level of play in La Liga is the best in the world currently. It's just a shame that the likes of Sevilla et al so sucked off on here, can't break into the top 3 and mount geniune challenges. I'm not buying the "Barcelona and Real are so much better" either. Barcelona is on another level, but Atletico and Real aren't invincible.
England, Italy, Germany and Spain are the 4 top leagues in the world. You could argue some are better than others but none of these are poor leagues. They are all good. And as long as english continues to be the dominant language in the world Premier League will continue to be the most popular i think.
 

adexkola

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Atletico or Real Madrid aren't invincible but you are not going to beat them often, because it requires to bring your "A" game. You are badly underestimating their level.
Let's not forget where Atletico were a few years ago. They weren't placed on that level, and they were regularly getting dicked by their neighbors. They were able to make the step up. I'm not asking for Sevilla to win La Liga, but Jesus, a challenge once every decade would be good.
 

adexkola

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England, Italy, Germany and Spain are the 4 top leagues in the world. You could argue some are better than others but none of these are poor leagues. They are all good. And as long as english continues to be the dominant language in the world Premier League will continue to be the most popular i think.
Yeah that's a good point.
 

Sarni

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So then why base your opinion on what Caftards said about the game. In any case judging by your posts you think Caftards opinions are not to be valued anyway.
He is not watching any other league. He is basing his opinion on the fact that PL is amazing and he has no clue about football outside England.
 

Sarni

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England, Italy, Germany and Spain are the 4 top leagues in the world. You could argue some are better than others but none of these are poor leagues. They are all good. And as long as english continues to be the dominant language in the world Premier League will continue to be the most popular i think.
Yep. It's annoying how someone as ignorant as Twigg can just dismiss other leagues because he has zero knowledge about them and is too lazy to watch any football outside of his beloved PL.
 

Balu

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It's an extremely flawed line of logic that if you don't have your top names in the league thrashing everyone else, it is a poor league.
Similarly it's an extremely flawed line of logic to say it's a poor league and the small teams are all shit because an exceptional side thrashes everyone else. If Twigginater stopped talking nonsense about teams he knows feck all about, we wouldn't have this discussion now.
 

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Similarly it's an extremely flawed line of logic to say it's a poor league and the small teams are all shit because an exceptional side thrashes everyone else. If Twigginater stopped talking nonsense about teams he knows feck all about, we wouldn't have this discussion now.
There is absolutely no one here who is an expert in every team in those four leagues. Let's not pretend otherwise, it's literally impossible to follow that many leagues in a good amount of depth.

I along with most footballing fans watch the premier league the most. Doesn't mean it's all I watch.
 

adexkola

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Similarly it's an extremely flawed line of logic to say it's a poor league and the small teams are all shit because an exceptional side thrashes everyone else. If Twigginater stopped talking nonsense about teams he knows feck all about, we wouldn't have this discussion now.
I'm not saying that either. I'm saying, they are all great leagues and I regret parroting this BS about the PL being strong a few years ago, based on the merit of only 4 teams.
 

Rado_N

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It's an extremely flawed line of logic that if you don't have your top names in the league thrashing everyone else, it is a poor league.

Someone mentioned that it is no surprise that the level of increased competition in the PL makes it the most viewed league in the world, despite the giants playing in other leagues. I doubt all of that is due to the supa dupa PL marketing. It's good that no points are guaranteed, and that Leicester can take advantage of the laxness of other teams and be top. Long may that continue.

Disclaimer: I do think the general level of play in La Liga is the best in the world currently. It's just a shame that the likes of Sevilla et al so sucked off on here, can't break into the top 3 and mount geniune challenges. I'm not buying the "Barcelona and Real are so much better" either. Barcelona is on another level, but Atletico and Real aren't invincible.
There's a big difference between competitiveness and quality/strength.

The PL is more competitive because there are more teams in the mix at the top and there are very few 'bankers', but that doesn't mean the quality is the best.

If the conference north had 3 points separating first from fifteenth would Twigginater be telling us it's the best league around?

It's simplistic to use points, the league standings, or pretty much any kind of league stats to judge the quality of a league. The best measure is competition of the best the league has against the best other leagues have, and the good old fashioned method of actually watching the different leagues.

I mean he's talking about the Dortmund/Bayern game in this thread when he didn't even watch it ffs.
 

Sarni

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Mate in the last year alone I've been to games in Belgium, Spain and Germany.
So? I've been to MLS games, I don't watch the league and I am not familiar with many players from there.

How did you survive at terrible Bundesliga and La Liga vames BTW? Did you not cringe at abysmal level?
 

Balu

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I'm not saying that either. I'm saying, they are all great leagues and I regret parroting this BS about the PL being strong a few years ago, based on the merit of only 4 teams.
Yeah, I agree with that. I don't think I've ever called any of the big leagues poor. They're all exciting, offer different styles and different entertainment factors at different times. La Liga has been crazy competitive up until 2008 for example, with the top teams finishing on way less points than the Premier League winners and many different sides winning the league. Now it's the opposite with both leagues. Similarly, the Bundesliga has been crazy competitive up until 2011 with countless different winners and the top side finishing on rather low points totals. Then Dortmund and Bayern stepped it up to crazy high levels. It's no reason to dismiss the quality of the rest of the teams though (not saying that you did, but it's what started this thread in the first place).
 

JPRouve

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Let's not forget where Atletico were a few years ago. They weren't placed on that level, and they were regularly getting dicked by their neighbors. They were able to make the step up. I'm not asking for Sevilla to win La Liga, but Jesus, a challenge once every decade would be good.
Same with City. That's completely irrelevant.
 

adexkola

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There's a big difference between competitiveness and quality/strength.

The PL is more competitive because there are more teams in the mix at the top and there are very few 'bankers', but that doesn't mean the quality is the best.

If the conference north had 3 points separating first from fifteenth would Twigginater be telling us it's the best league around?

It's simplistic to use points, the league standings, or pretty much any kind of league stats to judge the quality of a league. The best measure is competition of the best the league has against the best other leagues have, and the good old fashioned method of actually watching the different leagues.

I mean he's talking about the Dortmund/Bayern game in this thread when he didn't even watch it ffs.
I don't think so either. A contest between 2 teams is a poor measure of the quality of an entire league.

Watching remains the best way of judging, but how many people have enough time to catch enough games to form a reliable opinion?
 

Ishdalar

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There is absolutely no one here who is an expert in every team in those four leagues. Let's not pretend otherwise, it's literally impossible to follow that many leagues in a good amount of depth.

I along with most footballing fans watch the premier league the most. Doesn't mean it's all I watch.
Well, I introduce Julio "Maldini" Maldonado to you

0:35 for example

This guy basically sleeps and watches football since the 80's, your "literally impossible" is kinda flawed when people like this exist. If someone can keep up with most leagues in south america, europe and u17/u21 national teams I think keeping up with 4 leagues is possible
 

Nedved

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:lol: at two things:

- Shaqiri and Bojan at Stoke always being brought up as example of EPL superiority when they struggled at a poor Inter, a good Bayern, a poor Roma and a poor Milan.

- EPL dificulty being brought up as an explanation for English teams struggling in Europe, when Juventus is 16th in Serie A and defeat City with relative ease in Manchester, yet struggle to beat Frosinone and Gladbach a home.
 

JPRouve

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I don't think so either. A contest between 2 teams is a poor measure of the quality of an entire league.

Watching remains the best way of judging, but how many people have enough time to catch enough games to form a reliable opinion?
My opinion is probably not reliable but in the last 10 years La Liga, the Bundesliga and the PL have been pretty close, the midtable teams are about the same level, the difference is that periodically the top teams are stronger or weaker than their foreign counterparts.
That debate in itself is a bit stupid, I see the same debate between Super Rugby and Top 14, and it's a bit silly because it depends a lot on the current form of the teams.
 

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Such a subjective argument to say one is better or stronger than the other. How can you measure it?

I mean most would say prem is stronger than Bundesliga but their best frequently beat and outplay our best.

I think the only measure would be pitting all against each other. Ie take positions 1-20 from top 5/6 leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal) and put each position in a group against each other.

E.g. Leicester, Barca, Bayern, Juve, PSG, Sporting. Group 1.

It'd never happen but I'm sure we could have some fun debating that out


Edit: maybe a bit of fun for the summer?
 

Lay

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:lol: at two things:

- Shaqiri and Bojan at Stoke always being brought up as example of EPL superiority when they struggled at a poor Inter, a good Bayern, a poor Roma and a poor Milan.

- EPL dificulty being brought up as an explanation for English teams struggling in Europe, when Juventus is 16th in Serie A and defeat City with relative ease in Manchester, yet struggle to beat Frosinone and Gladbach a home.
Bojan especially. He was one of the worst players at Ajax too.
 

JPRouve

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Such a subjective argument to say one is better or stronger than the other. How can you measure it?

I mean most would say prem is stronger than Bundesliga but their best frequently beat and outplay our best.

I think the only measure would be pitting all against each other. Ie take positions 1-20 from top 5/6 leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal) and put each position in a group against each other.

E.g. Leicester, Barca, Bayern, Juve, PSG, Sporting. Group 1.

It'd never happen but I'm sure we could have some fun debating that out
It's actually possible to make a poll for each position.
 

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Such a subjective argument to say one is better or stronger than the other. How can you measure it?

I mean most would say prem is stronger than Bundesliga but their best frequently beat and outplay our best.

I think the only measure would be pitting all against each other. Ie take positions 1-20 from top 5/6 leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal) and put each position in a group against each other.

E.g. Leicester, Barca, Bayern, Juve, PSG, Sporting. Group 1.

It'd never happen but I'm sure we could have some fun debating that out


Edit: maybe a bit of fun for the summer?

That's what this thread was trying to be.

I'd like to see someone try and make a composite of those sides.
 

JPRouve

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I'll do it at the end of the season.
If you do it, you need to give points for each position, for example if the polls count 90 teams, you give 90 points for the winner of the first group and 5 points for the winner of the last group.
 

finneh

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I think most people would agree positions 1-2 are stronger in La Liga and the Bundesliga but posititons 3 through 20 are stronger in the Premier League. This is somewhat obvious given the local domination of talent by a couple of clubs in those League's vs the incredible financial strength of the mid-low Premier League clubs. If West Ham and Stoke can comfortably blow historically bigger clubs in Spain, Germany and Italy out of the water in transfers then in would take spectacularly bad talent scouting to not assemble a better team (although admittedly this too is a theme for many PL teams).

In terms of strength though its difficult to say... There are 4-5 clubs that if they were accustomed to the League would be walking away with this title, probably 10 points clear. However I also think in a League of 78 with every PL, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A team we'd see by far the most points accumulated by Premier League teams, with only Villa near the relegation places. My view is if there were 14 CL qualifying teams in this theoretical League of 78 the PL would have around 6-7 of them with La Liga at maybe 4, Germany at maybe 2 and Serie A with 1-2. On the flip side the top 6 wouldn't have a single Premier League team this year. I also think say 12 Europa League places would be flush with PL teams.

My belief is that the strongest league would be the one with the most points which would be the Premier League, others might think it'd be the League with the most teams at the top which would be La Liga with 3 in the top 6, others might think it's the Bundesliga because their games are pretty insane in terms if atmosphere and energy. No one is correct unless the defintiion of strength is clarified.
 

Nedved

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I think most people would agree positions 1-2 are stronger in La Liga and the Bundesliga but posititons 3 through 20 are stronger in the Premier League. This is somewhat obvious given the local domination of talent by a couple of clubs in those League's vs the incredible financial strength of the mid-low Premier League clubs. If West Ham and Stoke can comfortably blow historically bigger clubs in Spain, Germany and Italy out of the water in transfers then in would take spectacularly bad talent scouting to not assemble a better team (although admittedly this too is a theme for many PL teams).

In terms of strength though its difficult to say... There are 4-5 clubs that if they were accustomed to the League would be walking away with this title, probably 10 points clear. However I also think in a League of 78 with every PL, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A team we'd see by far the most points accumulated by Premier League teams, with only Villa near the relegation places. My view is if there were 14 CL qualifying teams in this theoretical League of 78 the PL would have around 6-7 of them with La Liga at maybe 4, Germany at maybe 2 and Serie A with 1-2. On the flip side the top 6 wouldn't have a single Premier League team this year. I also think say 12 Europa League places would be flush with PL teams.

My belief is that the strongest league would be the one with the most points which would be the Premier League, others might think it'd be the League with the most teams at the top which would be La Liga with 3 in the top 6, others might think it's the Bundesliga because their games are pretty insane in terms if atmosphere and energy. No one is correct unless the defintiion of strength is clarified.
How do West Ham and Stoke blow La Liga and Serie A teams out of the water in transfers? By buying Juve flop Ogbonna, midtable player Obiang, Bayern/Inter/Roma/Milan/Ajax flops Shaqiri and Bojan?

Are you trolling regarding the CL spots?
 

finneh

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How do West Ham and Stoke blow La Liga and Serie A teams out of the water in transfers? By buying Juve flop Ogbonna, midtable player Obiang, Bayern/Inter/Roma/Milan/Ajax flops Shaqiri and Bojan?

Are you trolling regarding the CL spots?
One of the worst teams in Premier League history (Villa) spent €70m last Summer on players. Name a mid table European team that could pay the €80k per week salary that West Ham and Stoke pay a few players? The truth is that money is king unless you have an abysmal scouting policy, so why wouldn't 10 teams with €50m+ to spend every Summer pillage they're comparative European teams?

I suppose opinions are like arseholes, we all have one and believe others' stink far worse but think back a few years ago to Swansea who bought a few of the best players from smaller La Liga teams, the likes of Michu, Pablo and Rangel... The truth is the biggest flaw with the Premier League is that we focus too much on "Premier League proven" and are too poor at scouting abroad. However when you have 10 times the budget of your comparative Europeam club, 16 clubs can't possibly be that incompetent, can they?