Has the PL peaked?

[dww]

It's the debate on 5Live tonight - with no PL teams in the semi of the CL.

I think it has been the worst quality league for at least five years. The top two are there largely due to squad depth not the superior quality that was true in the last few years. Arsenal are the only team in the division who can really claim to have improved in the top teams (City have better players but haven't consistently been a better team than last year). With the weakening pound and the forthcoming 50% tax rate it seems unlikely that the really top players will be attracted in the near future (possibly unless City get 4th).

It will be interesting to see if the investment in youth and coaching leaves any legacy in the next few years with the squad restriction rules and the new financial picture.

[CJ]

well it goes in cycles

i am not sure that in reality that bayern and lyon are any better than most teams here. i just think its a bad year however the spanish are stronger and its possibly the best league.

however at some point it will change again

[Shaggy]

It's definitely no coincidence that a poor Premier League this season has translated into poor European performance.

The Mancs sold Ronaldo to add to La Liga's array of superstars, we sold Alonso and failed to strengthen, Chelsea are ageing and City newly-cobbled together.

Next season will tell us more - could be a one-off but another season like this and we'll know for sure if the bubble's burst.

[MrShawnMichaels]

Yes

[Chris]

Looks that way and these scumbag owners are making things worse, certainly for us and Man Utd (though **** them), think Serie A is ordinary as is the German league.

Think the whole of european football is pretty low at the moment apart from an incredible Barca team.

[kemm1]

It's the debate on 5Live tonight - with no PL teams in the semi of the CL.

I think it has been the worst quality league for at least five years. The top two are there largely due to squad depth not the superior quality that was true in the last few years. Arsenal are the only team in the division who can really claim to have improved in the top teams (City have better players but haven't consistently been a better team than last year). With the weakening pound and the forthcoming 50% tax rate it seems unlikely that the really top players will be attracted in the near future (possibly unless City get 4th).

It will be interesting to see if the investment in youth and coaching leaves any legacy in the next few years with the squad restriction rules and the new financial picture.

Not that straight forward.

Apparently 85% of all La Liga teams are absolutely skin, the German league has a strict wage structure and the Italians are just too corrupt. There is a window of oportunity for the French but they just don't have the capital.

Anyway, the EPL may not be as dominate but the other major leagues are not exactly in a financial position to take advantage.

[wavydavy]

I was concerned a couple of years back that the English clubs were dominating the CL. Regularly 3 out of 4 semi-finalists and the Chelsea/ Utd final aswell. It did really worry me that it could be Lpool v Chelsea, Utd v Arse, L'ool v Man Utd etc virtually every year with only Barca to stop us. It just goes to show what a beautiful, complex and subtle game Footy is. I cant wait for the CL semis this year. Oh yes, the PL has most definitely peaked.

[Leyton388]

No its just been **** this season as LFC have been well below par. So the prem is not really that well represented in the CL.

[Chris]

I cant wait for the CL semis this year.

Its going to be amazing to sit back and chill watching 4 good games.

Cant remember the last time ive watched a big CL game without feeling tense as its usually supporting us or wanting the English teams to get leathered.

[dww]

Not that straight forward.

Apparently 85% of all La Liga teams are absolutely skin, the German league has a strict wage structure and the Italians are just too corrupt. There is a window of oportunity for the French but they just don't have the capital.

Anyway, the EPL may not be as dominate but the other major leagues are not exactly in a financial position to take advantage.

I agree with the idea that it isn't that simple.

A big difference in Spain though is that the homegrown players in general have better skill levels.

It is a fair point about many teams being skint. My suspicion is that the evolution to SPL++ with Real and Barca as their old firm will continue. They might start stealing TV revenue from the PL in years to come.

It's difficult to tell with Italy but they have been the very best in the recent past and have been as tactically innovative as anyone in the last few years. You would have to think that at least the top teams will be on the rise.

Germany and France have financial controls but both have seen a move towards their clubs being less selling teams and the standard of life in both countries is widely thought to be better than the UK. The fact that their clubs can't run up big debts may prove a big advantage in the next few years crowds are large and Bayern have been the most cash rich club in Europe for years.

[-V-]

None of the big guns spent any money during the summer. Thats all it comes down to. Every summer previous to the last one all the big teams were getting stronger by spending tons of money on players. No surprise that no investment=no success

[Exiled_red]

It's a cup competition it depends on the luck of the draw and how the teams play on the nights.

We had a few bad games and went out, Man Utd and Chelsea went out in tight ties which in fairness could have gone either way. Of all the English clubs only Arsenal were outclassed.

[kemm1]

I agree with the idea that it isn't that simple.

A big difference in Spain though is that the homegrown players in general have better skill levels.

It is a fair point about many teams being skint. My suspicion is that the evolution to SPL++ with Real and Barca as their old firm will continue. They might start stealing TV revenue from the PL in years to come.

It's difficult to tell with Italy but they have been the very best in the recent past and have been as tactically innovative as anyone in the last few years. You would have to think that at least the top teams will be on the rise.

Germany and France have financial controls but both have seen a move towards their clubs being less selling teams and the standard of life in both countries is widely thought to be better than the UK. The fact that their clubs can't run up big debts may prove a big advantage in the next few years crowds are large and Bayern have been the most cash rich club in Europe for years.

I agree with most of that, but the corruption in the Italian game literally seems to be crushing it and as for the academies in Spain it can only take those teams so far, they need top class purchases to suplement the home grown. Teams like Valencia and Deportivo can't even compete with Sunderland on the transfer market.

I do however agree with Germany and France they will more than likely be the long term winners in all of this as a League then have a handful of teams really able to compete in Spain, England and Italy combined.

[dww]

It's a cup competition it depends on the luck of the draw and how the teams play on the nights.

We had a few bad games and went out, Man Utd and Chelsea went out in tight ties which in fairness could have gone either way. Of all the English clubs only Arsenal were outclassed.

Fair point. I just think it is more than just the CL performance. The whole league this year has been a clogging, guileless ****fest in general. A lot of the matches have been woefully short of quality and a lot of the entertainment has come from the staggering poorness of the defending of a lot of teams (ourselves included).

[greystoneslfc]

Germany has been doing what it does best - chugging along under the radar. They're up to third in the UEFA co-efficient, and will take Italy's fourth CL slot from the '12-'13 season. Starts to make them an awful lot more attractive to players all of a sudden...