Only a point worse off?

[Arn]

Man C is the only club that spend very big money. The rest of the so called top clubs don't spend much more than the bottom clubs now.

That means that the gap close down and injuries, playing for the national team and so on becomes more important points than before.

So many of the top clubs this season are having a problem, not only in the PL.

It's so competitive now at the top that you need big squads. The clubs that don't have that will suffer a lot. The key players is out injured more often now because the top clubs can't afford to rest them after they get back from an injury. That also means that the key players isn't playing at 100% that often.

Quantity becomes more and more important. You need to be able to rest six seven eight players after playing in Europe for example or else you risk injuries to key players.

The PL is the most physical league in the world and that means even more injuries because you simply take more knocks and must work harder than in Spain or Italy for example.

In Italy many players can continue to play until they are 35+. How many players can do that in the PL?

You need to be more fit to play in the PL than you need to be in Spain or Italy. That means shorter careers because the body can't cope taking all the knocks and training needed to be able to play a long career in the PL.

Quantity becomes more important than before in the PL.

[Lecter]

Agree definitely about the top teams.

My feeling is that two areas are almost universally worse than a few years ago and I suspect they are linked. The first is fitness. I'm not quite sure what the change is but up to about two years ago the PL teams looked the fittest and strongest in Europe. Last year Manchester United were out run by Bayern and it happened to PL teams in a number of other European games too that I vaguely remember.

This seems to have had a knock on effect on defending. About a year or so ago Torres gave an interview talking about the differences between Spain and England and saying that defences are less tactically aware here but faster and more physical. Somehow the balance has tipped away from being very effective to just a bit disorganised in the last year or so.

In a lot of ways I'm not convinced that the teams at the bottom are notably better than in previous years but I merely think they are all attack minded in a league which has porous defences.

So far my impression of (the admittedly limited) games I have seen this season is that no one can defend apart from in numbers. It may make for a more competitive league and possibly more goals but I don't think it is an improvement quality-wise.

Hard to argue with any of that

[Pablo]

Put simply some world class players have left and been replaced by substantially worse players.

Add to that the top players we do have are all ageing too (Chelsea's squad for instance).

As a result, the quailty of the Premier League has dropped without question.

Has it got more entertaining? Well it's got more competetive but I'd still say it's less entertaining that it was a few years ago personally.

[red g]

top teams that are improving

Spurs
Arsenal
Man City

top teams that are not as good

Chelsea
Liverpool
Scum

So basically the teams that are improving are the ones on the second tier ( bar chelsea)
while the ones who were streaks ahead are now dropping and amalgamating with the second tier.

Once upon a time all the top teams had world class players in, now even the ones that do arent performing to that level...........Fabregas, Torres, Gerrard, Rooney all shoadows of there former selfs at the moment

[Rich]

Hard to argue with any of that

Can't you at least try!