The Premier League - better or worse

  • The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...

    Get involved!

Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports

Sort by date Sort by reaction score

pipes

Forgetting the red plague that’s running away with it this year, the rest of the league is very close together.

I’m reading a lot about how we were so bad last night that we nearly didn’t beat the bottom team. On the same night Burnley slapped ManU around the place. But are we and the other big teams getting worse? Is this a poor standard league?

I’d say no. I believe the truth is the smaller teams are getting stronger. With the huge amount of tv money floating about, teams no longer have to sell their best players and they can buy higher quality.

Does anyone really think the league is overall weaker? Won’t the European competition latter stages not again be filled with English sides?

No longer can we consider any team in the Premier League as weak. Any win is a good win.
 
There will always be freak seasons. I think we can agree that a lot of teams underperformed this season. It's a mix of several factors that led to this (bad management, uninspired transfers, squads reaching their sell by date etc).

Things should get back to normal soon. There's too much money involved and the interest for the Premier League only keeps growing. If anything, it should only become stronger in the future.
 
Considering the fact that Chavs are 4th, United 5th and us 6th, all of which have been dreadful this year, I can't help but think that the level of the Premier League this season has been terrible. Put Liverpool in any other top European league (apart from maybe Ligue 1), and there would be no chance that they would have 22 wins in 23 matches, not even close.
 
Darnswim said:
Considering the fact that Chavs are 4th, United 5th and us 6th, all of which have been dreadful this year, I can't help but think that the level of the Premier League this season has been terrible. Put Liverpool in any other top European league (apart from maybe Ligue 1), and there would be no chance that they would have 22 wins in 23 matches, not even close.
Click to expand...
I think you're underselling them, they're clearly the best team in the world right now. Sure if they were in La Liga maybe they'd have 20ish wins in 23 but I think if you replay those same 23 games in the PL maybe they win only 19-20.

No team is as good as they have been this year, luck comes into play at times. No doubt they're amazing though.
 
TheRealTI said:
I think you're underselling them, they're clearly the best team in the world right now. Sure if they were in La Liga maybe they'd have 20ish wins in 23 but I think if you replay those same 23 games in the PL maybe they win only 19-20.

No team is as good as they have been this year, luck comes into play at times. No doubt they're amazing though.
Click to expand...
They're obviously very good and no doubt the best team in the World at this moment, but they haven't gotten punished on many occasions. Lo Celso chance, Jimenez chance today etc. I remember when they played Southampton earlier in the season, and they won 2-1. No way in hell should've they won that game, and there are other games as well. This is not down to Liverpool's brilliance, it's down to the lack of quality of the League (including us).
 
imitationleather said:
We're in the top half despite how bad we are every match so the quality of the league overall must dire.
Click to expand...
Or the other teams could be better? Would you be surprised if all the English sides get to the quarters or semis of the euro cups? I’m sure that would suggest that the weak teams are getting stronger, not the strong teams getting weaker.
 
This league is piss poor this season. Liverpool are the only consistent side but even then they had some big luck in some games to keep this winning streak going (Sheff Utd away, Spurs away, Wolves away just to mention a few games). Not denying that they are a very good side and the way they cruised past Bayern last season in UCL while we got trashed by them this season just shows that Liverpool are simply the best side in the league.
 
The only real measure of the EPL is when it's so called 'best' teams play their European counterparts in the CL and the EL

Despite only Liverpool playing well domestically City, Chelsea and Spurs have joined them in the last sixteen of the Champions League, and teams playing even worse domestically Woolwich, Utd and Wolves are all in the last 32 of the EL ...

and that's on the back of EPL teams winning both the CL and the EL last season. So the question 'is the league weaker' depends on what you reference it against. In terms of quality in depth very hard to argue that the EPL isn't getting further ahead off the rest of European Leagues, certainly in terms of wealth, player value and indeed success in competitions ... of course Europe still has stand out teams Barca, Real, PSG, Juve, Bayern but not an entire division of decent sides.

is it more competitive? probably, take away the Dippers and it's pretty tight 14 teams in with a shout of European football and 6 in a relegation battle ... Dippers and VAR having a "Leicester" year but them apart it's closer than ever.

Special mention for Woolwich in tenth ... proving that no team is as 'big' as they think they are.
 
The fact that we've been absolute dross this season and are still in the hunt for top 4 indicates to me that the level has dropped.

We've been playing absolutely awful for the majority of the season..... If everyone else really is catching up then I'd expect us to be closer to 11th/12th viewing the standard of football I've witnessed.

Having said that, there are only a few points separating 5th to 19th so if we checked the league in a few weeks things might become more apparent.

What is baffling is how Liverpool have come from pretty much nothing to being world class in under 3/4 seasons. That's nothing short of astounding.

Every signing they've made has turned to gold.
 
Darnswim said:
Considering the fact that Chavs are 4th, United 5th and us 6th, all of which have been dreadful this year, I can't help but think that the level of the Premier League this season has been terrible. Put Liverpool in any other top European league (apart from maybe Ligue 1), and there would be no chance that they would have 22 wins in 23 matches, not even close.
Click to expand...

This.

The top 6 is still made up of 5 of the traditional top 6 despite us, CFC & Man U having dreadul seasons.
 
Gmspurs said:
The fact that we've been absolute dross this season and are still in the hunt for top 4 indicates to me that the level has dropped.

We've been playing absolutely awful for the majority of the season..... If everyone else really is catching up then I'd expect us to be closer to 11th/12th viewing the standard of football I've witnessed.

Having said that, there are only a few points separating 5th to 19th so if we checked the league in a few weeks things might become more apparent.

What is baffling is how Liverpool have come from pretty much nothing to being world class in under 3/4 seasons. That's nothing short of astounding.

Every signing they've made has turned to gold.
Click to expand...

Liverpool didn't come from nothing. Their low point in the last 25 years was 52 points in 2011-12 (we might not even make that this season). Three seasons before that, and two seasons later, they finished 2nd. They've had plenty of great players, and they were in much the same place that Spurs are now back in 2011-12; they had quite a few star players, but the team played like sh!t as a whole. Then (and now), they had the 3rd highest wage bill in the league, and plenty of money to spend. What Liverpool has done better than any of the top 6 since then was spend wisely. They scouted well and bought talent, not just reputation, and bought players that fit the mold. Buying the best player available isn't always the answer, if someone is a better fit, despite maybe being less capable overall. This season (and last as well), they have been very impressive, but every other club in the top 6 is in flux right now, to some extent, so they are winning matches they might not normally win if those clubs were playing their average brand of football over the last few years. I'm not taking anything away from Liverpool; they will deserve the title. It should be closer than this, though, and history will prove this to be a fluke season with the gap at which Liverpool wins the league.
 
Overall I would say this is the strongest I have seen in the premier league from a purely depth perspective, even bottom of the table Norwich have a few decent players but I think a few of the top teams including us, Woolwich and Chelsea have declined leaving a powerful top two and a half decent Leicester City.

It’s essentially a top 2-3 with then 17 mid table type teams rather than a top 6 with 8 mid table and 6 bottom table sides, greater overall depth but a decline at the top.

The league kind of feels like an old Chelsea or Man United at the top with then 17 Everton’s.
 
Tomo said:
Overall I would say this is the strongest I have seen in the premier league from a purely depth perspective, even bottom of the table Norwich have a few decent players but I think a few of the top teams including us, Woolwich and Chelsea have declined leaving a powerful top two and a half decent Leicester City.

It’s essentially a top 2-3 with then 17 mid table type teams rather than a top 6 with 8 mid table and 6 bottom table sides, greater overall depth but a decline at the top.

The league kind of feels like an old Chelsea or Man United at the top with then 17 Everton’s.
Click to expand...
Agree with this. I’m sure the other teams are getting stronger, not the big teams getting weaker.
 
Back on this high horse again after the red plague got humped yesterday.

Was just thinking, has there been a better team than Norwich that’s finished bottom of the league?

I can’t think of one.
 
Tomo said:
Overall I would say this is the strongest I have seen in the premier league from a purely depth perspective, even bottom of the table Norwich have a few decent players but I think a few of the top teams including us, Woolwich and Chelsea have declined leaving a powerful top two and a half decent Leicester City.

It’s essentially a top 2-3 with then 17 mid table type teams rather than a top 6 with 8 mid table and 6 bottom table sides, greater overall depth but a decline at the top.

The league kind of feels like an old Chelsea or Man United at the top with then 17 Everton’s.
Click to expand...

I see where you're coming from but I'd word it differently; Liverpool aside the quality has markedly declined but it's more competitive as a result: outside Liverpool, Man City and maybe Leicester on a good day it's much of a muchness. No one else is very good but no one is very bad either - Norwich are a decent side but they're bottom, and no one else is hopeless either. There are about 14 teams with the width of a cigarette paper between them (including us!)
 
Its not quite 15/16 level bad.

Runs it close but I feel the fact Liverpool and Man City are a class above the rest means this season edge's it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom