Premier League Title Race

[spionfox]

And its still a ridiculous statement to say hes done feck all since he left Leicester

Are you American as well as CityFan?

 

[FIF]

What do you mean he's done ****all? are you crazy?

 

[spionfox]

What do you mean he's done ****all? are you crazy?

 

[Dickovforengland!]

Macheda's goal was outstanding. Not seen a goal like that from a young lad since Rooney v Arsenal. Very impressive. Looks a bit too much like Ronaldo for my liking though.

I'll be surprised if the Utd machine dosen't roll on to the title now despite playing underwhelming football for large chunks of the season.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Macheda's goal was outstanding. Not seen a goal like that from a young lad since Rooney v Arsenal. Very impressive. Looks a bit too much like Ronaldo for my liking though.

I'll be surprised if the Utd machine dosen't roll on to the title now despite playing underwhelming football for large chunks of the season.

i told you, United had this won at xmas, they wont throw it away, they dont know how to and Liverpool dotn know how to pull it back. The only way Liverpool will win it is if they get there and stay there the whole season and dont balls it up half way through

That said, ive become incredibly disillusioned with the top of the Premiership and what money has turned it into. I find it an incredibly boring and stale non-contest now the same teams are there every season. If anyone (but Man City, which would probably be even worse) genuinely make an attempt to have a go, even Coventry ****ing City at this point, id be cheering them on.

And now the domination is starting to spread to the Champs League which i, fast starting to view the same way, which while i suppose its easier for a lesser team to win, as its a knock out tournament rather than an enduring league season, but the 2 legs and group stages dont help. I prey its not another predictable all English final

 

[beaumontfox]

Still rather it be an all English final than an all Spanish or Italian.
Eve if I might not like the English teams in the final like last year!

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Still rather it be an all English final than an all Spanish or Italian.
Eve if I might not like the English teams in the final like last year!

i wouldnt. i only really get to watch English and Spanish games on TV and internet stremaing sites are extremely hit and miss usually miss, and nowhere near as many Spanish matches as English on TV, plus no real MOTD type highlights either for other leagues. Theres Revisita de la Liga, but thats basically a couple of goals then pointless boring talk about stuff thats all been said before for the other 59mins (and im only slightly exaggerating). I like to see the contental teams in Europe

That being said a multi-national final would definitely be preferable to an all Spanish final now. Id like to see Bayern get there the most, as they are the ones i really never get the chance to see play very often. Always been other games on i chose over the Champs League matches, though i wish id have watched thiers in the last round. 12-1 on aggregate!

 

[Dickovforengland!]

I want an all English final, just to p1ss off Blatter and Platini and to continue to attract the bets players to the Premier League.

 

[Hazzman]

i Id like to see Bayern get there the most,

Lost 5-1 at the weekend. Very average team.

 

[highland fox]

All Liverpool can do is keep winning and hope Utd slip up.Liverpool play Blackburn at home in the early kick off on Saturday and if they win that will put the pressure on Utd to win at Sunderland at 3pm.United have to play a few of the teams who are down their fighting for survival away as well as Man City and Arsenal can still have a say on who wins it because they have still to play both Liverpool and Man Utd.Of course Man Utd should still win it from here but its not over just yet

 

[Dickovforengland!]

Of course Man Utd should still win it from here but its not over just yet

Don't disagree with anything you said hf but I feel the confidence gained from a great goal by Macheda will help Utd over the line. Of course Liverpool will also take confidence from their win over Fulham but I think Utd's returning players give them the edge.

It is an intriguing run in because the top 3 all have to play Arsenal who will be desperate for points to maintain Champions League status. Villa are 6 points behind but Arsenal could conceivably lose to all the top 3.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

I want an all English final, just to p1ss off Blatter and Platini and to continue to attract the bets players to the Premier League.

And therefore continue to cause more and more teams in the lower leagues or relegated teams into bankruptcy and administration the same way Leicester did? Plus, its only a matter of team before a Prem team goes imo. West Ham and Pompey are already close from what i hear. As well as casuing the league to turn into the Scottish league where the same couple of teams are up there every season, becoming a ****ing borefest? Its not English football that gains from this "Englis domination," its the "big 4," while having catastrophic effects on relegated teams or teams in lower leagues. Weve seen this very much first hand

 

[Dickovforengland!]

Weve seen this very much first hand

We've seen gambling on Premiership survival to finance a stadium move force us into administration coupled with £20M spent on sh1t players with the exception of Ian Walker an the collapse of ITV. How is any of that the big 4's fault?

Villa are pushing Arsenal, Everton made it through to the champions league. Look at any of the big leagues in Europe they are all dominated by a handful of teams. Italy and Spain have had their time in the sun.

Hull came up this season and have beaten Arsenal and pushed Man U close. Wigan have come up recently and established themselves.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

We've seen gambling on Premiership survival to finance a stadium move force us into administration coupled with £20M spent on sh1t players with the exception of Ian Walker an the collapse of ITV. How is any of that the big 4's fault?

Villa are pushing Arsenal, Everton made it through to the champions league. Look at any of the big leagues in Europe they are all dominated by a handful of teams. Italy and Spain have had their time in the sun.

Hull came up this season and have beaten Arsenal and pushed Man U close. Wigan have come up recently and established themselves.

Its not the big 4s fault at all, they took the best of a the opportunity presented to them, well apart from Chelsea who bought their way into it. Its the amount of money and popularity that comes into the Premiership with the growth of its worldwide popularity thats the problem, which you rightly pointed out also attracts the best players to the Premiership, or rather the top teams. The prize money and TV money is going up as well and leaving the Championship teams and other European leagues far behind.

Plus, do you really think a league is at a good point when the same teams are competing every season? Or now, as its happening, that thats starting to be the case with the CL as well. Yes, the other leagues have a couple of teams who generally dominate, but they havent had the same 4 teams finishing in the Champions League spots for 6 years or however many its been in a row and in all those leagues it is at least conceivable for a smaller team to come up and win it. I mean in the Italian league for example Napoli currently hold a Champions League spot after only being in Serie B two seasons a go, and havent spent much at all , this would be inconceivable in the English Prem atm. I cant remember at any point since ive been following nmon-English football at probably the start of the century the same 4 teams qualifying for the CL in Italy (thoguh someone will come along and prove me wrong :icon_wink) even Milan didnt make it this year.

New boys Malaga could very much make the UEFA Cup spot despite being relegation certainties at the start of the season in La Liga. . Valencia also won the title even quite against the odds under Benitez a few years back. And while Barca and Real generally make the CL spots, the rest are very compeititve from the off, with the likes of Athletico, Valencia, Villereal, Zaragosa all fighting for them. Even Osasuna made the Champions League a couple of season a go, it would be pretty much impossible for the English equivalent such as Fulham, West Brom or Wigan to do the same.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Of course this has made the relegation battle more exciting but what do you expect when there are 14 teams all shitting themselves to avoid possible bankruptcy and relegation again to League One

 

[Dickovforengland!]

I mean in the Italian league for example Napoli currently hold a Champions League spot after only being in Serie B two seasons a go, and havent spent much at all , this would be inconceivable in the English Prem atm.

Aren't Napoli 11th? Haven't 5 teams won Serie A in the last 15-20 years.

 

[SwedeFox]

Aren't Napoli 11th?

I would guess he meant Genoa.

 

[Dickovforengland!]

Right that would make sense.

See if Roma can close the gap, then their top 4 will be Inter Juve Milan Roma.

Coca Cola League attendances compare favourably with their european counterparts.

I just don't recognise PR's assertion (and sorry if I am misunderstanding or incorrectly para phrasaing your argument PR) that the PL has brought about the downfall of the lower leagues. I think their attendances have grown recently too?

 

[Matt_B]

Right that would make sense.

See if Roma can close the gap, then their top 4 will be Inter Juve Milan Roma.

Coca Cola League attendances compare favourably with their european counterparts.

I just don't recognise PR's assertion (and sorry if I am misunderstanding or incorrectly para phrasaing your argument PR) that the PL has brought about the downfall of the lower leagues. I think their attendances have grown recently too?

I think he means more the fact that the money in the Premier league, especially the top 4 is now so atronomical compared to the Championship that teams coming up have to gamble to have a chance, and then if it doesn't pay off they end up in admin. The majority of this money is a direct result of the big fours dominance in Europe bringing more international interest to the league.

If this money were properly filtered down it wouldn't be as big an issue, but since the Premier League departed from the Football League it isn't likeley to happen.

It isn't the big fours fault, they of course want to do well, but the fact that they are doing so well in Europe is the reason.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

I think he means more the fact that the money in the Premier league, especially the top 4 is now so atronomical compared to the Championship that teams coming up have to gamble to have a chance, and then if it doesn't pay off they end up in admin. The majority of this money is a direct result of the big fours dominance in Europe bringing more international interest to the league.

If this money were properly filtered down it wouldn't be as big an issue, but since the Premier League departed from the Football League it isn't likeley to happen.

It isn't the big fours fault, they of course want to do well, but the fact that they are doing so well in Europe is the reason.

Exactly. I have nothing against the actual big 4 clubs, and its not about attendences, of course its a good thing they are on the up. Its the fact the gulf in money between the Prem and the Championship is so large and just growing and growing, that you have to spend big to stay there and if you dont stay there you are royally ****ed.

Since ITV Digital crashed, every side who had been in the Premiership for over 2 years (i.e. by the point they probably wouldve been on par with other Prem clubs in terms of spending or at least close to it) and got relegated, and couldnt manage to come back up in the 2 year "parachute payments" have now been through administration (with the exception of Coventry who managed to get a big-money buyer in just half an hour before they were due to do so, and Charlton but by the sounds of it thats a matter of when not if). Assuming Southampton and Charlton go down all these sides will also have been relegated to League One as well, with again, the exception of Coventry who survived due to just avoiding the 10pt deduction by minutes 2 years a go and then by the width of a post last season.

And even if you do manage to stay up in the Prem, where can you get to? 5th max. Maybe 7th as Everton and Villa are fast closing up the UEFA Cup spots too. Theres no competitive element or even the chance to let lesser clubs to even attempt to dream anymore, which is why im starting to get bored of it. Its become or at least well on the road to becoming no better than the Scottish Premiership in terms of the title/european race.

And now, the same thing is beginning to happen in the CL as well, with the gulf of money between the Premiership and other European leagues growing and growing.

It may be exciting for some, and has propelled the Premiership to be hailed as "the best league in the world" as Jamie Redknapp will constantly remind us, but by doing so theyve caused the lower leagues and even the smaller Premiership clubs and certainly several relegated Premiership clubs to suffer.