Riaan C wrote
Regarding the Premiership - I don't agree. It is one of the greatest leagues - hence the international acclaim and viewership figures. But its the old debate. There are so many great foreign players in the Premiership, that the strength of the league does not benefit England as a national team. If you look at the other big leagues you'll see the ratios are very different.
I don't think you should look at the ratios for the leagues,you should look at the ratios for the national teams. There is not a single player in the England national team who does not play for a club in the Premiership league. Conversely, there are a number of players in the German team who do not play in the Bundesliga, there are a number of players in the Spanish team who do not play in La Liga and there are a number of players in the Italian team who do not play in Serie A.
If the Premiership league has such great quality football and every single player in the English team plays in the Premiership League, surely the English team should be playing great football.
I guess that's the point on which we disagree. I agree that the Premiership League is one of the greatest leagues, if not the greatest - but only because of the amazing way it is being marketed, not because of the amazing quality of football that is being played.
My two main gripes with Premiership (and English) football are:
1. They have very little emphasis on ball possession. They play sloppy because they know the opposing team will play sloppy as well and before long they will have possession again. Try this against teams like Spain or Germany and you will fail, no questions asked.
2. They play a fairly physical game. I'm not saying they play dirty, I'm just saying that they rely more on brute force than on finesse. The rules of soccer have evolved and teams who play that style are often penalised. I think both Italy and France suffers a bit from this "old school" approach as well.
