Why Is EPL the best football league in the world?

[PhoenixFire]

Whether or not the standard of football is higher in La Liga, it's pretty well known that the hardest league to compete in is the EPL and it's faster, tougher and more competitive on an individual level than any other league.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Imagine it's the most watched worldwide and has the highest turnover (ironically given most clubs are either in hock up to their eyeballs or reliant on rich sugar daddies) of any association football league. Prob still the highest ranked by Wafer's co-efficient too (Vimes to confirm).

Think that's probably because it's more exciting to watch than most other top leagues. The pace is faster and (with a few exceptions) the tactics more rudimentary.

 

[Ikki]

The standard of football is probably higher in the EPL. EPL is better because there is greater depth with the sides; who have better managers (apart from Liverpool, now), who have more money to buy better players, and is watched by more people around the world also IIRC.

 

[sledger]

Which says nothing about the quality of the football actually on display tbh.

 

[Ausage]

Bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy for me. It was the only international league broadcast in Australia growing up, so I've watched and followed it since I was very young. I know the teams, the (recent) history, experienced the highs and lows of following a team throughout, screamed at every Man U victory etc etc.

In short, while it's arguable that the quality is not as high as elsewhere, I actually give a **** what happens in the EPL on a week to week basis. I can't say the same about La Liga, Serie A (now that Reggina are gone) or the Bundesliga.

 

[Julian87]

Fell in love with teh Bundesliga this year thanks to One HD. Watched heaps more of that than the EPL.

 

[Craig]

I have Setanta, and I should watch the Bundesliga more often.

 

[Uppercut]

Whether or not the standard of football is higher in La Liga, it's pretty well known that the hardest league to compete in is the EPL and it's faster, tougher and more competitive on an individual level than any other league.

I don't think this is true at all. It's just difficult to adapt to a style of football you're not used to, and England plays a different style of football to most of the world. Spanish and Italian players do often struggle when they come to England, but I suspect English players would struggle just as much if many of them went abroad. While none of Beckham, Owen and McManaman completely disgraced themselves in Spain, they were all significantly less successful than they had been at home.

 

[Craig]

Who was the last English player (either Scottish, Welsh, NI or Irish) to go overseas, and make a real go of it and be one of the better players in the league? It would probably benefit them if they did go abroad, but you know, they probably (read almost certain) get more money in England, and don't have to drive on the other side of the road.

 

[Furball]

If anything, McManaman was more of a success in Spain than he was in England.

 

[Furball]

Who was the last English player (either Scottish, Welsh, NI or Irish) to go overseas, and make a real go of it and be one of the better players in the league? It would probably benefit them if they did go abroad, but you know, they probably (read almost certain) get more money in England, and don't have to drive on the other side of the road.

In terms of Scots, probably Paul Lambert at Dortmund in 1996/97.

Barry Ferguson at his peak (2000-03) I don't think would have looked out of place at most top European sides, but that's something that's purely down to conjecture.

 

[Matteh]

Who was the last English player (either Scottish, Welsh, NI or Irish) to go overseas, and make a real go of it and be one of the better players in the league? It would probably benefit them if they did go abroad, but you know, they probably (read almost certain) get more money in England, and don't have to drive on the other side of the road.

David Connolly 48 games, 42 goals for Excelsior

John Collins was pretty gun at Monaco

Suppose for a genuine class act abroad you're looking at Chris Waddle for Marseille.

 

[The Sean]

David Platt did pretty well for several years in Italy, particularly with Bari and Sampdoria.

 

[Xuhaib]

Hargreaves was not too shabby at Bayern.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Prob still the highest ranked by Wafer's co-efficient too (Vimes to confirm).

Aye, but not with a huge margin (1.5 points from Spain, though set to increase over the next two seasons as England are catching up.)

Reminds me of something: why on earth was the England NT so dire in the ate 70s/early 80s? The league topped the coefficients and Liverpool/Nottingham won the European Cup six years running.

Hargreaves was not too shabby at Bayern.

Canadian itbt.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Aye, but not with a huge margin (1.5 points from Spain, though set to increase over the next two seasons as England are catching up.)

Reminds me of something: why on earth was the England NT so dire in the ate 70s/early 80s? The league topped the coefficients and Liverpool/Nottingham won the European Cup six years running.


Canadian itbt.

Hard to say, although rather like now back then a lot of key club players were similarly non-English, just more likely to be Scots, Welsh or Irish. Off top of my head Liverpool had Toshack, Souness, Dalgleish, Hansen, Heighway, Nicol, Beglin, Grobbelaar, Hansen, Gillespie, Rush & Lawrenson (although he was plastic Mick) in various European Cup winning teams.

 

[Furball]

Reminds me of something: why on earth was the England NT so dire in the ate 70s/early 80s? The league topped the coefficients and Liverpool/Nottingham won the European Cup six years running.

I think it would be fair to say that Scotland in the 1970s was the nation producing the best of British talent in that period. If you had a British select team from roughly 1974-1986 I reckon the core of the team would have been Scots.

edit: Just checking the Home International Championships

1974 - Scotland 2-0 England Winners: Scotland
1975 - England 5-1 Scotland Winners: England
1976 - Scotland 2-1 England Winners: Scotland
1977 - England 1-2 Scotland Winners: Scotland (Wales 2nd place)
1978 - Scotland 0-1 England Winners: England
1979 - England 3-1 Scotland Winners: England
1980 - Scotland 0-2 England Winners: Northern Ireland
1981 - England 0-1 Scotland (No winners, Northern Ireland unable to complete fixtures due to Troubles, winners would have been Scotland or Wales)
1982 - Scotland 0-1 England Winners: England
1983 - England 2-0 Scotland Winners: England
1984 - Scotland 1-1 England Winners: Northern Ireland (Wales 2nd)

By the mid-late 80s England had recovered to become the dominant British force - there was the short lived Rous Cup between England and Scotland for 2 years - Scotland winning in 1985, England in 1986, and the competition between 1987 and 1989 featured a South American guest side - England won 2 and drew 1 of the 3 fixtures against Scotland.

However, certainly in the mid 70s Scotland were the premier British nation - qualified for 2 World Cups in 1974 and 1978, which England missed out on, and won 3 out of 4 games in that period as well.

 

[Goughy]

Hard to say, although rather like now back then a lot of key club players were similarly non-English, just more likely to be Scots, Welsh or Irish. Off top of my head Liverpool had Toshack, Souness, Dalgleish, Hansen, Heighway, Nicol, Beglin, Grobbelaar, Hansen, Gillespie, Rush & Lawrenson (although he was plastic Mick) in various European Cup winning teams.

Exactly, even though fractionally later than the period in question, Liverpool won the FA Cup in 1986 without an English player on the pitch.

Bruce Grobbelaar
Mark Lawrenson
Jim Beglin
Steve Nicol
Ronnie Whelan
Alan Hansen
Kenny Dalglish
Craig Johnston
Ian Rush
Jan Mølby
Kevin MacDonald

EDIT- Thinking about it England had a decent team in 82. I just checked the numbers as I was only a tiny child then and the only thing I remeber is the Keegan header miss and England went undefeated in 5 games (obv didnt even lose in ET or on pens) and conceded 1 goal all tournament. Excellent preformance really

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

 

[silentstriker]

I don't think this is true at all. It's just difficult to adapt to a style of football you're not used to, and England plays a different style of football to most of the world. Spanish and Italian players do often struggle when they come to England, but I suspect English players would struggle just as much if many of them went abroad. While none of Beckham, Owen and McManaman completely disgraced themselves in Spain, they were all significantly less successful than they had been at home.

What are the differences in style?