Is English Football Still The Best?

Over the last few seasons we have seen the English teams be very successful in European competition. In the 2007-2008 season and the year after England had four representatives in the Quarter Finals of the Champions league; Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. But despite Manchester City and Manchester United both dominating the Premier League and making it a two horse race, they where both eliminated in the group stages this time.

Even in the Europa league this two teams haven't had success. United were given a footballing lesson by Athelico Bilboa, their quick pass and move football was too good for a below par United team. City could be considered unlucky to go out of the Champions league when they did; they collected 10 points, normally enough for a second place. Their three games in the Europa League has seen them demolish Porto 6-1 over the two legs and then lose 1-0 to Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.

Many football pundits and journalists still claim that the Premier League is the best in the world but are they right or are they feeding the uneducated masses lies to keep them watching? Personally I have certain criteria that make a football league the best, they are; Competitiveness, Passion and Skill.

Competitiveness.

If the league is open and a large number of teams have the chance to win or at least put a title challenge in, then it is far more exciting than a one or two horse race year after year. The Premier League at the moment is a two horse race. Manchester City and Manchester United are the best two teams in the country and it would take something special to finish higher than either of those, Tottenham have given it a good effort this season but eventually, as was expected by most people, their form has run out and they are now losing games they were winning earlier in the season. Spain is a similar story, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the top dogs, have been for decades and it will stay that way for a long time to come. The money they are able to generate from their sponsorships and TV deals dwarfs every other club in that league.

Italy at the moment is hugely competitive. With 11 games left in their season any one of four teams could win the league, it would mean that AC Milan have slipped up but teams like Juventus who are currently unbeaten could overturn their four point deficit if they can start winning more games than they draw, they currently have 13 wins and 14 draws. The league last season was controlled by AC Milan, who eventually ran out champions by six points ahead of Inter Milan. The Bundesliga is between two teams now, Bayern Munich who are second with 51 points and Borussia Dortmund who are first on 56. Competitiveness should not only be judged on the top of the table but also at the bottom, at the moment in Germany the gap between bottom and ninth is just 11 points. That is not a huge amount and it means that the relegation fight is far from being decided.

Passion.
I've always heard how passionate the English game is, and I can honestly say that I've seen it first hand. I've been to Anfield on European nights, I've stood on the Kop and sang You'll Never Walk Alone along with 40,000 people and it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. But is it an unrivalled passion? Places like Arsenal and Chelsea are often noted for not having an atmosphere, I've heard Arsenal fans compare the Emirates to a Library and often moan that they are unable to recreate the atmosphere and passion they had at Highbury.

Sadly I have never been offered the chance to go over to places like the Nou Camp or the Stadio Delle Alpi to watch a match, or even just walk around the place to soak up the history but you occasionally you can feel the passion and atmosphere through your television set. The way the Nou Camp erupts in to one loud roar when Barcelona score is something that you don't hear in many other countries.

Skill.
Personally, skill is the most important criteria for the best league in the world. Fans want to watch the team play attractive football and it is very hard to come by in the English game sadly. I have always thought that the English game was substandard in this department, it shows on the international stage even more. It all comes down to grass roots football, young boys and girls who take up football are not encouraged to play the easy pass, they are encouraged to hit long aimless passes and put really hard tackles in on opponents.

In other countries youngsters are taught the game through Futsal. A 5 a side game played with a smaller ball than in football, the ball, surface the game is played on and the rules encourage an emphasis on creativity and technique as well as ball control and passing in small spaces. This game isn’t played in the UK and it shows - young players have very little idea of passing in small spaces, while Spanish, Italian and Brazilian players who are brought up with this sport are fantastic at this.

Based on my criteria I no longer see the English game as the best in the world. Although my love for the English game is as strong as it has ever been I prefer to watch the La Liga and Serie A football. It is more skilful, and far more enjoyable to watch. While the La Liga isn't as competitive as Italy or Germany it the most skilful league in the world and is not far from becoming the real number one.

Unless something drastic happens in terms of tv revenue in England, Spain and Italy, we'll see both the Spanish and Italian leagues start to crumble under their debts within 2 years, obviously the few MASSIVE clubs will still thrive, but the rest are in dire straits already, whereas, it would take tv revenue to practically dry up in England before any more than just a few of our clubs go bust, as much of our tv revenue comes from foreign sales anyway.
In 5 years time, expect the Russian league to be comparable to Englands, with Germany being the only truly strong league, financially speaking, as their clubs aren't allowed to have any major debts anyway.