EPL Bullshit (10 Viewers)
- Thread starter Seven
- Start date
pray tell where are the big upsets in Italy? We have just lost 1 game in this season and so has Arsenal and Chelsea while Man u have been beaten on more than one ocassion. Inter for all their crap are unbeaten this season or did that escape your memory? How can you possibly say there are no shocks in the Epl? The reason that Chelsea have not won till now is because they keep on losing or having shock results.
You say there are loads of goals in Epl which is true but then you say is because mediocrity os abound, oh really! Could it not be the fact that both teams attack for most of the game thats why you see a lot of goals unlike in Italy where most of the action is at the midfield or is there is another reason why Milan shipped in 4 goals against Depor last season, or Inter being beaten 5-1 at hjome or Lazio 4 -0 at home or Juve's 4-2, 3-2, 3-0 against Manu united
Remind us all when was the last time an Italian team actually inflicted this kind of result on their fellow Italian teams in serieA.
You see there are 2 sides to a coin while you call it great tactical and breilliant defending another can say its the lack of continous attack against them thats why they can coast in games but as English and Spanish teams have shown them, they would score against them when they play them as they would not let up in the attacks.
Also since SerieA is so strong and has the most quality teams, where is Roma in Europe this season as opposed to the "inferior" Liverpool, Man united, Chelsea, Arsenal and how many serieA teams are left in the uefa cup compared to the useless, Newcastle, Middlesboro?
No its not the most techincal and some of the play especiallly the defending is pathetic but its the most exciting thus the reason its the most hyped up
Case in point compare the 2 leagues in terms of the highest profile game of the season
Juve vs Milan and then Arsenal vs Chelsea
Need i say more
You say there are loads of goals in Epl which is true but then you say is because mediocrity os abound, oh really! Could it not be the fact that both teams attack for most of the game thats why you see a lot of goals unlike in Italy where most of the action is at the midfield or is there is another reason why Milan shipped in 4 goals against Depor last season, or Inter being beaten 5-1 at hjome or Lazio 4 -0 at home or Juve's 4-2, 3-2, 3-0 against Manu united
Remind us all when was the last time an Italian team actually inflicted this kind of result on their fellow Italian teams in serieA.
You see there are 2 sides to a coin while you call it great tactical and breilliant defending another can say its the lack of continous attack against them thats why they can coast in games but as English and Spanish teams have shown them, they would score against them when they play them as they would not let up in the attacks.
Also since SerieA is so strong and has the most quality teams, where is Roma in Europe this season as opposed to the "inferior" Liverpool, Man united, Chelsea, Arsenal and how many serieA teams are left in the uefa cup compared to the useless, Newcastle, Middlesboro?
No its not the most techincal and some of the play especiallly the defending is pathetic but its the most exciting thus the reason its the most hyped up
Case in point compare the 2 leagues in terms of the highest profile game of the season
Juve vs Milan and then Arsenal vs Chelsea
Need i say more
I have always looked at the strength of the best leagues by how their top clubs play in European competitions. The fast-paced, haphazard play of the EPL is not good preparation for English sides to compete in Europe, as in the Champions League the pace is usually slower and more controlled, with more emphasis on tactics. Since the top clubs in England play week after week against other English sides that have no chance of keeping the ball out of their own net and play a haphazard style, the top sides are not very well prepared for Europe after finding themsleves matched up against teams who actually know what they are doing in defense and can control a match. English sides have trouble winning trophies in Europe for this reason; they cannot handle the difficult tactics and control found in Europe, resorting to using the "haphazard EPL style" which usually gets you nowhere outside of England. Since English sides struggle in Europe, and have only had one winner of the Champions League in 16 years, that pretty much speaks for itself in terms of how good a league seems to be. The EPL is a weaker league than that of Italy and Spain.
For one,it's evident that EPL teams have had to adopt different styles and tactics when playing in Europe whereas Italian and Spanish teams get on by doing what they usually do.The hype garnered by the EPL is as obvious as anything and to see how overrated they are all we have to do is catch a few relegation or even midtable clashes and count the number of schoolboy mistakes the players make.I remember watching a Birmingham-Newcastle match this season and i saw players getting the ball stuck between their feet and getting nutmegged by passes from their own teammates-if that isn't considered pathetic i don't know what is.
People say we bullshit the EPL like nobody's business but if it weren't for the fact that so many people overrate it and make it out to be the best league in the world we would detest it so much.The standard of football is higher than the French Ligue and Dutch Eredivisie but you don't see anyone bullshitting them.Players like Rooney and Beckham(although he isn't in the EPL no more he still remains,in a way,their flagbearer) are rated alongside the world's best by so called football pundits who are in fact EPL diehards while the likes of Valeri Bojinov and Fernando Torres are often overlooked in spite of their superior ability (and,may i add,better temperament).
Every little issue in the EPL is blown way out of proportion and things like Rooney getting a three match ban gets on the headlines of every sporting newspaper at the neighbourhood newsstand.Case in point-When Mutu got his drug ban his name was splashed all over the papers and on the TV but there wasn't so much as a short article on the likes of Jaap Stam,Manuele Blasi etc. getting theirs.Why?Because they play in Italy.Bookmakers rate Chelsea and earlier in the season Arsenal as favourites in the Champions League even with their embarrassing record in the CL while UEFA actually elected to place Milan,Inter and Juve all in the second seeded bracket-and need i remind you that two of those three were in the final a year and a half ago?Well look where we are now,the second rated Italian teams have all topped their groups while breaking a few records in the process and the mighty Arsenal were forced to sweat it out on the last day,also Man United being toppled to second in the group even with three of the easiest opponents any of the top seeds had.
Bah **** EPL.
People say we bullshit the EPL like nobody's business but if it weren't for the fact that so many people overrate it and make it out to be the best league in the world we would detest it so much.The standard of football is higher than the French Ligue and Dutch Eredivisie but you don't see anyone bullshitting them.Players like Rooney and Beckham(although he isn't in the EPL no more he still remains,in a way,their flagbearer) are rated alongside the world's best by so called football pundits who are in fact EPL diehards while the likes of Valeri Bojinov and Fernando Torres are often overlooked in spite of their superior ability (and,may i add,better temperament).
Every little issue in the EPL is blown way out of proportion and things like Rooney getting a three match ban gets on the headlines of every sporting newspaper at the neighbourhood newsstand.Case in point-When Mutu got his drug ban his name was splashed all over the papers and on the TV but there wasn't so much as a short article on the likes of Jaap Stam,Manuele Blasi etc. getting theirs.Why?Because they play in Italy.Bookmakers rate Chelsea and earlier in the season Arsenal as favourites in the Champions League even with their embarrassing record in the CL while UEFA actually elected to place Milan,Inter and Juve all in the second seeded bracket-and need i remind you that two of those three were in the final a year and a half ago?Well look where we are now,the second rated Italian teams have all topped their groups while breaking a few records in the process and the mighty Arsenal were forced to sweat it out on the last day,also Man United being toppled to second in the group even with three of the easiest opponents any of the top seeds had.
Bah **** EPL.
Exactly Desmond, fantastic post. I luckily have not succumb to the hype of the EPL in my country. Here in the USA the only top soccer league in the world is the EPL, with the Serie A and La Liga not even being mentioned in the same breath as the EPL. 9 out of 10 "soccer fans" here call the EPL the best league in the world, with the reason behind that arguement being "because it is the most exciting league in the world with the best teams." It might be the most exciting league to some people because of its fast pace, others, because they know nothing about football. It is also quite interesting how those same 9 people call Beckham one of the best players in the world....that is what you call hype people.
Actually it's rather nice that the EPL is extremely overrated. Once year after year goes by without English sides doing anything in Europe, and with their supposed "top players" failing outside of England, people will finally realize that they need to watch some football, not just talk football. People talk up the EPL and their players, but time after time there is nobody or no team backing up the statements made. Hopefully people will start to realize that the EPL is nothing but hype and haphazard football, and retract some of their inane statements about their supposed "superior" league. Until then, they will continue to look like idiots.
Actually it's rather nice that the EPL is extremely overrated. Once year after year goes by without English sides doing anything in Europe, and with their supposed "top players" failing outside of England, people will finally realize that they need to watch some football, not just talk football. People talk up the EPL and their players, but time after time there is nobody or no team backing up the statements made. Hopefully people will start to realize that the EPL is nothing but hype and haphazard football, and retract some of their inane statements about their supposed "superior" league. Until then, they will continue to look like idiots.
The EPL is extremely well packaged, that's what's [b[really[/b] going for it.
What most people simply don't packaging makes all the difference in a commercially driven world like ours is nowadays.
I read this article about 3 weeks or so ago, and archived it. I am sure that it will make interesting reading. Please note that it hall be in italics, but the parts that I really want to emphasise shall be emboldened.
The Incredibles
Phil Ball[size]
Back in London this last Saturday, I tuned into Match of the Day in the evening. The theme tune's comforting chimes always make me smile, taking me back to childhood when my mother would occasionally allow me to stay up until ten o'clock to watch the highlights of a couple of matches.
It was enough to feed the obsession, and weaned on the programme's weekly milk it is difficult not to feel a certain affinity to it even now, after years of watching and enjoying the different scene that is Spanish football.
Nevertheless, despite the programme's fame and longevity, few European countries have ever taken up its format. The Spanish certainly haven't, and remain stubbornly resistant to the 'collective extended highlights' concept that the programme still champions.
With the technological advances (and investment) in television coverage now permitting Match of the Day to cover every single Premiership game, the format usually means that one game will be accorded a slice of say, 30% of the total highlight pie, another game 20%, with the rest given an equal share of the remaining time. It seems a satisfactory arrangement, with every game warranting reasonable attention.
In Spain, there is a live game on the national channel on Saturday, followed by one with Canal Plus on Sunday - then a host of round-up programmes on every channel. They are of varying quality, but none of them follows the Match of the Day highlights plus analysis format. The Spanish round-ups show the goals and the occasional goalmouth incident, but they are not 'highlights', in the English sense of the word. Why is this?
Watching the slick editing and deluge of goals on Saturday night's Premiership highlights one could well have been convinced - as many surely are - that the English Premiership is the place to be. It looked dazzlingly exciting, breathless and spectacular. Wonderful goals, non-stop action, and football of the highest quality.
The ending collage to the programme, where the best goals were shown in close-up focus to the accompaniment of a testosteronic guitar riff, only served to package the product more spectacularly. I thought that people had grown out of this, that they had cottoned on to the mass delusion this creates - but apparently not, according to the viewing figures. And it's not surprising, for the show is indeed an entertaining one.
Nevertheless, it is to real football what Johann Cruyff was to modesty. There is no link between what one sees on the programme and the actual reality. The implicit truth of last Saturday's highlights, beneath the well-presented hype, was to show up, in glaring terms, the gaping chasm that exists between the have and the have-nots. It seems almost pointless to carry on with such a charade.
The standard of defending of most of the have-nots in the Premiership was so poor as to raise the question of exactly what these teams get up to in training every week - but what one witnessed last weekend was in no way typical of La Liga, for example.
There is a general feeling in Europe that Spain consists of Real Madrid, Barcelona and the rest, but whilst these two sides have undoubtedly a large slice of the country's attention (and money) you only have to watch a Spanish game or round-up to see that the lesser teams are much cannier, much more likely to put the spokes into the big wheels.
Maybe the previous century's statistics do not bear this so-called democracy out, with only nine different sides ever having won the top league prize, but that's not quite the issue at hand. Norwich's 4-0 capitulation at Chelsea was extraordinary for a side of supposedly top-flight status, despite the quality of the opposition facing them. The standard of the defending was abysmal, as was that of Crystal Palace in their 5-2 defeat at Manchester United.
No Spanish side of similar status would commit such a litany of schoolboy errors, and yet here it was, for all to see. Frank Lampard's wonderful second goal for Chelsea, a swerving shot from twenty yards which left the 'keeper grasping at atoms, was talked up enthusiastically by the programme's panel, conveniently ignoring the fact that Lampard had been left in several hectares of space and been permitted the time to sit down and unwrap his Christmas presents.
Game after game it was the same story - great goals, rock and roll, defenders stumbling or wholly absent from proceedings. Real Madrid have knocked in a few goals recently, against Albacete and Levante, but in general this season they have had to work for their suppers. So have Barcelona. Back in the Premiership, ex-Barça stalwart Reizeger scored for Middlesborough in their 3-0 win over Aston Villa, the type of goal that he never scored in Spain.
Playing at left-back, he cut in from the touchline, drifted almost apologetically past three defenders and almost shoulder-shrugged the ball into the net. You could tell by his smile that he wasn't used to such generosity. And so, to answer the original question - there are no extended highlights in Spain because there is no collective desire to fool the public.
Match of the Day can make the most tedious of goalless draws look like a classic, but the brief, matter-of-fact presentation of a 0-0 draw between Málaga and Numancia will never wish to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. Though the Spanish often excel in the art of self-deception in other matters, they at least try to be realistic about their football.
The so-called hard-nosed TV analysis of English football is really nothing of the sort. It's amusing that the same English pundits who were trashing José Mourinho so easily in September for his apparently cynical defensive attitude to the game are now queuing up to lavish their belated praise upon his neat small head.
Mourinho basically understood (as opposed to the English media) that to make Chelsea truly competitive he had to make them more 'continental', if that is what being defensively competent means. Once he had established that, the rest could fit into place, as it now appears to be doing.
The Chelsea v Barcelona draw is thus an absolute classic in the making. It could even restore one's faith in the Champions League. And the game should not be viewed as a clash of styles, i.e. Chelsea's pragmatism versus Barcelona's spectacle. The truth is surely that both sides have proved this year the primacy of intelligent defending, and that you need to have (and use) an effective midfield hod-carrier. Makelele for Chelsea, and Marquez for Barça. Should you get past those two, there are still some formidable chaps standing in your way.
It's not all about Ronaldinho and Robben, excellent though they both are. These two sides best characterise the new model football - where you don't make mistakes, but you pack your squad so full of quality that when the opposition does make them your own thoroughbred attackers move in for the kill. This is why I tentatively favour Barcelona's chances in the quarter-finals, because they are more accustomed to feeding on less free morsels than are a side like Chelsea. There is no team in La Liga who would have handed them a 4-0 win on the sort of broken plate that Norwich offered up to Chelsea.
La Liga takes its break next week, after a midweek league programme that has been squeezed in to ensure that the second half of the season doesn't get too jam-packed with fixtures. The spectacle then resumes on the weekend of January 9th. There'll be some great games, there'll be some poor games, and there'll be some in-between games, but the Spanish media will, thankfully, continue to present the product in those very terms.
As Dash says to his mother in The Incredibles; 'If you say that everybody's special, that's just a way of saying that nobody is'.
I hold on to the belief that a successful team is built on a solid defence. Anyone who opposes that view may shoot me.
What most people simply don't packaging makes all the difference in a commercially driven world like ours is nowadays.
I read this article about 3 weeks or so ago, and archived it. I am sure that it will make interesting reading. Please note that it hall be in italics, but the parts that I really want to emphasise shall be emboldened.
The Incredibles
Phil Ball[size]
Back in London this last Saturday, I tuned into Match of the Day in the evening. The theme tune's comforting chimes always make me smile, taking me back to childhood when my mother would occasionally allow me to stay up until ten o'clock to watch the highlights of a couple of matches.
It was enough to feed the obsession, and weaned on the programme's weekly milk it is difficult not to feel a certain affinity to it even now, after years of watching and enjoying the different scene that is Spanish football.
Nevertheless, despite the programme's fame and longevity, few European countries have ever taken up its format. The Spanish certainly haven't, and remain stubbornly resistant to the 'collective extended highlights' concept that the programme still champions.
With the technological advances (and investment) in television coverage now permitting Match of the Day to cover every single Premiership game, the format usually means that one game will be accorded a slice of say, 30% of the total highlight pie, another game 20%, with the rest given an equal share of the remaining time. It seems a satisfactory arrangement, with every game warranting reasonable attention.
In Spain, there is a live game on the national channel on Saturday, followed by one with Canal Plus on Sunday - then a host of round-up programmes on every channel. They are of varying quality, but none of them follows the Match of the Day highlights plus analysis format. The Spanish round-ups show the goals and the occasional goalmouth incident, but they are not 'highlights', in the English sense of the word. Why is this?
Watching the slick editing and deluge of goals on Saturday night's Premiership highlights one could well have been convinced - as many surely are - that the English Premiership is the place to be. It looked dazzlingly exciting, breathless and spectacular. Wonderful goals, non-stop action, and football of the highest quality.
The ending collage to the programme, where the best goals were shown in close-up focus to the accompaniment of a testosteronic guitar riff, only served to package the product more spectacularly. I thought that people had grown out of this, that they had cottoned on to the mass delusion this creates - but apparently not, according to the viewing figures. And it's not surprising, for the show is indeed an entertaining one.
Nevertheless, it is to real football what Johann Cruyff was to modesty. There is no link between what one sees on the programme and the actual reality. The implicit truth of last Saturday's highlights, beneath the well-presented hype, was to show up, in glaring terms, the gaping chasm that exists between the have and the have-nots. It seems almost pointless to carry on with such a charade.
The standard of defending of most of the have-nots in the Premiership was so poor as to raise the question of exactly what these teams get up to in training every week - but what one witnessed last weekend was in no way typical of La Liga, for example.
There is a general feeling in Europe that Spain consists of Real Madrid, Barcelona and the rest, but whilst these two sides have undoubtedly a large slice of the country's attention (and money) you only have to watch a Spanish game or round-up to see that the lesser teams are much cannier, much more likely to put the spokes into the big wheels.
Maybe the previous century's statistics do not bear this so-called democracy out, with only nine different sides ever having won the top league prize, but that's not quite the issue at hand. Norwich's 4-0 capitulation at Chelsea was extraordinary for a side of supposedly top-flight status, despite the quality of the opposition facing them. The standard of the defending was abysmal, as was that of Crystal Palace in their 5-2 defeat at Manchester United.
No Spanish side of similar status would commit such a litany of schoolboy errors, and yet here it was, for all to see. Frank Lampard's wonderful second goal for Chelsea, a swerving shot from twenty yards which left the 'keeper grasping at atoms, was talked up enthusiastically by the programme's panel, conveniently ignoring the fact that Lampard had been left in several hectares of space and been permitted the time to sit down and unwrap his Christmas presents.
Game after game it was the same story - great goals, rock and roll, defenders stumbling or wholly absent from proceedings. Real Madrid have knocked in a few goals recently, against Albacete and Levante, but in general this season they have had to work for their suppers. So have Barcelona. Back in the Premiership, ex-Barça stalwart Reizeger scored for Middlesborough in their 3-0 win over Aston Villa, the type of goal that he never scored in Spain.
Playing at left-back, he cut in from the touchline, drifted almost apologetically past three defenders and almost shoulder-shrugged the ball into the net. You could tell by his smile that he wasn't used to such generosity. And so, to answer the original question - there are no extended highlights in Spain because there is no collective desire to fool the public.
Match of the Day can make the most tedious of goalless draws look like a classic, but the brief, matter-of-fact presentation of a 0-0 draw between Málaga and Numancia will never wish to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. Though the Spanish often excel in the art of self-deception in other matters, they at least try to be realistic about their football.
The so-called hard-nosed TV analysis of English football is really nothing of the sort. It's amusing that the same English pundits who were trashing José Mourinho so easily in September for his apparently cynical defensive attitude to the game are now queuing up to lavish their belated praise upon his neat small head.
Mourinho basically understood (as opposed to the English media) that to make Chelsea truly competitive he had to make them more 'continental', if that is what being defensively competent means. Once he had established that, the rest could fit into place, as it now appears to be doing.
The Chelsea v Barcelona draw is thus an absolute classic in the making. It could even restore one's faith in the Champions League. And the game should not be viewed as a clash of styles, i.e. Chelsea's pragmatism versus Barcelona's spectacle. The truth is surely that both sides have proved this year the primacy of intelligent defending, and that you need to have (and use) an effective midfield hod-carrier. Makelele for Chelsea, and Marquez for Barça. Should you get past those two, there are still some formidable chaps standing in your way.
It's not all about Ronaldinho and Robben, excellent though they both are. These two sides best characterise the new model football - where you don't make mistakes, but you pack your squad so full of quality that when the opposition does make them your own thoroughbred attackers move in for the kill. This is why I tentatively favour Barcelona's chances in the quarter-finals, because they are more accustomed to feeding on less free morsels than are a side like Chelsea. There is no team in La Liga who would have handed them a 4-0 win on the sort of broken plate that Norwich offered up to Chelsea.
La Liga takes its break next week, after a midweek league programme that has been squeezed in to ensure that the second half of the season doesn't get too jam-packed with fixtures. The spectacle then resumes on the weekend of January 9th. There'll be some great games, there'll be some poor games, and there'll be some in-between games, but the Spanish media will, thankfully, continue to present the product in those very terms.
As Dash says to his mother in The Incredibles; 'If you say that everybody's special, that's just a way of saying that nobody is'.
I hold on to the belief that a successful team is built on a solid defence. Anyone who opposes that view may shoot me.
Thanks for posting that article man, good stuff. It seems like the English media and pundits are in some sort of alliance to make everything EPL seem bigger and better than what it actually is. In the case of Mourinho, pundits were blasting him for his style of coaching, but when the rumors came about him going to Chelsea, then finally making the move to London, that criticism changed to all-out praise. Those people do anything to make the EPL seem better than everything, even if it means being hypocritical. Even the fans of English soccer have succumb to this "disease," keeping the mentality that the EPL is better than everything. Well I guess those people get a bit flustered year after year when their top clubs and players fail outside of England.
blackmint,
As an passionate Azzurri supporter I couldnt help but end in such note!
.
Anyway, I will clarify few things.
Firstly, I do think EPL is overrated. After all, only Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea have won European title over last decade or so and given that two London teams won Cup Winners Cup that was so dire that it was eventually scrapped, the hype with EPL is quite fascinating and somewhat puzzling. Serie A, for all, its dominance in mid 80s to late 90s never attained such affection around the globe.
Hence, personally I think EPL's hype is less to do with football per se than its marketing power. Its marketing power IMO is mainly due to the fact England speaks english which give EPL advantage over other nations in terms of distribution via ESPN. The other source of media hype is mainly related, as I have mentioned before, to do with money. Is it a coincidence that EPL started to rise after its big fact contract with Sky? The big money contract meant that teams were able to bring in big name players and if I recall correctly EPL per se started to attract some attention after then big name Serie A players such as Ravanelli, Di Matteo, Vialli, Petrescu, and co. made the transition (Thoough some viewed them as rejects). This trend has accelerated and nowadays there probably more famous foreigners making living in England than in Italia. Also the argument that EPL is inherently exciting has obviously worked which chxta article hit right on the spot. How won really claim one league is definetely more exciting than the other based on "professional work" by players? Exciting is a subjective concept based on individual values as some may prefer up tempo match while other may marvel at the tactical organization of teams. Furthermore, how can an individual incidence such as Arsenal and Chelsea claim to represent league as a whole. Most fans like myself only see big matches in big leagues, CL matches, and International fixtures. I found Arsenal vs Man U match void of quality, and frankly boring. On the other hand, Inter vs Juve match was really exciting though I will be somewhat biased on this point as I enjoy every match Juve participate in whether they are "boring" or not. The point is that whether EPL is exciting is not an objective identity and if anythingelse such marketing argument on EPL side is what attracts fans rather than vice verse (Fans being attracted by exciting football). Nonetheless, I do agree with denco on the majority of points. I do think EPL as a system is far more competitive than Serie A - after all a day's work with Bourough, Newcastle, Spurs, Liverpool, sounds far more difficult than say Lazio, Fiorentina, or Palermo. In addition, its fast tempo match will likely to attract fans around the globe though some of its defending is really dreadful.
As an passionate Azzurri supporter I couldnt help but end in such note!
.Anyway, I will clarify few things.
Firstly, I do think EPL is overrated. After all, only Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea have won European title over last decade or so and given that two London teams won Cup Winners Cup that was so dire that it was eventually scrapped, the hype with EPL is quite fascinating and somewhat puzzling. Serie A, for all, its dominance in mid 80s to late 90s never attained such affection around the globe.
Hence, personally I think EPL's hype is less to do with football per se than its marketing power. Its marketing power IMO is mainly due to the fact England speaks english which give EPL advantage over other nations in terms of distribution via ESPN. The other source of media hype is mainly related, as I have mentioned before, to do with money. Is it a coincidence that EPL started to rise after its big fact contract with Sky? The big money contract meant that teams were able to bring in big name players and if I recall correctly EPL per se started to attract some attention after then big name Serie A players such as Ravanelli, Di Matteo, Vialli, Petrescu, and co. made the transition (Thoough some viewed them as rejects). This trend has accelerated and nowadays there probably more famous foreigners making living in England than in Italia. Also the argument that EPL is inherently exciting has obviously worked which chxta article hit right on the spot. How won really claim one league is definetely more exciting than the other based on "professional work" by players? Exciting is a subjective concept based on individual values as some may prefer up tempo match while other may marvel at the tactical organization of teams. Furthermore, how can an individual incidence such as Arsenal and Chelsea claim to represent league as a whole. Most fans like myself only see big matches in big leagues, CL matches, and International fixtures. I found Arsenal vs Man U match void of quality, and frankly boring. On the other hand, Inter vs Juve match was really exciting though I will be somewhat biased on this point as I enjoy every match Juve participate in whether they are "boring" or not. The point is that whether EPL is exciting is not an objective identity and if anythingelse such marketing argument on EPL side is what attracts fans rather than vice verse (Fans being attracted by exciting football). Nonetheless, I do agree with denco on the majority of points. I do think EPL as a system is far more competitive than Serie A - after all a day's work with Bourough, Newcastle, Spurs, Liverpool, sounds far more difficult than say Lazio, Fiorentina, or Palermo. In addition, its fast tempo match will likely to attract fans around the globe though some of its defending is really dreadful.
Good point about the fact that the English have a language advantage,Jun
Anyway to add a point,just how many English players have moved out of their domestic league to Spain and Italy and succeeded?Also,how many of their emerging starlets actually are English and homebred?
The three most high profile English exports in recent years are undoubtedly David Beckham,Steve McManaman and Michael Owen,all of whom flourished in the EPL.The former two have failed miserably in Spain while Owen has blown hot and cold and generally failed to impress.
Now on to the second question.Francesc Fabregas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Antonio Reyes etc are all foreigners and the only young English superstar there happens to be as overrated as the league he plays in-Wayne Rooney,the young prodigy who has gotten more match bans than goals scored ever since his 26m transfer to Man Utd.
Now compare that to Italy and Spain.Previously thought to be a washed up player,Gaizka Mendieta is having a new lease of life at Middlesborough.The afore mentioned Reyes has made an amazingly quick transition from lowly Sevilla to Arsenal and cemented his place amongst their Frenchies.But what of the Italians?Surely they,accustomed to the slow pace of their domestic game,could never last the pace in England,much less till Mendieta's grand old age of 32?Enter Paolo Di Canio and Gianfranco Zola,Italy's timeless wonders.Lighting up the EPL up to ages of 35 and 36 respectively and now working wonders with their former haunts back home.
The long running stories of the superstars of tomorrow in Italy and Spain are that of their very own U23 stars.Joaquin, Gilardino, Torres, Ferrari etc. hold their own against their more experienced counterparts week in week out yet garner far less exposure than the hopelessly overrated thug Wayne Rooney.
Anyway to add a point,just how many English players have moved out of their domestic league to Spain and Italy and succeeded?Also,how many of their emerging starlets actually are English and homebred?
The three most high profile English exports in recent years are undoubtedly David Beckham,Steve McManaman and Michael Owen,all of whom flourished in the EPL.The former two have failed miserably in Spain while Owen has blown hot and cold and generally failed to impress.
Now on to the second question.Francesc Fabregas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Antonio Reyes etc are all foreigners and the only young English superstar there happens to be as overrated as the league he plays in-Wayne Rooney,the young prodigy who has gotten more match bans than goals scored ever since his 26m transfer to Man Utd.
Now compare that to Italy and Spain.Previously thought to be a washed up player,Gaizka Mendieta is having a new lease of life at Middlesborough.The afore mentioned Reyes has made an amazingly quick transition from lowly Sevilla to Arsenal and cemented his place amongst their Frenchies.But what of the Italians?Surely they,accustomed to the slow pace of their domestic game,could never last the pace in England,much less till Mendieta's grand old age of 32?Enter Paolo Di Canio and Gianfranco Zola,Italy's timeless wonders.Lighting up the EPL up to ages of 35 and 36 respectively and now working wonders with their former haunts back home.
The long running stories of the superstars of tomorrow in Italy and Spain are that of their very own U23 stars.Joaquin, Gilardino, Torres, Ferrari etc. hold their own against their more experienced counterparts week in week out yet garner far less exposure than the hopelessly overrated thug Wayne Rooney.