++ [ originally posted by baggio ] ++
Let me start by addressing you on the issue of Chelsea not having won anything so far. Your just strengthening my case of the EPL being so predictable, that its only ever Man u or Arsenal who do win in England. Now coming to this season, the trend is seemingly in favour of Chelsea, while Arsenal play catchup. And Man U? If your a betting man, your sensibilities i presume will not allow you to put your money on Man U, if im not mistaken. So where does that bring us? Back to square one? Seemngly, only two teams up for the title, AGAIN. And that too, is supposed to be for the better considering Man U have won a majority of the titles in the last decade, by healthy margins.
Sure, i agree the EPL is fast paced, no doubt. But a 4-4 draw between the likes of a Middelsborough and ermm maybe a Birmingham city do not indicate quality, but rather the lack of it to me. I'm sorry i havent ever seen Man U - Arsenal play out a 4-4 draw. So really, i dont see where your argument stems from as far high scores indicating quality are concerned. But yes i did happen to see a 3-3 draw between Inter and Roma. Infact, i happened to see it only this season. And while we're at it if my memory serves me correctly, Juve lost to Man U -3-0, after having put out a flu inflicted squad. Common, you'd remember that as a Juve fan wouldnt you?Its alright if you dont. But hey common im sure you remember the 7-0 in Turin against Olympiakos? Just a reminder about Serie A sides and their goal scoring abilities... oh yea and as regards the 5-1 Inter loss in the San Siro, dint they beat Arsenal by 3 goals at Highbury the very same season? As for Milan, sure they let in 4 goals against Depor. But please tell me how you forgot Depor needed those many to put it past Milan because of the 4-1 result that Milan got at the Siro, in the first leg.
Results aside, lets look at some business prospects here. Man United became the biggest marketing project in the history of football. But really did two Champions League titles and what 18 league titles warrant such success of the field? Even if you were a Man U fan, you'd say no. Why? Because purely on football success alone there are clubs that are bigger and better than Man United. The problem? Those clubs arent English, so they arent hyped. Guess who figured that out? Florintino Perez. He then decided to buy the poster boy of the EPL and the saturated Asian market, and well, Real Madrid and that too not because of their illustrous footballing glory but because of their English No. 23 player become the pretenders to the throne of the richest and most well marketed club in the world. Do you see what im trying to get at? Its all about hype, not quality. Its all about distribution packages, and monopolising the fanatical markets in this age of consumerism.
Yea, sure Roma has bombed in this year's CL. But the EPL, home to Arsenal who have rarely ever threatened to take home the cup in recent history, And Liverpool? Arent they just happy to be in the CL this season? Chelsea...lets see if money can buy titles.
The case in point: some may find the serie a boring. Which is fine. But like you say two sides to a coin. You want to see attacking football turn on the Dutch Eridivisie. You wont doubt the quality, you wont see the hype, just hardcore attacking, quality football. Too bad, those guys arent English.
Need you say more?