With English sides occupying 4 of the final 8 spots in the UEFA Champions League, David Hytner wrote a piece in the Guardian with a series of quotes from Italy and Spain about how great English Football is, but the best quote in the piece looks like it's one of his own:
The wave of highly skilled imports has helped to raise the levels of technique and the arrival of forward-thinking continental coaches has refined tactical approaches. Yet the traditional virtues of strength, tempo and a never-say-die commitment - as illustrated by the Champions League final triumphs of United and Liverpool - have not been lost. Indeed, the old and the new make for an irresistible blend.
I'd 2nd that.
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4 deflections:
I third it; and first? (ok, bad joke)
The English style is definitely something different from the way the "continental" people play. But it can be very effective against the continental style. The pressing game erases some of the technical superiority of the non-English players.
I think another factor is that clubs in England are run very much like businesses so they focus their energy and effort better in improving performance on the pitch. Of course money always attract the best talent so I think that is the primary advantage of EPL.
I agree that money is helping to drive English Football's good results. The game is great to watch, so the television audiences are huge, and each new television contract is huge, so there's more money to bring in more good players.
I have followed a particular forum for about 4 yrs now. Currently the hottest topic of debate is whether the EPL is truly better than La Liga and Serie A. I think the EPL has been better in the last few years. More so this year. The interesting bit is that the EPL should only get better in the next few years.
Juventus going down and AC insisting on playing veterans has weakened the Serie A somewhat. Inter if nothing at all has only reinforced this--they beat everyone by a mile in Serie A, only to fail miserably in Europe.
Real shot themselves and La Liga in the foot by concentrating too much on the commercial as opposed to the actual team. They brought in the galacticos who got fat and complacent. They won nothing. Now Barcelona is following in their footsteps. Sevilla has shown they are not ready to roll with the big boys yet. That thrashing of Arsenal is very misleading. Arsene sent a Carling cup side and paid for the risk (but I'm sure the experience was invaluable for the young lads). Deportivo and Valencia are no longer the sides they were a while back.
Liverpool is better. They have loads of talent. Ferguson claims he has the most talented side yet. Chelsea probably has the most expensive mercenary unit ever assembled. The gunners have in most part grown under Arsene's tutelage--of course they all come with high technical ability. The top 4 is stronger than ever. Some arguments I have heard against the EPL claim the top 4 are all the EPL has. The other teams are suppossedly weak. But when Arsenal comes home from a 2-0 win at the San Siro and can only settle for a 0-0 result at Wigan, you have to question how truly weak the 'other' 16 EPL teams are. Bolton beat Bayern in a season where their fans I'm sure will be content with beating the drop. Everton is pushing Liverpool for 4th. Villa, Portsmouth, Blackburn, City are all sniffing around to see what they can get. Ramos has come and from early signs will be around for a while. Tottenham looks like they will be difficult opponents next season. I think they could have a strong Euro showing.
Currently very few will doubt the quality of the EPL's top 4. But with so much money around, with the influx/coming of age of so many good coaches (Ramos, Eriksson, Harry--he has done wonders with limited money, O'neill) and skilled players--Berbatov, Elano, Muntari, Arteta, outside of the top four, the EPL dominance is only getting started. However in football things can change quickly.
Some interesting points, and a nice shout for Muntari. I need to watch him play a bit more. I like watching Porstmouth when I can because I'm curious to see how Lassana Diarra is doing there. He could be a starter for France at Euro 2008 this summer.
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