From Andrew in Dallas
Myles
Is the EPL really now as good as it used to be? Or have other leagues like Germany rebounded and lesser ones improved ?
Interesting to see this round of Champs League and Europa League matches.
A couple of things that stood out for me were
1) Russian teams did very well. I know they are near the end of their season & didn’t go to the World Cup so should be more in tune but does that really make such a huge difference if you’re supposed to be such a weak league ?
We have seen last season Ruben Kazan draw twice with Barca and as we know that’s no easy task.
2) German teams are strong again, their clubs are financially sound and they don’t have to sell their players.
3) EPL teams struggled. Spurs lost 2-3, Liverpool won 1-0, Man City won 1-0 & Villa drew 1-1.
If the EPL is so great why the poor results compared to the others ?
You cannot put this down to the World Cup as Germany were there also and for longer than England.
Is it that the EPL is so mercenary now that it’s getting the wrong type of players? Those that aren’t really that bothered as they get paid so much, and ultimately it’s not them that get sacked it’s the manager ?
They don’t try too much, get paid a fortune each week and if they get transferred they pocket more money for a signing-on fee and their wages are about the same as before ?
Why are these supposed lesser leagues like Russia improving and at best the EPL is standing still ?
Myles replies :
I admired Ruben Kazan’s football a lot. People under-rated them, which helped.
The bigger picture is too complicated for me to understand, let alone explain in four pars. When you go into a CLQ draw you don’t think you’ll be playing on a plastic pitch in Switzerland.
Spurs went 3-0 down in 28 minutes but got two goals back. Those CLQ games in August can be a bananaskin, even on grass, let alone astroturf. Daniel won’t let Harry buy till Spurs eliminate Young Boys, which makes sense. Daniel is an accountant.
There are mercenaries in every league.
Were Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen good mercenaries or bad? Ossie Ardiles?
In the end it’s about character. A good character gives value for money wherever he plays. A waster will fake it wherever he plays.
Sport at the highest level is not just a test of athletic and technical abilities.
Football, especially, is a test of character and the willingness of a footballer to play with the team and for the team, rather than for himself.
Fans always respect good, honest teamwork. You’re always trying to improve collectively by 3% or 5%, from game to game. That’s why, last season, so many people found Roy Hodgson’s side such a heart-warming example of what a smaller club can achieve.
Fulham should never beat Juventus. But they did.