The Barclays Premier League used to dominate European football. Each year there’d be at least two English representatives in the latter stages of the Champions League, this would almost be a guarantee.Players from the Premier League would set the world stage alight with tantalising performances, Ballon d’Or nominations, world players of the year all hailing from the English Premier League – But no more.
Spanish teams have begun to dominate European football in recent seasons. But is this because La Liga is improving or because the Premier League is getting worse?
The Premier League is watched all over the globe by millions of people and statistics say it is the most watched league in the world. Players like Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo used to grace our Premier League pitches and showcase their undeniable skill and talent week in week out. Henry was part of ‘The Invincibles’ Arsenal team that notoriously won the Premier League is 2002 by going an entire season unbeaten. Cristiano Ronaldo burst onto our screens and showed us how skill, ball control and pace put together can slice through a defence with ease. Oh how the league has changed.
Going an entire season unbeaten? Not nowadays. The consistency levels in the Premier League are at an all time low. Fans aren’t tuning into our league expecting to see football being played at it’s best, they’re tuning in because of the pure excitement, the goals, the controversy. This isn’t good for our league nor our teams. Each weekend there is an upset or at least an unexpected result, Chelsea losing to QPR, who were at that time bottom of the league, for example.
I am not saying the Premier League has no quality, that’s not what I am saying. I am saying that the talent we do hold is often overshadowed by the controversy and the errors.
In recent years especially, the talent is slowly fading. A lot of players can’t seem to face more than a handful of seasons in the Premier league before departing to, more often than not, La Liga. You only have to look back over the five or six seasons to see the departing talent that heads to Espana – Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas, Luka Modric, Xabi Alonso, Alex Song to name but a few. There comes a time for every Premier League player when enough is enough and it’s the quality of football that takes priority, hence the exodus.
It seems the Premier League has become a stepping stone to La Liga. Our Premier League may be the best in terms of entertainment, but if judged correctly on the football itself it’s a no brainer – La Liga.