The Decline of Premier League and Resurgence of La Liga

With a United-free couple of weekends, I thought I’d take the opportunity to look over an issue that I’ve touched upon at various points this season and last season: the worsening state of the Premier League’s elite…

…Or, as the argument progresses, perhaps it is the heightening levels of understanding and overall improvement by the ‘other’ teams in the League?

So, in order to analyse, let us look back to the way things were…



A few seasons back, the Premier League was undisputedly the best league in the world. In Ronaldo, Drogba, Torres and Henry, we had four of the best players in the world playing for arguably the four best teams on the planet. And on the Continental stage, we thrived. An English side took up at least one of the Champions League final places every season from 2004/05 to 2008/09, and three of the four semi-final places from 06/07 to 08/09.

But something happened after 2008/09.

As United aimed to make history by securing our second European Cup in as many years, having beaten an English side (Chelsea) in the previous year’s final and an English side (Arsenal) to reach this season’s final, we imploded. And so the aura of the Premier League imploded with us.

Barcelona swept us aside to win the treble: a buzz-word invented and stigmatised by United exactly 10 years beforehand. Messi, who scored the winner for Barca, won the tabloid battle of ‘world’s best’ against woeful Ronaldo; who subsequently decided to move a lot closer to his on-field rival by signing for Real Madrid a month later.

Embarrassed by claims the way we (the Champions of England) were too small and insignificant for Ronaldo against the might of Madrid, we failed to recover the following season. We were unimpressive and came second in the league, while only us and Arsenal reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup. It was the first time in seven seasons that an English side was not involved in a Champions League semi-final.

Now into United’s second season without Ronaldo, how have things changed? Well remember those players proudly representing the country’s best teams? Drogba has gone off the boil after impressing last season, perhaps finally signalling the end of his turbulent time in Englad. Torres is now officially shite (something not many people saw coming after scoring 33 goals for Liverpool in his debut season). And, like Ronaldo, Henry left for Spain shortly after Arsenal lost the Champions League final. Against Barca.

So finally onto the present state of football in Europe. Here is the current league table:

Premier League table - Monday, 13th December

Arsenal are top with 32 points, City second only because they’ve got a worse goal-difference, Chelsea fourth with 31 points as are we, except as you can see, we’ve played two games less than all three teams. So, even if we win both games in hand to go top with 37, its still a tight old top four. Also worth mentioning a couple of damning points:

Top of the table Arsenal have already lost a shocking seven; Citeh have scored an embarrassing eight at home (we’ve scored 24); although United have yet to lose, our seven draws has meant we’ve only won one away from home; and everyone’s favourites for the title at the beginning of the season, Chelsea, have won only one game since losing to Liverpool on the 7th November.

Because of this average form in the first 17 games of the season, the top four ‘best’ sides of the season are…well…not very impressive at all, really. The teams behind them – the ‘other’ teams as I’ve referred to them – are therefore knocking on the door. Quite competently. So competently in fact that it's no longer a surprise or ‘shock’ result when one of the title contenders loses to a team outside the top four.



West Brom are happy nicking points off us at OT and Arsenal at the Emirates. Sunderland swept ‘the greatest team in the country’ Chelsea aside when they visited Stamford Bridge and battered them 3-0 a few weeks ago. Tottenham have come into their own this term, scoring 24 and thoroughly impressing on the European stage, threatening to dismantle the norm at the top even further. The current Europa League hopefuls Sunderland, Bolton and Newcastle (who played their football in the Championship last season remember. And have a fat chav as a Chairman who’s proudest achievement in life is having his record breaking time necking a pint recorded live) are comfortably winning points week-in-week-out. And unsurprisingly, the leading goalscorer chart is dominated by players from those sides. And this could be the first season in God knows how long where we could see all three promoted sides deservedly keeping there place in this league. Why? Because they are that good. Because those sides have figured out the formula. And because the teams at the top have been sloppy and complacent, both tactically and in the transfer market (consider United’s biggest signings from the last couple of seasons: a past it former England striker, a winger signed from the third tier of Portugal…and Gabriel Obertan).

Now lets jet over a few hundred miles east to sunny Spain; to the league that quite frankly couldn’t touch us in terms of quality, appeal and raw success on the European stage a few years back. How are the top boys there getting on?...

La Liga table - Monday, 13th December

…sickeningly well is the answer.

The bottom line is La Liga has two proper, classy top teams who are better than everyone else. Not a disjointed, mismatched top four/five/six, nor teams who can’t win away (United), can’t win a trophy (Arsenal) and just can’t win full-stop (Chelsea). They possess a clear, fair divide that differentiates them as the elite and, let’s face it, as much as it might disgruntle the neutrals and fans of lower-table teams to hear this, is a good and healthy thing. As a fan of one of those teams, I know the competition from the top is hard enough without serious threat from below affecting our chances.

But forgetting the teams beneath Barca and Real for a second…just look at those stats.

Barcelona have won 13 after 15 games, scoring 46 goals and losing a divine one. Arsenal, top after 16 games, have won 32 points. And on the same amount of games played, we’re nine points behind Spain’s top team and have scored 11 goals less.

Our team in second place have scored 24 goals and won 32 points after 17 games. The second team in Spain have scored 38 goals and are on 38 points…and they’ve played two games less.

So what's the bottom line here? Barca and Real possess the two best players in the world, the two best managers and continually attract the best talent (the World Cup's best player, Ozil, went to Real and the best player playing in Spain however not playing for the top two, Valencia’s David Villa, went to Barca). And now, after 450million years of never having a commercial sponsor on their shirt, the biggest, bestest team in the world take the piss even further by signing a record shirt £125million deal. Both those teams are rich, admired and, assuming Real will start adding trophies to their copious amounts of goals, super successful. How can we compete?



However, over in England, as teams like Bolton, Sunderland, Stoke, West Brom, Newcastle, Birmingham, Everton and Wolves continue to play their unattractive yet ultra-effective football, they find the way to stop the Leagues best from progressing and improving on the European stage. Yet, such an ignorant thought neglects the more obvious point: Why are they able to stop us? Why haven’t we been able to compete like we used to and in turn progress? The signs were there last season as United were unable to compete on the transfer market and in turn suffer a poor season – dropping the majority of points from teams outside the top four. And this season, it's ever more noticeable.

Things, for the first time in a long time, are not looking good for us lot in England. While they continue to improve and strengthen for the best in Spain.

The years of simply presuming we’ll all make the Champions League semi’s are over, as complacency has finally kicked in. The days of attracting the top players in the world, the best managers and playing the most consistent, most attractive and most enviable football has been completely taken over by Europe’s true elite. As instead, we are left avoiding defeat and trying to score against the lower table teams; teams who have fantastically stepped-up while the top teams remain static in their progrss. Unless we can eliminate the arrogant and completely unjust air about us, we will no longer be able to competantly compete against, nor brush away, those sides like we used to - like Barca and Madrid can in their league - then we are a way off from competing in Europe. Reclaiming the title of World's Best League is reserved for fantasy.