Today’s Football 2020/21 Season

[longers]

It’s gash you just want to try wind up the yank.

You should know by now that every league is gash apart from the one Everton are in. If we get knocked down into the championship that becomes the best league. These be the rules.

 

[Nymzee]

You should know by now that every league is gash apart from the one Everton are in

We’re gash

 

[Goat]

It’s gash you just want to try wind up the yank.

Even our bottom side has the unmistakable talent of Ademola Lookman.

 

[catcherintherye]

I suppose my point is it's all guesswork and the CL is no way to compare. Im not so sure on Bayern, if they were in PL. Maybe it's a personal bias, but I dont think they would know what hit them in terms of tough games week after week

What makes the PL hard for me is 2 things.

1) The equality of the league. The sides at the bottom, or bottom half are still good. They have big budgets, like top 40, even top 30 in Europe size budgets. They can all buy good quality players. So theres no easy games. No 6-8 gimme teams who are like Huddersfield a few years back. Most league have at least 6 to 8 Huddersfield.

Even the sides who come up, they have a squad who will know how to win, battle hardened having come through a 46 game season, and then they get this huge budget where they can go and add up to 100m in players. So theres no respite. For clubs like us, it means you cant really ever relax and take 2-3 years to sacrifice results to slowly built a young squad.

2- Allied to this, you get very varied styles and sides who can pull them off well. You have Burnley, or peak Sheffield United, very well drilled, big, physical, nightmare of set plays. At the other end you have a Brighton, who have great ball retention, attacking moves etc. The pressing may not be as high as the Bundesliga, but the physicality is there.

For a coach, you can implement your style and buy players to fit the brief. So it's a real slog. At every level really.

We almost have 5 Bayerns/PSGs etc and Spurs are close to making it a 6th. Then with clubs like ourselves, Wolves to a degree Villa you have big clubs who are well supported. You have a Leicester who are like a very well run German club, who would have a budget that would be 4/5th in the Bundesliga but very well run.

So yes the PL at every level is very hard.

 

[Chris O'Connor]

I can't make them (Chelsea) favorites because they were the 2nd team in a 6 game losing streak at Anfield.

Burnley
Brighton
City
Everton
Chelsea
Fulham

So 2nd team in that losing streak was Brighton, perhaps you meant the last but one?

 

[Saint Domingo]

Even our bottom side has the unmistakable talent of Ademola Lookman.

He actually sparkled for them for a bit didn’t he? The same way he sometimes turns it on for Fulham. Equal Levels.

 

[Chris O'Connor]

I said we can go from 2005 if you want...

Just measured the success of each country using an admittedly rather arbitrary points system of 2 for a winning team and 1 for losing finalists of all the Champions league finals since 2005

Result

Spain 18 points
England 15 points
Italy 7 points tied with
Germany 7 points
France 1 point

So as you suspected Spain are top but only just ahead of England, both have dominated this period in two phases, England the earlier part and Spain the latter, the rest nowhere.

You thought

'Go from 2005 if you want. Spain is the best league. England and Germany compete for second. There is no argument on European results in the CL, EL or combining both.'

I only did the CL but you said there would be no argument in that on its own.

 

[Jamo Martinez]

Just measured the success of each country using an admittedly rather arbitrary points system of 2 for a winning team and 1 for losing finalists of all the Champions league finals since 2005

Result

Spain 18 points
England 15 points
Italy 7 points tied with
Germany 7 points
France 1 point

So as you suspected Spain are top but only just ahead of England, both have dominated this period in two phases, England the earlier part and Spain the latter, the rest nowhere.

You thought

'Go from 2005 if you want. Spain is the best league. England and Germany compete for second. There is no argument on European results in the CL, EL or combining both.'

I only did the CL but you said there would be no argument in that on its own.

The EL analysis would probably provide an interesting metric as, to a degree, it shows the strength of the second tier teams in a league

Without looking, I would imagine Spain is well ahead in that respect.

 

[Chris O'Connor]

The EL analysis would probably provide an interesting metric as, to a degree, it shows the strength of the second tier teams in a league

Without looking, I would imagine Spain is well ahead in that respect.

I haven't looked but would hardly suspect it to show the strength of the second tier teams in all the leagues but definitely agree Spain would be top. The Europa League prize of a champions league place now makes all teams in all leagues think it well worth winning. That was a change made by UEFA because they thought it needed to be valued more. The English teams especially, but probably also uniquely, treated it as a poisoned chalice, a worthless Thursday night second rate competition that would mean the Thursday Sunday schedule inked in and could seriously damage their chances of the top four the following year.

Since the CL prize incentivised the EL for the English sides the change in attitude has been dramatic. Firstly Mourinho's Man United won it to qualify for the CL then Chelsea beat Arsenal in the final two years ago, that just wouldn't have happened previously.

 

[Jamo Martinez]

I haven't looked but would hardly suspect it to do that honestly. The Europa League prize of a champions league place now makes all teams in all leagues think it well worth winning. That was a change made by UEFA because they thought it needed to be valued more. The English teams especially, but probably also uniquely, treated it as a poisoned chalice, a worthless Thursday night second rate competition that would mean the Thursday Sunday schedule inked in and could seriously damage their chances of the top four the following year.

Since the CL prize incentivised the EL for the English sides the change in attitude has been dramatic. Firstly Mourinho's Man United won it to qualify for the CL then Chelsea beat Arsenal in the final two years ago, that just wouldn't have happened previously.

Good point. We'd need a longer sample size with those conditions to get any reliable conclusion.

 

[Brisan123]

Just measured the success of each country using an admittedly rather arbitrary points system of 2 for a winning team and 1 for losing finalists of all the Champions league finals since 2005

Result

Spain 18 points
England 15 points
Italy 7 points tied with
Germany 7 points
France 1 point

So as you suspected Spain are top but only just ahead of England, both have dominated this period in two phases, England the earlier part and Spain the latter, the rest nowhere.

You thought

'Go from 2005 if you want. Spain is the best league. England and Germany compete for second. There is no argument on European results in the CL, EL or combining both.'

I only did the CL but you said there would be no argument in that on its own.

Owned

 

[Chris O'Connor]

Good point. We'd need a longer sample size with those conditions to get any reliable conclusion.

Just looked at the current EL odds on oddschecker for this year's competition and it perhaps tells you the change in importance the bookies now suspect it has for the prem sides

United favourites 7/2
Spurs next best 9/2
Arsenal 7/1


Ajax best of the rest at 9/1, Roma and Villarreal 12/1, AC Milan 16/1, Rangers 22/1

 

[Remember-the-name]

City will win the CL this year 100%.

 

[number4.]

City will win the CL this year 100%.

They are favorites on merit & without a doubt best squad in CL, but Im not so sure.

One of city's problems is being caught cold; you only have to go back to Sunday to see that. The nature of the way teams in PL adapt their style simply doesn't have them prepared for the CL "big games" and time after time history repeats itself.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bayern, either Madrid team (if they get through), PSG or Dortmund catch them cold over two legs. The best draw for them would be Liverpool or Chelsea

 

[Chris O'Connor]

They are favorites on merit & without a doubt best squad in CL, but Im not so sure.

One of city's problems is being caught cold; you only have to go back to Sunday to see that. The nature of the way teams in PL adapt their style simply doesn't have them prepared for the CL "big games" and time after time history repeats itself.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bayern, either Madrid team (if they get through), PSG or Dortmund catch them cold over two legs. The best draw for them would be Liverpool or Chelsea

Pep's record in the CL post his Barca invincible days is truly abysmal tbh. Firstly with Bayern not only failing to emulate Heynckes' achievements after taking over but not even reaching one final (did he even reach s semi?). Then taking over from Pelligrini he's yet to even match Pelligrini's City high point of losing semi finalists.

Pep hasn't come near to cracking Europe post Barca, I actually think Chelsea most likely of the three prem teams tbh and they're my tip to win it.