Question about English Soccer

[MNAFETSC]

It seems like the CL and league title go hand in hand. If you reguarly win league titles but cant win the CL (Arsenal) it feels like somethings missing. If you win the CL but cant win your league title (Liverpool) it seems like somethings missing.

[eliostar]

Winning the league is what makes you a champion, the champions league is just a glorified cup competition. It's neither a league nor is it reserved for champions.
Personally I preferred the old system, you actually had to be a champion to compete.

[Wisemensay]

Winning the league is what makes you a champion, the champions league is just a glorified cup competition. It's neither a league nor is it reserved for champions.
Personally I preferred the old system, you actually had to be a champion to compete.
Well said. The Premiership is wanted ahead of the CL easily. The CL is a bit of a joke really. Purely a money making device. Especially when no champion wins it (most of the time these days), or worse, when a corrupt team who shouldn't even be in the competition wins it. Makes a mockery of it.

[Colm]

Winning the league is what makes you a champion, the champions league is just a glorified cup competition. It's neither a league nor is it reserved for champions.
Personally I preferred the old system, you actually had to be a champion to compete.Spot on, You don't even have to be champions of your own country to win it.

[revelationx]

The CL and Prem are both very difficult to win. The Prem needs a very strong squad to win it but also relies on your rivals slipping up and dropping points. The Premiership is a test of your squad strength and ability to cope the best with injuries and suspensions. Although 20 teams are in the Premiership at most 4 teams are currently in contention to win it as most clubs do not have a good enough squad to really compete.

The Champions League has more high quality teams and is more tactical due to the home and away knockout stages. The Champions League Final is the single most important and prestigious game for a club in UEFA to win. It appears that the best teams throughout Europe play in the Champs League and so players seek to test themselves by playing in the Champs League. The best players often choose to join clubs who are/likely to be playing in the Champs League. So participation in the Champs League is a big draw for the very top players.

At this moment in time Liverpool want the Premership the most, as we have won the Champs League recently but not the League. Fergie desperately wants the Champs League again before he retires. Roman desperately wants to win the Champs League and a failure to do so is partly why Jose is under the threat of being sacked. Arsenal and Chelsea have never won the CL and desperately want to do so as all the giant clubs of Europe have won it at least once.

[evanpemsocr]

I may be off on this assumption, but how come the League seems more important only in England that the other European Countries, where their fans would rather win The CL than the League. Again I could be wrong but thats the assumption I get. Does it have to do with the English's inferiority complex?

[United Pumps]

That inferiority complex that doesn't exist? Yes, that one.

[Ian Daglers]

The question of which thing is harder to win is sort of ambiguous, because it depends on who you are. If you're Shelbourne, then, yeah, it's a lot easier to win your home league than the CL. On the other hand there have also been European champions who were nowhere near good enough to win their home leagues (e.g. Liverpool '05, Aston Villa '82). If you replayed the 04/05 Premiership ten times, you'd probably see Chelsea win it nine times, and it wouldn't be Liverpool winning the tenth. But if you did that with the Champions League, someone other than Chelsea would win most of them.

For teams that are non-contenders in their home leagues, winning the CL can be easier for a few reasons: (1) it's more doable to outplay a stronger team in the short run than the long run, (2) luck of the draw, and (3) being rested due to not having to bother with all league games. Please note that I do not claim that these all apply to any particular team (#2 could not be applied to this year's Liverpool team, nor could #3 be applied to the '05 Liverpool team, as they were struggling to requalify), just that they are potential reasons a team might be better able to compete for the CL title than a league title.

[McFly31400]

As Liverpool have found out, winning the European Champions League is easier than winning the Premiership these days.

you're a moron the Premiership isn't even the best league in Europe it's the Spanish league

you're lying to yourself...ever heard about UEFA rankings ?? just look at all the bullshit teams in your league yeah you're right it's really hard for Chelsea to beat Charlton and Portsmouth with a budget 10 times bigger lol

[RichardL]

you're a moron the Premiership isn't even the best league in Europe it's the Spanish league

you're lying to yourself...ever heard about UEFA rankings ?? just look at all the bullshit teams in your league yeah you're right it's really hard for Chelsea to beat Charlton and Portsmouth with a budget 10 times bigger lolwhereas Real Madrid and Getafe are on an equal financial footing.


Maybe when you've stopped being so pleased to have found somebody you think has a lower level of intelligence than yourself, you should go back and try and understand the point he was making.

[United Pumps]

Pigs didn't even say that the Premiership was the best. :/

Busted.

[McFly31400]

whereas Real Madrid and Getafe are on an equal financial footing.


Maybe when you've stopped being so pleased to have found somebody you think has a lower level of intelligence than yourself, you should go back and try and understand the point he was making.

Hey moron I understood he said that Liverpool won the CL but couldn't do better than 5th in their league and won against Chelsea in the semi-finals because the CL is just a cup and it's easier etc etc.... I understand you can think that way but why only the British do it, like the other dudes before this post. These days you've already heard the president of Real Madrid saying he preferred winning the liga over the CL? or the president of Lyon or Milan... I only hear the british saying it... hey maybe because you don't feel European I dont know after all you dont want to use the euro... but nobody believes you, we watch the games, on 20 EPL teams 15 are crap... you know what just compare the french league 10 last teams level with the EPL 10 last and you'll understand what a balanced league means and even with all the french players you take from us because of the low level of your formation system... just look how Man U had to cheat to beat Lille with 10 times their budget lol that's crazy...

[RichardL]

Hey moron I understood he said that Liverpool won the CL but couldn't do better than 5th in their league and won against Chelsea in the semi-finals because the CL is just a cup and it's easier etc etc....
well if you understood that the first time round why have a spazzy fit about the premiership not being the best league in europe?

You didn't understand. Admit it. Move on.

Or continue to look an utter tit if you prefer.


I understand you can think that way but why only the British do it, like the other dudes before this post.

what, the British are the only people who think there's more chance of notching a surprise win in a cup than there is in a league?


These days you've already heard the president of Real Madrid saying he preferred winning the liga over the CL?

I haven't heard him say that, but so what? What argument are you having here? Are there mystery voices telling you people here prefer to win the CL?


or the president of Lyon or Milan...

do they speak as one voice, or do you hear them all at once?


I only hear the british saying it...

saying what?


hey maybe because you don't feel European I dont know after all you dont want to use the euro...

people here are happy to use the euro, when we go abroad.


but nobody believes you

what don't you believe? That we think you are more likely to get a shock victory in a cup than in a league? Why don't you believe that. I don't believe everyone else is a moron over there.



, we watch the games, on 20 EPL teams 15 are crap...

again, who exactly are you arguing with about the premiership being the best or not? You just opened you mouth and dived in feet first into an argument nobody other than you was having.


you know what just compare the french league 10 last teams level with the EPL 10 last and you'll understand what a balanced league means

who doesn't understand what a balanced league is?

Who is saying the French league is less balanced? Who, other than yourself and the friends in your head gives a flying toss anyway?


and even with all the french players you take from us because of the low level of your formation system...

our formation system?

We took your French players because we could, just to piss you off. It's not our fault that anyone with any talent leaves the French league as soon as anyone decent puts a bid in. Perhaps if support in France wasn't so crap it wouldn't be a problem.


just look how Man U had to cheat to beat Lille with 10 times their budget lol that's crazy...


I thought it was very sneaky the way they cunningly cheated in full view of the referee, allowing him to see exactly what they were doing and - the bastards - giving the referee the option of disallowing the goal if he thought there was anything wrong with it.

[McFly31400]

We took your French players because we could, just to piss you off. It's not our fault that anyone with any talent leaves the French league as soon as anyone decent puts a bid in. Perhaps if support in France wasn't so crap it wouldn't be a problem.


nothing to do with the support, the average attendance here this year was higher than the Serie A
the problem is the french fiscal policy, players in France can't have the salaries they are offered in England because of the taxes (except for Monaco)

[leg_breaker]

Also to do with the fact that the English league has better TV deals, and is of a higher standard and more glamorous, and has better stadiums, training facilities etc.

[fernb8]

Also to do with the fact that the English league has better TV deals, and is of a higher standard and more glamorous, and has better stadiums, training facilities etc.

careful, bringing facts to this argument may upset our dear French friend...

[white riot]

The French guy got off lightly.

[McFly31400]

Also to do with the fact that the English league has better TV deals, and is of a higher standard and more glamorous, and has better stadiums, training facilities etc.

you're right about the stadiums but you know what's the problem in France ? it's Paris they got everything. For exemple at the 98 world cup, 85% of all the 10 stadiums construction budget went into the Stade de France and no club has used it yet. And until now there has been only 1 team from the Paris agglomeration in Ligue 1 whereas it's as big as London where there are at least 5 teams I think in premier league.

[United Pumps]

London has more teams than any other City in the world so that isn't an apt comparison.

[revelationx]

London has more teams than any other City in the world so that isn't an apt comparison.

Buenos Aires has more teams but London has probably the second most. I agree with your point though.;)