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La Liga too easy, Premier League strongest in the world


David

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Asked about Chelsea’s run, Pedro said: “It’s not new for me, but it’s difficult in this league. It’s different here. At Barcelona, it’s normal to win most of the games and sometimes it’s too easy.

“But the Premier League is very competitive and strong, and for this reason, 11 wins is a significant achievement. The record is 14, no? Only three wins more, but that will be difficult. Bournemouth are a good team. It’s a very good objective to get this record.

“It’s very different in Spain. Barca have many opportunities all the time to win matches, which in England is very difficult because the challenges are greater. You can see it week after week – the top teams lose to a team near the bottom because everybody is very good and the competition is very tough.” 

Pedro is desperate to add to his trophy collection with Chelsea

Pedro could easily have played out the remainder of his career at Barcelona, earned more winners’ medals and enjoyed an easy life, but he is desperate to add the Premier League to his impressive list of achievements.

“It was very clear to me I had to leave Barcelona and this was a really good opportunity,” said Pedro. “I had very few minutes in Barcelona and, yes, last season was bad, but I have never regretted it.

“Second is a disaster at Barcelona, so last season was a new situation for me. It was a difficult situation for everyone, for the club, the team and the coach. There were a lot of problems, but this season is different.

“I would love to win the Premier League because it’s the strongest league in the world and I think that would be something really good for my career.” 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/12/25/antonio-contes-rapid-revolution-chelsea-built-trust-says-pedro/

I've been saying it for years, nice to see an ex Barca player in agreement

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England,

Regular possible champions - Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal or Liverpool - 1 from 5

 

Spain, like most league in Europe dominated by a couple of teams almost every season.

Regular possible champions - Barca, Madrid - 1 from 2 [ odd year add Ath Madrid or Seville into the mix]

Easier league, yes without doubt.

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Well it does help he was part of the best team ever. Barcelona would batter the premier league teams 5 or 6 evey week too, just like they battered Man Utd, who were by far the best team in England (when the premier league actually had more quality) The same amount of different teams since the turn of the century have won the premier league as they have in La Liga so that removes the argument that more teams can win it. Also over the last few years, the champions of Spain have lost more games than the champions of England. The premier league appears more competitive because there is no elite team in England at the moment. Put any major team like Juventus, Real Madrid,Atletico Madrid,Barcelona or Bayern into the prem and they would win it comfortably , like the past Man Utd teams under Fergy did

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35 minutes ago, toddy said:

England,

Regular possible champions - Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal or Liverpool - 1 from 5

 

Spain, like most league in Europe dominated by a couple of teams almost every season.

Regular possible champions - Barca, Madrid - 1 from 2 [ odd year add Ath Madrid or Seville into the mix]

Easier league, yes without doubt.

Saying the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool can win the league is like saying the likes of Villarreal or Athletic Bilbao can win the Spanish league. Will never happen

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2 hours ago, blackNwhites said:

That's why the Spanish teams do so well in Europe. They're less tired and less beat up after a season in Spain. 

English teams are knackered and more likely to pick up an injury after a season of battles. 

Ah that old cliche again. The apparent myth of the tough premier league didn't hamper English teams back when they were consistently making the latter stages of the competition 5-10 years ago. The reason why they don't do too well now is because they aren't as good as they once were. The lesser teams in Spain are more aggressive than the lesser teams in England, which was stated by both Gary and Phil Neville.I won't try and let that get in the way of your argument though

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5 minutes ago, McLovin said:

Saying the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool can win the league is like saying the likes of Villarreal or Athletic Bilbao can win the Spanish league. Will never happen

Gerrard slip says Liverpool winning the PL isn't that unthinkable, can see them finishing a very close second again this season 

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4 minutes ago, McLovin said:

Ah that old cliche again. The apparent myth of the tough premier league didn't hamper English teams back when they were consistently making the latter stages of the competition 5-10 years ago. The reason why they don't do too well now is because they aren't as good as they once were. The lesser teams in Spain are more aggressive than the lesser teams in England, which was stated by both Gary and Phil Neville.I won't try and let that get in the way of your argument though

 

Did they state that as they were trying, and failing, to beat such teams?

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8 minutes ago, McLovin said:

Ah that old cliche again. The apparent myth of the tough premier league didn't hamper English teams back when they were consistently making the latter stages of the competition 5-10 years ago. The reason why they don't do too well now is because they aren't as good as they once were. The lesser teams in Spain are more aggressive than the lesser teams in England, which was stated by both Gary and Phil Neville.I won't try and let that get in the way of your argument though

Or the Premier League has become stronger in the last 10 years which is why the clubs at the top don't get the easy ride they once had whilst Real, Barca and Bayern have developed/snapped up superstars which have. 

No denying those 3 are by far the best in the world, but the rest of the league hasn't been able to close the gap as quick as the PL with all the money knocking around now has.

You have clubs that were in the Championship 3 seasons ago spending £30m+ on a striker (Benteke), do you see that at the bottom of La Liga?

 

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More money doesn't mean better, I thought the story of Leicester last season would emphasise that but it appears not, teams have just spent even more money. The lesser premier league teams spend money just because they can and end up wasting it a lot of the time. Meanwhile, the lesser teams in other leagues have to look for bargains. Sevilla bought one of the most talented forwards Wissam Ben Yedder for just 8 million whilst championship teams are paying that kind of money for average players. Teams in Europe laugh at England for overpaying for average players, ironically the same way we are now laughing at China for doing the same thing.

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Talking of money, this is going by transfermarkt figures but 16/17 arrivals 

Premier League £1,203,297,400

La Liga £420,269,750

That's just nuts, Hull, bottom of the Prem £22m spent, only 6 La Liga clubs spent more.

10 La Liga clubs spent less than £10m this season so far, Derby £11m.

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8 minutes ago, McLovin said:

More money doesn't mean better, I thought the story of Leicester last season would emphasise that but it appears not, teams have just spent even more money. The lesser premier league teams spend money just because they can and end up wasting it a lot of the time. Meanwhile, the lesser teams in other leagues have to look for bargains. Sevilla bought one of the most talented forwards Wissam Ben Yedder for just 8 million whilst championship teams are paying that kind of money for average players. Teams in Europe laugh at England for overpaying for average players, ironically the same way we are now laughing at China for doing the same thing.

Of course and you can single transfers out in every league which were better value, Mahrez from the same league for 500k.

Money is being spent in this country at a faster rate than the La Liga and it is closing the gap making it harder for clubs at the top.

07/08 Man Utd last won the CL, can you remember just how bad the clubs at the bottom were that season? :whistle:

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5 hours ago, McLovin said:

Ah that old cliche again. The apparent myth of the tough premier league didn't hamper English teams back when they were consistently making the latter stages of the competition 5-10 years ago. The reason why they don't do too well now is because they aren't as good as they once were. The lesser teams in Spain are more aggressive than the lesser teams in England, which was stated by both Gary and Phil Neville.I won't try and let that get in the way of your argument though

By aggression do you mean kicking pieces out of each other? 

I'm not talking violence, I'm talking about competitiveness. Foreign teams have always been dirty.

Maybe if the lesser teams in this country had less chance of a win they'd be more aggressive as well.

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6 hours ago, David said:

Just found this on Sky, not really relevant to today but an interesting head to head table for La Liga v PL teams since 1992 (yes I know football wasn't invented then)

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/10199445/la-liga-v-premier-league

 

IMG_1046.PNG

In total then since 1992, Premier League teams have a record of W49 D48 L67 against La Liga teams.  Whatever about the current relative strength of the two leagues, it's clear then that La Liga has had upper hand since 1992, and by a significant margin. Even if you were to take out Barca and R.Madrid, the record would still be tied at 36-30-36.  Hardly something that confirms the narrative of La Liga being traditionally a 2 team league that is often thrown at it.  While the Premier League has been claiming to be the 'best league in the world' since it's inception, urging every new signing arriving in the country to sing it's praises in interviews,  exactly what criterion have they been using?  Overall quality?  Look at the stats above.  Amount of European titles won?  Nope, can't be that. Competitiveness?  Hardly, before Man City and Chelsea struck oil,  AF's Man U...won plenty league titles at a canter, usually only Arsenal were considered genuine challengers. Amount of time the ball spent in the air?  Well, possibly.  The annoying thing is, nauseating hype aside, the Premier League is genuinely high in quality and entertainment, it's enormous wealth making it increasingly competitive.  But is it the best right now?  Who knows, does it matter? 

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The Premier League IMO was the best league in the world during the mid 00's. When Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and United were regularly making inroads in Europe and we had quality players here.

But let's not forget that for the past generation, United have dominated and before City and Chelsea came along with ridiculous wealth it was only ever a two-horse race.

La Liga is where the PL was 10-15 years ago with a monopolised top two, while the PL is now where La Liga was 10 years ago where any number of five or six clubs could win it.

You can't have it both ways. The PL can't be the best now because of its competitiveness, while at the same time it was the best 10-15 years ago when there was a big four challenging in Europe. It's either/or.

I, personally, believe La Liga has a higher standard in terms of overall quality. I think La Liga's teams' success in Europe over the last five or six years shows they have a higher quality.

I believe the PL is more competitive, but that's because right now there are no standout teams. Real, Barca or Bayern would dominate this current crop, whereas the United of 10 years would also win it easily.

 

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18 hours ago, David said:

Just found this on Sky, not really relevant to today but an interesting head to head table for La Liga v PL teams since 1992 (yes I know football wasn't invented then)

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/10199445/la-liga-v-premier-league

 

IMG_1046.PNG

This isn't that helpful, a points per game table for those that have played ten or more gMes would be better.

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