After a weekend of Premier League football, the English media has calmed down after the exits of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal from the Champions League and Everton from the Europa League. As the dust settles, we can begin to look back and make a decision as to how far the English Premier League is behind the rest of Europe. With no English team making it past the Last 16 of the Champions League and Liverpool failing even to make it through what seemed a relatively easy group, it is left to the imagination as to how far an English team can progress in the future. With Arsenal fighting to the death in France only to fall short at the hands of Monaco and Manchester City being outclassed by a sensational Barcelona side, it is time for reflection on what is so inherently different between English and European teams.
The teams in Germany and Spain have dominated the Champions League over the past few years. Regardless of the strength of Premier League teams, they just cannot seem to match those of the European powerhouses. Teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are always the teams that are tipped to win the competition and the bookies are not wrong with three of the last four winners being one of these three teams.
Is it European know-how that we lack? It hardly seems likely with European football veterans in the form of Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini, who have a combined experience of 37 seasons of the competition. It cannot be the lack of knowledge from the managers. Is it the European experience of players? This is also highly unlikely with a league filled with European and internationally experienced players who have spent years playing at the highest level.
What is causing this recent lack of European success from English clubs? These big European teams attract the biggest names in football. Whilst the Premier League is filled with players of immense quality and experience, the best players in the world play in these divisions. The majority of the German World Cup team play in Germany or the two big Spanish teams. The majority of Spain’s World Cup winners during their period of dominance play for either of the two big Spanish clubs.
The Premier League is home to a plethora of football stars from all nations but it is not home to those who are the best in the world. When the UEFA team of the year is announced, it rarely features any Premier League players. From the past five years (2010-2014) of UEFA Teams of the Year 78% (43 of 55) of the players chosen have been from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. This is not just a coincidence. These teams continue to sign the best players in world football, whether this is for the huge pay packet or the prestige of playing for arguably the best clubs to ever grace football.
As these teams continue to sign the best players in world football their teams will only get stronger. Therefore, the pool of football’s best players is immediately shrunk with the cream of the crop now gone. The Premier League is then left to pick up players who have had fantastic seasons, have won big tournaments in the past but have peaked and players who have been the best in their respective leagues but do not possess the quality to mix it in the Champions League.
The Premier League is then left with a distinctive and noticeable difference in quality compared to those big teams and it shows when the latter stages of the competition have been reached. In the last five seasons, Premier League teams have only got passed the Round of 16 on six out of 20 attempts. Of the successful six, three were knocked out in the subsequent quarter-final round, with one reaching a semi final and two reaching the final. Whilst many will consider this not bad reading, an English final appearance last came in 2011/12 and only a solitary quarter-final and semi-final has been reached since, highlighting England’s fall from grace in the past three years.
It is clear to English fans that there is something that is holding back English teams in Europe. English clubs are not attracting the biggest names in world football which is hampering their chances of European success. If the Premier League is dubbed the best league in the world then this has not been the case over recent years. If it were the best then it would be the highest quality and the best players; if it were the best then Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t have left to join Madrid and Gareth Bale wouldn’t have followed suit. Simarly, Luis Suarez wouldn’t have left Liverpool if not for the draw that La Liga currently has.
La Liga is currently wining the race for the best league in the world. Though many claim that it has the same two teams winning it every year, the recent resurgence of Atletico Madrid has turned it into a three-horse race. Furthermore, it has by far the best players in it. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema for Madrid; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar for Barcelona. This just goes to show the quality of players this league possesses which is unparalleled to that of the Premier League.
We can only wait with baited breath for an English revival in the Champions League next season. The hopes of English football in Europe were dashed so early in the first knockout round of the competition. All four English sides crashed and burned at the hands of the European elite and all scarpered back to their cities for a rekindling in the Premier League. As the media and fans divert their attentions away from the competition, we cannot run away from this recurring problem. Are English teams underperforming or are we really that far behind the quality of the rest of Europe? We will have to wait until 15th September to see how we fare next year.
