European football power shifts

Dan Gleeballs · Jun 1, 2013

Ok so the premier league are yet to flex their financial muscle from the Sky TV deal but there are some mighty statements being made across the water.

Super rich Monaco and their £100 mill plus spend on Falcoa, James Rodriquez, Mountinho & Carveleho. I'm sure there's more to come. Combine them with minted PSG, Lyon & Marseille and French football is a league on the up.

Then there's the Germans & the all conquering Bayern & Dortmund. German football is booming at the moment & if it's not the talent they're capable of attracting its the home grown talent in the league.

Let's not forget the Spanish league either. Barcelona (with £50 mill Neymar) will be back with a vengeance & Real Madrid could end up nabbing Premier league talent in Suarez & Bale.

Seems to me there's a lot more equilibrium across Europe right now compared to when we were bossing it 5 years ago. For me it's Bayern again next season but I can see Monaco lifting the Champions league within 3 seasons

The Premier League is going to have to work hard.

stripeyshark · Jun 1, 2013

Dan Gleeballs said:
Ok so the premier league are yet to flex their financial muscle from the Sky TV deal but there are some mighty statements being made across the water.

Super rich Monaco and their £100 mill plus spend on Falcoa, James Rodriquez, Mountinho & Carveleho. I'm sure there's more to come. Combine them with minted PSG, Lyon & Marseille and French football is a league on the up.

Then there's the Germans & the all conquering Bayern & Dortmund. German football is booming at the moment & if it's not the talent they're capable of attracting its the home grown talent in the league.

Let's not forget the Spanish league either. Barcelona (with £50 mill Neymar) will be back with a vengeance & Real Madrid could end up nabbing Premier league talent in Suarez & Bale.

Seems to me there's a lot more equilibrium across Europe right now compared to when we were bossing it 5 years ago. For me it's Bayern again next season but I can see Monaco lifting the Champions league within 3 seasons

The Premier League is going to have to work hard.

Can't fault that. Football will be very interesting next season.

nomoremithras4me · Jun 1, 2013

Wouldn't disagree on the whole but, only interested in the Champ to be honest. Couldn't care less who wins the Prem, Seria A, La Liga or whatever they are all called! If a French team can pay Looney £200k a week whilst the country is bankrupt, then I give up to be fair imo

Durlston · Jun 1, 2013

Germany are certainly ready to win another World Cup next year. They'll probably be favourites although it's going to be very competitive with Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Italy all contenders.

Belgium could be the surprise package with Thibaut Cortois in goal, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku etc. Surprised they're around 100/1 at the moment - if they qualify from their tough group I can see those odds slashed. A very good all-round team.

Seagull over Canaryland · Jun 1, 2013

The Premiership may have even more money next season but it will have to sharpen its act up by some way. It has become a complacent fat lazy cash cow and the standard of football has slipped over the last 2-3 years. Some of the defending is really poor.

I don't think there is any coincidence that the top managers and players now think twice before coming here and now choose Germany or France. La Liga and Serie A have lost some of their aura but probably still shade the Prem. OK Chelsea won the Europa Cup but probably the worst showing by English clubs in Champs Lge for many years

The output of world class English players is in serious decline and the England team is pretty feeble these days. Too many foreign players in the Prem. I heard Ruud Gullit having a rant at how few young English players get pitch time in the Prem so aren't developing to their potential and even though our U21's are ok they aren't getting decent run of games in the senior side either. Something is fundamentally wrong.

The Germans are showing the way to go. Fan owned Clubs, superb stadiums, sensible ticket prices, no huge debts plus good footie at club and national levels.

Jim Van Winkle · Jun 1, 2013

Durlston said:
Germany are certainly ready to win another World Cup next year. They'll probably be favourites although it's going to be very competitive with Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Italy all contenders.

Belgium could be the surprise package with Thibaut Cortois in goal, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku etc. Surprised they're around 100/1 at the moment - if they qualify from their tough group I can see those odds slashed. A very good all-round team.

I was thinking the same the other day when I was watching Belgium take apart the USA. Don't forget players like Steven Defour, Marouane Fellaini, Moussa Dembele, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen and Kevin Mirallas. Some very impressive names in the squad.

Hugh'sDad · Jun 1, 2013

It's cyclical. A couple of seasons ago the Spaniards and Barcelona in particular, were talked about in the same breath as deities. Same team were considered the patsies draw in the semis, this year. I can see Chelsea's midfield of Oscar, Hazard, Mata, and Ramires maturing into a memorable unit.......though why they offloaded the brawn of Raul Meireles is a mystery to me.
We'll see - it could be the Italians turn or the Spanish again. Remarkably, no team has retained the CL since its inception, I believe.

beorhthelm · Jun 1, 2013

Durlston said:
Belgium could be the surprise package with Thibaut Cortois in goal, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku etc. Surprised they're around 100/1 at the moment

really? thats an obsurd price given the talent available. oh, edit also wrong, between 18/1 to 25/1.

to the OP, not sure its that much of a shift, theres always been players going elsewhere.

Durlston · Jun 1, 2013

beorhthelm said:
really? thats an obsurd price given the talent available. oh, edit also wrong, between 18/1 to 25/1.

I last checked a while back when they got off to a slow start in their qualifying group which includes Croatia, Serbia, Wales, Scotland and Macedonia. Sides like Sweden, Turkey and South Korea have made World Cup semi-finals in recent years so there's no reason why Belgium can't have a good run. There's talent all throughout their young team. That's my outsider bet for the World Cup. Even if they're 25/1 I'll still put money on them.

Dan Gleeballs · Jun 1, 2013

Seagull over Canaryland said:
The Premiership may have even more money next season but it will have to sharpen its act up by some way. It has become a complacent fat lazy cash cow and the standard of football has slipped over the last 2-3 years. Some of the defending is really poor.

I don't think there is any coincidence that the top managers and players now think twice before coming here and now choose Germany or France. La Liga and Serie A have lost some of their aura but probably still shade the Prem. OK Chelsea won the Europa Cup but probably the worst showing by English clubs in Champs Lge for many years

The output of world class English players is in serious decline and the England team is pretty feeble these days. Too many foreign players in the Prem. I heard Ruud Gullit having a rant at how few young English players get pitch time in the Prem so aren't developing to their potential and even though our U21's are ok they aren't getting decent run of games in the senior side either. Something is fundamentally wrong.

The Germans are showing the way to go. Fan owned Clubs, superb stadiums, sensible ticket prices, no huge debts plus good footie at club and national levels.

Couldnt agree more. We might be waking up a little to what's happening right in front of eyes. The German league and the way it's being run is admirable. We'd need a serious overhaul here to get anywhere near the direction that league is heading.

You're right about the English players too. Technically lacking. A lot of hard work needed.

Dan Gleeballs · Jun 2, 2013

beorhthelm said:
really? thats an obsurd price given the talent available. oh, edit also wrong, between 18/1 to 25/1.

to the OP, not sure its that much of a shift, theres always been players going elsewhere.

As far as you're concerned then the Premier League is still where it's at then. Possibly as a entertainment package but I'm not so sure (unless certain teams buy big) were going to see an English team lift the Champions league trophy in the near future.

The English premier league is being caught up & in some cases being outdone certainly in technical areas.

Ninja Elephant · Jun 2, 2013

Germany got its house in order years ago and after a few years of mediocrity, it is now leading the way.

English football will return after 5-10 years of doing little but getting finances in order and clubs being run properly, with reasonable and sustainable wages. So we might not see the cream of footie playing here... I don't care, if it means copying Germany and ending up having to play young English players who actually go on to do well.

keithbeaky · Jun 2, 2013

English football has been on the decline since Ronaldo left for Madrid and all the other stars from his era and before got too old. IMO we are seeing new stars emerge now and the Premier League will start to get better again. The past two seasons have been dreadful.

turienzo's lovechild · Jun 2, 2013

i think the best league i've ever seen in terms of concentration of talent was serie a in the mid 90's

it seemed like almost all of the best players in the world were playing there at the time, with about half the teams containing world class talent

anyway, back on topic...i think the premier league is starting to slip in terms of quality. One thing we lack here compared with germany, france, italy, spain is a lack of home grown talent. As soon as the top foreign stars stop coming here/start leaving the premier league is going to be seriously poor...and i think this is starting to happen...realistically how many of the worlds, say, top 20 players play here?

Iggle Piggle · Jun 2, 2013

No doubt about it the Premier League is weaker than it was a few years ago when the Semi Finals of the Champions League were dominated by English Clubs. None of the top clubs have replaced those that have left with the same quality players such as Ronaldo at United, Fabregas at Arsenal even Modric at Spurs. These things are cyclical though, The Italian league was dominant in the 90’s before the Spanish and English clubs took over and now the dominance of the Germans
.
Just a word on the German League though. The Bundesliga wasn’t exactly competitive this year. Bayern won it by miles and it looks like Lewandowski will go there next year so it wont get any better. Whilst we can be envious of the ownership models and young German players coming through it was no more a competition that Scotland was this year.

Team GP W D L GF GA PTS

1 Bayern Munich 34 29 4 1 98 18 91
2 Dortmund 34 19 9 6 81 42 66
3 Bayer 34 19 8 7 65 39 65

Lastly, I don't understand the argument tha the influx of Foreign players weakens the National team? Surely, if you work in any industry with the best in the world it will raise the performance levels of those around you? This must be the case in football where young players can pick up things off experienced pros and improve as a result. Granted, it does not seem to have resulted in more Gareth Bale's but surely being around David Silva as opposed to Carlton Palmer in training must be a good thing.

Peever · Jun 2, 2013

Durlston said:
Germany are certainly ready to win another World Cup next year. They'll probably be favourites although it's going to be very competitive with Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Italy all contenders.

Belgium could be the surprise package with Thibaut Cortois in goal, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku etc. Surprised they're around 100/1 at the moment - if they qualify from their tough group I can see those odds slashed. A very good all-round team.

Where you finding 100/1? Just a quick look on Will Hill has Belgium as 20/1..... Id love to put a tenner on them at 100/1

supaseagull · Jun 2, 2013

Dan Gleeballs said:
Ok so the premier league are yet to flex their financial muscle from the Sky TV deal but there are some mighty statements being made across the water.

Super rich Monaco and their £100 mill plus spend on Falcoa, James Rodriquez, Mountinho & Carveleho. I'm sure there's more to come. Combine them with minted PSG, Lyon & Marseille and French football is a league on the up.

Then there's the Germans & the all conquering Bayern & Dortmund. German football is booming at the moment & if it's not the talent they're capable of attracting its the home grown talent in the league.

Let's not forget the Spanish league either. Barcelona (with £50 mill Neymar) will be back with a vengeance & Real Madrid could end up nabbing Premier league talent in Suarez & Bale.

Seems to me there's a lot more equilibrium across Europe right now compared to when we were bossing it 5 years ago. For me it's Bayern again next season but I can see Monaco lifting the Champions league within 3 seasons

The Premier League is going to have to work hard.

Man city are proof that even if you spend millions, you are not guaranteed champions league success.

Surf's Up · Jun 2, 2013

Dan Gleeballs said:
Couldnt agree more. We might be waking up a little to what's happening right in front of eyes. The German league and the way it's being run is admirable. We'd need a serious overhaul here to get anywhere near the direction that league is heading.

You're right about the English players too. Technically lacking. A lot of hard work needed.

It has to start at the grass roots, with the schools and junior coaching, we are so far behind the French, Germans and Spanish. Everybody knows this but the Premier League plc has become too fat, relying on the purchase of foreign players for instant but transitory success and the FA is totally in thrall to the PL. The relationship between the PL and the FA has become one of unconscious incompetence and sadly I see nothing changing for the foreseeable future.

4-p · Jun 2, 2013

The problem with the Prem is the same reason the England team can only do half a job.
Too many games and not a long enough international break and due to too many winter games players pick too many injuries on the poor sodden pitches.

The only way to facilitate that would be less games which means a smaller Prem which won't happen cos it'll mean less money for people who don't really care about English football, just their pockets and power.

Wozza · Jun 2, 2013

Iggle Piggle said:
Lastly, I don't understand the argument tha the influx of Foreign players weakens the National team? Surely, if you work in any industry with the best in the world it will raise the performance levels of those around you? This must be the case in football where young players can pick up things off experienced pros and improve as a result. Granted, it does not seem to have resulted in more Gareth Bale's but surely being around David Silva as opposed to Carlton Palmer in training must be a good thing.

It benefits a couple of dozen players, maybe.

But PL clubs aren't incentivised to develop/play young English players.

(How many have Chelsea brought on in last decade, for example? They kick out future Scotland midfielders)

It means the England squad has no strength in depth at all = lack of options, complacency and poor results etc.

Our best hope is for English kids to go abroad to learn their trade. Won't happen while the money is here though.

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