Is the BPL the best league in the world

[TSB]

Is it the most competitive this season? No. One of two teams will win it.
Is it filled with the highest quality players? No.
Is it top for fan experience and attendance? No.
Does it receive the most tv money? Yes, probably.

Make up your own mind.

Oh and where to start with using bookies odds as 'facts'

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Yes it does. You want fact? Here are facts:

Best prices to win the league:

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/germany/bundesliga

Bayern Munich 1/8
Dortmund 8/1
Leverkusen 25/1

Chelsea 23/17
Man City 2/1
Arsenal 8/1
Man Utd 14/1
Liverpool 16/1

Facts? Since when did bookmakers odds become fact?

 

[Fada]

I can say for sure that Premier league is definitely most followed, most glamorous and most valued league in Finland. Though, it extends back to old days when our national tv showed 1 english 1st division match every saturday evening. At the time we had 3 or 4 tv-channels and basicly every male here watched those matches. And your league has kept that popular position ever since.

Still, if we clash top ten from your league against top ten from german bundesliga, i would bet that germans would win more matches.

And as a side note, my favorite team used to be Wimbledon and favorite player Vinnie Jones.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

historically,I think 5 different english clubs have won the European Cup,not even the Spanish,Italian or German leagues can claim this

True, but i'm not sure what relevance the 80s have to which league is currently the best. I think the past 10 years are a sensible period and I think your point will still hold if my sums are correct.

 

[OurPrice]

Ok to look at this another way (and taking the obvious practicalities of geography etc aside), in your dream scenario, which division would you be most excited to see the Albion playing in?? I think mine would still be the Premier League...

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Let's not forget that the Bundesliga provided the players which won the world cup and the players which got to the Champions League final a year ago.

PS I know not all the players currently play in the Bundesliga but they were certainly schooled in Germany.

All things considered I know what I prefer.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

As someone once said 'Don't believe the hype' - Sadly thats what the PL is all about.

It probably generates the most money of all the leagues but fails to attract the best players in the world who instead play in Spain or Germany.

It has prompted a whole host of clubs to saddle themselves with massive debts in trying to reach or to stay in the PL jeopardising their long term futures. All this money spent by these clubs without any realistic chance of even being able to win the league or break into the top four / five.

All it has done is given us a product that has far too many over-paid good but not world class players who collect a far bigger wage cheque than they should, and all it has done is push up the cost to the average fan to try to pay for this and yet fans still want to get their team their so they can watch the likes of Marc Wilson (Stoke), Darren Fletcher (Man Utd), Wes Brown (Sunderland) earn massive wages for kicking a ball around for around 90 minutes a week. Who is there left in the PL who is truely World class?

The other leagues have better players and it's cheaper for fans to watch so something is not right imo.

 

[El Presidente]

The PL is the best marketed league in the world, and as much as it grates me to say this, the PL should take some credit for this. They have certainly benefited from English being the nearest thing that exists in terms of being a global language.

In terms of where would I like to see the Albion play, I would opt for the Bundesliga. Bayern's dominance is an annoyance, but the benefits of:

1: No foreign ownership
2: Cheap tickets
3: Terracing
4: Commitment to youth development....give it the edge for me.

Having said that, I honestly think the Albion are probably in the most exciting and unpredictable league at present. No one would have predicted that the likes of Hull, Burnley and Palace would have been promoted in the last two seasons, or Derby and Watford make it to the playoff finals.

Be careful what you wish for, once in the PL, is it really worth shelling out an extra tenner a time to see the likes of West Brom, Sunderland, Everton, Hull, Swansea, Leicester and Burnley play at the Amex?

 

[Jbanged]

I watch a lot of la liga here, both live and on the tv. I can safely say the premiership is much more entertaining and contested than what the Spanish league has to offer.

 

[Superphil]

Let's not forget that the Bundesliga provided the players which won the world cup and the players which got to the Champions League final a year ago.

PS I know not all the players currently play in the Bundesliga but they were certainly schooled in Germany.

All things considered I know what I prefer.

Seven of the players in the German side in the final were from Bayern Munich, four were from the EPL, just three from elsewhere in the Bundesliga. Munich certainly do know how to trot out the players.

 

[gordonchas]

I watch a lot of la liga here, both live and on the tv. I can safely say the premiership is much more entertaining and contested than what the Spanish league has to offer.

Well, so I do, and I don't hold that opinion. I don't see why I can't enjoy both, but there's a lot of people misinformed about the depth of the Spanish League.

That comes in part from the media hype. As the Burnley-Chelsea game kicked off the always annoying Alan Parry came out with this line: "the title favourites against the relegation favourites - in every other league in Europe this would be a foregone conclusion, but this is the Premier League.....yadayadaya..."

Even though Chelsea then proceeded to pull down Burnley's pants, it's not even a line grounded in any sort of reality.

Osasuna were relegated. Here are their home results last season against the top three:
Osasuna 0-0 Barcelona
Osasuna 2-2 Real Madrid
Osasuna 3-0 Atletico

Valladolid were relegated. Here are a couple of their results:
Valladolid 1-1 Real Madrid
Valladolid 1-0 Barcelona

It's a myth that these sides can't compete better than their Premier League equivalents even though the top three in Spain are currently better than any of the English sides.

 

[father_and_son]

Then what is the best league in the world? All the other leagues are exactly the same but to a greater extent. There are five title condenders this year in the Premier League. Compare that to other leagues and there is much more dominance e.g. Germany (Bayern and Dortmund), Spain (Barca, Real, Athletico) etc

I refer you to the answer below...

Having said that, I honestly think the Albion are probably in the most exciting and unpredictable league at present. No one would have predicted that the likes of Hull, Burnley and Palace would have been promoted in the last two seasons, or Derby and Watford make it to the playoff finals.

"Best" is a difficult term because it is heavily skewed by people's perception of what is important. "Best" for me means competitive, unpredictable and entertaining. It must showcase youth but still, benefit from experience. I want to know the result wasn't fixed, that the referee was fair and players weren't diving or cheating. Most of all... that the experience was worth the money.

For me the championship actually ticks most of those boxes, more so that most of the top leagues around Europe. If it absolutely had to be one of the top leagues, then I'd prefer we played in Germany.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Seven of the players in the German side in the final were from Bayern Munich, four were from the EPL, just three from elsewhere in the Bundesliga. Munich certainly do know how to trot out the players.

They ended up at Munich. Most learnt their craft elsewhere though. Interestingly if you look at the current German U19 squad which incidentally are also champions the vast majority are from across the Bundesliga.

 

[Jbanged]

Well, so I do, and I don't hold that opinion. I don't see why I can't enjoy both, but there's a lot of people misinformed about the depth of the Spanish League.

That comes in part from the media hype. As the Burnley-Chelsea game kicked off the always annoying Alan Parry came out with this line: "the title favourites against the relegation favourites - in every other league in Europe this would be a foregone conclusion, but this is the Premier League.....yadayadaya..."

Even though Chelsea then proceeded to pull down Burnley's pants, it's not even a line grounded in any sort of reality.

Osasuna were relegated. Here are their home results last season against the top three:
Osasuna 0-0 Barcelona
Osasuna 2-2 Real Madrid
Osasuna 3-0 Atletico

Valladolid were relegated. Here are a couple of their results:
Valladolid 1-1 Real Madrid
Valladolid 1-0 Barcelona

It's a myth that these sides can't compete better than their Premier League equivalents even though the top three in Spain are currently better than any of the English sides.

You also get weekly thrashings handed out by barca and Madrid, much more than in the prem.
I'm not one to recite stats, I'm sure the goals scored by messi and Ronaldo in la liga are a lot higher than the prem.
regards to the weaker teams.
those results happen every year. Big teams underestimating the weaker teams, nothing new.

 

[gordonchas]

You also get weekly thrashings handed out by barca and Madrid, much more than in the prem.
I'm not one to recite stats, I'm sure the goals scored by messi and Ronaldo in la liga are a lot higher than the prem.
regards to the weaker teams.
those results happen every year. Big teams underestimating the weaker teams, nothing new.

Yes, those pesky facts, they get in the way of a narrative.

2013-14 Barcelona. P38 W27 D6 L5 F100 A33 Pts 87
2013-14 Man City. P38 W27 D5 L6 F102 A37 Pts 86

See how similar those records are? Yet supposedly City are in a much stronger league. Now, if that was the case, what with Barcelona being a superior side as well, you would surely expect Barcelona to have more wins, fewer defeat and (a lot) more goals scored and (a lot) fewer conceded. No.

City scored four goals or more in 11 of their 38 games.

Luis Suarez scored 31 goals in 33 league games (12 assists)
Leo Messi scored 29 goals in 28 games (11 assists)
Ronaldo scored 31 goals in 31 games (9 assists)

On that basis either Suarez is much better than both Messi and Ronaldo or the leagues are similar.

Edit: Messi and Ronaldo each scored 6 penalties - Suarez took none. Suarez scored A LOT more goals than either with penalties removed.

 

[seagulls99]

Most competitive league in the world? Yes.

The league which has the most quality? No, La Liga followed by Bundesliga, followed by premier league.

 

[Jbanged]

Yes, those pesky facts, they get in the way of a narrative.

2013-14 Barcelona. P38 W27 D6 L5 F100 A33 Pts 87
2013-14 Man City. P38 W27 D5 L6 F102 A37 Pts 86

See how similar those records are? Yet supposedly City are in a much stronger league. Now, if that was the case, what with Barcelona being a superior side as well, you would surely expect Barcelona to have more wins, fewer defeat and (a lot) more goals scored and (a lot) fewer conceded. No.

City scored four goals or more in 11 of their 38 games.

Luis Suarez scored 31 goals in 33 league games (12 assists)
Leo Messi scored 29 goals in 28 games (11 assists)
Ronaldo scored 31 goals in 31 games (9 assists)

On that basis either Suarez is much better than both Messi and Ronaldo or the leagues are similar.

Edit: Messi and Ronaldo each scored 6 penalties - Suarez took none. Suarez scored A LOT more goals than either with penalties removed.

Obviously a man or chica that loves statistics and Spanish football. Ole

 

[gordonchas]

Obviously a man or chica that loves statistics and Spanish football. Ole

As I already mentioned, I love both English and Spanish football.

It doesn't bother me if other people prefer one type of game to another, that's down to personal taste - but if you're going to make points about the numbers of thrashings handed out, or the number of goals scored, well, it's helpful to have some actual numbers to back that up - isn't it?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As I already mentioned, I love both English and Spanish football.

It doesn't bother me if other people prefer one type of game to another, that's down to personal taste - but if you're going to make points about the numbers of thrashings handed out, or the number of goals scored, well, it's helpful to have some actual numbers to back that up - isn't it?

Well said.

 

[Jbanged]

As I already mentioned, I love both English and Spanish football.

It doesn't bother me if other people prefer one type of game to another, that's down to personal taste - but if you're going to make points about the numbers of thrashings handed out, or the number of goals scored, well, it's helpful to have some actual numbers to back that up - isn't it?

My original post stated, that after watching both I feel that the prem is more entertaining, the thrashing about part was reply to you dropping your knickers and getting them all tangled. I appreciate both leagues. However, if I had a choice between watching a prem game vs a la liga game I go prem.

Regarding your obsession with statistics, there are plenty on here who know stats like a Christian knows the bible, so you are in luck to have a deep and meaningful with them about the month Suarez scored a goal off his left shin etc etc