[Albion] Is the EPL really less strong this year?

[Balders]

I keep regarding comments along the lines of "we missed an opportunity because the EPL isn't as strong this year" etc.. Whether this is true or not, personally I think it's more competitive because traditional non Top 6 Clubs (like ourselves) have bridged the gap in respect of quality and some, well let's face it Spuds and Manure just haven't been able to keep up and have stood still or regressed.

The interesting thing for me, is that in a "normal" season, finishing eighth would not be good enough for a European place, but because English Clubs have performed so well in Europe (including Spuds and Manure) we are fighting effectively for a "freebie" place earned by other Clubs!

So if the EPL isn't as strong, what's happening to leagues around Europe - if this is indeed the case, then European Clubs have regressed at a faster rate? I'm not sure that's correct.....

A lot of what we are competing for is at the mercy of other Clubs and their results - it's all too easy to pick out the poor performances against the bottom 3 (which sides similarly placed with us have a similarly poor record btw) and easy to forget that we've taken 16 out of 18 points against the "Big 6" where two of them are in the Europa League final tomorrow.

So to secure 8th, we are reliant on the results of other Clubs - which is the same as the whole season......

 

[Sussax]

Think the PL is probably the strongest it has ever been, except the bottom 3 sides as the gulf between divisions grows bigger every year. We've had a great season all in all with the injuries we've had and a new manager, to be knocking on 60 points is fantastic.

It's just slightly annoying we dropped so many points against the likes of Ipswich, Leicester and Stains as we could've mean in the melee for Champions League. Swings and roundabouts though innit.

 

[JBizzle]

No, I don't think it's less strong, but I do think that the traditional "top clubs" have had historically bad seasons. Man City have been inconsistent at best, Man United and Spurs have been abysmal and Arsenal have been, well, Arsenal. That said, Newcastle have been excellent, Villa too. For chunks of the season Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham, Palace have been unplayably good (Wolves too after Pereira came in).

Add to that we've had 1x CL semi-finalist, 2x Europa League Finalists and 1x ECL finalist and I'd say that the league as a whole has been much stronger.

 

[slartibartfast]

And yet - where it matters most, dead boring.
Title wrapped up with weeks to go.
All three promoted clubs relegated with weeks to go. Some teams havent won for 6 or 7 games, and yet are absolutely safe from relegation (Spurs/Man Utd) .

Final day drama this Sunday is purely about who finishes 2nd to 8th ....

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

PL keeps getting stronger and stronger relative to the Championship and most European Leagues.

Whether it's more entertaining because of it is more arguable. Whether it's healthy for the game as a whole is doubtful. But I guess a mid table side like us has players like Mitoma who can provide breathtaking moments of skill, like none of us have ever seen live, which says to me the overall standard is going up.

Within that there are particular clubs who have underperformed and overperformed, but I don't see that as different from any other season.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

And yet - where it matters most, dead boring.
Title wrapped up with weeks to go.
All three promoted clubs relegated with weeks to go. Some teams havent won for 6 or 7 games, and yet are absolutely safe from relegation (Spurs/Man Utd) .

Final day drama this Sunday is purely about who finishes 2nd to 8th ....

How dull.
The EPL is rubbish if we aren't in a title chase on the last day.
Football is rubbish.
What's the point of it?
(etc. etc.).

In answer to the OP, the EPL is the best it has ever been.
Citeh, former runaways have been out thought this season.
Liverpool have made consistency pay.
Several clubs have stepped up with smart foreign managers.

Sorry, what am I thinking?
It has been rubbish.
It was so much better when Leeds, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Leeds were in a three horse race every season,
Each team so much better than each other,
and yet excellence right through the league, down to the relegated sides,
with the championship and relegation all decided on the final day of the season,
on goal average (so much better than goal difference).
No VAR. A man's game. No namby pamby nonsense. Proper sideburns.

 

[JBizzle]

And yet - where it matters most, dead boring.
Title wrapped up with weeks to go.
All three promoted clubs relegated with weeks to go. Some teams havent won for 6 or 7 games, and yet are absolutely safe from relegation (Spurs/Man Utd) .

Final day drama this Sunday is purely about who finishes 2nd to 8th ....

Although true, I don't think the season always has to be down to the wire to be a good season. That said, to have any of 5 clubs vying for the CL on the last day is no bad thing. There were years past where the top four was a done deal - Just pick the order. This year, Newcastle, Villa and Forest could be in there

 

[nickbrighton]

PL keeps getting stronger and stronger relative to the Championship and most European Leagues.

Whether it's more entertaining because of it is more arguable. Whether it's healthy for the game as a whole is doubtful. But I guess a mid table side like us has players like Mitoma who can provide breathtaking moments of skill, like none of us have ever seen live, which says to me the overall standard is going up.

Within that there are particular clubs who have underperformed and overperformed, but I don't see that as different from any other season.

As Slot said in his post match-when the team in 8th place can bring on Mitoma, then it shows how strong the league is

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

As Slot said in his post match-when the team in 8th place can bring on Mitoma, then it shows how strong the league is

And also we started favourites to beat the champions. It's a tough league!

 

[Guinness Boy]

Objectively two of the biggest and richest clubs in the league have had a generationally bad league season that they won’t repeat. And yet they’re both still better than Europe’s “best of the rest” and there’s been an absolute squabble to replace them, with Forest, Villa, Newcastle, us, Brentford and Bournemouth all fighting to take their places.

The relegated teams have been a disgrace though. Three of the worst EPL teams I’ve ever seen.

 

[Was not Was]

A good test of how strong the EPL is compared to other European leagues will be next season's performances. If results are good and the coefficient remains high with nine or ten teams competing, then the Premier League really is pulling away. More likely (and, I think, how this 'extra Champions League place for best performers' model should work) is that the coefficient will go down and there won't be an additional place for an English team in 26/27

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Personally I think this is the strongest EPL in years. The fact that Spurs & United have had terrible seasons isn't a coincidence... they're playing very good teams every week (apart from the bottom three). One of the best teams I saw at The Amex this season was Bournemouth. Finishing 8th this season would be an achievement in my opinion.