Arsenal are in the midst of an unquestionably successful era, the Wenger era. Yet some people (Ed. ? me) still nitpick. Did a little research over the weekend regarding the EPL over the last 10 full seasons (?94-?03). That seemed like a reasonable length of time.
Man United?s dominance over that time is absurd. Their average finish is 1.4. We?re the next best side with an average finish of 3.4, two whole spots behind them. We?re followed by Liverpool (4.3), Newcastle (6.8), Chelsea (7) and Leeds (7).
Take a look at the group behind us. Liverpool ? an FA Cup. Newcastle ? F all and four finishes in the bottom 10 (all as recently as ?99). Chelsea ? an FA Cup, a Cup Winners? Cup and never higher than third (and that only once) in League. Leeds ? F all and fighting for their very lives.
On another interesting note, a recent thread on bigsoccer asked which League is the best. While that can be debated forever, how about the most competitive League? My vote, and know doubt Dan Winkler?s, is for Ligue 1 in France. Over the last 10 years seven different clubs have won the title. What do they all have in common? They are the only clubs that have been in the top flight of French football in all 10 seasons.
Over the same span, 11 clubs have been in the EPL all 10 years and only two (Man United and Arsenal) have won the title. Blackburn, who also has a top finish have only been in the EPL 8 of those 10 years.
4 Responses to “Man U, Us and Then Everybody Else”
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January 12th, 2004 at 6:36 pm
So we’re the Scottish league only bigger?
January 12th, 2004 at 8:25 pm
The premiership is just the same as the SPL when it comes to the championship race- there are 2 teams in it. The only difference is the points gap between 2nd and 3rd. In the Premiership this is usually 7-10 points in May whilst in the SPL it is often upto 25.
Celtic are currently 22 points (!) ahead of the 3rd placed team having won 18 games and drawn one. The SPL truly is a comedy league.
Personally I find the Premiership title race utterly boring these days and would give anything to see 5 or 6 teams really contending in april/may (yes it is possible). Yes, winning is great and I am as passionate a gooner as any, but without real competition the act of winning is devalued- too much success without danger leaves you feeling numb and bloated and this is why we are so crap in Europe- we can’t handle the pressure, we’re too accustomed to coasting it.
The fact is there is no depth in this league. Skim off the top 3 or 4 clubs and you are left with a lot of very average clubs/teams. The Spanish league has great strength in depth and is the best in the world- the Italians are not far behind. The premiership is third, followed by the french and German leagues, (this is in Europe, mind).
So anyway, I’m backing us all the way to win this league title, but if it should fall to Chelsea then I might feel a little perverse pleasure in a certain part of me. Just as long as the f**king mancs don’t win it.
(btw- Chelsea have one 2 FA cups i think)
January 12th, 2004 at 9:16 pm
True United dominance is absurd but I hope it will all change once Arsenal move into a new stadium with some funds to spend afterwards.
We are getting there and know all football fans want to see a close race with Chelsea, Liverpool and even the old Public enemy Spurs fighting it out.That will bring people back to the game.
More Division one games are watch on average apart from the big Premiership games by the grass root.
La Liga and Serie A are far better than the Premiership. Even the Bundesliga this season is better than the P. league. Very interesting to watch.
January 14th, 2004 at 1:30 pm
In 5 years Chelsea will alter those standings around. For the forseeable future they are no worse than 3rd.
Chelsea has just stunted Liverpool’s hopes of wresting the title from us and Man Utd.