English Clubs and The Champions League

[Willy Nilly]

Why, football boffins, have English clubs gone from being dominant in the Champions League to being also-rans?

[Black can man]

Willy Nilly said:

Why, football boffins, have English clubs gone from being dominant in the Champions League to being also-rans?

Because the worlds best players are no longer playing in the premiership.

[MrMagoo]

Black can man said:

Because the worlds best players are no longer playing in the premiership.

This, and the fact that the Premier Leagues style of play is light years behind Germany and Spain. Who plays the best football in England? Swansea, Arsenal, Liverpool? Compare any of them to the Spanish sides (and not just the top 2) and you'll see just how far behind we are as a league.

Gone are the days of teams being big and aggressive. Technical quality trumps it all. The same reason why as a national team we are so far behind other nations. It will change no doubt, it'll take time though.

[iim]

It's cyclical, see the Italians, Dutch and Spanish for details...

If your league is inherently strong (which the EPL is) European domination will swing back around at some point.

[andyjo1982]

Luck of the draw? Man C had another tough group stage draw, to match last year. Chelsea should've got through their group, granted. United and Arsenal played 2 of the top teams in world football, and both were close to going through.

The EPL isn't too far behind the other domestic leagues imo.

[TEKNOPUG]

CL is not an accurate reflection of the strength of a national league.

[Amirhussain]

andyjo1982 said:

The EPL isn't too far behind the other domestic leagues imo.

Your right. Its miles ahead, best football league in the world.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

One bad season in Europe and everyone is analysing the reasons for the demise of English clubs. The current European Champions are English. No need for an inquest quite yet.

[Black can man]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

One bad season in Europe and everyone is analysing the reasons for the demise of English clubs. The current European Champions are English. No need for an inquest quite yet.

Fair play to Chelsea, they did win Champions league , but blimey it was pretty wrist cutting stuff. Would be a sad state of affairs if another team where to win it in the style that Chelsea did last year.

We are as a football club nation struggling to keep up with the cream of Europe. There is little doubt of that.

[TEKNOPUG]

Teams qualify on the previuos season's performance - lots of teams change many players/managers etc between one season and the next. So CL is not really representative of the current teams - especially when some nations are not even represented by the best teams from the previous season......

If EPL fail to provide a team in the semis during the next 3 to 5 seasons, then you may be able to make a case for the OP assertion.

[Allyc85]

Why panic after one bad season? Nothing to discuss just yet!

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Black can man said:

Fair play to Chelsea, they did win Champions league , but blimey it was pretty wrist cutting stuff. Would be a sad state of affairs if another team where to win it in the style that Chelsea did last year.

There's a long history of teams who are nowhere near the best in Europe winning the European Cup. Steau Bucharest in the 80s, and look at Man U in the 99 final. They hardly got a kick of the ball until the 90th minute. Inter Milan a couple of years ago, and Barcelona in 09 when we outplayed them in the semi.

[Wadeski]

As you say, cyclical.

Everyone lamented the death of the Italian league back in 2008 (ish?) when no clubs made it through to the latter stages, then they went and won it.

[Amirhussain]

2005 UCL- Liverpool winners
2006 UCL- Arsenal runners up
2007 UCL- Liverpool runners up
2008 UCL- Chelsea runners up. Manchester United winners.
2009 UCL- Manchester United runners up
2010 UCL- No English team in final
2011 UCL- Manchester United runners ip
2012 UCL- Chelsea winners
2013- No English team in final

In 9 years only TWICE English teams haven't made it to the final.

[Skylinecrazy]

at the people that say the Engiish league is being left behind.

Championship sides would beat bottom top tier teams in Spain/Germany.

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Skylinecrazy said:

at the people that say the Engiish league is being left behind.

Championship sides would beat bottom top tier teams in Spain/Germany.

I agree.

Spanish and Italian sides have always played with that flair that at times can be breathtaking and a joy to watch, however the German and English leagues which are probably the closest in playing terms have always been about grit and hard work. Sometimes flair wins with a piece of individual skill or sometimes hard work wins(Chelsea last season) it is just part of the merry go round.

This coupled together with the fact that UEFA are as corrupt as they come and the refs have made some absolute howlers I think it has been made much harder for the British teams to get any results in European competitions.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Amirhussain said:

2005 UCL- Liverpool winners
2006 UCL- Arsenal runners up
2007 UCL- Liverpool runners up
2008 UCL- Chelsea runners up. Manchester United winners.
2009 UCL- Manchester United runners up
2010 UCL- No English team in final
2011 UCL- Manchester United runners ip
2012 UCL- Chelsea winners
2013- No English team in final

In 9 years only TWICE English teams haven't made it to the final.

1977 Liverpool win
78 Liverpool win
79 Nottm Forest win
80 Nottm Forest win
81 Liverpool win
82 Aston Villa win

See, English teams' record in Europe has gone right down the pan of late.