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| photo by zawtowers |
- by Hiten Mandalia, writing from West London
In Scotland, even before the season’s started, you know the league’s going to be won by Celtic or Rangers. It’s happened for many years over the past, with Hearts providing the slimmest of challenges to come in between the old firm rivals. Both clubs are financially stronger than the other teams in the SPL, henceforth, getting better players. Their occurrences in the Champions League, may it not be regularly, does attract some attention worldwide, but the failure for either club to be in the Champions League every season suggests how weak the SPL is.
The two best clubs in Scotland aren’t getting into Europe’s premier competition every season, while sometimes, they, along with Hearts and Motherwell, have to settle for Europa League football. Let’s be honest, the Europa League isn’t the most attractive competition. They want to aspire for the Champions League. Sometimes, Rangers and Celtic fail to get into Europe at all. It goes to suggest how weak the SPL is and that the best teams in Scotland fail to do well in Europe.
The same can be said about La Liga and the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid. They do brilliant in the league and they tend to do well in the Champions League. They have constant European football, with rich history and some of the greatest names in football.
Over the last few seasons, Real Madrid have splashed the cash, noticeably, buying Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for a record £80m. They have got superstars in their team and they will continue to get stronger.
Their rivals, Barcelona, have a strong team, who play football out of this word and have equally good superstars as Madrid. They’ve won La Liga over the last few season and they’ve won the Champions League, three out of the last six seasons. This current team could go down as one of the greatest ever. However, these two giants are widening the gap from their La Liga rivals.
Both teams are in powerful financial positions, and they will continue to attract the best players in the planet, due to their rich histories and simply because they are Real Madrid and Barcelona. Barcelona beat Osasuna 8-0 on the weekend, while Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Levante.
Madrid lost, which was a surprise, which happens in football, while Barcelona’s 8-0 win over Osasuna shows the gap between the top and the rest. It seems the race to win La Liga will be between Real Madrid and Barcelona, until the other clubs reach their standards.
The main question is, will the Premier League result to a two horse race for the title for the next eight to ten years?
Manchester City’s billionaire owners suggest that Man City will attract the biggest names in world football as they have potential to reach new height. The fact that they’re now in the Champions League will raise the stature of the club. Players can go there because of potential and ambition, but some will go there for the large chunks of money that they’ll be receiving.
They’ve currently got a good squad who will challenge for major honours and they will be a constant threat for the Premier League title. They’ve got a bright future ahead of them, and by the looks of things, they will be up there for many years to come.
On the red side of Manchester are their rivals, Manchester United. They’ve got a fantastic team, with a great manager and world class players are always linked to a move to Old Trafford. With a rich history and never-say-die attitude, one can see why players would want to play for Man United. They’ve been the most successful side in Premier League history and there’ no doubt that they’ll always be at the top challenging on all fronts. So will the Premier League now be dominant in Manchester between the two Manchester clubs, or will Chelsea and Arsenal provide a constant threat?
Arsenal seem to be going through a transitional stage and major improvements need to be made at the Emirates, so they will find it difficult to get into the Champions League, never mind challenging for the league. Once Arsenal discover their old selves, they will be a real threat.
Chelsea will remain a real threat, despite the billons at Man City. The title has either gone to Chelsea or Manchester United over the last seven years, so only a fool will disregard Chelsea as a major threat to Man United and Man City. They have a great team spirit and experience on how to win leagues, so that could benefit them over Man City. However, it has been argued that they’ve got many ageing players which could be negative, as age will be catching up on them. That’s been recently evident of Frank Lampard, when he’s played for England and for Chelsea against Man United.
Then there’s Liverpool who will pose a real challenge for the title within the next few years and Tottenham are playing really well, so they can’t be ruled out. Their Champions League experience from last season will have taught them a lot.
Some have argued that Man United and Man City are getting stronger each season and they’ll build a big bridge between them and the rest of the league like, just like in the SPL and La Liga. That may be true, but there’s always a good possibility that the other teams around them will get even stronger to prevent them from happening.
Yes, Real Madrid and Barcelona may lose the odd game, but that will be a shock result, while in the Premier League, anyone can beat anyone, no matter where you are in the league.
However, the big difference between the Premier League and SPL and La Liga at the current time is that a possible of six teams can win the Premier League, while in Scotland and Spain, the audience already know that the title is going to one of two destinations. There isn’t much for them to compete with. You just have to look at the point’s comparison between the 2nd placed team and the 3rd placed to in the SPL and La Liga and compare it to the Premiership.
The question is, will the Premier League eventually become like La Liga and SPL?
