Has the quality of the Premier League dropped this season?

At the end of each Premier League season everybody takes stock of how their clubs seasons have performed but we must also assess the state of the league as a whole.

The Premier League is lauded as the best league in the world, yet this season I believe the quality hasn’t been great.

Losses

The top two Chelsea and Manchester United have lost more games than the champions of previous seasons.

Neither has been particularly dominant this season and has given opposition chances in most of their games. They are not the all conquering clubs they once were.

You only have to look at the teams that have beaten United and Chelsea this season to know that the quality of the league wasn’t as strong as usual. There are always shocks in football but this season has seen more than usual.

Europe

An example of the slip in quality was the fact that no English teams made it into the Champions League semi-finals this season after years of English sides dominating the latter stages of the competition. The failure to reach the latter stages was a surprise to some but to some it was inevitable.

Last season’s Champions league final showed just how far Barcelona were ahead of Manchester United, although Barca were lucky to progress past Chelsea in the semi-finals.

Comparison

If you compare Chelsea and Manchester United to La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid the Spaniards are worlds ahead. There is a major gulf in the standard of players. Real Madrid is of course able to sign players that the two English sides can’t afford.

However United’s neighbours Manchester City may just threaten to upset the apple cart next season with major resources available to City boss Roberto Mancini this summer. I have to admit I have enjoyed watching the La Liga more than the Premier League at points this season. The first season I’ve felt this way.

Awful

One reason for the drop in standard in the Premier League is because of some of the awful sides currently occupying the top flight. I hate to criticise teams but there is one team that I have came to despise that’s Stoke City.

They are playing a similar style to that of Wimbledon in the eighties and early nineties. The style has worked and proved successful for Tony Pulis’s side. It’s kept the club in the top flight but I would hate to have a season ticket at the Britannia Stadium.

The likes of Wigan, Bolton and West Ham have all been poor this season but achieved their main objective of surviving in the top flight for another season. I actually like West Ham but the other two are not Premier League clubs in my opinion.

I admire West Ham because they are a proper football club. Another club I admire is Wolves for the fact that they are a well supported football club, who are really well run. Wolves are a club capable of establishing themselves in the Premier League. They have a bigger fanbase than Bolton and Wigan. They also have bigger potential. I would rather watch Wolves than the aforementioned duo.

Excitement

I hate to say this but when Cristiano Ronaldo left for Real Madrid last summer the league has became less exciting. Ronaldo’s prescence at United inspired fans, whether it be opposition fans who hated him or the United fans who adored him.

He brought a sense of theatre to theatre of dreams. He was almost the ultimate pantomime villain. When United lost Ronaldo last summer they lost their creative spark and as well as Wayne Rooney has done this season he couldn’t make up for the Portuguese’s absence. Ronaldo is the sort of star who attracts fans and the Premier League currently doesn’t have enough of his type of player.

Hopes

For the sake of the Premier League I’m hoping some big names stars arrive in the summer. The rumour mill has already started and big name stars arriving will maybe ignite the spark that I believe has been missing from this season’s campaign. I live in hope but unfortunately my house is elsewhere!

Has the Premier League lacked quality this season?