How can we say that the EPL is the best league in the world?

When it comes to talking about successful teams and clubs we very often hear the phrase ‘strength in depth’. Most people agree that for a team to be truly great they must have ‘strength in depth’.

If that is the case and the same applies to leagues, I wonder how we can keep referring to the English Premier League as the best in the world?

Greatest

There is no doubt that the top four teams are right up there with the best and once again the EPL provides half of the Champions League quarter-finalists and I’d be prepared to wager that it provides at least one of the finalists in the end. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are the greatest top four of any league in Europe and probably the world.

The poll on this site shows that 55% of you think that the top English teams are far better than the rest of Europe. That is a big statement to make and individual teams such as Barcelona could make a very strong case against it. However, as a top four, La Liga is nowhere near the standard of the EPL as Liverpool showed in their demolition of Real Madrid.

Top four

Recent years have seen the all EPL final between Chelsea and Manchester United, victory for Liverpool and final appearances for Liverpool again and Arsenal. All four of the EPL top four have made it to the Champions League final. The other top leagues, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, how have they fared in the same period?

Well, in that period there has been one Spanish team and one Italian team who have appeared in a final. The evidence over recent years is pretty overwhelming.

About more

But a league is about a lot more than it’s top four isn’t it?

The next test of the strength of a league must be the UEFA Cup. Last night, Manchester City, who sit tenth in the EPL were comprehensively beaten and outplayed by Martin Jol’s Hamburg side. The final score was 3-1 but that was flattering to the English side. They scored a goal in the first minute before Hamburg woke up and then only kept the home side down to three goals in reply due to the brilliance of Shay Given.

Of course, Manchester City are the last English team in the competition after Aston Villa and Tottenham went out of the tournament having shown little respect for it with the teams they selected. Having watched the demolition of City last night, one has to wonder whether a full strength Villa or Spurs would have fared any better?

Remarkable

In the eleven finals played since the final became a one-off match only three English teams have appeared in the final. Two of those were Arsenal and Liverpool, two of the big four again. The only other English representative has been Steve McClaren’s Middlesbrough who had a remarkable run to the final in 2006 before being humiliated 4-0 by Sevilla.

In that same period Italy have been represented in finals by Inter, Lazio and Parma. Spain by Alaves, Valencia, Sevilla and Espanyol. Even Rangers and Celtic from the SPL have made it to the final along with teams from Turkey, France, Germany, Russia, Portugal and Holland.

Best league

The question then is, can the EPL really be the best league in the world when it seems that only the top four teams are capable of progressing to any great extent in international competition? Along with Manchester City, who only qualified for the tournament via the ‘back door’ the quarter-finalists this year come from Germany, France, Ukraine and Italy. After the first leg results the semi-finals could well be an all Germany against Ukraine affair.

What does this tell us? Does it tell us that other countries have greater strength in depth in their leagues? Does it tell us that outside the top four the EPL is average at best? Does it tell us that English teams don’t care about the UEFA Cup? (If that is the case, why are they so thrilled when they qualify for it?)

Uncomfortable

The fact is that I have no idea what it tells us but I do know that I am uncomfortable with the English belief that the EPL is way above the rest of the World. The top four might be, but seventh, eighth and ninth in the table at the moment are West Ham, Wigan and Fulham. Would they strike fear into the hearts of Cagliari, Palermo and Lazio or Malaga, Deportivo and Valladolid who occupy the same places in Serie A and La Liga?

There is every chance that Barcelona will win the Champions League and there will be no English representatives in the UEFA Cup semi-finals. Where would that leave our claim that the EPL is the best?